What’s Actually In Your Pre-workout Powder?
Looking at Labels
For years before Blate Papes became a reality, we had been using similar ways and means of avoiding the very many contaminants and carcinogens in “health products” and processed foods.
When I say very many, I really do mean that. One of the first things I learned when getting into health was just to read the ingredients list!
Just that one change sparked enormous insight into the lengths to which a product had been processed.
This doesn’t just hold true for foods.. there are hazardous chemicals in things you wouldn’t even think to care about; mouthwash, toothpaste, soaps, shampoo & conditioner, hair gel, hairspray, cosmetics, deodorant, perfume & cologne, lotions, facial treatments, etc.
Then you get into products that don’t just touch you, but you consume; multi-vitamins, herbs and extracts, tablet/capsule/gel supplements like Tylenol, Advil, Fish Oils, and more.
The first time I finally read the label on the multi-vitamin (it rhymes with “sentrum sliver”) I’d been taking for years I was floored.
Why put Red #40 and Yellow #6 in a multi-vitamin!? These are well-known to cause cancer.. I thought I was taking this to be healthy!?
I just didn’t understand. I asked myself, “why? Does the color of the pill someone is taking make them like it more?”
The reality
The actual truth is that “healthy” is now just another selling point. Smart wording and packaging design creates a falsehood of confidence in the products we buy.
I mean, Gluten-Free and Vegan have become buzzwords to the point that they’re now putting them on things like soft-drinks.
Of course carbonated sugar is Gluten-free! Does that make it any healthier?
Some food and supplement manufacturers have even put “organic” in their company or brand name to trick those that aren’t paying close attention.
Back when I really started reading labels and began learning about the “tricks” behind them, I thought about all of the effort I was putting into being “healthy” and got so angry that I was still miles away from it. I had to let go of many “staples” I had come to enjoy and buy mainly USDA Organic foods AND make sure to closely examine the ingredient list.
The fewer the ingredients, the better. I don’t care what I’m buying now.. from health supplements to t-shirts, I want to know what’s in it.
Staying VIGILANT
I say this all now because that was many years ago. Yet, and maybe it’s because I’ve viewed things in this way for so long, recently I’ve been finding myself getting visibly irritated in stores when looking over ingredient labels. Take for example, this picture below:
Other Ingredients section of the #1 Selling Pre-Workout formula (of the past few years)
I took this directly from the label of the top-selling pre-workout product currently on the market. But let's go ahead and run through this list briefly. Mind you, this is utilizing the very least amount of investigation available (meaning first-page Google searches only), such as what one might do when in a grocery store while looking up information on an ingredient label. (All sources below)
Would You Consume These?
Disodium Phosphate:
“In 2012, a study was published declaring phosphates in general to be hazardous. The researchers suggested that all foods containing phosphates should be labeled as dangerous to public health."
Natural Flavors:
“Overall, natural flavors don't appear to be any healthier than artificial flavors. Bottom Line: Despite their "natural" origins, natural flavors are very similar to artificial flavors.”
Artificial flavors:
Shown to cause: “..allergic reactions and food hypersensitivity, worsening of asthmatic symptoms, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.”
Dextrose:
This is a basic sugar from corn, used typically for carrying chemicals or as a filler to add weight.
Acesulfame Potassium (K):
“The problems surrounding acesulfame K are based on the improper testing and lack of long-term studies. Acesulfame K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans. There has been a great deal of opposition to the use of acesulfame K without further testing, but at this time, the FDA has not required that these tests be done.”
Sucralose:
**Artificial sweeteners like this and the preceding Acesulfame-K, are on the top of my never again list. I will explain this in another blog post one day, but personally, I implore you to avoid these AT ALL COSTS. Consider natural sugar before anything artificial, always.**
“Sucralose was actually discovered while trying to create a new insecticide. It may have started out as sugar, but the final product is anything but sugar. According to the book Sweet Deception, sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature. If you read the fine print on the Splenda web site, it states that "although sucralose has a structure like sugar and a sugar-like taste, it is not natural."
