The People's Chemist

Good Protein Bad Protein: 4 Ingredients To Avoid and Why It’s Mandatory for Physical and Mental Stamina


As a private pilot, I travel a lot. And no matter where I go, gym owners and personal trainers always get their protein recommendation wrong. As a chemist, it’s annoying. Not only is it counter to health, but it’s also toxic. Before I explain, let me highlight the importance of getting enough protein, in case you didn’t already know.

The body is constantly refurbishing itself. Like a lizard shedding skin or regenerating a new tail, your atoms are always being reproduced to yield a newer, healthier you. Technically, it’s know as cellular turnover. And it’s fueled by protein.

In The Stop Eating So F#$%ing Much Diet, I taught that turnover replaces our entire skeletal system in the first year of life. As adults, 10% is renewed. The liver and the pancreas regenerate every year or two. Our gastrointestinal tract and skin are replaced every five days. And of course, turnover gives rise to lean muscle. After all, muscle is nothing more than the by-product of healing – the more you damage your muscles, the healthier they grow. Like so many things in organic chemistry, this proves the adage, “that which doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”

Just like cell turnover restores and ensures the integrity of our physical make-up, it also supports mental stamina. When working properly, it activates an internal pharmacy that manufactures pain killing and emotion soothing chemicals. They’re known predominantly as opioids. These compounds attenuate physical pain. But more importantly, they also help curb everyday stress and depression. Without them, life can be a real bitch.

This helps explain why many people who lack protein are typically ill, depressed or reach their “wit’s end” sooner and find life harder to cope with – they aren’t activating cellular turnover! Athletes, the elderly and children are most susceptible. In this regard, protein intake represents a forgotten, therapeutic option for increasing not only physical health but also mental stamina.

The best sources of protein are brewers yeast, seeds, nuts, fish, chicken, grass-fed beef, whole eggs, cottage cheese and whey protein. The easiest way to ensure proper protein intake is to incorporate whey into your daily diet.

A byproduct of the cheese making process, whey is loaded with essential amino acids (EAA’s). These are mandatory fuel for cellular turnover. Not only has whey proven to be a miracle cure for atrophy, but, it’s also been discovered to activate a host of anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer compounds produced by cellular turnover.

4 Things to Avoid in Whey Protein Powders

Sadly, the FDA has little regulation on how whey is processed or what can be added to it. Therefore, what should be healthy, is actually a product that seriously undermines your health. Here are four things to avoid in bad protein powders:

Denatured and Hydrolyzed Protein

Proteins only work if they keep their three dimensional shape. That’s because, like a key for a lock, they work by triggering select receptors. When whey protein undergoes denaturation or hydrolyzation, it loses the proper dimensions intended by nature. Effectiveness is lost and the renewing process of cellular turnover wanes. Adding to the negative outcome, these processing methods give rise to toxic levels of free aspartic acid and glutamic acid (MSG). Both have toxicity profiles that make party drugs look like health foods.

Artificial Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners screw up your metabolism and drastically increase your risk of cancer. A recent study review published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine noted that the rise in the percentage of obese Americans coincides with an increase in the widespread use of non-caloric artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose (Splenda).

A 2012 mega-analysis of the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study (HPFS) and the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) looked at epidemiological data from a 22 year period. It found that the artificial sweetener aspartame was a “multi-potential carcinogenic agent,” which significantly increases the risk of many cancers like myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphomas and leukemia. Clearly not something that belongs in a health product!

Soy Protein

In the early 1990’s soy products exploded onto the marketplace promising numerous health benefits. Soy protein isolate was feverishly added to meal replacement shakes, bottled fruit drinks, protein bars, soups and sauces, baked goods, meats, breakfast cereals and dietary supplements. It was less expensive than dairy whey and was poised to be the king of protein…That is, until its gender-bending qualities were discovered.

A growing body of research revealed that soy protein contains plant estrogens such as genistein and daidzein, causing feminizing effects in the male body. A Harvard study published in the journal Human Reproduction also found a strong association between men’s consumption of soy foods and decreased sperm counts. In total, studies show that soy increases inflammation, depletes the body of nutrients and disrupts thyroid function.


Sugar gives rise to the two biggest threats to health: fat gain and insatiable appetite. The minute you consume it, your hormones begin to favor fat storage over fat burning. Simultaneously, it sets off an artificial feeling of hunger hours later. If that’s not bad enough, it’s the leading cause of Type II diabetes and feeds cancer growth. The only acceptable sweetener for any whey protein is stevia.

Avoid all four of the above ingredients in your whey protein and you’ll finally be able to leverage the forgotten, regenerative process of cellular turnover. Teach your gym buddies to do the same and they’ll love you for it.

To further the benefits of whey, make sure it contains the slow releasing, anti-catabolic casein, has no bovine hormones and is cold processed. Additionally, whey isolate has a higher concentration of EAA’s and less sugars like maltose and lactose, making it superior to “whey concentrate.” After a short time of using a superior whey isolate without additives, you’ll notice first hand that it truly represents the most important way to live young. It also proves that given the right nutrients, the body is the most powerful healer.

Your Take Charge Plan For Renewing Your Body:


Unlike healthy fats and carbohydrates, your body cannot store protein and amino acids for fueling cellular turnover. Therefore, it’s mandatory that you learn how to get the right amount of protein each and every day. Otherwise, the body will break down prematurely…To do this, start these two action steps:

  1. Read The Stop Eating So F@#$ing Much Diet to learn how to calculate your individual protein requirements.
  2. Begin supplementing with Whey Advanced daily. I designed this protein to be the best in the world.

Nowhere else can you get whey protein, micellar casein and cocoa powder flavored with stevia…It represents the most efficient and sophisticated way to harness the true regenerative power of the body. Learn more at

Note: I took this shot with my Iphone to reflect the importance of proper protein intake as outlined in The Stop Eating So F@#$ing Much Diet book. I was injured for 8 weeks and had done VERY LITTLE EXERCISE. I’m by no means the fittest dude in the gym. But, by mastering my hormones, I’m no fat cow either, despite my lack of exercise.

About the Author

Shane Ellison


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