The jury went to work on Premier Protein, and the verdict is in – almost literally. Premier Protein is in trouble for its misleading label claims on its protein shakes. Not only that, but the shakes may not be all they’re cracked up to be when it comes to helping you lose weight. Here is the story.

Legal Trouble for Premier Protein

Premier Protein sells all kinds of protein shakes. The ones whose labels state that they have 30 grams of protein per serving are the ones in the settlement. Analysis has found that they have 26 to 29 grams. The flavors that are in the settlement are Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, Banana & Cream, Peaches & Cream, Cookies & Cream, Mixed Berry, Organic Chocolate, Organic Vanilla, and Caramel.

While the company is not admitting wrongdoing or ceasing the sale of these products, there is a class action settlement. You may be eligible for a cash payout if you purchased any of the misleading shakes in the past 7 years, since 2011. Pre-op or post-op, you need to know how much protein is in your shakes.

Not Best for Bariatric Patients

Every gram of protein counts, but the deception in amount of protein per serving is not the only problem. Even if you are willing to overlook the shortfall in the amount of protein, Premier Protein has a problem with type of protein.

Read the ingredients carefully, and you will see that less than 1% of the product is “whey protein concentrate.” Whey protein is the type of protein that you should be looking for because it absorbs more quickly than casein. Whey protein has been shown to increase weight loss and body fat loss in bariatric surgery patients.

Another glance at the list of ingredients of Premier Protein shows that “milk protein concentrate” and “casein” are the major sources of protein. Casein is slow-acting. If you had a bariatric surgery type, such as gastric bypass, that interferes with absorption, you may not get all the benefits from casein.

What’s Better?

We know that you need a protein supplement, so what can you find that has the amount and type of protein you need and the great taste that will encourage you to take care of your needs? BariatricPal Protein One gets our vote.

• 27 grams of whey protein.
• 28 vitamins and minerals.
• Great-tasting French Vanilla, Cinnamon Swirl, and Double Chocolate Fudge.

It has a few more advantages over Premier Protein.

• Over twice as much dietary fiber for fullness and digestive health.
• Choose from convenient single-serving packets or multi-serving tubs.
• Comes in powder so you can add water or your favorite beverage.
• Has an “unflavored” option so you can add it to anything, from soup to smoothies.

When it comes to bariatric products, quality counts. Any purchase you make should be from a trusted source because there are a lot of poor-quality or misleading products out there. The few grams of difference between Premier Protein’s claims and reality may not be a lot, but along with the poor choice of casein instead of whey as the main protein source, you might want to seek another source for your protein. Look for a trusted vendor and name brand as you make your choice. What you put in your body really does matter.

On 10/15/2018 at 06:37, JessLess said:

@Alex Brecher I'm a lawyer. I'm having my surgery today. Newton Wellesley, MA recommends Premier Protein. Can you sent me the lawsuit so I have something to read?

Thanks!

I’m sorry but I don’t have a copy of the entire case. You can get it on Pacer. See https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/22176786/Gregorio_v_Premier_Nutrition_Corporation .

On 10/18/2018 at 20:14, Boston Redhead said:

Did you write this article? If not, please know you are breaking copyright law by posting so much of it, esp. without citing where it’s from, etc. Better to post a link and short summary. In fact, I’d like to know the link, so I can read more about it.

I wrote the article.

I still drink it and I also bought some soup and pudding from BariatricPal Store. So hopefully everyone is happy. haha

On 10/18/2018 at 8:14 PM, Boston Redhead said:

Did you write this article? If not, please know you are breaking copyright law by posting so much of it, esp. without citing where it’s from, etc. Better to post a link and short summary. In fact, I’d like to know the link, so I can read more about it.

I wrote this article.

It seems like a conflict of interest to debunk a competitors product and then say the only superior alternative is one of the product you work for. Can you provide a variety of options that are superior?

13 hours ago, strangecar said:

It seems like a conflict of interest to debunk a competitors product and then say the only superior alternative is one of the product you work for. Can you provide a variety of options that are superior?

This is cracking me up because I think Alex owns the store connected to this site and he sells dozens of brands. LINKY

Exactly my point JessLess. The only product he recommended is BariatricPal. I’d like to see a variety of recommended options so I’m not getting biased information. To run a product where the community of information is so key, this seems like an awful practice. Just a thought...

It's his site. I can use it for free. In the grander scheme of things, I don't care, he can recommend whatever he wants and I can drink whatever I want.

What about the Premier Protein Clear Protein Drink? The label shows 20g Protein. The ingredients listed are: Filtered Water, Whey Protein Isolate, Natural Flavors, Salt, Sucralose, Yellow 6,Yellow 5, Phosphoric Acid (This is the Orange Mango flavor)

There does seem to be a lot of pushing of his own products but that's his right and the people who choose to follow it.

I personally shop around locally and online always looking for proper whey protein whenever it's on sale

On 3/26/2019 at 1:13 AM, strangecar said:

It seems like a conflict of interest to debunk a competitors product and then say the only superior alternative is one of the product you work for. Can you provide a variety of options that are superior?

I'm not telling you to buy BariatricPal products. Although I wouldn't complain if you do ?! My point is to use products that are 100% Whey Protein Isolate, regardless of the brand.

On 7/15/2019 at 3:33 PM, NancyLF said:

What about the Premier Protein Clear Protein Drink? The label shows 20g Protein. The ingredients listed are: Filtered Water, whey Protein Isolate, Natural Flavors, Salt, Sucralose, Yellow 6,Yellow 5, Phosphoric Acid (This is the Orange Mango flavor)

The clear premier protein is a great option since it's made from 100% whey protein isolate. It's a bit too sweet for my taste buds and I personally prefer Protein20 (grape is my favorite flavor.)

Premier protein is the ONLY one I can tolerate. I BARF with the others. And I drink 1-2 every day. Gotta get my protein somehow.

When you mix a shake up with other protein powder are you getting every single ounce of powder? No. Sometimes it sticks or doesn’t mix properly so I’m not sure this is so serious.

16 hours ago, Akeem said:

When you mix a shake up with other Protein Powder are you getting every single ounce of powder? No. Sometimes it sticks or doesn’t mix properly so I’m not sure this is so serious.

I'm not sure what this has to do with the original article? Yes, Premier protein was sued because they lied about how much protein was included in their protein. My article was on the TYPE of protein used. Premier uses less than 1% Whey Protein Isolate. This is a serious issue, especially for weight loss surgery patients with malabsorptive procedures.