How to Avoid Protein Farts

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Certified Nutrition Coach’s guide on how to avoid protein farts.

Discover why protein shakes and powders make you fart.

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 article 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.

What Are Protein Farts?

Does Protein Make You Fart?

Farting, or flatulence, is a natural process driven by the activity of bacteria living in your large intestine.

These microorganisms produce gas as they break down undigested food, primarily dietary fiber and sugars that have bypassed your small intestine’s digestion process.

Farts are primarily composed of odorless gases like oxygen and methane.

But there can be trace amounts of smelly gases like hydrogen sulfide, which contribute to the unpleasant odor often associated with flatulence.

Protein itself does not make you fart.

In fact, there is no evidence that high protein foods make you pass gas more than other foods.

Protein powders and shakes, on the other hand, can make you fart.

In fact, protein shakes and powders make so many people fart that there is such a thing as a “protein fart.”

Protein farts, to put it simply, are farts caused by protein shakes and powders.

They can be unpleasant for you and everyone around you, but they can also be easily avoided.

It is worth noting that eating too much protein at once can overwhelm your digestive system, leading to incomplete digestion and excess intestinal gas.

Does Protein Make Your Farts Smell?

As you just learned, some gut bacteria (namely pathogens like Salmonella, Escherichia, Fusobacterium) produce sulfur-containing gases like hydrogen sulfide known for their pungent “rotten egg” odor.

It follows that if your protein farts smell bad, your protein shake or powder is either rich in sulfur, or you have an overgrowth of certain types of bacteria.

Here is a chart showing the range of sulfur amino acid concentrations in different protein shakes and powders.

As you can see, whey protein contains a lot of sulfur-containing amino acids.

This explains why whey protein tends to create the smelliest farts.

Why Does Protein Make Me Fart?

Some people assume that protein farting is unavoidable, but this is not true.

Protein powders and shakes should not make you fart, and if they do, it is time to find a new protein shake or powder.

There are three types of ingredients that cause protein farts: food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Many emulsifiers, thickeners, and other ultra-processed additives are hard to digest.

And foods or ingredients that are hard to digest give your gut bacteria more time to eat (ferment) that food.

The fermentation that takes place in your gut produces gas that can cause bloating, flatulence, and stomach pain.

Regularly eating certain food additives can also alter the composition of your gut microbiome – the collection of microorganisms living in your gut (North Clin Istanb, 2020).

These shifts, known as gut dysbiosis, have been associated with excessive intestinal gas (JGH Open, 2021).

⚠️ 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 Dairy-Based Proteins

Dairy-based proteins like whey and casein, although not a problem for everyone, can cause digestive issues too.

This is usually because they contain lactose – a sugar many individuals with sensitive stomachs cannot fully digest.

But you might be sensitive to dairy-based proteins even if you are not lactose intolerant.

For starters, the digestion of some caseins releases a bioactive peptide that has been linked to digestive issues (Adv Nutr, 2017).

Casein also forms a gel-like substance in your stomach that slows down digestion (Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2023).

For sensitive individuals, particularly true for those with cow’s milk protein allergy or intolerance, slower digestion can contribute to bloating, constipation, and other side effects.

🚫 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/or 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 do 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 are more gut-friendly.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2020.
2. JGH Open (JGH Open). Gut microbiota dysbiosis in functional gastrointestinal disorders: Underpinning the symptoms and pathophysiology. 2021.
3. Advances in Nutrition | Journal (Adv Nutr). Systematic Review of the Gastrointestinal Effects of A1 Compared with A2 β-Casein. 2017.
4. 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.
5. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
6. 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

---

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.