Protein powders can cause pancreas problems?

Killer_banana

So last week I was told by a counselor (we were discussing diet at the time) that studies show prolonged use of protein powders can cause pancreas problems. Any one know if this is true? She said not all of them but because they're unregulated they should be avoided completely. Was planning on trying them but not sure now. Was going to go with a plant based one not whey so would that make a difference?

Inspector Coptoor

I've heard of kidney problems with protein & I was sceptic all about that....


but NEVER the pancreas.
I call Bull$h1t.

Duck's hoop

Whey is basically milk. It's a byproduct of cheese making. You may not need it in your diet but I don't think it will do you harm if you choose to include it.

The person may have been talking out their asre.

Killer_banana

Well since she referred to the problems being they're not regulated I presume it's extra things being added which is the problem...but surely reading the ingredients would prevent that?

Alf Veedersane

The counsellor is talking through their hole. Apart from anything else, saying that they could contain all sorts because they're not regulated is going to be an issue for more than just the pancreas. Does the counsellor like to read Tony Ward's articles in d'Indo?

papu

Citation needed*

Ask her to print out these studies.:rolleyes:

Orla K

Well if you get one that's loaded with sugar and have it multiple times a day while on a crap diet then she has a point but if you get one with lower or no sugar, have it to supplement your healthy diet only when you need to boost protein then it won't cause problems with pancreas function.

thegreatiam

what type of councillor. regardless of if protein supplements cause cancer or not (they don't) what qualifies the counsellor to make such a statement?

People shouldn't be permitted to give advice on subjects they have limited exposure and knowledge of. (Irony of such a statement being made on an anonymous internet forum not withstanding)

Even scientists cannot 100% agree on stuff like this, so why take the advice of someone who clearly has no knowledge in the matter?

You should just do your own research and make your own informed decision.

Start with this: Whey is a dairy by product. as Duck's hoop says. They start with milk, make cheese, sell the left over whey to supplement companies. Who then take magic cancer ingredients and ebola flakes and pack it all into a plastic tub with a handy scoop to sell on the internets.

dar100

Counselling is also unregulated... did she happen to tell you that? Oh, she is also not qualified to be dishing out medical advice

Alf Veedersane

Orla K wrote: »

Well if you get one that's loaded with sugar and have it multiple times a day while on a crap diet then she has a point

Why single out protein though...why not Club Orange too...and anything else sugar-laden?

Sounds like a bit like "Protein is bad, mmmkay".

Killer_banana

thegreatiam wrote: »

what type of councillor. regardless of if protein supplements cause cancer or not (they don't) what qualifies the counsellor to make such a statement?

People shouldn't be permitted to give advice on subjects they have limited exposure and knowledge of. (Irony of such a statement being made on an anonymous internet forum not withstanding)

Even scientists cannot 100% agree on stuff like this, so why take the advice of someone who clearly has no knowledge in the matter?

You should just do your own research and make your own informed decision.

Start with this: Whey is a dairy by product. as Duck's hoop says. They start with milk, make cheese, sell the left over whey to supplement companies. Who then take magic cancer ingredients and ebola flakes and pack it all into a plastic tub with a handy scoop to sell on the internets.

My choice not to take a whey supplement has nothing to do with her, that was a decision I'd made previously. I hadn't mentioned protein powder, she brought it up when talking about protein in general. She also didn't say it causes cancer, she said it could cause pancreas problems. And I know she's no qualified to make such a statement which is why I'm questioning it. I am doing my own research which what made me think to ask here.

Turtwig

Sounds like she's confuddled high protein and low carb with just protein supplements.

Alf Veedersane

Jernal wrote: »

Sounds like she's confuddled

FYP.

Turtwig

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

FYP.

Or the OP misheard. Or she's misunderstood a basic topic. Very harsh to say someone is confuddled though.

gctest50

Killer_banana wrote: »

....She said not all of them but because they're unregulated they should be avoided completely. Was planning on trying them but not sure now........

And that's the problem with counselling - unregulated

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hse-warning-over-use-of-unvetted-suicide-counselling-services-30025653.html

They come over the hill,
just like ballet dancers,
One in nine have served their time,
The rest are f****g chancers

Orla K

Shortly after writing my post i was flicking through a book and I've learned that the pancreas releases trypsin and chymotrypsin these enzymes split proteins into polypeptides and peptides. So the pancreas does have a part to play in the digestion of protein but that doesn't mean that protein powder can cause problems with the pancreas. It might but I doubt it, base your diet around real food and use it as a supplement, your health isn't going to be based on 5% of your diet. Anyway loads of people use protein powder with no ill effects.

Without reviewing wherever she got the information its probably going to be pointless.

Alf Veedersane

Jernal wrote: »

Or the OP misheard. Or she's misunderstood a basic topic. Very harsh to say someone is confuddled though.

Your words!

Turtwig

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Your words!

