Yves here. Consumer Reports tested what it believed were market-leading whey proteins and found most but not all contained high levels of lead. The underlying report is annoying in how it presents its findings. Instead of list of products in a data table, it sorts the products into categories with images, making it hard to scan. It is not clear if grass fed whey, which is more costly and therefore one assumes less popular, performed better or worse.
Moreover, as bodybuilders often remind each other, they can get their milk protein at lower cost by eating plain yogurt. Whey is milk without the milk solids. One would think this study implicates the US milk supply and not just whey protein. The glass of milk I had religiously with every meal growing up has as much protein as a standard serving of whey protein powder (24g v. 20-25 or so g for the powder), implying that milk-consuming kids, who at obviously lower body weight than adults, may be getting even more dangerous doses of heavy metals than Consumer Reports is worked up about.
By C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut. Originally published at The Conversation
Powder and ready-to-drink protein sales have exploded, reaching over US$32 billion globally from 2024 to 2025. Increasingly, consumers are using these protein sources daily.
A new study by Consumer Reports, published on Oct. 14, 2025, claims that some such protein products contain dangerously high levels of lead, as well as other heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic. At high levels, these substances have serious, well-documented health risks.
I am a clinical pharmacologist who has evaluated the heavy metal content of baby food, calcium supplements and kratom products. Lead and other heavy metals occur naturally in soil and water, so achieving zero-level exposure would be impossible. Additionally, the level of lead exposure that Consumer Reports deems safe is significantly lower than those set by the Food and Drug Administration.
However, regardless of the safety cutoff, the study does show that a few products are delivering a concerningly high dose of heavy metals per serving.
How Consumer Reports Did the Study
The new study assessed 23 powder and ready-to-drink protein products from popular brands by sending three samples of each product to an independent commercial laboratory.
Consumer Reports considered anything over 0.5 micrograms per day from any single source to be above recommended maximum lead levels. That number comes from the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which established recommended maximum levels for a variety of substances that could cause cancer or fetal harm.
It is significantly more conservative than the safety standard for lead exposure used by the FDA for drugs and supplements. The discrepancy is driven by Consumer Reports’ aspirational goals of very low exposure versus the more realistic but actionable requirements from the FDA.
According to the FDA, the limit for the amount of lead that a person should consume from any single dietary supplement product is 5 micrograms per day. That number is 10 times higher than the Consumer Report limit.
The FDA has another standard for the total daily amount of lead a person can safely consume from food, drugs and supplements combined. This number, called the Interim Reference Level, or IRL, for lead is based on concentrations of lead in the blood that are associated with negative health effects in different populations.
For people who could become pregnant, that level is 8.8 micrograms per day, and for children it’s 2.2 micrograms per day. For everyone else, it’s 12.5 micrograms per day. Every food, drug and dietary supplement that contains lead contributes to the total daily exposure, which should be less than this amount.
What the Report Found
The nonprofit advocacy group found that 16 of the 23 products it tested exceeded 0.5 micrograms, the level of lead in a standard serving that the organization deems safe.
Four of the 23 products exceeded 2.2 micrograms, the FDA’s cutoff for the total daily amount of lead children should consume. Two products contained 72% and 88%, respectively, of the total daily amount of lead that the FDA deems safe for pregnant women.
In addition, Consumer Reports found that two of the 23 products delivered more than what it considers a safe amount of cadmium per serving, and one had more arsenic than was recommended.
The organization’s safety cutoff for cadmium is 4.1 micrograms per day, and for arsenic it is 7 micrograms per day. These numbers align fairly closely with the FDA’s recommended exposure limit for cadmium and arsenic from a single product. For cadmium, the FDA’s limit is set at 5 micrograms per day for a given dietary supplement product and 15 micrograms per day for arsenic.
The study found that the source of protein was key: Plant-derived protein products had nine times the lead found in dairy proteins like whey, and twice as much as beef-based protein.
Where Are These Heavy Metals Coming From?
Lead and other heavy metals are present in high amounts in volcanic rock, which comes from molten rock called magma beneath the Earth’s surface. When volcanic rock is eroded, the heavy metals contaminate the local soil and water supply. What’s more, some crop plants are especially efficient at extracting heavy metals from the soil and placing them in the parts of the plants that consumers ingest.
Fossil fuels, which come from deep within the Earth, also billow heavy metals into the air when they are burned. These substances then settle out into the soil and water. Finally, some fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides also contain heavy metals that can further contaminate soil and local water.
High levels of heavy metals have been found in plant-based protein powder, spices like cinnamon, dark chocolate, root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes, rice, legumes such as pea pods and many herbal supplements.
Should Consumers Be Concerned? And What Can They Do?
Occasionally exceeding the daily recommended heavy metal doses is unlikely to result in serious health issues.
Repeated, heavy exposure to heavy metals can cause harm, however. When they accumulate in the blood, these substances can delay or impair mental functioning, damage nerves, soften bones and raise blood pressure – which in turn increases the risk of strokes and heart attacks. Heavy metals can also increase the risk of developing cancer.
It’s important to note that all the products Consumer Reports flagged have lead levels significantly lower than the maximum daily exposure levels established by the FDA.
Consumers can limit exposure by choosing dairy- or animal-based sources of protein products, since they generally seemed to have less heavy metal contamination than plant-based ones. However, some plant-based protein products in the study did not have high levels of heavy metals. Heavy metal levels vary widely in the environment, so the results from the Consumer Reports study show a snapshot in time. They might not be consistently accurate across batches if, for example, a manufacturer changes the source of its raw ingredients.
For protein products that do show an especially high heavy metal content, using them more sporadically, rather than daily, can reduce exposure. Studies suggest that organic plant-based products generally yield less heavy metal content than traditionally farmed ones.
Finally, the Consumer Reports study measured heavy metals in a single serving of protein products, so it’s helpful to understand what constitutes a serving for specific products and to avoid sharply increasing daily consumption.
Overall, the wide variation in lead levels across different protein powders and ready-made protein products highlights the need for manufacturers to tighten product testing and good manufacturing practices.
Excessive lead (and cadmium/arsenic) levels in many plants and animal products have been identified for years, especially in rice. Mostly it seems to be the result of contaminated inputs (fertilisers, etc), but also the result of bioaccumulation from historical processes such as lead in fuel. It’s likely to decrease over time, but given the way these things worse, we’ll probably add something else toxic to the overall mix. It does seem that concentrated forms of food, such as ‘healthy’ green powders and protein is a significant problem, especially as it can be nearly impossible to trace the original source of the plants as these are widely traded (and mixed) products.
The problem with advising to use animal based proteins is that these have their own issues – both with contamination and overall health – there seems to be a growing consensus that on balance, plant proteins are healthier than animal ones for longevity (perhaps not for short term muscle growth).
As always with food health claims, you need to look at the overall complex food package you are consuming, and not over-focus on one particular product or contaminant of vitamin. As Michael Pollen wrote ‘eat food, mostly plants’. You are almost always better off eating what looks like a vegetable than something in a package labelled ‘vegetable’ or ‘plant’, and keeping a diversity of food sources probably reduces your chance of inadvertently over exposing yourself to a contaminant, or underexposing yourself to vital nutrients.
Rice is an efficient arsenic concentrator. So are chickens. Where composted chicken manure is used to fertilize rice the arsenic levels can get really high.
This is especially true of brown rice.
So far as I know the arsenic tends to concentrate in the husk. Most arsenic in rice comes from the use of lead-arsenic biocides.
If you want to gently reduce the amount of heavy metals and other toxins in your body, try taking activated charcoal.
See eg:
https://beatcancer.org/blog/activated-charcoal-a-powerful-gentle-detoxifier/
There does seem to be some evidence for activated charcoal – I believe it is sometimes used as a treatment for poisoning. While scientists usually wince when people talk about ‘detox diets’, it does seem that fibre has a very positive role also in removing many environmental toxins in our diets.
makes me think about sending a garden soil sample out for analysis…..
I did some bodybuilding, when I was younger and my joints could take it. It’s not just about proteins, but also the accompanying fat and carbohydrates. Protein powder supplements food in order to hit the target grams of protein per day, without overdoing fat and carbohydrates.
If you are in a bulking-up building phase, the extra calories are necessary, and lean chicken and egg whites do very well for high quality protein. As you no doubt know well, it’s when you are dieting down for context that carbs and fats are a much bigger issue. Even so, I know bodybuilders who have avoided the powders entirely and consumed mainly chicken breast and broccoli when dieting down.
I am yet another (former) bodybuilder you “know”, so I’ve been there done that. :) I also know many bodybuilders that have done all kinds of things, but that’s not important here. I just wrote something that would be helpful to those less informed about all the ins and outs.
Sorry if I sounded dismissive! Apologies! I get it that protein powders gained currency among body builders and other “fitness enthusiasts” and have recently gone mainstream.
And I neglected that there is a “dosing” reason, that eating a certain mix of protein + easily absorbed carbs w/in an hour of training packs on muscle faster, which is not as easily done with “real food,” hence various “mass builder” formulations. Body builders are at the bleeding edge of nutrition practice. I sometimes read the mags for ideas.
‘Going mainstream’, it is for me. Supplemental whey protein can be critical for seniors due to its high quality and rich content of essential amino acids, particularly leucine, which is crucial for stimulating muscle protein synthesis, for countering sarcopenia, age-related muscle loss., and promting bone health. If the article is accurately highlighting a genuine danger in most whey protein products, it needs urgent and widespread promotion. Thanks for including it Yves Smith.
I don’t have the study handy, but recent research has shown that “dosing” a protein bolus after a muscle straining workout is not any more effective than simply maintaining sufficient protein in the blood stream through out the day. Muscle fiber development (growth) is occurring at rest periods (mostly sleep).
What is important is getting sufficient protein into one’s diet (including non-bodybuilders) to supply whatever level of muscle growth you want to achieve.
I’m on a college campus and around very young student athletes trying to get stronger in the Life Fitness Center. The Centers trainers are all well-educated, certified weight training instructors. The best road to muscle growth (without injury) is muscle stressing stimulation, a well-rounded diet with sufficient protein, and plenty of rest (sleep). All the things in short supply for student athletes ;)
A plant based source of protein not mentioned here is lentils. Not a sole source solution for protein uptake, but a good mix for a well-rounded diet. If you are looking to get ‘BIG’ you need good genetics, fanatical focus, lean meat and whey protein in large amounts. And when you lose your focus it will all go away. See: Arnold.
Here’s the belated link to the study I referred to:
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(23)00540-2
I’m uncertain whether this link will download for free. I’m on a college campus and the institutional library has subscriptions that allow me to get these studies without cost. YMMV.
Protein intake timing doesn’t really matter, just the gross amount per day. And hypertrophy, growing skeletal muscle bigger can happen with any protein source as long as it’s enough for your body to add on extra muscle, source doesn’t really matter. For an adult male that might be up to 2 grams per kg of body weight but there’s no ironclad consensus on that.
Also Yves are you sure about those protein levels you mentioned in your intro? 240mls/ 1 cup of the milk in my fridge has 8 g of protein, 1 scoop/28 gs of my whey protein powder has 25 gs of protein.
The protein density of food is not inconsequential. While lentils contain 9 grams of protein per cup, that would take three cups of lentils to match the 25 grams in a scoop of whey protein. Time and gut limitations make protein density imperative.
Yes, timing isn’t the essential element of protein uptake. Maintaining sufficient protein in the bloodstream to maximize muscle fiber growth is most essential. That’s what the linked study discusses. (How they accomplished the study is remarkable.)
Where did 80 years of lead in leaded gasoline “go”?
Good question!
Leaded gas is still used in the USA for small planes with piston engines (AV gas).
It is burned in the sky and is diffused greatly, but the 80 years of lead in gas didn’t really end completely.
I worked in piston aviation as a mechanic for 30 years, so I have probably accumulated a significant portion :<. This video has an overview of the progress of getting unleaded gasoline for piston aviation planes.
https://youtu.be/ibIkuyBL9i8?si=RFrxiRgN9FE4Y2tB
It fell back to earth. In greater quantities the nearer to where it was burned:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31078958/
Lead is not especially mobile environmentally, so it tends to stay put wherever it was deposited, usually in soils. The ultimate destination for persistent toxins is the sea, although of course some concentrate through body fat and build up in top predators such as whales and humans.
Ice deposited in Greenland from 2000 years ago still has an identifiable layer of lead from Roman mining activities in Spain.
“Lead and other heavy metals are present in high amounts in volcanic rock, which comes from molten rock called magma beneath the Earth’s surface. When volcanic rock is eroded, the heavy metals contaminate the local soil and water supply.”
“One would think this study implicates the US milk supply and not just whey protein.”
