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Vegan protein consumers rush to low-metals products: Pumpkin Seed Protein the latest to test super clean

Tuesday, March 25, 2014
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
Tags: Pumpkin Seed Protein, low heavy metals, vegan proteins

Pumpkin Seed Protein

(NaturalNews) In the aftermath of the explosive revelation that vegan rice protein products contain significant concentrations of the heavy metals lead, cadmium and tungsten, the natural products industry has been scrambling to produce cleaner plant-based proteins that are substantially free of those metals. I am the person who spearheaded the industry-wide voluntary agreement for meeting stringent heavy metals limits, so I'm in touch with virtually all the top manufacturers and producers of vegan proteins.

In the rice protein market, for example, manufacturers are now demanding cleaner batches from importers and putting intense pressure on growers to produce cleaner products out of China, Korea, Indonesia and other nations where rice is produced. There was an initial attempt by a few smaller players in the natural products industry to try to spin the heavy metals issue and convince customers that eating lead, cadmium, mercury and tungsten didn't matter because a part per million is "really small," but the effort flopped. It turns out that virtually all health-conscious consumers are aware of the dangers of heavy metals and seek to avoid them at all costs.

Natural News has spearheaded the effort to conduct product testing and share results with consumers. There is no other organization in the world pursuing this important work and publishing the results for free.

A rush to clean materials with very low heavy metals

What's happening now is a rush toward quality materials with low heavy metals. This is also taking place largely because of the willingness of Natural News to publicly pushing my laboratory findings. The entire natural products industry is now fully aware that I am buying products off the shelf, testing them via ICP-MS using EPA-approved methodology variations, and publicly releasing the results. This means they can't hide heavy metals in their products any longer, and all products with high heavy metals will sooner or later be revealed.

The transparency we are bringing to the industry is strongly motivating companies to clean up their own raw materials. They are now realizing the heavy metals content of their products will not remain a secret. And the cleaner they can get, the more successful they will be with long-term sales and credibility. Consumers, it turns out, don't want to eat toxic heavy metals!

Seed proteins seeing a huge surge

As I've explained here on Natural News, nearly all the rice protein I've ever tested shows signs of significant industrial contamination with heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. This has everything to do with the soils, air and water in which rice is grown, and how those agricultural inputs are themselves contaminated with industrial pollution.

At the same time, we've also found products which are remarkably clean and virtually free of heavy metals. For example, we tested One World Whey protein and found all of its flavors to contain extremely low levels of heavy metals.

We've also consistently found that hemp protein -- made from hemp seeds -- is routinely very low in heavy metals, approaching "zero" in most cases.

I've also been told that a number of new protein formulations are being put together using Sacha Inchi seed protein from the Amazon rainforest. Sacha Inchi also consistently tests very low in heavy metals.

And now, the Sprout Living company has introduced an amazing new seed-based protein product that's also remarkably low in metals: Pumpkin Seed Protein.

Sprout Living Pumpkin Seed Protein

Because of our intense focus on clean superfoods, we're helping Sprout Living launch Pumpkin Seed Protein Powder.

This protein is a near-perfect vegetarian protein with over 60% protein. It is:

• Raw
• Organic
• Plant-based
• Whole Food
• Contains all essential amino acids
• Non-GMO
• Soy Free
• Preservative Free
• Hypo-allergenic
• Contains zero grams of fat, sugar and sodium

Pumpkin Seed Protein Powder is available here.

Heavy Metals Testing Results for Pumpkin Seed Protein

I recently ran this protein through my own ICP-MS lab. Here are the results from lot #1213025 tested on March 24, 2014:

Arsenic: .023 ppm
Cadmium: .005 ppm (virtually zero)
Mercury: ZERO ppb (not even 1 ppb detected)
Lead: .011 ppm (45 times lower than what we found in rice protein)
Tungsten: ZERO (no trace whatsoever)

Yes, the lead in this Pumpkin Seed Protein is literally 45 times lower than what we found in some rice protein products. At just 11 ppb, it's approaching zero. This level is usually considered insignificant by most food scientists.

This means this Pumpkin Seed Protein is rated A+++ on the new Low Heavy Metals Verified rating system. That's the highest rating possible! Very few products achieve this high a rating.

Compare these levels to what we have documented in rice protein, and you'll see that Pumpkin Seed Protein is significantly cleaner when it comes to heavy metals.

I'm now recommending clean alternatives to rice protein to everyone

Until the rice protein industry cleans up its raw materials -- an effort which is under way but will take some time to accomplish -- I'm recommending everyone consume low-metals proteins from other sources.

