Some protein powders contain chemicals, heavy metals, and other dangerous substances that should not be ignored. It also goes beyond some chosen brands.
Many manufacturers, including some of the most well-known, have come under fire for marketing protein powder that contains BPA and other contaminants along with heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic.
This has increased demand for a clean protein powder free of heavy metals and sparked a significant push for purity in the supplement industry.
Even for the pickiest buyers, finding products free of even trace amounts of these toxins can be difficult. I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and have selected a small number of solutions that I can confidently support.
Best Choices for Clean Protein Powder Include:
- Sunwarrior Warrior Blend;
- Ora So Lean & So Clean;
- VIVO Life Perform;
- Truvani Protein Powder;
- Wholier Organic Plant Protein.
How Do I Find Clean Protein Powders?
When looking for the cleanest protein powder free of heavy metals, there are a few things to think about. Here are some important things to remember:
- Third-party testing: Seek out goods that have undergone independent laboratory testing for toxins and heavy metals. This guarantees an unbiased evaluation of the product’s quality and safety rather than relying just on potentially biased internal statements.
- Being transparent and certifications: Select companies who are open about their sourcing and testing procedures. A dedication to quality and safety is demonstrated by certifications such as ISO-Certified, NSF Certified for Sport, and Clean Label Project Certified.
- Ingredient quality: Give top priority to goods created with pure, premium ingredients. Organic, vegan, and non-GMO foods are excellent places to start, but they don’t ensure a reduction in heavy metal content on their own.
Additionally, search for goods without artificial sweeteners, synthetic chemicals, and sugar alcohols. This, combined with the previously mentioned standards, results in a reliable and genuinely clean protein powder.
5 Best Clean Protein Powders That I’ve Found
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Sunwarrior Warrior Blend
Although Sunwarrior is a bigger player in the protein powder market than the major brands, they don’t sacrifice quality for manufacturing volume.
Sunwarrior tests its products for heavy metals and microorganisms using an ISO-Certified third-party lab as part of their dedication to quality and sustainability. Their protein powders regularly satisfy FDA, WHO, and EU safety criteria and are USDA certified organic and non-GMO.
Warrior Blend is Sunwarrior’s best-selling vegan protein powder. However, they also make other varieties. It is free of chemical additives and sugar alcohols and is derived from the protein found in peas, goji berries, and hemp seeds. As a result, I consider it to be among the top keto protein powders because it is genuinely diabetic-friendly and won’t raise blood sugar.
I adore this protein powder for a lot of reasons besides its purity. It tastes great and is available in a wide variety of flavors.
Ora So Lean & So Clean
As a socially aware company, Ora Organic funds independent testing for infections, heavy metal content, microbiological contaminants, and ingredient potency (see the results).
In addition to being vegan, non-GMO, and certified organic, Ora tests its products yearly for pesticides, allergies, including gluten, dairy, peanuts, and soy, and supplement facts.
The vegan protein powder brand Ora’s So Lean & So Clean is their signature product. Vanilla, Chocolate, Vanilla Chia, and Unflavored are the four flavors available.
Even though they’re all sugar-free, the unflavored variety is a wonderful choice for keto because it just has 1g of carbohydrates. The other three have additional natural flavors along with stevia and monk fruit extract.
There are a ton of fruits, veggies, and anti-inflammatory components in the Ora Protein, Superfood & Greens Blend. The main sources of protein are rice and peas, which provide all the necessary amino acids.
So Lean & So Clean is a clean protein powder that is safe to use and shouldn’t be overlooked because it doesn’t contain any fillers, gums, or other additions.
VIVO Life Perform
One of the purest, yet most underappreciated, protein powder products is VIVO Life. Which employs third-party testing to check for heavy metals and other impurities.
Heavy metals, pesticides, and herbicides are checked for in VIVO Life products at the formulation stage. Once the goods are complete, they are sent to a third party for additional testing (via LabDoor) to check for contaminants.
The company’s signature raw vegan protein powder, VIVO Life Perform, has 25g of plant protein per serving and comes from fermented yellow pea protein and cold-processed hemp protein.
The protein powder is pure and devoid of heavy metals, and each serving provides 6g of a combination of BCAAs for improved recovery. Reishi mushrooms and turmeric extract that have been added have anti-inflammatory qualities.
Truvani Protein Powder
Truvani is a reliable brand that does third-party testing and monitoring for heavy metals in their protein powder.
Truvani’s components and finished goods are certified organic and non-GMO. They are frequently tested for mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and glyphosate to comply with Good Manufacturing Practices and Prop 65 guidelines.
Truvani represents the peak of clean protein powder. There are no artificial sweeteners, additives, or fillers on the ingredients list; only recognized foods and spices.
The straightforward component combination of Truvani protein powder is its beauty. Pea, pumpkin, and chia seed proteins are used to make the protein powder. Unique components, such as peanuts and pumpkin spice or chia and matcha green tea, are present in each of the nine different flavors.
Truvani is a 20g protein powder that is genuinely balanced and clean. It has only a small amount of sugar, low carbs, and moderate fiber.
Wholier Organic Plant Protein
Wholier is an another underappreciated brand that needs recognition for the exceptional purity and cleanliness of its products.
This protein powder is extremely concerned about the quality of its protein powder supplements. They make sure that every batch is subjected to numerous third-party testing sessions during the manufacturing process. These tests include analytical, microbiological, and heavy metal testing.
A comprehensive blend of protein from brown rice, yellow pea, flaxseed, pumpkin seed, and sunflower seed is provided by this USDA organic certified protein powder. Additionally, Wholier Organic Plant Protein offers a basic prebiotic combination to help with digestion.
In addition to the 2g of coconut sugar in one serving, the flavorings include ground cinnamon, cacao powder, Himalayan salt, monk fruit essence, and vanilla extract powder.
Each serving of this clean plant protein powder for Wholier has 21g of protein powder and 4g of BCAAs. It’s a no-nonsense choice free of bloat-inducing ingredients like gums, emulsifiers, and fillers.
The Science Behind Heavy Metals and Clean Protein Powders
The Clean Label Project conducted what was arguably the most ground-breaking study on protein powders containing heavy metals. In addition to BPA and other pollutants, the study looked at 134 of the most popular protein powder brands for lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic content.
A startling finding of the investigation was that there was detectable lead in 75% of the goods.
Even more concerning is that, compared to other goods, plant-based protein powders had twice as much lead per serving. Certified organic products had an average of twice as much heavy metal content.
According to the same study, there was detectable BPA in 55% of the 134 goods that were examined. 53 of the top protein powder brands were comprised of these tainted goods combined.
The findings of a related study, which showed that 133 protein powder brands examined had increased amounts of heavy metals, supported these concerns.[1]
Concerns over possible health dangers linked with protein powder usage have increased due to the presence of heavy metals and harmful elements in these products.
In addition, these problems therefore serve as a warning to protein powder manufacturers to improve their manufacturing procedures, third-party testing, and quality control.
Scientific References
- Bandara SB, Towle KM, Monnot AD. A human health risk assessment of heavy metal ingestion among consumers of protein powder supplements. Toxicol Rep. 2020 Aug 21;7:1255-1262. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2020.08.001. PMID: 33005567; PMCID: PMC7509468.
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