I’m one of K&K’s #1 fans and think everything they do is so wonderful for the #TIUCommunity. The camaraderie they’ve built between complete strangers is absolutely amazing, and as people and business women, they deserve the utmost respect in the fitness industry. I owe my most recent fitness journey to them and the basis TIU stands for – share.love.inspire.sweat.

[Photo via Heart of a Hippie, 2015].

I’ve always been the first in line to purchase their new products because I love supporting the TIU line of goodies, like their protein powders. I used to hate the taste and texture of Perfect Fit, but learned to love it after getting used to it; I use their chocolate protein powder rather than flour in baking, their vanilla in daily smoothies, and their limited edition cinnamon roll flavor in my protein pancakes. I’m always an advocate for the complete TIU lifestyle and have been thrilled to use check-ins “advertising” Perfect Fit in my recipes, or follow their recipes from the TIU Member Nutrition Plan and post how they turn out.

[Photo via Perfect Fit, 2015]

All that being said, it was brought to my attention last night that after a fellow TIU sister reviewed the lab testing on PF she was quite alarmed by the high level of heavy metals. Part of me didn’t want to believe it, because of the beautiful “clean” advertising K&K do on all their labeling, and how they tell all of us TIU members that they formulated a safe, clean powder for us after they couldn’t find one in the fitness industry. Now, I’m not a gullible little teeny bopper who claims everything I read is true, but K&K have an extensive background in health and fitness, and even they use it. I figured the proof was in the pudding! My husband & I have a friend who sells protein powder to doctor’s offices and medical centers, and he has been trying to get me to make the switch to the brand he represents. I was always so stubborn saying “No way, I love PF; it only contains like 5 ingredients and is USDA Organic!” I literally make 1-2 smoothies a day as my M2 or M4, and Tanner, my 16-month old always steals like half for himself. Yes, their label says if nursing or pregnant consult your health care provider, but when I did they said the ingredients appeared to be clean and safe. So I went to huntin’, and found the good, bad, and the ugly on PF for myself…I used a trusted and verified site, LowHeavyMetalsVerified.org, and here’s what I found…

*Please note my perspective of what is considered “safe” is biased based on the fact I am a breastfeeding mom. The guidelines I follow of what goes into my body are the same guidelines recommended for pregnant women. Sure, “our moms ate ______ and we were fine!” is something pregnant women in the past decade hear over and over again. But times have changed; food regulations have changed, ingredients put in foods have changed, research has changed. We have more studies run, more knowledge of food born illnesses, and more information available to us of what and what not to consume while pregnant or nursing. 

Review Perfect Fit’s lab results here – http://labs.naturalnews.com/heavy-metals-chart-Proteins-rice.html

[Photos via Natural News, 2014].

  Now that I read the lab results for Perfect Fit, I can say that I will no longer be using it as part of my daily regimen. I’m so sad because like I said, I’ve grown to love the taste, finally got over the texture, and have absolutely loved using it as a flour substitute in all my favorite baking recipes! Natural News posted their opinon on PF after it underwent lab testing, and this was the part of their article that absolutely made my heart sink and made me feel like the worst mom ever for feeding all my baked goods and smoothies to Tanner. I buy mostly wooden toys and all BPA-free plastics, and feed my family whole, organic foods, as my husband had childhood cancer, and I want to set the best example I can as a mom.

The lead content of the Perfect Fit protein we tested was higher than the average for this category, but lower than the highest we’ve tested. For this batch, the lead content reported via ICP-MS was just over 0.3 ppm, while the highest we’ve seen in the category of rice protein is over 0.5 ppm.

The serving size of Perfect Fit protein is 20 grams, meaning one serving of this lot we tested would contain over 6 micrograms of lead. This is 12 times higher than the daily limit described by California’s Proposition 65 — a law which desperately needs to be reformed — yet I could not find a Prop 65 warning on the product package. This indicates the product appears to be out of compliance with Prop 65, giving it what others in the industry have privately described to me as an “unfair advantage” in labeling.

[Photos via Natural News, 2014].

The lab results from 2014 are also scary because PF contains lead, cadmium, and tungsten; which I definitely would not consider “organically perfect for me.” Mike Adams, a food scientist/advocate and research director + the Editor for Natural News stated, their “clean and honest” is difficult to stomach after reviewing the lab testing, as “it appears [Perfect Fit] is made of the same exact rice protein used by everybody else in the industry — a raw material which is typically sourced from China, Vietnam and other Asian nations…which consistently tests higher in heavy metals than hemp, whey and pea proteins” [Adams, 2014].

