What is the best protein shake for Crohn’s disease?

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If you are looking for the best protein shakes for Crohn’s disease, you have come to the right place. Learn how to supplement your dietary protein intake without upsetting your stomach.

Protein shakes and Crohn’s disease

What is Crohn’s disease? 

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Crohn’s disease, also known as Crohn’s, is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes chronic inflammation in the digestive tract. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells, leading to inflammation.

Living with Crohn’s is stressful. Certain foods can trigger symptoms, known as flares, like diarrhea and stomach pain. Over time, flares can lead to weight loss and malnutrition.

The exact cause of Crohn’s disease is unknown, but it is thought to be a mix of genetic and environmental factors. There is also no known cure for Crohn’s, but there are various ways to manage symptoms and reduce inflammation.

One of the most common ways to manage Crohn’s is to make dietary modifications. By avoiding certain foods or types of foods, you can reduce symptoms and support gut healing.

Are protein shakes good for Crohn’s disease?

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Crohn’s-related inflammation increases your protein needs. In fact, adults with Crohn’s need almost twice as much protein as healthy adults.

Unsurprisingly, many Crohn’s patients do not eat nearly enough protein, which can contribute to the progression of the disease. Clinical research has found that dietary protein plays an important role in the mucosal healing process after a flare, so not eating enough protein makes it hard to heal.

Adding a protein shake to your diet is an easy way to eat more protein and promote healing. That said, not all protein shakes are good for Crohn’s disease.

Many protein supplements contain a cocktail of added junk that can cause flare-ups and long-term gut health problems. Continue reading to learn more.

What is the best protein shake for Crohn’s disease?

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Many protein shakes and powders are made with ingredients that can cause painful side effects and long term health problems for someone with Crohn’s disease. Among these ingredients are food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates. 

Avoid food additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, sugar substitutes, and other additives can not only upset your stomach, but also alter the composition of your gut microbiome – the collection of microorganisms living in your gut. This can lead to gut dysbiosis, which is linked to the development of Crohn’s disease. 

Research shows that a healthy gut microbiome modulates the production and secretion of mucins and stratification of the mucus layers that make up the intestinal mucosal barrier. An unhealthy, or dysbiotic, gut microbiome results in the weakening of this barrier, thereby causing inflammatory damage. In case you were wondering, the intestinal mucosal barrier is a semipermeable membrane that allows you to absorb essential nutrients from food and prevents bacteria and other pathogens from entering your bloodstream.

Researchers have also found that a healthy gut microbiome contributes to inducing the expansion of regulatory T cells that reduce intestinal inflammation by mediating repair of the intestinal mucosal barrier. A dysbiotic gut microbiome thus makes you both more susceptible to inflammation, and less able to fight it. Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein supplements:

acacia fiber, acacia gum, acesulfame potassium, artificial flavors, ascorbic acid, aspartame, calcium carbonate, carrageenan, cellulose gum, dextrin, dicalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, erythritol, gellan gum, guar gum, gum arabic, inulin, locust bean gum, maltodextrin, mono- and diglycerides, ‘natural’ flavors, rice bran extract, rice dextrin, rice hulls, rosemary extract, silica, silicon dioxide, sodium alginate, sodium bicarbonate, soluble corn fiber, soy lecithin, sucralose, sunflower lecithin, tocopherols, tricalcium phosphate, xanthan gum, xylitol, zinc oxide

Avoid dairy-based proteins

Dairy-based proteins like whey and casein, although not an issue for everyone, can cause side effects like bloating and diarrhea. This is in part because they contain lactose, a sugar most adults cannot fully digest.

Avoid protein concentrates and isolates

Most protein supplements are made from protein concentrates and isolates, which have been mechanically and or chemically stripped of everything but the protein, including the enzymes, fiber, and other natural digestive aids that help you break them down. As a result, they can cause digestive issues and possibly even disruptions to your gut microbiome. 

Finding a protein shake or powder free from food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates is hard. In fact, 99% of protein supplements contain one or more of these problematic ingredients. This is why we created drink wholesome. Keep reading to learn more about why we make the best protein shakes for Crohn’s disease.

drink wholesome makes the best protein shake for Crohn’s disease

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We make the best protein shakes for Crohn’s disease because we use a short list of simple ingredients free from food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates.

Note that instead of using protein concentrates or isolates, we use whole food protein sources like collagen, egg whites, and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb. Whole food protein sources also have unique digestive benefits: collagen can reduce bloating and improve digestive symptoms, egg whites can help restore your mucosal intestinal barrier, and almonds can improve the composition of your gut microbiome.

It follows that our customers experience fewer digestive issues with our Crohn’s protein shakes than with any other type of protein supplement. Order samples to see for yourself. Or, learn more about the best protein powder for IBD.