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Pea protein is incredibly chalky and earthy. It's a tough one to stomach. The other thing that people don't realize is that peas are incredibly high in iron. So

Pea protein is incredibly chalky and earthy. It's a tough one to stomach. The other thing that people don't realize is that peas are incredibly high in iron. So much so that you actually need to watch your intake or you'll get way too much iron. As an example, 1 scoop of pea protein powder, roughly 20-25g of protein, will also provide 40% of your RDA of iron. An 8oz ribeye steak (something people generally think is very high in iron) only has 20% of your RDA of iron with 40g of protein.

adwn 7y ago
> scoop [...] g [...] oz Argh! Don't mix your units, or you'll crash into the surface of Mars [1]. Let's convert that to SI-based values: 8 oz = 227 g RDA of iron = varies; 8 mg for adult males, 18 mg for adult females before menopause 1 scoop = who knows, maybe 30 g? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter
ajross 7y ago
That sounds like a criticism of whatever your particular product is (sounds like a raw flour to me) and not of "pea protein" per se, which is neither chalky nor earthy and has no iron inherently. I mean, ground up soy beans are probably mealy too. Tofu certainly isn't. I don't know exactly what the products being discussed in the linked article are, but if they're targetted at meat replacement products they're rather more likely to be on the tofu end of the spectrum than the supplement you bought.
- ohyeshedid 7y ago
  "...and has no iron inherently." According to the nutritional labels 1 cup of peas has 11% of your RDA of iron. Take away the water weight and I can see that being a problem in large servings.
  - dajohnson89 7y ago
    presumably the process of creating protein powder from peas removes most of the iron, along with other nutrients.
    - ohyeshedid 7y ago
      Several results in a quick search would refute that. Sticking to a single brand[1] shows it's significantly high in iron. It's the only brand I recognized, but several other brands have similar nutritional content. [1]https://www.bobsredmill.com/pea-protein-powder.html#nutritional-info https://www.bobsredmill.com/pea-protein-powder.html#nutritio...
  - ajross 7y ago
    "peas" and "pea protein" are not the same thing, though.
    - ohyeshedid 7y ago
      Pea protein appears to be cleaned, hulled, and milled peas with the starch and fiber removed.
      - ajross 7y ago
        That's a flour, and applies to the Bob's Red Mill product you linked elsewhere. Food industry products are very often significantly processed. Again, think tofu, not soybean flour. Your soyburgers don't taste at all like edamame, either.
  - justin66 7y ago
    I'm not sure how large you think the servings are likely to get, but a quick look indicates 1 cup of cooked and drained peas has 35% DV of dietary fiber. Before you eat yourself into some kind of iron-related jeopardy your digestive tract is going to raise some warnings of its own, I think.
    - ohyeshedid 7y ago
      Serving Size: 1/4 cup (27g) has 35% of RDA of Iron. I'm not the OP, just gave it a quick search. That's for pea protein. Further down-thread absorption is brought into play, which is likely why the risk is less than it would appear. Edited for clarity and formatting.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
  - Legogris 7y ago
    Also 21g of carbohydrates, most of which will likely not end up in the end product. Peas contain iron, the protein in peas doesn't.
neetdeth 7y ago
Try some of the products from Ripple Foods. Whatever their process is, it works - taste is very smooth and neutral. The chocolate premix shake is very close to dairy for me. As far as iron content goes, it looks like the RDA is around 10 mg daily with a tolerable upper limit of 40 mg per dose. It's not clear how much daily intake you need for a person without hemochromatosis to experience negative side effects, but exceeding the RDA by several times doesn't seem like a major problem. Notably, the recommended intake is 1.8x higher for vegetarians vs non-vegetarians. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional
mhb 7y ago
The iron comparison is slightly misleading since the steak contains ~40% of heme iron vs. none in the pea protein. Heme iron is more readily absorbed (20% - 30% absorbed) than non heme iron (5% - 12% absorbed).
- YUMad 7y ago
  Not to mention comparing a dry concentrate to a raw ingredient.
- spraak 7y ago
  But you can get too much iron, and heme iron is linked to cancer.
code_duck 7y ago
I ate a lot of pure, unflavored isolate and it seemed very mild to me. Slight bean-like flavor, sort of creamy. Pea protein and hot water with salt seemed fine.
Broken_Hippo 7y ago
I think that perhaps this is the fault of the product you had. The stuff I buy tends to be nice and chewy textured. I don't think the iron is an issue if I'm not eating it daily (which I don't). Soy products tend to be similar: I've bought some that were seriously disgusting both in taste and texture, but other things are absolutely delicious. A few simply depend on use.

