Unfortunately a lot of protein powders are contaminated with pesticide residue, especially glyphosate. The following are the best protein powders without glyphosate, proven by lab results and independently certified in some cases.
| Protein Powder | Glyphosate? | Other pesticides? | Additives? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puori Whey Protein Powder - Bourbon Vanilla - PW1 Pasture Raised, Grass-Fed & Non-GMO | No | No | Natural flavor, gums |
| Puori Vegan Plant Protein Enhancer Powder | No | No | Rapeseed Oil |
| Zego - Purity Verified Plant Protein, Organic, Vegan (Sacha Inchi) | No | Not sure | No |
| Pounamu Natural Whey Protein Concentrate Powder | No | Not sure | Lecithin |
Our favorite is Puori as it is certified to be free of all 200+ pesticides that they tested for, including atrazine which is a really bad one.
Clean protein powder means no pesticides, heavy metals, or additives
We’re pretty careful about what we put into our bodies. Nothing unnatural! So we aren’t stopping at pesticides. We have more requirements for our recommendations. We are only recommending protein powder that has been tested to have zero or minimal heavy metals in it. We also are avoiding unnatural additives (like dyes or artificial flavoring).
The dangers of pesticides in your protein powder
Sadly, pesticides get into all sorts of food products. Protein powders are pretty commonly contaminated with glyphosate and other pesticides, since they are frequently either pea protein, which gets sprayed a lot usually, or they are cow-based products and factory-farmed cows are usually exposed to a great deal of pesticide too. (And by the way, the factory farm system is also cruel to the cows, so that’s another reason we’re against factory farms.)
- Glyphosate (most common pesticide in America) is an endocrine disruptor – it lowers your testosterone
- Many pesticides are neurotoxins
- Glyphosate is carcinogenic
- Atrazine (another common pesticide) is linked to birth defects
The importance of lab testing
We look for companies that post lab results showing what’s in their protein powder. We want them to test for pesticides, metals, and other bad stuff. The best is when these lab results are independently certified. Two organizations that are doing great work independently certifying foods to be pesticide-free are the Clean Label Project and the Detox Project. We got a lot of our information on pesticide-free protein powder from them.