Protein powder

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Whydahdad71
Whydahdad71 Posts: 316 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I purchased a protein powder that is the same amount of protein per serving as a can of tuna fish. Should I just save the money and eat the tuna?

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  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Its up to you. Most people will prefer food as it digest slower. But protein powder does have its application.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 316 Member
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    I am just thinking about costs over the long run.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,395 MFP Moderator
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    Thats fair. Personally, i use both. I often put protein powder in yogurt or milk shakes. Can't do that with tuna.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 316 Member
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    That's an awesome idea actually. I will definitely incorporate that into my diet.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Protein powder is a giant experiment in nutrition supplement safety. How will it turn out? Your grandchildren may know.
  • stephie_nyc
    stephie_nyc Posts: 96 Member
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    I like both. I have a sweet tooth and there are a lot of protein powder recipes. Tuna does not satisfy me for a late night snack.
  • yukfoo
    yukfoo Posts: 871 Member
    edited November 2019
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    Keep an eye on the mercury levels in your tuna. I've read Skip-jack in water is is lower than others.
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 316 Member
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    stephie_nyc wrote: »
    I like both. I have a sweet tooth and there are a lot of protein powder recipes. Tuna does not satisfy me for a late-night snack.

    First off by looking at your picture, you are jacked!
    Second, I see what you mean by not being a great late-night snack. I work overnight so I usually eat my "lunch" at 1 AM so I think either could work for me there.
  • rebeccahetrick
    rebeccahetrick Posts: 15 Member
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    I tend to prefer the powder in smoothies or baked stuff instead of tuna. It is entirely up to you, tuna has more nutrients but the mercury level is something to watch.
  • Buff_Man
    Buff_Man Posts: 622 Member
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    Depends on how much you're going to eat. You probably shouldn't be eating Tuna everyday due to the mercury levels . As long as you're getting enough protein overall , the source doesn't matter
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Mercury levels seems to be a product of "canned" tuna. Try frozen yellow fin tuna from Sam's Club or Costco.
  • Anabirgite
    Anabirgite Posts: 505 Member
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    I add protein powder to my morning smoothie along with egg whites, I love tuna for lunch...So I use both. Cottage Cheese is also an excellent choice for additional protein and very economical, I try to eat a half cup as a snack with stevia and cinnamon to satisfy my sweet tooth in the afternoon.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    wilson10102018 wrote: »
    Mercury levels seems to be a product of "canned" tuna. Try frozen yellow fin tuna from Sam's Club or Costco.

    I'm pretty sure the opposite is true. Canned light tuna is skipjack which is a small tuna with less mercury. Larger tunas have more mercury. Canned tuna that says white or albacore tuna is problematic as it's a large tuna. I don't know for sure where yellow fin falls, but I'd guess it has more mercury than canned light tuna. Regardless, it has nothing to do with being canned, it's about the size of the particular species of fish and perhaps it's eating habits.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 13,327 Member
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    The Pacific albacore we get on the west coast (fresh or flash-frozen fish, not canned) is lower in mercury than Atlantic tuna. Our fishery tends to target smaller fish that haven't had as much time to bioaccumulate (and bioconcentrate) heavy metals. I like to make a marinade based on chile, garlic, ginger, soy, and sesame, then cook slowly on a grill away from the coals while some slightly green fruit wood (cherry works really well) fills the grill with smoke. It doesn't literally melt in your mouth, but you might think it does. Yum.

    But that's not going to help @Whydahdad71. We can get canned Pacific albacore, and it often comes in glass jars rather than steel cans. It's much MORE expensive than protein powder, though. I was just looking at some protein powder labels because I'm thinking of experimenting with different brands. For whey protein, they seem to be 18-20 grams per serving, and the cost ranges from $.65 to $2.00 per serving. Compare that to Sweet Creek Albacore at about $7 to $8 per jar or more. Unlike canned tuna, they cook it in the jar in its own juice. Oh so good. But that jar is just a little more than two servings for that same 18 grams of protein.

    I can buy bulk whey and soy protein for really cheap, but it's more to add to other foods than use on it's own. It doesn't seem to dissolve as well in water.

    Good luck!

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