“The presence of Chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose. Chlorine is considered a carcinogen and has been used in poisonous gas, disinfectants, pesticides, and plastics. The digestion and absorption of sucralose is not clear due to a lack of long-term studies on humans. The majority of studies were done on animals for short lengths of time. The alleged symptoms associated with sucralose are gastrointestinal problems (bloating, gas, diarrhea, nausea), skin irritations (rash, hives, redness, itching, swelling), wheezing, cough, runny nose, chest pains, palpitations, anxiety, anger, moods swings, depression, and itchy eyes. The only way to be sure of the safety of sucralose is to have long-term studies on humans done.”
Calcium Silicate:
“New research studying the nanoparticles in our food supply may prove that anti-caking agents are more harmful than previously thought, but the current research doesn’t provide clear evidence that these agents are poisonous.
Cellulose gum:
“It is a polymer with the alternate names of cellulose sodium glycolate and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. Those names and the word "polymer" should tip you off to cellulose gum being, well, unnatural. Yeah, this one is almost entirely man's doing. Cellulose, gum or not, cannot be properly digested by humans. It does not contain any health benefits.”
Xanthan gum:
“One potential side effect of consuming xanthan gum is that it can have a laxative effect. If you do have any type of digestive issues, this could make things worse or aggravate an already sensitive stomach.”
Carrageenan:
“Some scientists have presented evidence that carrageenan is highly inflammatory and toxic to the digestive tract, and claim that it may be responsible for colitis, IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, and even colon cancer.”
Yellow #5:
“It is a nitrous derivative and is known to cause allergic reactions such as asthma and urticaria, as well as having been the focus of studies on mutagenesis (FANCY TERM FOR CAUSES GENETIC MUTATIONS) and carcinogenesis (THIS MEANS IT CAUSES CANCER) due to its transformation into aromatic amine sulfanilic acid after being metabolized by the gastrointestinal microflora.”
Red #40:
“While natural colorants made from foods like beets are available, many manufacturers opt for synthetic dyes-which may have dangerous health consequences, particularly for children, according to a recent report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. ..The three most widely used culprits-Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40-contain compounds, including benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl, that research has linked with cancer.
Research has also associated food dyes with problems in children including allergies, hyperactivity, learning impairment, irritability and aggressiveness. A U.S. study published in Science found that when children who scored high on a scale measuring hyperactivity consumed a food-dye blend they performed worse on tests that measured their ability to recall images than when they drank a placebo. A 2007 British study found that children who consumed a mixture of common synthetic dyes displayed hyperactive behavior within an hour of consumption. (These children had not been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD.)”
…and a Blanket Allergen Statement: I wanted to touch on this too, although I’m typically not bothered by allergen statements. The fact that the label does cover every common allergen in one statement confirms the product’s likely manufacturing process. I’d wager that this company outsources it’s product-mixing needs to a food processing and mixing plant, which is why they cover all the allergens.. in case there is some sort of cross contamination. Continuing with that idea, that company would simply buy bulk ingredients from the cheapest sources (probably China), send it all to the processing plant and specify the correct ratios they require, and either get it back in portioned tubs or do the packing part themselves. In this sense, it could say “Manufactured in the USA,” although we wouldn’t be told where the ingredients used in production actually came from. Transparency is important to me personally, so I’m assuming others will also be interested.
What Does All This Mean?
With only first-page Google searches of each ingredient, nearly every single “other ingredient” item touts some sort of potential negative side effects. This list tops off with, cancer, genetic mutation, rheumatoid arthritis, confusion, colitis, IBS, kidney and liver problems.. need I go on?
I’m not saying everything under “other ingredients“ is always bad, but my point is, if something you’re eating could even just maybe cause you or someone you care about to have cancer, why not just avoid it altogether?
You Can Make a Simple change
With that said, getting certain existing products, especially a pre-workout powder, with nothing under the “other ingredient” list is going to be impossible.
However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be created.. and it’s much easier than you’d think. Consider taking the advice of our info-graphic for its simple explanation.
Personally, I’ve been buying just the same main ingredients (that are in literally every single pre workout powder available) for nearly a decade.
One ingredient may change now and then but they always play the same role of each of the staples that have been used for ages. For the first half of the decade I used to have to suffer the taste and chase it with some kind of pickle-back or orange juice shot.
Luckily, now I can just put it all in a Blate Pape and take it with water.
But it doesn’t require using our papes either! If you can stand the taste, just mix in water or juice and swallow!
In my opinion, anything is better that the ambiguous chemical mixture they’re selling!
You can learn more about our Blate Papes here
