Page 56 - Summer2018

One of toxic byproducts instead, while the sup- or gelatin can serve this purpose—but few to

the first ply of glycine is depleted. Together, these no protein supplements on the market use them
changes are likely to contribute to reduced as ingredients. On a positive note, it is worth
considerations longevity and chronic disease. pointing out that soy no longer appears to be
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with protein the processed protein supplement of choice.
In her book, Death by Food Pyramid, Although there are still many products that
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supplementation Denise Minger notes, “High methionine intake contain or use soy, the majority of the most
is to ask increases your need for vitamin B , vitamin B , popular products do not list soy on the label in
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whether such folate, choline and betaine, which help neutral- almost any form, save the occasional inclusion
supplements ize homocysteine, one of methionine’s most of soy lecithin.
noxious byproducts…. What’s more, methionine
worsen or can drain your body’s glycine stores.” CONTAMINATION

improve the One of the first considerations with pro- Another concern regarding protein supple-
amino acid tein supplementation is to ask whether such ments involves their contamination with heavy
supplements worsen or improve the amino acid metals and other toxins and chemicals. A re-
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imbalances imbalances characteristic of the American diet, cent study found that vegetable-based protein
characteristic and specifically the methionine-to-glycine ratio. supplements were contaminated with numerous

of the Most do nothing to address this particular im- heavy metals—arsenic, lead, cadmium and mer-
balance, and some may make it worse, especially cury—and also other modern chemicals such
American whey- and egg white-based food substitutes and as bisphenol A (BPA). On the other hand, the
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diet, and supplements. Protein supplements typically use animal-based protein supplements—those made
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specifically pea and/or rice protein as their main ingredient from bone, cartilage, egg and dairy—came back
because they are low-cost and relatively easy as the cleanest in testing.
the to extract. Paired, pea and rice protein create A troubling but not entirely unsurprising
methionine- a more balanced and complete protein profile. finding of the study was the fact that organic
Although few of these supplements, if certification was no guarantee of product pu-
to-glycine any, provide a breakdown of their amino acid rity for the plant-based options. As discussed
ratio. composition on the product label, we can use by Consumer Reports, “Buying a product with

information about pea and rice proteins to an ‘organic’ label did not reduce the chances of
estimate the general amino acid composition getting a contaminated product. In fact, organic
of protein supplement products. Unfortunately, protein supplements had higher levels of heavy
the more balanced combination of pea and rice metals, on average, than nonorganic.” For some
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does not appear to improve the low glycine of the organic products, this wasn’t a first-time
levels that typify modern, muscle meat-heavy issue either. In previous tests, other independent
diets (Table 1). Soy proteins further exacerbate labs found elevated levels of heavy metals in
the imbalance. many organic products. In response, the compa-
Is there a protein supplement that does help nies promised change, but it is unclear whether
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balance our amino acid intake? Yes. Collagen their newer results show any progress.

TABLE 1: AMINO ACID PROFILE OF SELECTED PROTEINS

TYPE OF PROTEIN METHIONINE-TO-GLYCINE RATIO (APPROXIMATE)
Beef, most cuts 1:2 to 1:3
Rice protein 5 2:3
Pea protein 1:4
Whey 5 1:1
Gelatin 1:20
Eggs 1:1
Soy protein 1:3

54 Wise Traditions SUMMER 2018