Sports Drink Contamination

[bridgeman]

For some time now I have supplemented with carb and protein powders for before and after training. Occasionally, I've found a small dried insect in either container. I know these supplements are not regulated, but I am wondering if anyone else has seen this.

I suppose there is an allowable amount of foreign matter in these products, but man, are these companies totally slacking off?

 

[TopCarbon]

if occasionally, you mean it has happened before and you continue to use them, that is gross.

Little bugs in my powders? No thank you.

switch companies to something else or take it back. Call the companies.

 

[bridgeman]

This is the second time in well over 20 years with this company. Problem is, I just had a run in with them for charging me one price saying this was the total, and then adding another $32 for tax to my credit card without my approval. The purchase was out of state so the taxation thing is odd.

Since I voiced my frustration with them over this unathorized charge, they'll probably think I planted the critters. I reckon there is a way to prove that the insect was in the container when I opened it (they seemed dried), but it's probably best to just move onto another source.

You're right TC, it was gross.

 

[TheDude]

I think that is where they get the protein. Yeah - no regulation. Somebody in China is mixing a bunch of powder together, putting it in big boxes, shipping it someplace else putting it into cans with various labels, and your source is charging you $32 extra for it.

Handful of nuts and a beer for my energy please.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Handful of nuts and a beer for my energy please.

Yeah I'm with you there, but those nuts can be pretty fattening. Also it's hard to know where they have been.

 

[bridgeman]

Funny thing about nuts. I love cashews, but always feel lethargic after eating them. So last night I got the wild idea to look into peoples reactions to them and nuts in general. Sure enough, lots of people have the same reaction as me. Some even have other nasty reactions to them, so be watchful.

As for the carb and protein routine I have,... it works really well. Oats a few hours before, with carb powder 1 hour before I go out. Protein as soon as I get home. Then about a half and hour later I'll have a turkey sandwitch or something similar.

I've tried a lot of different methods of intake and this has worked very well for me. Keeps the fatigue away, even after 5 hour hard rides.

But again, I worry about the quality of these powder products and wonder where they are manufactured.

 

[AnythingButKestrel]

Bugs are unappetizing, but the real concern is with metals/chemical contamination - which isn't just a concern with a lot of products - but rather an actual problem. Consumer reports just tested two dozen or so, MOST of which showed contamination with such pleasantries as lead, cadmium, and arsenic. SOME were so contaminated that three scoops put you over the total daily limits for those substances. You apparently need *some* tiny amounts of cadmium, but the general thoughts on lead, arsenic, etc. is that you should be ingesting zero if possible.

 

[L29205]

Insect and other "byproducts" do find their way into food products so commonly that the FDA has guidelines for the levels.

Here is a link (while it doesn't speak directly to sports nutrition)

http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecom...on/guidancedocuments/sanitation/ucm056174.htm

 

[usedtobefast]

Yeah I'm with you there, but those nuts can be pretty fattening. Also it's hard to know where they have been.

i try to keep mine safely hidden

 

[durianrider]

I was out to lunch with a mate when I fly landed in his drink. He was about to tip the whole thing into the pot plant when I said 'Hey, wait! You have a 500g steak infront of you aka animal muscle and with fries cooked in cow body fat and your gonna throw out a whole drink cos some .1g fly had a quick wash in it?!'

I just dont understand the logic.

 

[durianrider]

Funny thing about nuts. I love cashews, but always feel lethargic after eating them. So last night I got the wild idea to look into peoples reactions to them and nuts in general. Sure enough, lots of people have the same reaction as me. Some even have other nasty reactions to them, so be watchful.

As for the carb and protein routine I have,... it works really well. Oats a few hours before, with carb powder 1 hour before I go out. Protein as soon as I get home. Then about a half and hour later I'll have a turkey sandwitch or something similar.

I've tried a lot of different methods of intake and this has worked very well for me. Keeps the fatigue away, even after 5 hour hard rides.

But again, I worry about the quality of these powder products and wonder where they are manufactured.