Nope, my words were that she confuddled too separate items. You 'fixed' that to saying she was confuddled, implying that the person themselves was confuddled.

Alf Veedersane

Jernal wrote: »

Nope, my words were that she confuddled too separate items. You 'fixed' that to saying she was confuddled, implying that the person themselves was confuddled.

Serious much?

Killer_banana

gctest50 wrote: »

And that's the problem with counselling - unregulated

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hse-warning-over-use-of-unvetted-suicide-counselling-services-30025653.html

It's helpful (and a bit frightening) to know counseling is unregulated but she's a college counselor so I'm guessing she's been through some vetting process. Which of course doesn't mean her information on protein isn't correct.

Thanks everyone for the information.

Chief87

Some people just think everything is bad for you...protein, bread, milk blah blah.

SLDeviant

I had a cardiologist tell me that taking protein supplements was the cause of my arrythmia. Told me to eat steak instead.

rubadub

SLDeviant wrote: »

I had a cardiologist tell me that taking protein supplements was the cause of my arrythmia. Told me to eat steak instead.

Was this just protein powder?, or mixtures containing all sorts of stimulants etc. I think many of these people are really concerned about ones with added stimulants.

If they were just concerned about whey protein then we should have heard strict warnings about other foods using this basic common ingredient, e.g. cheap ice cream and some biscuits. It can be used as an egg substitiute.

I am guessing that milk & cheese are just as "unregulated" as this dairy product.

SLDeviant

rubadub wrote: »

Was this just protein powder?, or mixtures containing all sorts of stimulants etc. I think many of these people are really concerned about ones with added stimulants.

If they were just concerned about whey protein then we should have heard strict warnings about other foods using this basic common ingredient, e.g. cheap ice cream and some biscuits. It can be used as an egg substitiute.

I am guessing that milk & cheese are just as "unregulated" as this dairy product.

I was taking Whey, Creatine, Casein, Beta Alanine and HMB at the time. All from MyProtein.co.uk. No ECA stack, caffeine loaded preworkout or anything. I developed an Atrial Tachycardia, that scared the **** out of me and ended up in the ER.

I'm not saying I know better than a Cardiologist but I don't think he knew what he was talking about. His rationale was "Protein grows muscle, the heart is a muscle" he actually said that. Though other sources of dietary protein like steak weren't a problem, I couldn't follow his rationale there. I don't remember doing cardiac curls but he's the expert. It's worth mentioning that I went from being completely sedentary to dropping almost 2 stone in weight and then hitting the weights pretty hard so my overall guess was it was just the massive shift in lifestyles probably put pressure on my heart.

I cut out all the powders, the arrythmia went away about 3 months later. I started taking whey again chest was fine, introduced creatine and casein and it started going weird again but not full blown. In the end I think I'm sensitive to Creatine. I don't have any hard evidence for that, it's just my experience. It's probably just a quirk of my physiology but I stay away from the creatine and the tachycardia fairy stays away. If you google "creatine and palpitations" you'll find a lot of bros on forums drawing conclusions but Creatine has a lot of published studies saying its harmless.

The pancreas thing sound like complete rubbish. If you're worried about adulterated whey stick with the bigger brands like Optimum Nutrition which is owned by Glanbia afaik. I've never had any problems with MyProtein , and I've seen some analysis run by r/fitness that their protein is pretty high grade.

Dermighty

SLDeviant wrote: »

I had a cardiologist tell me that taking protein supplements was the cause of my arrythmia. Told me to eat steak instead.

They had a point: eating steak > eating protein supplements

Though saying it caused your arrythymia is a bit far fetched :P

EDIT: I assumed it was quack advicd until I read your other posts.

rubadub

SLDeviant wrote: »

Though other sources of dietary protein like steak weren't a problem, I couldn't follow his rationale there.

This is what I don't get. Are they saying/inferring that whey is being laced with performance enhancing drugs which cause it trouble, or that its just bad in general.

Dermighty wrote: »

They had a point: eating steak > eating protein supplements

I presume you mean eating steak is "better", but have studies been done on this.

If traditionally we all grew up mainly as vegetarians and also eating whey protein it would be seen as normal, and if mainly only athletes & bodybuilders ate steak then I could picture steak being called a supplement, and you would have probably have threads saying "don't eat that steak supplement shite, stick to real food which provides protein, just eat more of the whey powder you already eat, we want their milk products not the meat"

asteroids over berlin

SLDeviant wrote: »

I was taking Whey, Creatine, Casein, Beta Alanine and HMB at the time. All from MyProtein.co.uk. No ECA stack, caffeine loaded preworkout or anything. I developed an Atrial Tachycardia, that scared the **** out of me and ended up in the ER.

I'm not saying I know better than a Cardiologist but I don't think he knew what he was talking about. His rationale was "Protein grows muscle, the heart is a muscle" he actually said that. Though other sources of dietary protein like steak weren't a problem, I couldn't follow his rationale there. I don't remember doing cardiac curls but he's the expert. It's worth mentioning that I went from being completely sedentary to dropping almost 2 stone in weight and then hitting the weights pretty hard so my overall guess was it was just the massive shift in lifestyles probably put pressure on my heart.

