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With the New Year started, you might have some new goals you’re trying to hit. They often deal with improving your health, losing weight, and looking better. If your goals are for your health, you’re probably tapping into the fitness world too — where gains are goals, and protein powder is life. But how good are those protein powders for your health? And can protein powders or supplements cause gut issues? Let’s find out!Can protein powders cause gut issues?

Why is protein important?

First, if you’re new to the fitness industry, you might wonder why you’d want to use protein powder. Many people understand that protein is essential for muscle health and growth, but it actually serves many more functions beyond just building muscles. 

Protein is needed to make up every tissue and organ in your body. This ranges from muscles to bones to collagen and connective tissues like ligaments and tendons. Protein is extremely important for the function of our bodies. 

Since protein is needed for all of these tissues, you can easily understand why protein is important should you end up injured. Protein is a huge help when it comes to injury repair and prevention.

Protein is also helpful when trying to lose weight. This is possible for a variety of reasons. Protein helps to:

While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it does do a great job of showcasing some of the serious benefits having more protein in your diet has for your body. 

Sources of Protein 

Not all proteins are created equal. 

There are many different sources of protein and this can become a topic of debate. You can get your protein from natural sources like:

  • Poultry
  • Pork
  • Beef
  • Dairy
  • Eggs
  • Nuts
  • Seeds

However, sometimes time constraints can make using these proteins difficult. There is also the issue of whether these are sourced from local and humane practices. 

If you can find locally sourced and humane places to get these types of protein and figure out your time management for incorporating them into your diet, this is the best way to go. 

However, if you’re finding it hard to hit your daily protein goal, protein supplements can be an appealing option. Drinking a protein shake or grabbing a protein bar quickly boosts your protein intake. 

But are these truly healthy options?

And if you’ve already started using protein powder have you noticed any side effects? 

Let’s see what is really in the protein powders and what they’re doing inside our bodies.

Can protein powders cause gut issues?

You might wonder why we focused on gut issues instead of the body as a whole. But when we ingest food or supplements, the first place they start affecting our body is in our gut. 

The gut processes everything we consume and then the rest of the body gets the benefits or harm from that item.

If the gut is disturbed by foods we ingest regularly, it can lead to long-term health problems within and outside of the gut. 

Protein powders often contain ingredients that can harm the gut. Let’s look at a few common ingredients to look out for when you’re choosing the right protein powder for you. 

Added Sugars

Sugar is part of our normal diets and we often see the argument that fruits are high in sugar so what’s the difference? Well there’s actually a huge difference. 

Natural occurring sugars like those found in apples and grapes are in the form fructose — a molecule that the body knows how to use. In addition, when you consume fruits you’re also getting high quantities of other vitamins, polyphenols, and nutrients that help your body use the sugars in a way that isn’t damaging to your cells and health.

In protein powders and other foods that have added sugars, your body just accumulates them and doesn’t really know how to remove them as well. High-fructose corn syrup and other sugary additives may have names that sound like the fruit sugar fructose has been added, but it isn’t the same and it causes dangerous changes to your gut health. 

Sugars feed the unhealthy bacteria in our guts allowing them to multiply and overtake the balance of microbes within the gut. This is a big deal because if the healthy bacteria cannot control the digestive process, unhealthy molecules are released that cause damage to cells within the gut which allow the bacteria to escape and cause damage throughout the body. This has the potential to lead to disease development.

Fake Sugar Substitutes (Non-Caloric Artificial Sweeteners — NAS)

Much like regular sugars, fake sugars alter the gut microbiome in a negative way. However, the body doesn’t actually know what to do with these molecules. 

The body uses insulin to counteract natural sugars in the body. With sugar substitutes, the body doesn’t have the same system because it does not recognize them as something it can use. NAS also feed the bad bacteria and contribute to dysbiosis, leaky gut syndrome, and inflammation throughout the body leading to disease progression and unhealthy cell reproduction. 

Dairy products (this is only a problem for certain people but good to know about)

People who have sensitivities to dairy products like lactose intolerance may find that they cannot consume most protein powders. 

Most protein powders use whey protein, which contains dairy. This can lead to bloating, gas, and other GI disturbances, which, if left untreated, can damage the GI tract. 

There are many substitutes for whey protein, but this is something to be aware of if you’re just beginning your protein powder journey. 

Toxic Substances like Heavy Metals and BPA

This is one of the most dangerous problems with many protein products. Because the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements, this is an issue with all supplements. But protein powders are often seen as healthy products that are snuck in. 

The Clean Label Project conducted a study on 134 products and 130 of them ended up containing heavy metals and other toxins. The study tested for:

  • Lead
  • Arsenic
  • Cadmium 
  • Mercury
  • Bisphenol-A (BPA)
  • Pesticides
  • Other potential cancer and disease-causing toxins

While all of these are known to be detrimental for our health, they’ve also been linked to dangerous alterations to your gut health. 

Overall protein powders, bars, and supplements have so far been found to be mostly harmful to your gut health.

How to Get Enough Protein Without Harming Your Gut 

The best way to do this is to get protein with each meal and/or snack. This way, you’re getting not only protein with the food but also added fibers and nutrients that your body knows how to use for your benefit.

Dr. Ken Brown, a board-certified gastroenterologist, has given us some insight into what he suggests for meals each day. Check out this article to learn more and watch some of his helpful YouTube Shorts here.

Get protein from as many different sources as you can, but make sure the sources are clean. Some grocery store meats have also been shown to have high metal levels. While this sounds like we are making life difficult for you, we just want to share the best options. 

Find a local butcher for your meats. 

Get some seeds and nuts in your diet.

And if you’re going to use supplements make sure they are NSF Certified for Sport. 

NSF Certified for Sport ensures that what is on the label is in the product and that nothing extra (and dangerous) is in there. Atrantil uses NSF for testing each batch because this lets our customers know that we care about what they get. Other brands that utilize this certification care too. So if you’re going to use supplements, make sure you’re cross-checking where you’re getting them and that they’ve done the footwork to prove they’re safe for you to use. 

Check out some of our other articles here!

Are Your Sport Supplements Destroying Your Gut?

What it means to be NSF Certified for Sport

How to Stay Motivated to Exercise

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