Nuts are a high fat food and require a lot of energy to digest em. Still if we compare them calorie to calorie with animal flesh, nuts take a lot less digestive energy as they have no cholesterol,uric acids, adrenaline, benzo pyrines, hetrocyclic amines, metabolic waste products etc and actually contain fiber, antioxidants, plant sterols, phytonutrients and more vitamins and minerals per calorie. Thats the main problem being an athlete and consuming flesh foods as our endocrine system then has to work harder to process the extra metabolic waste products that are naturally found in flesh foods. Not good if you want better recovery. All plant foods contain all 8 essential amino acids minus the nasties mentioned above.

It takes the body days to digest, store and uptake nutrients from animal products vs under 24hrs for most plant foods. Sweet fruit being the quickest food from mouth to cells. The amino acid and glucose/fructose profiles in fruit being the most biologically efficient for human athletic performance. Hence why all the gell companies are adding amino acids and certain glucose/fructose ratios to their products lately. Hence why instinctively humans go to the mango tree vs the corpse buzzing with flies.

Mother nature got it right from the get go but charging 4$ for a banana with a powerbar sticker on it just aint proper marketing. Lots of the products are made using GMO maltodextrins etc. I personally do not use any sports drinks, gels etc and have riden further in a day than anyone I personally know. That indicates good nutrition doesnt come from a bottle, jar, packet or can but rather from mother natures garden itself. I rode 225km on Saturday on water, dried papaya and bananas. Didnt bonk and still had enough kick at the end to crank out the watts to 'win' the final KOM with my mates.

To have concern where our food comes from these days, I feel thats a virtue. Too few people question what is encouraged and just say 'Oh DDT is fine! Monsanto is a great company! GMO foods are helping feed the world and sure there has never been any studies supporting them but hey, powerbar choc chip cookie bar tastes good..'

 

[TopCarbon]

I was out to lunch with a mate when I fly landed in his drink. He was about to tip the whole thing into the pot plant when I said 'Hey, wait! You have a 500g steak infront of you aka animal muscle and with fries cooked in cow body fat and your gonna throw out a whole drink cos some .1g fly had a quick wash in it?!'

I just dont understand the logic.

your response was reasonable. i would have kept drinking. It gets hot here and rehydration is important.

 

[durianrider]

Funny thing about nuts. I love cashews, but always feel lethargic after eating them. So last night I got the wild idea to look into peoples reactions to them and nuts in general. Sure enough, lots of people have the same reaction as me. Some even have other nasty reactions to them, so be watchful.

As for the carb and protein routine I have,... it works really well. Oats a few hours before, with carb powder 1 hour before I go out. Protein as soon as I get home. Then about a half and hour later I'll have a turkey sandwitch or something similar.

I've tried a lot of different methods of intake and this has worked very well for me. Keeps the fatigue away, even after 5 hour hard rides.

But again, I worry about the quality of these powder products and wonder where they are manufactured.

Nuts are a high fat food and require a lot of energy to digest em. Still if we compare them calorie to calorie with animal flesh, nuts take a lot less digestive energy as they have no cholesterol and actually contain fiber.

It takes the body days to digest, store and uptake nutrients from animal products vs under 24 for most plant foods. Sweet fruit being the quickest food from mouth to cells. The amino acid and glucose/fructose profiles in fruit being the most biologically efficient for human athletic performance. Hence why all the gell companies are adding amino acids and certain glucose/fructose ratios to their products lately.

Mother nature got it right from the get go but charging 4$ for a banana with a powerbar sticker on it just aint proper marketing.

 

[Black-Balled]

Nuts ...

It takes the body days to digest, store and uptake nutrients from animal products vs under 24hrs for most plant foods. Sweet fruit being the quickest food from mouth to cells. ... Hence why instinctively humans go to the mango tree vs the corpse buzzing with flies.

... charging 4$ for a banana with a powerbar sticker on it just aint proper marketing.

I avoid anything that smells like a decaying corpse without respect to how much time it takes to convert it to energy.

$4 for a banana may in fact be the height of marketing.

Have a burger.

 

[durianrider]

Good point.

I guess thats what makes a chef 'good'. The ability to turn a dead corpse into a piece of edible art that doesnt resemble its original animal.