Supplements, they can be a great asset to our fitness regime or our biggest enemy, depending on the ingredients within the package. Looking at the ingredients of some of the hottest brands on the shelves today, you may as well just have Kool Aid and Monsters for pre workout, and Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup in milk for protein, because the ingredients are plain crap… Every single influencer on social media now has their own line of supplements which they all claim will help you reach your goals. From BCAAs and PreWorkout to Protein and hormone balancing supplements and even energy drinks. You probably already have an idea of who I mean by now. Katy Hearn and her Alani Nu. Influencers like Katy Hearn and the Bowmars all have their own brands and of course their followers will blindly purchase and consume their products. Though what these followers don’t realize is that following their word blindly could have some hardcore ramifications to long term health…. Not exactly what anyone in the fitness space should be happy to hear, but it’s true. But what makes these products so bad? Here’s some of the main ingredients in the products by Hearn and the Bowmars.
Sucralose
Alani Nu is all over the Social Media Sites today from Instagram stories to Fitness Facebook groups, it’s everywhere. Not only are owners Katy Hearn and husband Hayden promoting their product but other influencers are using it at least claiming to be using the supplements and promoting them on YouTube and other socials as well. It’s as if everyone is oblivious to the detrimental effects of Sucralose. Don’t be one of those people.
What is it?
According to healthline Sucralose is an artificial sweetener containing zero calories, it is commonly known as Splenda… This artificial sweetener is made from sugar via a chemical process in which 3 hydrogen-oxygen groups are replaced with chlorine atoms (Healthline.com). The lack of calories is what draws people in as we all know the excess consumption of sugar is bad for not only our health but our waistline, so in theory Sucralose sounds amazing, but as you’ll find out if you didn’t already know, it’s not.
What’s so bad about it?
#Guthealth you’ll see this everywhere on Instagram and in the fitness and wellness realms online. Our gut health is why kombucha and prebiotic and probiotic supplements have become so popular. These supplements and fermented foods and drinks like sauerkraut and kombucha are known to benefit our gut microbiome, they add good bacteria to our gut. But chemical additives such as artificial sweeteners are known to disrupt the symbiosis that occurs in they gut much like antibiotics do. Gut health is the reason behind so many people seeming to become less inclined to run for antibiotics because they disrupt that gut microbiome. In our guts we house so many beneficial bacteria that aid in our digestion and that are the root of our immune system. Sucralose, the wicked buggard has been found in a study by Xiaoming Bian and his associates to alter that gut microbiota. These alterations can lead to inflammation within the body, and inflammation as we know leads to aches and pains, but also to diseases and the big O word, obesity. So why would this be considered okay to put in supplements targeted to assist in fat loss or health promotion? It shouldn’t be.
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“Consuming artificial sweeteners such as sucralose, aspartame, saccharin, neotame, advantame and/or acesulfame potassium-k can impair your appetite regulation and cause weight gain.” -Dr. Joseph Mercola
So before you rush out to buy your next tub of protein, pre workout or BCAAs or before you go and skull a nice can of BANG energy, consider peeking at the ingredients. Often times you’ll find that not just one of these artificial devils are in your product but 2 sometimes 3 are hiding in there as well. Just take a peek at that Alani Nu label included in this post.
But everything has these ingredients in there? What now?
NOT everything! Through a little podcast called, “Is this Podcast Paleo” I learned of a brand called Equip Foods created by Dr. Anthony Gustin. They have everything from greens powders and PreWorkouts to proteins and carbohydrate supplements. The best part being that their products are made from all natural ingredients, don’t believe me? Here have a peek:
Ingredients are: grass fed beef protein, coconut milk powder, organic vanilla powder and stevia leaf powder.
Very minimal ingredients. All of which you can pronounce and without compromising the flavor. I’ve gone through 2 bags already and I freaking love both chocolate and vanilla. Guys, get on this brand. They’re so dang good and the vanilla is great in coffee too, (if you like chocolate coffee I’m sure the chocolate is too I just haven’t tried it). Why wouldn’t you want to get into a cleaner supplement that has less ingredients but far greater benefits? I mean think about the collagen you’re getting from the beef and the benefits that had vs the plethora of fun flavors (what are we children) and Sucralose that ruins your gut! Try it out and let me know what you think! I have a shipment coming with heir greens and more preworkout as well so head over to my Instagram @madomfitness to see honest reviews of those as I try the other products! #notsponsored
https://www.equipfoods.com/products/prime-protein-beef-isolate-protein
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5522834/#idm140333621688144title
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