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Nowadays, with rising concern about health and fitness, children are being fed flavoured protein powders mixed in milk.

These powders are being marketed with strong claims that they will increase height, increase strength, and increase intelligence. Before looking deeper into such products, these 3 points are big red flags. No powder has the power to make someone smart, grow muscles, or increase his/her height. This has all got to do with individual genetics and their hard work to build upon those genetics. Height is purely genetic. Muscles are genetic but training is required to reach the genetic potential. The same goes with intelligence, consistent study is necessary. Milk powder is not the reason why some kids score more marks than others. It is because they are putting in the effort to study and perhaps have the genetic talent for it.

The companies making the powders know how to target a mother’s emotions. Mothers always want their children to be the best and get good grades in exams. This is why when they see such promising advertisements on TV, they fall for it. Also, most of the average people believe whatever is shown on TV is 100% correct, which it is not. Instead, it is the opposite, TV is not a reliable source of information.

After false marketing, comes the quality of these products. It is necessary to look at the ingredients. The names of the brands will not be revealed cause they are evil and could take down this website.

The first ingredient these powders contain is some form of cereal, it could be barley or malt extract which is again made from barley or maltodextrin or just simple flour. All of these cereals are very cheap, way cheaper compared to the powder.

The next ingredient is the infamous sugar. More than half of the calories are from sugar with some powders containing 80% sugar.

Some of these brands do not specify the amount of sugar. But, some of them do mention it in the nutrition label cause they know that the average man will not read it. Another smart tactic is that they use names like liquid glucose or corn starch.

These are again sugars and one need’s to be careful when you come across these names. Is it worth paying so much money for 70 grams of sugar? Should children be fed 14 grams of sugar twice or thrice a day? These are the questions people should be asking themselves before buying such products.

The protein they use is mostly soy. There is no problem with soy apart from the fact that it is very cheap. Finally, there are milk solids which are added for improving the taste.

Now, look at the calorie breakdown? So, compare these powders to simple barley.

80 to 90 percent of these powders consist of carbohydrates of which more than 50% is sugar. Barley also contains more than 70% carbohydrates, but the sugar is just 0.8 grams. These powders contain anywhere between 5 to 30 grams of protein per 100 grams. The powders with 30 grams are, obviously, costlier. Barley contains 12 grams of protein which is more than many of these powders. The amount of fats is very similar, around 2 grams. When it comes to vitamins, the powders do contain more vitamins than Barley, especially, calcium which ranges from 100 mg to 800 mg in some powders. But, the catch is, high consumption of sugar inhibits the absorption of calcium and magnesium and it also increases their urinary excretion. It means that a lot of the calcium you are consuming is going in the toilet. In the case of magnesium, Barley is a much richer source for that.

Raw whey protein concentrate is a better choice than such powders. If children are not getting enough protein then, serving them whey protein with little sugar or jaggery, to make it tasty, is much better.

It is very sad that such products are being sold openly, without any restrictions, and people are buying them, blindly trusting anything they see on TV. They intend to make their kids healthy, but they end up doing the opposite. Kids do not consume just milk mixed with powder, they add corn flakes or biscuits filled with chocolate, cream, and sugar, making it one of the unhealthiest breakfasts one can consume. Consume traditional breakfasts, they are much healthier even though they might not be as tasty as cream biscuits.

These are just pure facts. It is the individual’s choice if they want to continue consuming such products or not.

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