How to Find the Best Protein Powder for Endomorphs​

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Nutrition Coach’s guide on how to find the best protein powder for endomorphs​.

Discover how protein powder can support healthy weight loss.

Last Updated
Jul 21, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Written by Jack, CNC

Jack is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Nutrition Coach.

Disclaimer: This communication is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Consult a licensed healthcare professional before making changes to your diet.

Protein Powder for Endomorphs​

Is Protein Powder Good for Endomorphs?

Yes, protein powder can be beneficial for endomorphs who are trying to lose weight.

Endomorph is a term used to describe a body type characterized by a higher proportion of body fat and a fat storage-focused metabolism.

Individuals with an endomorphic body type typically have a rounder physique and wide hips, with a tendency to store fat in the abdominal area.

Endomorphs aren’t inherently overweight; they simply tend to carry fat and muscle differently, with a broader bone structure and larger joints.

This body type might be associated with a higher risk of obesity and related health concerns, however (BMC Cardiovasc Disord, 2025).

It follows that many endomorphs pursue weight loss to reduce the risk of chronic diseases and improve their overall health.

These same individuals often face significant physiological and metabolic challenges that might make weight loss more difficult (Int J Mol Sci, 2024).

They include lower resting metabolic rates, higher propensity for insulin resistance, and obesity-induced tissue alterations that might impair fat oxidation and energy expenditure.

This is in part why a high protein diet is sometimes recommended for endomorphs struggling to lose weight.

Research suggests that increasing the percentage of your calories that come from protein could support weight loss, especially if you are overweight (Nutrients, 2021).

Protein is not only more filling than fats and carbs, meaning it curbs cravings and overeating, but it also supports the preservation of muscle during weight loss.

Maintaining muscle mass is key because people with more muscle tend to have faster metabolisms and burn more calories.

Note that a high-protein diet for weight loss is typically defined as one where protein constitutes approximately 25-30% of total energy intake.

For most people, this amounts to 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day (Am J Clin Nutr, 2015).

If you are finding it hard to eat this much protein, possibly due to dietary restrictions, adding protein powder to your diet can be a great idea.

Protein powder, which can be added to smoothies, oatmeal, and other recipes, makes eating enough protein easy.

What Is the Best Protein Powder for Endomorphs?

One could argue that because certain protein sources are slower-digesting than others, they are more filling.

One could also argue that because certain protein sources have more essential amino acids, particularly leucine, they are better for muscle-building.

But satiety over a full day tends to equalize, and a balanced diet should give you 100% of your essential amino acids, so the type of protein powder you choose does not really matter.

In other words, unless you have unique dietary needs, meeting your total daily protein intake is far more important than the protein source.

Ingredients do matter, however, especially when it comes to digestive health.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Many people, particularly those with sensitive stomachs, report that emulsifiers, thickeners, and other ultra-processed food additives contribute to digestive issues like bloating and diarrhea.

Regularly consuming certain food additives might also alter the composition and function of your gut microbiome (North Clin Istanb, 2019).

These shifts in the population of microorganisms living in your digestive tract, known as gut dysbiosis, have been shown to impair weight loss (J Clin Med, 2025).

In fact, gut dysbiosis is increasingly recognized as a contributor to obesity (J Bacteriol, 2025).

So if weight loss is your goal, avoiding ingredients that might disrupt your gut health should be a top priority.

⚠️ Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein shakes and powders:

• 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
• maltitol
• maltodextrin
• mono- and diglycerides
• ‘natural’ flavors
• rice bran extract
• rice dextrin
• rice hulls
• rosemary extract
• silica
• silicon dioxide
• sodium alginate
• soluble corn fiber
• sorbitol
• soy lecithin
• sucralose
• sunflower lecithin
• tocopherols
• tricalcium phosphate
• xanthan gum
• xylitol
• zinc oxide

As a rule of thumb, if you cannot find it in nature or make it at home, it is probably a food additive.

🚫 Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

If you have a sensitive stomach, you might also want to avoid protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein shakes and powders are made from one or both of these ultra-processed protein sources, which have been mechanically and chemically stripped of everything but the protein.

This includes the enzymes, fiber, and other natural digestive aids that help you break them down.

You therefore might not digest them in the same way that you do whole foods, which could affect your gut health.

For example, one study shows that regularly consuming protein concentrates and isolates might disrupt your gut microbiome (Nutrients, 2018).

Another study shows that it could cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut (Mol Nutr Food Res, 2024).

Although further research is needed, individuals with sensitive stomachs can play it safe by choosing protein shakes and powders made from minimally-processed protein sources like egg whites and almonds.

They might be more gut-friendly.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. BMC Cardiovascular Disorders (BMC Cardiovasc Disord). Cardiorespiratory fitness of healthy Polish men and women with various somatotypes. 2025.
2. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Int J Mol Sci). Beyond Calories: Individual Metabolic and Hormonal Adaptations Driving Variability in Weight Management-A State-of-the-Art Narrative Review. 2024.
3. Nutrients (Nutrients). Are Dietary Proteins the Key to Successful Body Weight Management? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Assessing Body Weight Outcomes after Interventions with Increased Dietary Protein. 2021.
4. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Am J Clin Nutr). The role of protein in weight loss and maintenance. 2015.
5. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2020.
6. Journal of Clinical Medicine (J Clin Med). The Role of Gut Microbiota in the Development and Treatment of Obesity and Overweight: A Literature Review. 2025.
7. Journal of Bacteriology (J Bacteriol). Unraveling the gut microbiota’s role in obesity: key metabolites, microbial species, and therapeutic insights. 2025.
8. Advances in Nutrition | Journal (Adv Nutr). Systematic Review of the Gastrointestinal Effects of A1 Compared with A2 β-Casein. 2017.
9. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr). Milk proteins: Processing, gastric coagulation, amino acid availability and muscle protein synthesis. 2023.
10. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
11. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (Mol Nutr Food Res). In Vitro Fermentation of Animal and Plant Protein Isolates by the Human Gut Microbiota Under High and Low Carbohydrate Conditions. 2024.

Editorial Guidelines

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This article was written by a Certified Nutrition Coach and reviewed by a Registered Dietitian. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.