How to Find the Best Low Purine Protein Powder​

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Dietitian’s guide on how to find the best low purine protein powder.

Discover how to safely supplement your protein intake on a low purine diet.

Last Updated
Feb 3, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Written by Kayla Kamen, MS, RD

Kayla Kamen is a Registered Dietitian with a MS in Nutrition.

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Fossett, PA-C

Jennifer Fossett is a Physician Assistant with a BA in Nutritional Sciences.

Low Purine Protein Powder​

Does Protein Powder Contain Purines​?

Purines are organic compounds found in many foods, including some protein powders.

When your body breaks purines down, it creates uric acid.

High levels of uric acid can lead to gout, a form of arthritis characterized by painful inflammation in joints.

The goal of a low purine diet is to reduce uric acid production and manage and reduce the risk of gout by limiting foods high in purines (Arthritis Rheumatol, 2015).

Foods high in purines include high-protein foods including meat, seafood, soy, and legumes.

Although avoiding meat, seafood, soy, and legumes can help you reduce the amount of purines you eat, it can also make it hard to meet your daily protein needs.

This is where protein powder can help.

Protein powder can easily be added to smoothies, oatmeal, and other recipes to help you fill in nutritional gaps.

Not all protein powders are compatible with a low purine diet, however.

Animal-based protein powders like whey, casein, and beef protein isolate, for example, contain lots of purines.

Plant-based protein sources like soy and peas contain moderate amounts of purines and are not a good choice for individuals with gout either.

The most common types of low purine protein powder are egg white, hemp, and nut-based protein powders.

What Is the Best Low Purine Protein Powder​?

As long as you are eating a balanced diet, any type of low purine protein powder​ can help you safely meet your daily protein needs.

But some low purine protein powders often contain added ingredients that might cause painful side effects, including gout flares.

Among these ingredients are food additives and protein concentrates and isolates.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Many low purine protein powder​s contain a cocktail of emulsifiers, thickeners, and other ultra-processed food additives.

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

These shifts, known as gut dysbiosis, are associated with the onset and progression of gout (World J Gastroenterol, 2024).

Basically, changes to the composition of your gut microbiome can result in the synthesis of purine-metabolizing enzymes and the release of inflammatory cytokines, both which have been linked to the development of gout (Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2022).

⚠️ 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
• 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 gout, you might also want to avoid ultra-processed protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein supplements 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 your gut break them down.

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

Studies show that regularly eating protein concentrates and isolates might disrupt your gut microbiome and cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut (Nutrients, 2018; Mol Nutr Food Res, 2024).

You should therefore look for protein supplements made from whole food protein sources like egg whites and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) (Arthritis Rheumatol). Food Sources of Protein and Risk of Incident Gout in the Singapore Chinese Health Study. 2015.
2. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2019.
3. World journal of gastroenterology (World J Gastroenterol). Elucidating the role of gut microbiota dysbiosis in hyperuricemia and gout: Insights and therapeutic strategies. 2024.
4. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology (Front Cell Infect Microbiol). Gut microbiota remodeling: A promising therapeutic strategy to confront hyperuricemia and gout. 2022.
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

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