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Hi, I was looking around on the internet at protein shakes when I came across afair number of sites about the negative health benefits of protein shakes (e.g. http://www.primehealthchannel.com/side-effects-of-protein-shakes.html ) but very few of them were linked to actual scientific studies.

So I was wondering, does anyone know of any meta-studies or comprehensive reviews on the health effects of protein shakes? beyond that of just muscle growth, as I am having a hard time find any

Thanks

whey protein is really very good for you.

careful what you read online

Well that's the thing, the sites aren't citing anyone apart from each other - that is why I was wondering if there was actually any negative evidence, because I can't find any

I don't know if you put the wrong link or something, but that source is only telling what foods are "Alkaline". It's known that high protein diets cause some disturbance on the blood PH. But these numbers of protein are very high. The amount we on average eat (1.8-2.4g/kg of weight) shouldn't be that much of a problem and in "healthy ranges". There are still plenty of every day foods and nutrients that work on the opposite, so I've never been worried. Protein shakes are not the problem, high protein in general will lift you ph on some matters, no matter what the source is.

EDIT: This is what I've found so far:
A study of Korean bodybuilders, consuming huge amounts of protein (over 4g/kg of weight) every day added with heavy resistance training(exercise is also known for messing with the blood ph). The blood ph was on healthy ranges. No direct answer was brought, the subject clearly needs more research, especially on the matter of what other things play the part (nutrients: i.e calsium, potassium. Exercise...)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142197/

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Sorry, that link was from that site, I just copy and pasted the wrong link by accident. I have corrected it, but here is the correct link

http://www.primehealthchannel.com/side- ... hakes.html

Some people have dairy alergies and some of those alergens are passed on through whey. You have to be ultra sensitive for that to be an issue though. I remeber Peter DelOrto talking about that once. I think he went with a pea based formula.

Some people take just protein shakes in an effort to minimize body fat. In this case, the hazzard is missing nutrients you should get from whole foods. This isn't really a negative factor of the protein though. The article was talking about 2-300 grams of protein in a shake. This must be what they are thinking of since this is an unrealistic amount to take for any other reason.

Ketosis is not dangerous and is a result of low carbs, not protein by itself.

Kidney stones have several contributing factors, reasonable levels of protein are not one of them.

Soy may very well have side effects. I can think of others besides those listed.

Over all, I wouldn't worry about it if you use it reasonably and have no obvious issues.

Side issue - Kidney Stones: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidney_stone#Prevention

Quote:

...A positive association between animal protein consumption and recurrence of kidney stones has been shown in men, but not yet in women...

Any time an association is made for one sex but not the other, and there is no good reason for it, it's probably a spurious association.

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Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food.~Hippocrates
Strength is the adaptation that leads to all other adaptations that you really care about - Charles Staley
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Thanks TimD

Of course, muscle growth is not an effect of protein shakes, it's an effect of exercise. Protein doesn't make the muscles grow any more than bricks delivered to a construction site make a wall go up.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan