Looking to maximise your results when it comes to those all-important fitness goals? Wanting to make sure the products you're using are safe? Of course you are.
When choosing the ideal fitness supplementation, it can be pretty overwhelming. Not only are you choosing the correct supplementation for your fitness goa, but you’re then navigating which ingredients to avoid in protein powder, and any other supplementation you may be taking. It can be a minefield.
Don’t let this put you off, though. Don’t ignore the ingredients on your products. If anything, take extra care when reading them. They’re more important than you may have even already thought.
When it comes to the top ingredients to avoid in supplements, you’re looking for a few key things. And we’re going to break them down for you. From added sugar to unnecessary fillers, here’s your one-stop guide to ingredients to avoid in supplements, by yours truly, Innermost.
Without further ado…
Innermost’s top ingredients to avoid in supplements
Whilst we could spend all day talking about the benefits of natural supplements such as nootropics and adaptogens, this isn’t the time. Sticking to natural products will help you to avoid fillers in supplements and other ingredients to avoid in supplements that we’re going to mention, but firstly, let’s list our top four ingredients to avoid…
- Added sugar
Unsweetened protein powder can taste pretty bland. This is when some wellness brands turn to sugars to help out.
And whilst it’s important to maintain recommended glucose levels in your diet for energy boosting purposes, added sugar is quite frankly, unnecessary. You should try and cut down your sugar intake where possible, so any fitness supplements that use added sugars should be avoided. Added sugars are also highly addictive, and should be avoided for this reason alone.
Check the ingredients of your supplement to see what sweetener has been added here. Added sugars have been linked to obesity and heart diseases, so are best to be avoided. There are plenty of healthier alternatives to added sugars, such as natural sweeteners… for example.
- Xanthan gum (and other fillers)
One of the absolutely key ingredients to avoid are fillers in supplementations. Common fillers in supplementations include:
- Cellulose
- Gelatin
- Starch
- Talc
- Silicon Dioxide
- Titanium Dioxide
…just to name a few.
Sometimes referred to as bulking agents, fillers in supplementations are used for a number of reasons:
- To keep manufacturing costs low
- To achieve a desired supplementation texture
- To up the amount of product a customer receives
Whilst you may be under the impression that your protein powder only includes protein, that is not the case. Make sure none of the extra ingredients are any of those harmful fillers mentioned above, as the presence of these can not only reduce the quality of your supplementation, but can cause bloating, gas and gastric discomfort – amongst other health issues (that we will go into later). Not what you want.
Here at Innermost we are committed to not using these harmful fillers in our products. You can be sure of it.
- Vegetable oils and fats
Often included to increase the richness, texture and taste of fitness supplementations, these oils can actually wreak havoc on your intestinal system. These oils are harmful to our diet in large quantities, so including them in fitness supplementations is entirely unnecessary. Not only unnecessary, but harmful.
They also add a large quantity of calories to your supplement, so if your fitness goal is to lose weight, these are definitely to be avoided.
- Skimmed milk powder
Used to bulk up powders that are lacking in quality, skimmed milk powder can be a nightmare for anyone with a lactose intolerance.
Skimmed milk powder should be avoided due to their high lactose sugar content, which can be pretty harmful to your gastrointestinal system. Think bloating, constipation, and gas. Not pleasant. Excess lactose and sugar can also cause acne and nausea… even to those that don’t have a particular aversion to lactose or dairy.
Why should I avoid these supplement ingredients?
All in all, every ingredient we have listed above has been linked to detrimental effects on users health. Whether that effect is organ damage, risk of acne, weight gain, heart defects… or even death. Now, that may sound pretty serious (and it is), when using supplementations with these harmful ingredients in them every day, you’re really putting yourself and your body at risk.
Instead, opt for natural ingredients, from reputable brands. The less ingredients the better, and if they’re backed by research, that’s the goal. That’s what we call a well and truly clean protein powder.
Summary
If you spot any of the above ingredients in a potential protein powder or supplementation, no whey should you be adopting the product into your routine. Cheesy protein puns aside, though, it’s important to track what you’re putting in your body.
