Most protein powders hide artificial sweeteners, mystery “natural flavors,” and sometimes heavy metals. Here are the clean protein powders worth buying, vetted on short ingredient lists and third-party testing.
An independent lab tested 160 protein powders and found lead or cadmium in most of them. The two findings nobody expected are that organic tested worse than conventional, and chocolate tested worse than vanilla.
Any brand can pay a lab, get a result it likes, and print the phrase. The marks that mean something are named, and they check three different things people constantly mix up.
A strawberry protein powder can legally contain no strawberry. The sweetener you’re avoiding sugar with reaches your colon largely intact. Neither is a scandal, and both are worth understanding before you buy a year’s supply.
The supplement industry is largely unregulated. Here’s what that actually means, the red flags worth knowing, and what real third-party testing looks like.