{"id":554388,"date":"2026-03-30T15:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/554388\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T15:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T15:14:08","slug":"lead-found-in-many-protein-powders-experts-urge-whole-foods-for-protein-wral-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/554388\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead found in many protein powders; experts urge whole foods for protein :: WRAL.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As high-protein diets<br \/>\nsurge in popularity, a Consumer Reports investigation found high levels of lead<br \/>\nin some protein powders and shakes, raising questions about supplement safety.<br \/>\nThe good news: Consumer Reports\u2019 nutrition team says many tasty foods pack a<br \/>\nprotein punch without the risk of heavy metals.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/health\/food-safety\/these-five-protein-powders-had-low-lead-levels-a1151050701\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">recent CR investigation<\/a> that found lead in more than two-thirds of the protein powders tested.<br \/>\nIn two plant-based powders, lead levels were about 12 to 16 times higher than<br \/>\nwhat experts consider safe for a single day.<\/p>\n<p>These levels are<br \/>\nconcerning because lead can build up in the body over time, and even low levels<br \/>\nof exposure have been linked to health problems, especially for children and<br \/>\npregnant women.<\/p>\n<p>Protein<br \/>\nplays a key role in building and maintaining muscle, especially as we get older.<br \/>\nRecent guidelines say adults need between 0.5 and 0.7 grams of protein per<br \/>\npound of body weight each day, but Consumer Reports\u2019 experts say most people<br \/>\ncan meet those needs by eating regular, everyday foods. <\/p>\n<p>Meat,<br \/>\npoultry, fish, eggs and dairy foods are rich in protein. Even just a 3-ounce<br \/>\nserving of chicken breast supplies 26 grams. Also, beans and lentils,<br \/>\ntofu, nuts and seeds have a healthy dose of protein. Unlike protein<br \/>\npowders, these foods don\u2019t just give you protein, you get vitamins, minerals,<br \/>\nhealthy fats and fiber. <\/p>\n<p>Even<br \/>\nyour morning smoothie can be given a protein punch without turning to powders.<br \/>\nYou can add protein to smoothies by blending in nuts or nut butters, seeds like<br \/>\nchia or flax, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese or tofu.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t feel like you need to load up on protein in one<br \/>\nmeal &#8212; spreading it out across breakfast, lunch and dinner helps your body use<br \/>\nit more effectively.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer Reports says that while many people focus on<br \/>\nprotein, fiber is the nutrient that most adults are missing. The Daily Value for fiber is<br \/>\n28 grams, and most people don\u2019t get enough. <\/p>\n<p>More from Consumer Reports:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As high-protein diets surge in popularity, a Consumer Reports investigation found high levels of lead in some protein&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554389,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[78315,5457,94641,97,269,44729],"class_list":{"0":"post-554388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-5-on-your-side","9":"tag-consumer","10":"tag-consumer-reports","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-nutrition","13":"tag-protein-powder"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554388"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554388\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}