adwn 7y ago

> scoop [...] g [...] oz Argh! Don't mix your units, or you'll crash into the surface of Mars [1]. Let's convert that to SI-based values: 8 oz = 227 g RDA of iron = varies; 8 mg for adult males, 18 mg for adult females before menopause 1 scoop = who knows, maybe 30 g? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Climate_Orbiter

ajross 7y ago

That sounds like a criticism of whatever your particular product is (sounds like a raw flour to me) and not of "pea protein" per se, which is neither chalky nor earthy and has no iron inherently. I mean, ground up soy beans are probably mealy too. Tofu certainly isn't. I don't know exactly what the products being discussed in the linked article are, but if they're targetted at meat replacement products they're rather more likely to be on the tofu end of the spectrum than the supplement you bought.

ohyeshedid 7y ago
"...and has no iron inherently." According to the nutritional labels 1 cup of peas has 11% of your RDA of iron. Take away the water weight and I can see that being a problem in large servings.
- dajohnson89 7y ago
  presumably the process of creating protein powder from peas removes most of the iron, along with other nutrients.
  - ohyeshedid 7y ago
    Several results in a quick search would refute that. Sticking to a single brand[1] shows it's significantly high in iron. It's the only brand I recognized, but several other brands have similar nutritional content. [1]https://www.bobsredmill.com/pea-protein-powder.html#nutritional-info https://www.bobsredmill.com/pea-protein-powder.html#nutritio...
- ajross 7y ago
  "peas" and "pea protein" are not the same thing, though.
  - ohyeshedid 7y ago
    Pea protein appears to be cleaned, hulled, and milled peas with the starch and fiber removed.
    - ajross 7y ago
      That's a flour, and applies to the Bob's Red Mill product you linked elsewhere. Food industry products are very often significantly processed. Again, think tofu, not soybean flour. Your soyburgers don't taste at all like edamame, either.
- justin66 7y ago
  I'm not sure how large you think the servings are likely to get, but a quick look indicates 1 cup of cooked and drained peas has 35% DV of dietary fiber. Before you eat yourself into some kind of iron-related jeopardy your digestive tract is going to raise some warnings of its own, I think.
  - ohyeshedid 7y ago
    Serving Size: 1/4 cup (27g) has 35% of RDA of Iron. I'm not the OP, just gave it a quick search. That's for pea protein. Further down-thread absorption is brought into play, which is likely why the risk is less than it would appear. Edited for clarity and formatting.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
- Legogris 7y ago
  Also 21g of carbohydrates, most of which will likely not end up in the end product. Peas contain iron, the protein in peas doesn't.

neetdeth 7y ago

Try some of the products from Ripple Foods. Whatever their process is, it works - taste is very smooth and neutral. The chocolate premix shake is very close to dairy for me. As far as iron content goes, it looks like the RDA is around 10 mg daily with a tolerable upper limit of 40 mg per dose. It's not clear how much daily intake you need for a person without hemochromatosis to experience negative side effects, but exceeding the RDA by several times doesn't seem like a major problem. Notably, the recommended intake is 1.8x higher for vegetarians vs non-vegetarians. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional

mhb 7y ago

The iron comparison is slightly misleading since the steak contains ~40% of heme iron vs. none in the pea protein. Heme iron is more readily absorbed (20% - 30% absorbed) than non heme iron (5% - 12% absorbed).

YUMad 7y ago
Not to mention comparing a dry concentrate to a raw ingredient.
spraak 7y ago
But you can get too much iron, and heme iron is linked to cancer.

code_duck 7y ago

I ate a lot of pure, unflavored isolate and it seemed very mild to me. Slight bean-like flavor, sort of creamy. Pea protein and hot water with salt seemed fine.

Broken_Hippo 7y ago

I think that perhaps this is the fault of the product you had. The stuff I buy tends to be nice and chewy textured. I don't think the iron is an issue if I'm not eating it daily (which I don't). Soy products tend to be similar: I've bought some that were seriously disgusting both in taste and texture, but other things are absolutely delicious. A few simply depend on use.