EndurElite Chief Endurance Officer Matt Mosman discusses what amino spiking is, how to spot it, and why you should never buy a protein powder with these amino acids in them.
4 Fast Facts About Amino Spiking
- Amino spiking is when manufacturers add amino acids like glycine, arginine, glutamine, and creatine to their protein powders.
- Amino spiking artificially inflates the protein quantity. Instead of getting 25 grams you may only be getting 10-15 grams.
- Companies use amino spiking to rip you off and make an extra buck.
- Never buy a protein powder that has these amino acids listed in the "other ingredients" section on the supplement facts panel.
Full Video Transcription:
Good morning, family of fast Matt Mosman, the Chief Endurance Officer over at EndurElite. I've been kind of on a protein kick this week talking about it. First, we talked about grass-fed whey protein, and then we talked about native whey. And today I'm going to talk to you about a tricky tactic some protein manufacturers use called amino spiking.
What Is Amino Spiking?
And amino spiking is basically where companies will add cheap amino acids to their protein powders to artificially inflate the protein quantity in your protein powder. So for example, your protein label may say 25 grams of protein, but if a company amino spikes, that value could actually be much, much less. We're talking about 12 to 15 grams of protein as opposed to 25 grams stated on the label. Now this practice is perfectly legal, which is really crap, but I'm going to basically tell you what amino spiking is, how to spot it, and why you should avoid it. But it basically comes down to not getting ripped off, or being bamboozled or tricked.
Amino Spiking Artificially Inflates Quantity Of Protein
So amino spiking...here's what it is. It's when companies will add cheap amino acids like glycine, arginine, glutamine, and creatine to their protein powders again to artificially inflate the protein value. Now, how does this work actually? Well, since amino acids are nitrogen-bearing compounds, [inaudible 00:01:22] total protein quantity is tested on nitrogen. When you throw a bunch of cheap amino acids in there that will test positive for certain amounts of nitrogen, it will throw the total protein value off. So again, when companies amino spike, that label may say 25 grams of protein that's because they basically infuse it with these cheap amino acids, it'll artificially inflate the value of the protein, so a very, very dirty tactic.
These Amino Acids Can Indicate Protein Spiking
Now here's how you spot amino spiking. If you see amino acids like glycine, glutamine, arginine, and creatine in the other ingredients section of a supplement facts panel, it's more than likely been amino spiked. So say, for example, you have a whey isolate, and then the other ingredients, you see whey isolate, and then you see these other amino acids immediately after it, it's probably amino spiked. Now I want to make one thing clear. If you see these amino acids in the supplement facts panel, and not on the other ingredients, and it states specifically on the label that it's fortified with these amino acids, then it's not probably protein spiked. But again, if you see these amino acids in the other ingredients section it's probably amino spiked.
Amino Spiked Protein Seem Unusually Cheap
Other things to look out for if you're going to the store and you find a 2-pound tub of protein and it's like $15, it's probably amino spiked too because protein is not cheap. So again, I'd be willing to bet you go to your neighborhood Walmart and you pick up a cheap protein powder. It's $15 for 2 pounds. And I bet you a million dollars that that protein powder will have those cheap amino acids in it, like the glycine, the glutamine, the creatine, the arginine, and things like that. So you definitely want to avoid it with...like all things protein powder included, you really get what you pay for. If you purchase a high-quality whey isolate or whey concentrate at a 2-pound tub, I mean, you're looking at minimum paying, you know, $30 to $40 for something like that.
So that in a nutshell is what amino spiking is and why you want to avoid it at all costs, because you're basically getting a crappy ass protein that's really not going to do anything in terms of muscle repair and recovery. So that is all I have for today on amino spiking and protein for the week. If you have a buddy that likes protein powders, please share this video with them. If you want other videos like this on endurance training, nutrition, supplementation, random uses, dirty tricks and tactics other supplement companies will use, subscribe to the EndurElite YouTube channel or head on over to the EndurElite blog at www.endurelite.com. Get social with us on Facebook and Instagram. And until next time, my endurance friends, stay fueled, stay focused, stay fast, and stay informed.
