Yo,
So you want to use a mass gainer. Fine.
Not just fine, it may be good, depending on your circumstances and if you know what a mass gainer supplement is. (If you don’t, I suggest you click the highlighted link so you can check out my previous post on this)
However, like anything in life, too much of anything is bad. This is no different with mass gainers. Aside from the undesirable ingredients that may be present in a particular mass gainer, having too much of this supplement can result in some undesirable effects.
However, these side effects won’t happen if you happen to have a lot of this supplement on one day. These effects are likely to occur if you have a lot of mass gainers, for a long time.
It’s important to also remember that mass gainers are only a supplement.
Read that again my friend.
Mass gainers are only a supplement.
This means that they are only an addition to your present diet and that you can achieve your muscle goals without. They can be a good help but don’t rely on them. Look first to whole foods, they’ll always be superior. Don’t just jump into mass gainers because of the YouTube shorts, the Instagram reels and all the other fitness social media talk.
Take a deep breath and actually try and learn, which is what you’re doing by reading this. Alright, let’s jump into this. 
Muscle Gain
“How is muscle gain a side effect?” Is what you may be questioning.
It’s not a side effect. I just wanted to remind you all that this isn’t a post to bash mass gainers. By no means am I trying to do that. Mass gainers can help a lot to build muscle.
You may struggle to eat all your calories simply because of the amount of volume you have to consume. Mass gainers, which can be used for liquid calories are useful in this area.
So, just remember that this isn’t a post to bash mass gainers, but just to expand your knowledge my friend.
Alright, let’s actually get into it.
Digestive Issues
Up first, some digestive issues.
If you’ve never had mass gainers before, it’s likely that you’ll experience some of these.
Mass gainers are high in calories, coming from carbs, protein and other components (which is what you’d hope for anyway). Essentially, by having mass gainers and providing your body with all those calories in a short period of time, your body may struggle to digest it because it’s overwhelmed.
Your digestive system has just been shocked, so what do you expect it to do.
Another reason for digestive issues is because of some intolerances.
Some mass gainers have a presence of dairy. Therefore, if you are lactose intolerant, you’ll probably face some of the symptoms of this intolerance.
Additionally, you could face some digestive problems because of the fact that some protein sources within the mass gainer may not be as easily digestible as some whole sources of protein. Your digestive system could feel strained as a result.
Kidney damage
Let’s go over some kidney damage now.
Some mass gainers can cause kidney damage, particularly those that have too much protein (sounds crazy right?)
So when you have too much extra protein, your body must process and excrete the nitrogen waste products generated by the protein metabolism. Your kidney does this and having too much protein could result in overworking the kidneys and experiencing some issues.
Basically, the kidney has a responsibility of getting rid of the waste build up and it may not be able to eliminate all of it as a result of the high protein intake of the mass gainer.
Think of it like this though.
If your protein intake is sort of low, but you start having mass gainers to boost the protein intake, then you should be fine. This is because your protein intake was already low to begin with, so having the mass gainer won’t push your overall intake over the edge.
You can’t simply blame it all on mass gainers, but it’s something to take note of, as everything in this post is.
Dehydration
There are a few reasons you may experience dehydration because of mass gainers.
The first being some of the ingredients. Some mass gainers contain creatine, alongside high carbs and protein. The carbs and creatine encourage water retention within your body.
The result? Dehydration friends. This is because your body now requires more water to maintain it’s normal level.
Another cause for dehydration is the sodium within the mass gainers. Some mass gainers have a bunch of sodium and this ingredient can cause your body to retain water. Again, you’ll have to increase the amount of water you’re normally having.
So this is pretty dependant on the specific mass gainer you’re using and the behaviours you’re doing in response
Liver Damage
Honestly, this is pretty similar to the kidney damage section.
So with this point, if you’re consuming excess protein (as a result of the mass gainer), your liver will could be overworked. With your liver… Stay with me bro.
With your liver, it metabolizes and breaks down the amino acids (building blocks of protein). If there is too much protein, the amino acids could be turned into fat and then stored in fat depots. If this fat builds, your liver could experience some issues, such as fatty liver disease.
Remember this though, whether it’s protein from mass gainer or another source, this comes from excess protein.
Wrapping Up
There we have it my friend.
We went through digestive issues, kidney damage, dehydration and liver damage.
However, some of these come from excess protein, and not simply because it’s a mass gainer. If your having too much protein, and it’s all from whole foods, then you will experience some of these problems.
Don’t be so quick to blame mass gainers, but also consider your eating habits.
I’d like you to then question if you really want the mass gainer and why you want it.
See you next time.
(Remember I am not an expert, just someone who wants to keep learning)