I recently returned from a trip to Iceland which is almost entirely volcanic rock, and just about every meal includes some form of dairy often sourced from local cows and sheep. Out of curiosity I did a web search for “Iceland dairy lead levels” and “Iceland food lead levels” but nothing turned up. As you said this could be a US dairy issue but I’m still curious why the people of Iceland aren’t debilitated by lead poisoning. My very uneducated guess is it has more to do with our terrible food safety (and even worse supplement safety) standards here in the US where factory processed foods and supplements are mixed with all sorts of nasty stuff.
But, again, I’m not well informed on this topic so forgive me if I’m way off base in this assumption. I will say that eating dairy products in Iceland didn’t wreck my body like dairy products in the US do. I may not be lactose intolerant but just US Dairy intolerant.
The Icelanders are pretty safe from a high risk of lead poisoning from dairy products and are probably more vulnerable to micropIastics from fish.
Igneous rocks include a huge range of compounds in terms of mineralogical composition.
Most heavy metal minerals are inert and not especially water soluble, except where surface waters are naturally acidic such as in peaty areas – though are initially often deposited at hydrothermal temperatures and pressures.
Galena (lead suphide) is the main lead ore mineral and is concentrated in mineral veins, often associated with limestones as country rocks, so with calcite as well as quartz. Iceland has no sedimentary rocks like limestones.
Iceland has dominantly basaltic lavas at the surface and this is not a problem for water supplies. The minerals within are mostly complex but stable metal silicates. Dolerite makes great roadstone. By contrast granitic minerals like felpsars often weather down and are less durable.
I guess you might have experienced geysers in Iceland where you’ll have smelled sulphurous fumes and seen blue and green copper mineral crystals, but this is not the main Icelandic drinking water source. Any potentially toxicity from volcanic water won’t get into the water supply. Mind you volcanic sourced mineral waters like Perrier and Evian get bottled and marketed at ridiculous prices…
Thanks so much for this incredibly informative reply!!!
Thanks for this article. I’ve been taking plant protein powder, egg protein powder, and creatine for the last year to supplement a low-processed food diet. Will have to investigate the lead content of my supplements so thanks again. Before IV calcium gluconate & calcium chloride came into use, the main treatment was weeks or months of multi-hours spent daily in a sauna. It takes a long time to draw heavy metals out of tissues, particularly the bones and brain. As an aside, if you are someone with a known or suspected heavy metal exposure, the standard is to have your levels tested twice. First a blood draw to determine the basal level of heavy metal in your blood stream then a level drawn after a cycle of IV chelating agents (I do not know how many). My dentist said it took him two years of chelation to unload the mercury in his body from working with metallic fillings.
This is very possibly bro science but I had read that high iodine consumption can help with chelating heavy metals. So eating a good amount of seaweed for example over time would work. Could be nonsense and sorry don’t have the source at the moment.
Solid reasoning: If whey protein products exhibit higher than safe levels of lead, the source milk is necessarily the culprit. I’m assuming US whey protein products are obtained from US dairy – and hope to high-heaven that the whey protein products I can buy in UK are obtained from (non-US) milk that doesn’t exhibit such high levels.
Point is, if whey protein in its concentrated or isolated supplement form exhibits higher than allowed/wanted levels of lead, should cheese produced from the same milk not exhibit the same high levels?
From the CR article: “The lead levels in plant-based products were, on average, nine times the amount found in those made with dairy proteins like whey”.
Soybeans sound like the culprit, not dairy. In the U.S., soybeans are GMO plants drenched in glyphosate and pesticides.
As an aside, peanuts are notorious for absorbing everything bad in the soil and passing it on to the eater.
A study from 2020 found a way to remove much of the arsenic from rice:
https://sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food/news/new-way-cooking-rice-removes-arsenic-and-retains-mineral-nutrients-study-shows
I accept that some rely on things like whey protein, for example as they age.
For me however I view most protein powders as a liability to the physiology. It’s a really industrialised product. Imagine all chemicals required just to provide a consistent colour, consistency and solubility. It has no life energy. Does the body even relate to it as food, supporting the generation of vitality and wellness? Or is it just weighing down the liver and kidneys, a denatured manufactured material the body doesn”t quite know what to do with.
I’m consuming vegan protein powder made from pea protein. It tastes better than whey, it’s cheaper and goes down in my stomach better too. I’m betting that it’s got less lead in too after reading this article. Better for the environment too.
So give plant-based protein a shot.