I cut out all the powders, the arrythmia went away about 3 months later. I started taking whey again chest was fine, introduced creatine and casein and it started going weird again but not full blown. In the end I think I'm sensitive to Creatine. I don't have any hard evidence for that, it's just my experience. It's probably just a quirk of my physiology but I stay away from the creatine and the tachycardia fairy stays away. If you google "creatine and palpitations" you'll find a lot of bros on forums drawing conclusions but Creatine has a lot of published studies saying its harmless.

The pancreas thing sound like complete rubbish. If you're worried about adulterated whey stick with the bigger brands like Optimum Nutrition which is owned by Glanbia afaik. I've never had any problems with MyProtein , and I've seen some analysis run by r/fitness that their protein is pretty high grade.

It amazes me of all the people here who advocate protein as safe, there is an argument for and against, one might argue that all your opinions are unregulated!
Be sensible with your supplement intake, too much of anything is bad for you, personally one whey shake is fine for me per day, I then have chicken and other sources of protein. Whey protein is pure concentrate and your kidneys do have to work harder breaking it down, the pancreas argument does make sense as does the liver, all of them will be involved in the process. There are guys out there taking far too much whey per day, and it is the law of averages that some poor soul(s) will encounter problems, hence the scare mongering stories.

Creatine: I am an old Skool, I remember when this first hit the market, you should of come across the stories about it then, people's kidneys failing etc etc, however, I am still here today, training as hard as ever, looking half my age
ha. I never abused it, short term use and within the guidelines. However, I strongly think that it should not be sold to anybody less than 18 if not 20, possibly for whey or a lot of supplements really, this is my personal opinion!

As for supplements like Ethal Esther or whatever it was called, I experienced tight chest and heart palpitations whilst on it, I immediately stopped and I am fine, however, I don't think people need **** like this, I know many take it or the equivalent now and experience no issues but personally I think it is ropey and as said, there is no real justification taking it unless maybe your a pro.

To the poster I quoted here, I am happy to hear your feeling better and have sussed out what doesn't agree with you, stay away from it, the temptation may arise again one day, but be sensible. You may want to look good on the outside but ultimately inside is where it's at, that's your real health! You say you questioned the cardiologist, a man with many many years of experience and training who arguably was right, it was the supplements! Stay well

God I would love a donut!

Marty McFly

asteroids over berlin wrote: »

It amazes me of all the people here who advocate protein as safe, there is an argument for and against, one might argue that all your opinions are unregulated!
Be sensible with your supplement intake, too much of anything is bad for you, personally one whey shake is fine for me per day, I then have chicken and other sources of protein. Whey protein is pure concentrate and your kidneys do have to work harder breaking it down, the pancreas argument does make sense as does the liver, all of them will be involved in the process. There are guys out there taking far too much whey per day, and it is the law of averages that some poor soul(s) will encounter problems, hence the scare mongering stories.

No one here advocated taking whey as your main source of protein, it's a supplement and as such should be treated like one. A supplement to a good well balanced healthy diet to much of anything will be bad for you.

asteroids over berlin

Marty McFly wrote: »

No one here advocated taking whey as your main source of protein, it's a supplement and as such should be treated like one. A supplement to a good well balanced healthy diet to much of anything will be bad for you.

Advocate was indeed strong/wrong wording! Agreed

kevpants

asteroids over berlin wrote: »

It amazes me of all the people here who advocate protein as safe, there is an argument for and against, one might argue that all your opinions are unregulated!
Be sensible with your supplement intake, too much of anything is bad for you, personally one whey shake is fine for me per day, I then have chicken and other sources of protein. Whey protein is pure concentrate and your kidneys do have to work harder breaking it down, the pancreas argument does make sense as does the liver, all of them will be involved in the process. There are guys out there taking far too much whey per day, and it is the law of averages that some poor soul(s) will encounter problems, hence the scare mongering stories.

Absolutely. It's incredibly unpopular to say it because gluten is the devil and protein is salvation but it's a basic truth to say your kidneys have to work extra hard when you have a high protein diet. High protein diets are known to speed up the worsening of the problem in people with kidney failure and it's worth noting your kidneys don't regenerate.

It's ludicrous the way the fitness industry comes down in favour of things like paleo and gluten free diets when there's nothing but sketchy anecdotal evidence in favour of them yet any mention of a risk to do with protein is immediately dismissed.

Someone speaking in absolutes like "Too much protein will damage your pancreas" is being very narrow-minded but I don't know how anyone can claim there's no risk.

Dermighty

rubadub wrote: »

I presume you mean eating steak is "better", but have studies been done on this.

I actually meant that I enjoy eating steak and that it is tastier than whey :P