What is the best boba protein powder?
Written by Jack Schrupp and reviewed by Ella McGonagle, M.S. Nutrition
drink wholesome is the best boba protein powder. It is additive-free, dairy-free, and made with real foods, not protein isolates – 99% of supplements fail to meet at least one of these criteria. This makes it perfect for people with gut issues and sensitive stomachs, as well as for people just looking to boost their protein intake without the processing and added junk. Order samples to see if our protein powder is right for you.
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drink wholesome is the best boba protein powder.
What is boba?
What is the best boba protein powder?
Why drink wholesome?
What is boba?
Boba, also known as bubble tea, is a popular Taiwanese drink that typically consists of tea, milk, sugar, and chewy tapioca balls (also known as pearls or boba). It can be served hot or cold, and made with almost any type of tea. Boba is usually served with a large straw so you can drink both the tea and the tapioca balls together.
Boba protein, or boba protein powder, is a protein supplement inspired by popular bubble tea flavors like black tea, taro tea, Thai tea, and matcha. Adding boba protein to your diet is a convenient way to boost your protein intake. It can be used to make shakes, or added to oatmeal, yogurt, and other recipes.
Unlike most protein supplements, many boba protein protein powders are naturally caffeinated. This makes them a great option for breakfast or a pre-workout snack. Please keep in mind that the amount of caffeine can vary depending on the type of tea and other ingredients used in the drink.
What is the best boba protein powder?
Not all boba protein powders are created equal, but what makes the best boba protein powder better than the rest has nothing to do with the type of protein; any type of protein can help you boost your protein intake. Instead, what makes the difference are the other ingredients. Our matcha protein powder is the best bubble tea protein powder for 4 reasons: it is additive-free, sweetened with monk fruit, dairy-free, and made with real foods, not protein isolates. Keep reading to learn more about why ingredients matter, and the top ingredients to avoid when buying boba protein powder.
Why drink wholesome?
drink wholesome is additive-free.
One of the reasons why we make the best boba protein powder is that we do not use food additives. Most boba protein powders, on the other hand, are full of food additives. Although not necessarily bad for you in small quantities, additives can add up quickly (especially if you drink a protein shake every day) and cause gastrointestinal (GI) side effects like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas, and stomach pain. This is because food additives are hard to digest, and sit in your gut for longer than food should, which gives your gut bacteria more time to eat. As they eat, these bacteria produce gas, which causes bloating and stomach pain. Gas also slows colonic transit (the amount of time it takes food to travel through the colon), and can lead to constipation. In the long term, food additives can disrupt regulatory pathways in the intestine, which can result in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and systemic inflammatory disorders.
Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein powder:
acacia gum artificial flavors, carrageenan, cellulose gum, dextrin, dextrose, gellan gum, guar gum, gum arabic, inulin, locust bean gum, “natural” flavors, maltodextrin, rice syrup solids, soy lecithin, silica, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum
When it comes to identifying food additives, go with your gut. 😉 As a rule of thumb, they are the ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Food additives are not the only thing to look out for when buying protein powder, however. There are several other ingredients that can upset your stomach.
drink wholesome is sweetened with monk fruit.
Whereas traditional boba tea is high in sugar, most boba proteins are not thanks to sugar substitutes. Unfortunately, these substitutes are often artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are among the most harmful protein powder ingredients in the long term as they alter the composition of your gut microbiota (the collection of microorganisms that help you digest food). This can lead to serious, chronic GI problems, widespread inflammation, and permanent damage to the gut microbiome. Some sweeteners, especially sugar alcohols like xylitol, are also poorly absorbed by the gut (meaning they feed those hungry gut bacteria), and cause diarrhea because they draw water into your intestine. Now you finally have something to blame for those post-protein shake trips to the bathroom!