[Photo via Pinterest, 2015].

Natural Health left some great advice to follow on what to do before purchasing protein powders. Adams lists the following questions, and also states that it’s alarming most companies don’t even know the answers when asked. • What is the country of origin of the top ingredients? • What are the heavy metals lab results of your product? • Do you test your products for tungsten? • What are your limits for heavy metals? (In other words, how much is still okay to sell, in your opinion?)

[Photo via Pinterest, 2015].

When Sarah, a TIU Member wrote to K&K about the heavy metals, this was there response –

“Sarah – we appreciate you reaching out. As a proud manufacturer of organic, plant-based protein, we would like provide reassurance in regard to metals levels naturally occurring in Perfect Fit Protein. We have always thoroughly tested each lot of Perfect Fit Protein for metals, and our levels are very low and continually improving. Perfect Fit Protein’s most recent round of testing (performed using the ICP-MS/AOAC 993.14 method), showed metal levels which were all significantly less than one would consume in a 1 cup serving of spinach. For further assistance or if you have additional questions, you can email us at CustomerService@PerfectFitProteini.com. Thanks for your inquiry.”

Now, what’s interesting is Mike, the Health Ranger, has squashed the false argument that heavy metals are naturally occurring in foods; you can see in the email inquiry above that Tone It Up’s customer service rep compared their levels are comparable to what you would naturally find in 1 cup of spinach.

The slide below shows that any soil within the world contains some trace of industrial pollution; 44% of mercury found within North America’s soil is actually from wildfires right within the Pacific Northwest themeslves, where people claim is one of the most “natural and rural” sources of farming [Adams, 2014]. Industrital polution even travels to U.S. soil ALL the way from CHINA! [Adams, 2014]. Now, “naturally occuring” does not exist since the industrial revolution which has now led to environmental pollution, which is completely man-made yet unavoidable based on the world we live in today.

[Photos via Natural News, 2014].

Adams points out in the chart above that all of these things coming off of farms + power plants go up into the atmosphere, and are then transported thousands and thousands of miles [Adams, 2014]. “Pure”, “pristine” mountains in Colorado, for example, are covered with pollution from China…how? The pollutants are released from factories overseas, which travel through the atmosphere; the toxins/heavy metals released spread up into clouds, rain, etc [Adams, 2014]. So when it snows & that snow covers those mountains, there are traces of pollution already formed from the atmosphere [Adams, 2014]. When that snow begins to melt, it eventually leads to river, which eventually lead to water & irrigation canals used to water our food crops in California, Washington, etc [Adams, 2014]. This graph proves we should seek food grown in areas with lower levels of pollution to avoid heavy metals in our food [Adams, 2014]. It’s a vicious cycle!

MY PERSONAL SUMMARY/BREAKDOWN/OPINON based on what I took from Adam’s video & Natural Health’s write up on industrial pollution & the lab results of PF Protein:

When metals are released from industry power plants all over the world into the atmosphere, that is pollution; alluminum, lead, &  mercury, for example, are all released up into the air. These pollutants then travel from continents & countries after being released into the atmosphere into clouds and rain, which eventually falls on crops. Protein powder companies are basically saying the minute these substances hit soil they are “naturally occurring”? Nope. It’s pollution. It’s toxic heavy metals. They may not be physically ADDING heavy metals additionally into their proteins, but the problem is most of the plant-based ingredients found in protein powders are grown from plants in China, one of the most polluted countries in the world. Therefore, based on the cycle of industrial pollution, heavier traces of metals are founds depending on the parts of the world they are manufactured/grown in.

Sure, one can argue that these compounds are considered natural, as they are, after all elements listed in the periodic table, and found within the earth. Let’s take mercury, for example. We know we shouldn’t eat ten cans of tuna, or consume more than one can of tuna per week while pregnant, because of the mercury levels. Do we eat tuna? Yes, just in moderation. As Adams stated, based on the grams per serving in Perfect Fit, the lead is 12x higher than what’s recommended to consume within the daily limit. Another example; my dumbbells my husband picked up for me from TJ Maxx. When I opened them, there was an insert on California’s Prop 65 stating they contained chemicals known to the state of CA that can cause illness, cancer, or birth defects. Did I still use them that day for my workout? Yes. Have I looked in to picking up a pair that are prop 65 clear? Yes.

