What is the best low purine protein powder​?

Looking for the best low purine protein powder​? Learn how to meet your dietary protein needs on a low purine diet.

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Protein powder and purines

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.

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 low in purines, 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. 

That said, not all low purine protein powders are created equal.

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.

Low purine protein powders often contain added ingredients that can cause painful side effects, including gout flares, however.

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

Avoid food additives

Many low purine protein powder​s are made with a cocktail of emulsifiers, thickeners, and other food additives.

Regularly food 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, or an imbalance in gut bacteria, which is associated with the onset and progression of gout.

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. 

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

Avoid protein concentrates and isolates

Most protein supplements 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 digestion problems and possibly even disruptions to your gut microbiome. As you just learned, this is something someone with gout should take very seriously. 

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Drink Wholesome is the best low purine protein powder​.

Finding a protein supplement 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, which is why we created Drink Wholesome.

We make the best low purine protein powder​ because we use a short list of simple ingredients free from food additives and protein concentrates and isolates.

Our Ingredients

egg whites

coconut

vanilla

monk fruit

NOT Our Ingredients

• acacia gum

• acesulfame potassium

• artificial flavors

• carrageenan

• erythritol

• guar gum

• inulin

• maltodextrin

• 'natural' flavors

• silica

• soy lecithin

• sucralose

• xanthan gum

• xylitol

Note that instead of using protein concentrates or isolates, we use low purine protein sources like collagen, egg whites, and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

Whole food protein sources also have unique digestion benefits: collagen can reduce bloating and improve digestion symptoms, egg whites can help restore your mucosal intestinal barrier, and almonds can improve the composition of your gut microbiome.

It follows that our customers experience fewer digestion problems with our low purine protein powder​ than with any other type of protein supplement. Order samples to see for yourself.