For those who don't mind dairy, whey protein from One World Whey is super clean, with virtually zero levels of all the heavy metals of concern.

For those who want plant-based proteins, here's what I now recommend:

Pumpkin Seed Protein (very clean)
• Hemp proteins (consistently very clean but more bitter taste, Nutiva is a trusted brand)
• Pea proteins (consistently much cleaner than rice)
• Other nut-based proteins (such as Brazil Nut protein, Sacha Inchi protein, etc.)

Personally, I consume One World Whey routinely, and now I'm adding a lot of Pumpkin Seed Protein to add more vegan proteins to my smoothies.

My message to you: KNOW what you are eating!

Whatever proteins you choose, may primary message to you is to know what you are eating!

Whether you choose rice protein, pea protein, hemp protein, whey protein, pumpkin seed protein or something else entirely, make sure it's not contaminated with heavy metals.

Keep in mind that an "organic" designation on a product is completely worthless when it comes to heavy metals. All the highest concentrations of lead, tungsten, mercury, cadmium, etc, were all found in "USDA certified organic" products.

Currently, the best way to learn about the heavy metals content of the food, superfoods or supplements you are consuming is to subscribe to my email newsletter (below). As we release laboratory results, you get emailed the stories where those results are announced. You can also ask the manufacturer whether they test their products for heavy metals, but I have found that manufacturers sometimes LIE to their own customers about heavy metals, and they almost never test each production lot.

Right now we are testing many other off-the-shelf foods and products for heavy metals, and results will be released regularly at Labs.NaturalNews.com.

Subscribe here to stay informed:

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About the author:Mike Adams (aka the "Health Ranger") is a best selling author (#1 best selling science book on Amazon.com) and a globally recognized scientific researcher in clean foods. He serves as the founding editor of NaturalNews.com and the lab science director of an internationally accredited (ISO 17025) analytical laboratory known as CWC Labs. There, he was awarded a Certificate of Excellence for achieving extremely high accuracy in the analysis of toxic elements in unknown water samples using ICP-MS instrumentation. Adams is also highly proficient in running liquid chromatography, ion chromatography and mass spectrometry time-of-flight analytical instrumentation.

Adams is a person of color whose ancestors include Africans and Native American Indians. He's also of Native American heritage, which he credits as inspiring his "Health Ranger" passion for protecting life and nature against the destruction caused by chemicals, heavy metals and other forms of pollution.

Adams is the founder and publisher of the open source science journal Natural Science Journal, the author of numerous peer-reviewed science papers published by the journal, and the author of the world's first book that published ICP-MS heavy metals analysis results for foods, dietary supplements, pet food, spices and fast food. The book is entitled Food Forensics and is published by BenBella Books.

In his laboratory research, Adams has made numerous food safety breakthroughs such as revealing rice protein products imported from Asia to be contaminated with toxic heavy metals like lead, cadmium and tungsten. Adams was the first food science researcher to document high levels of tungsten in superfoods. He also discovered over 11 ppm lead in imported mangosteen powder, and led an industry-wide voluntary agreement to limit heavy metals in rice protein products.

In addition to his lab work, Adams is also the (non-paid) executive director of the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center (CWC), an organization that redirects 100% of its donations receipts to grant programs that teach children and women how to grow their own food or vastly improve their nutrition. Through the non-profit CWC, Adams also launched Nutrition Rescue, a program that donates essential vitamins to people in need. Click here to see some of the CWC success stories.

With a background in science and software technology, Adams is the original founder of the email newsletter technology company known as Arial Software. Using his technical experience combined with his love for natural health, Adams developed and deployed the content management system currently driving NaturalNews.com. He also engineered the high-level statistical algorithms that power SCIENCE.naturalnews.com, a massive research resource featuring over 10 million scientific studies.

Adams is well known for his incredibly popular consumer activism video blowing the lid on fake blueberries used throughout the food supply. He has also exposed "strange fibers" found in Chicken McNuggets, fake academic credentials of so-called health "gurus," dangerous "detox" products imported as battery acid and sold for oral consumption, fake acai berry scams, the California raw milk raids, the vaccine research fraud revealed by industry whistleblowers and many other topics.

Adams has also helped defend the rights of home gardeners and protect the medical freedom rights of parents. Adams is widely recognized to have made a remarkable global impact on issues like GMOs, vaccines, nutrition therapies, human consciousness.

In addition to his activism, Adams is an accomplished musician who has released over a dozen popular songs covering a variety of activism topics.

Click here to read a more detailed bio on Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, at HealthRanger.com.

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