Here is a list of the most common artificial sweeteners used in protein powder:
acesulfame potassium, aspartame, erythritol, sucralose, xylitol
Instead of artificial sweeteners, our matcha protein powder is sweetened with monk fruit. Monk fruit, also known as luo han guo, is a melon-like fruit native to Southeast Asia. Its intense sweetness, which is about 200 times that of sugar, comes from non-caloric compounds called mogrosides. Like a pinch of sucralose, a pinch of monk fruit can be used to achieve the same amount of sweetness as several tablespoons of sugar. This allows us to reduce both the caloric and sugar content of their products. Unlike artificial sweeteners, however, monk fruit is a natural sugar substitute. It is made by removing the seeds and skin, crushing the fruit, and collecting the juice, which is then dried into a powder. What ends up in your protein powder is basically concentrated fruit juice. Monk fruit is also sweet like sugar. Artificial sweeteners, on the other hand, have a bitter aftertaste because they activate bitter taste receptors.
I would be remiss if I did not mention that some companies sweeten their bubble tea protein powder with stevia, which some consider to be a natural sweetener. The problem with stevia, however, is that it is extracted from the stevia rebaudiana plant using chemicals like ethanol and methyl alcohol. This, some argue, makes it no more natural than the artificial sweeteners that it seeks to replace. In fact, a recent class action lawsuit filed in California reached a $6.1 million settlement because it was ruled that the company in question falsely labeled and advertised its stevia sweeteners as “natural.
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.
*This is the actual ingredient list of one of the best-selling protein powders in the United States.
drink wholesome is dairy-free.
Another reason why we make the best boba protein powder is that we do not use dairy-based proteins. Most boba protein powders are made with whey and casein, which are byproducts of cheese and yogurt production, and known to cause digestive issues, especially for people with lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Over one in three Americans are lactose intolerant, and the prevalence of IBS is somewhere between 10 and 15 percent in the United States. It follows that you may be lactose intolerant or have IBS and not even know it. Moreover, well over 2/3 of the Asian population is lactose intolerant. Given that boba protein is a popular drink in the Asian community, this is a a huge problem.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a poorly understood condition, and it is unclear why dairy triggers symptoms. Lactose intolerance, on the other hand, is clearly understood. People with lactose intolerance are unable to fully digest lactose, the sugar in dairy. As you just learned, partially digested food feeds the bacteria in your gut, which produce gas and cause stomach pain.
drink wholesome is made with real foods.
A final reason why we make the best bubble tea protein powder is that we do not use protein isolates. Most boba protein powders, on the contrary, are made with protein concentrates and/or isolates, foods stripped of everything but the protein. They are listed on the ingredient list as “collagen protein,” “pea protein, and” “whey protein” as opposed to “collagen,” “peas,” and “whey.” I will not go into the details, but protein concentrates and isolates undergo heavy mechanical and chemical processing before becoming protein powder. Sometimes, manufacturers use chemical solvents like hexane to isolate (separate) the protein from the food. This means that what you end up putting into your body looks nothing like real food.
If you think about it, your gut was designed to digest naturally occurring foods, not laboratory formulated imitations, so if you feed it anything but real food, it might get upset. The long term implications of eating processed foods are still not well understood, but more and more research is finding that it can alter the composition of your gut microbiota, and lead to permanent damage to the gut microbiome. It is therefore in your best interest to avoid protein powders made with protein concentrates and isolates.
Instead of protein concentrates or isolates, we make the best boba tea protein powder with egg whites. Egg whites are simply pasteurized and dried before becoming protein powder. Minimally-processed ingredients like this are an easy to digest, gut-friendly alternative to protein concentrates and isolates. Unless you have a sensitivity or allergy to eggs, egg white protein is the best protein for your gut. Egg whites are low in fiber, low-FODMAP, naturally alkaline, and have the highest protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of any whole food. Our customers have experienced fewer digestive issues with egg white protein than with any other type of protein.
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“I’ve had Crohn’s disease for 20+ years and it’s always been hard to find a protein powder my stomach can handle. I’ve had no problem digesting drink wholesome AND it tastes great. I highly recommend this protein powder if you have IBS or Crohn’s.” – Jesse
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drink wholesome is the best boba protein powder.
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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.