Stu: At 180 Nutrition we believe that ‘nothing beats real food’. If you’re short on time (like most of us) but want to keep on top of your health, protein shakes and smoothies make a great choice. Whether you are choosing a whole food meal replacement formula or a simple protein shake, we recommend avoiding the following 3 culprits that are often hidden in popular high street products…
1. Hidden Sweeteners
Often hiding under the names fructose, sucralose, saccharin or aspartame these ingredients can upset your mojo. Common side effects such as bloating, weight gain headaches and more are often reported. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, blend up a little fruit with your shake or smoothie.
2. Natural Flavours
The term natural flavours has no official definition which means it’s very hard to police. People with allergies or those on special diets (which seems to be most of us these days) should be very cautious about consuming them.
3. Fillers & Thickeners
Low quality brands often ‘bulk up’ their products with fillers and thickeners such as guar gum or xanthan gum as an example. Many of these ingredients are the likely cause of the ‘oh so common’ bloating, constipation and gas.
The bottom line: A quality protein supplement made from whole food ingredients can be of huge benefit to your health but it always pays to check the label before purchasing.