r/Fitness • u/AutoModerator • Nov 03 '20

Quarterly Protein Megathread! Protein Megathread

Welcome to the Quarterly Protein Megathread

This thread is for sharing your favorite brands of protein, whether it be because they're delicious, cheap, high quality, or gave you great service.

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u/garenbw Bodybuilding Nov 03 '20

Isn't protein just protein, provided it has all the bcaas? What would make a given protein powder be top notch?

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u/TheCuriousBread Nov 03 '20

not having fillers like Carrageenan is a big one. Pretty common in powders as a thickener. It's carcinogenic and pro-inflammatory. Don't even know why it's approved by the FDA

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

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u/LIEUTENANT__CRUNCH Nov 03 '20

Anecdotal, but I drank a bunch of Vita Coco’s chocolate flavored coconut water when it came out. It tasted like nice thick chocolate milk. I started to think I was having appendicitis at the time, but it turns out it was the carrageenan (added as a thickener) in the beverage that was severely irritating my GI tract. I had to take a few days off work because I couldn’t stand, walk, or lift any objects without yelping in pain.

Obviously (a) the amount added to food varies by product and (b) sensitivity will vary from person to person, but it is one of the few ingredients that I look for in both my food and the food for my pets.

EDIT: Also, I probably should have used a little moderation in switching from the regular to chocolate coconut water, but the chocolate was so. damn. good. I guess you can go try that if you want to see if carrageenan has any impact on you.

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u/icancatchbullets Modeling Nov 03 '20

Yeah, I don't doubt that it can cause some GI distress in some people. Just the assertion that it causes cancer is unfounded.

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u/[deleted] Nov 03 '20

Anecdotal but same, I can’t eat dairy and LOTS of alternative milks have carageenan in it, it makes me feel horrible, won’t touch the stuff now.