Also food for thought; if the high levels of metals are coming from plant-based compounds, like brown rice, do we still eat rice? Yes. Do our rice packets warn us that if it’s manufactured in China we should be worried about heavier metals than if it were grown in the most pristine place on earth? No. So sure, toxins are literally everywhere. Like stated in my blog title, I’m a clean-ISH eating and cooking TIU mama. Do I avoid every single thing that potentially contains dangerous levels of something? No. Do I live a 100% clean lifestyle? No. I just try to be the best mom I can be based on the knowledge I acquire. I’m constantly learning as the days, weeks, and years go by. I’m not a scientist, dietitian, nor do I work in the health field and claim to know much about the studies that go into lab testing. All I know is I can formulate an opinion based on research I dive into, as a college student would do when writing a thesis or research paper.

So my overall opinion of Perfect Fit, and ANY protein powder for that matter, is based around the question, “Would I eat this if I were pregnant again?”

[Photos via Natural News, 2014].

For further information on this, Adams’ video is OUTSTANDING and absolutely worth the watch. Find his video here – http://labs.naturalnews.com/Video-False-Argument-Naturally-Occurring-Heavy-Metals-in-Foods.html Remember from earlier, Adams is a food scentist and advocate, as well as the research director for Natural News. I thinkkkkk he knows what he’s talking about 😉

In conclusion, after reviewing the lab results for myself and learning more about industrial pollution, Perfect Fit does in fact contain lower levels of heavy metals than other brown rice protein powders on the market. However, they are still there and seem to be grown overseas, where man-made factories pump higher levels of these heavy metals into the atmosphere. We don’t drink soda with every meal because we know it can be harmful to our health, so coming from someone who drinks 1-2 smoothies a day containing Perfect Fit, would you drink a protein powder containing the levels Perfect Fit does? What protein powders do you use? Have you researched their laboratory testing results? Like I said, I’m not a chemist, so encourage you to do your own research and form your own opinion on protein powders and their compounds. This is simply my opinion from the research I could find

. The heavy metal comparisons of Perfect Fit and other protein powders mentioned in this article and shown on the graphs were from lab testing performed in March of 2014. A month later, in April 2014, Perfect Fit, among other vegan/organic protein powders agreed to voluntarily uphold to new lower heavy metal ratings standards [Adams, 2014]. Since then these companies seek to continue to improve their product batches, to make them safer for consumers with lower heavy metals. Perfect Fit is proud to announce they have committed to these standards well in advance, and that their current lot testing showed significantly lower heavy metals in most categories [Perfect Fit, 2015]. As the old saying goes, if someone told you to jump off a bridge, you probably wouldn’t jump off a bridge. Like any product, good, or service, it’s your personal choice to research or consume. The articles and statements within this article are based in previously published studies and my own personal opinion. Directly contact any consumer for further questions.

I’d love to hear, as clearly I’m on the market for a new protein powder that is clean and heavy metal free!

Learn more on Adam’s stance here:  http://www.naturalnews.com/044199_Perfect_Fit_Protein_Rockin_Wellness_heavy_metals_lab_tests.html#ixzz3NyoWsWyJ Food Babe has a really interesting article on protein powder consumption as well, which you can find here – http://foodbabe.com/2012/12/13/is-your-protein-shake-safe/ Daily Bites also shares their insight on protein powders here – http://www.dailybitesblog.com/2014/01/28/protein-powder/   For other’s opinions on Perfect Fit, do your own research through asking around TIU community, or read through the reviews on seller’s profiles like Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Fit-Protein-Serving-Bag/dp/B00BF3KRYA/ref=sr_1_1?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1420682758&sr=1-1&keywords=perfect+fit+protein   Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Perfect Fit or any other protein powder companies besides being a TIU member. I am not a professional researcher, dietitian, or physician. These opinions are solely my own after doing my own personal research into the matter that was presented to me; a concerned friend commented she was worried to see I was nursing and consuming Perfect Fit Protein. Do not solely rely on the information presented. Always read labels, warnings, and directions before using or consuming a product. For additional information about a product, please contact the manufacturer directly. Content on this site is for reference purposes and is not intended to substitute for advice given by a physician, pharmacist, or other licensed health-care professional. You should not use this information as self-diagnosis or for treating a health problem or disease. Contact your health-care provider immediately if you suspect that you have a medical problem. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition. Seashellsandsitups.com assumes no liability for inaccuracies or misstatements about products.