What is the best SIBO-friendly protein powder?
If you are looking for the best SIBO-friendly protein powder, you have come to the right place. In this article, you will learn how to find an SIBO protein powder so you can easily increase your protein intake without upsetting your stomach. This article was written by Jack Schrupp.
What is SIBO?
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) occurs when there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine, particularly of types of bacteria that normally grow in other parts of the gut. This overgrowth can cause symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, stomach pain, and even can lead to malnutrition and weight loss in severe cases.
Although SIBO remains a poorly understood disease, it is associated with several chronic conditions including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It can also be a complication of abdominal surgery.
The goals of SIBO treatment are threefold: 1) correct the underlying cause 2) provide nutritional support, if necessary, and 3) treat the overgrowth. The most common treatment for SIBO is antibiotics, which can help decrease the number of bacteria in the small intestine. Antibiotics will not address the underlying issue that caused SIBO in the first place, however, which is why antibiotics are often paired with dietary modifications.
What is the SIBO diet?
The SIBO diet is a temporary elimination diet used to help people determine which foods are problematic and cause symptoms. It involves eliminating certain carbohydrates, specifically high-FODMAP foods, to starve gut bacteria. FODMAPs are short-chain carbohydrates that are indigestible or poorly absorbed by certain people.
The SIBO diet has three steps. First, you stop eating high FODMAP foods. Next, you slowly reintroduce these foods to determine which ones are problematic. Finally, once you have identified the foods that cause symptoms, you avoid or limit them.
Although the SIBO diet is characterized by elimination, there are a few key ingredients, and one of them is protein. Eating lots of protein is important because SIBO can impair your ability to absorb nutrients from food. Basically, the excess bacteria in your small intestine break down your bile salts, which are used to digest fats and protein. The result is an impaired ability to digest and absorb these nutrients, which can lead to nutritional deficiencies and impact your overall health.
You should try to get as much of your dietary protein intake as possible from sources like eggs, fish, legumes, meat, nuts, and seeds. Eating enough protein this way can be challenging for some people, however, which is where protein powder can help. Adding a protein powder to your diet is an easy way to increase your protein intake and fill in nutritional gaps. That said, not all protein powders are created equal.
What is the best SIBO protein powder?
Many protein powders are made with ingredients that can cause painful side effects and long term health problems for someone with SIBO. 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 SIBO.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth can be understood as one type of gut dysbiosis. SIBO involves an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine specifically, whereas gut dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in bacteria in the digestive tract generally speaking. There is no indication that the latter causes the former, but the two are certainly related. Foods that cause gut dysbiosis should therefore be avoided by people with SIBO. Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein powder:
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 powders 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 the gut microbiome.
Finding a protein 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 powder for SIBO.
drink wholesome is the best SIBO-friendly protein powder
We make the best SIBO-friendly protein powder because we use a short list of simple ingredients free from food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates. Our egg white protein powder and collagen protein powder are also low FODMAP.
egg whites, coconut, vanilla, monk fruit
the alternative:
Protein Matrix Comprised of (Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey Protein Isolate, Calcium Caseinate, Micellar Casein, Milk Protein Isolate, Egg Albumen, Glutamine Peptides), Polydextrose, Sunflower Creamer (Sunflower Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Caseinate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin, Tocopherols), Natural and Artificial Flavor, MCT Powder (Medium Chain Triglycerides, Nonfat Dry Milk, Disodium Phosphate, Silicon Dioxide), Lecithin, Cellulose Gum, Salt, Yellow 5, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Papain, Bromelain
Note that instead of using protein concentrates or isolates, we use whole food protein sources like collagen, egg whites, and almonds. Simple protein sources like these are easy to digest and absorb. They also each bring a unique set of digestive benefits to the table.
Collagen has been shown to reduce bloating and improve digestive symptoms. Almonds are rich in prebiotic fiber and improve the composition of your gut microbiome. Egg whites are alkaline, meaning they balance the pH levels in your gut, and promote the growth of good gut bacteria.
Our customers thus experience fewer digestive issues with our SIBO protein powder than with any other type of protein supplement. Order samples to see for yourself.
This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. drink wholesome is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
