What Is the Best Low Sugar Protein Powder?

Are you looking for the best low sugar protein powder? Discover how to easily supplement your protein intake without Added Sugars.

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Low Sugar Protein Powder

What Is Low Sugar Protein Powder?

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a food labeled as “sugar-free” must contain less than 0.5 grams of Total Sugars per serving.

And a food labeled as “reduced sugar” must contain at least 25% less sugar per serving than the regular version of the product.

The term “low-sugar” is not defined by the FDA, meaning food and supplement manufacturers cannot legally make “low sugar” or “reduced sugar” nutrient content claims (NCCs) on their packaging.

This includes NCCs that imply low sugar like “lightly sweetened” and “slightly sweet.”

Manufacturers who make claims like these could be accused of false advertising.

Kellogg, for example, recently settled a class action lawsuit over the use of the claim “lightly sweetened” on some of their cereals.

Plaintiffs argued Kellogg implied its cereals were low in sugar, when they actually contained as much as 40% Added Sugars.

It is thus up to you to decide if a protein powder qualifies as low sugar or not. 

Start by looking at the Nutrition (Supplement) Facts panel. 

In 2016, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) revised the Nutrition Facts label to include both “Total Sugars” and “Added Sugars.”

Added Sugars are sugars introduced to food during processing, and total Sugars are Added Sugars plus naturally occurring sugars like those in fruits. 

The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that no more than 10 percent of your daily calories come from Added Sugars.

If you consume a 2,000 calorie daily diet, this amounts to no more than 200 calories or 50 grams of Added Sugars per day.

For reference, there are 39 grams of Added Sugars in a 12 oz can of Coca‑Cola.

The FDA does not give us any guidance when it comes to low sugar, so if you must eat a low sugar diet, you have to look elsewhere for answers.

Fortunately, regulations in the European Union (EU) can help. 

According to the EU Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, a claim that a food is low in sugars may only be made when the food contains no more than 5 grams of sugars per 100 grams for solids.

This means that protein powder with a serving size of 30 grams can contain at most 1.5 grams of sugar per serving and be considered low sugar in the EU.

Not all sugars are bad for you, however. 

The naturally occurring sugars in dairy, fruits, and vegetables, for example, are a type of energy-rich carbohydrate that fuels your body.

Naturally occurring sugars are also accompanied by fiber, vitamins, and minerals, all of which contribute to overall health.

So, limiting your Total Sugars intake to 5 grams per 100 grams of food is probably not good for you.

In fact, research shows that the risks of low sugar diets may far outweigh the benefits.

Moreover, most protein powders with less than 1.5 grams of Total Sugars per serving contain artificial sweeteners.

Although a pinch of artificial sweetener provides sweetness without calories and sugar, it has serious drawbacks.

Did you know artificial sweeteners can cause cravings toward sugary foods, increase the risk of glucose intolerance, and alter the composition of the gut microbiome?

At the end of the day, you are probably better off just eating sugar. 

What Is the Best Low Sugar Protein Powder?

Today, the average protein powder contains less than 3 grams of sugar per serving and 0 grams of Added Sugars.

I would therefore consider most protein powders to be low in sugar.

Just because a protein powder is low in sugar does not mean it is good for you, however.

As you just learned, many low sugar protein powders contain problematic artificial sweeteners like sucralose.

And those that do not either contain sugar alcohols or natural sugar substitutes like stevia and monk fruit.

Sugar alcohols, although certainly better for you than artificial sweeteners, are notorious for causing digestive issues like bloating and diarrhea.

Moreover, stevia, once the poster child of sugar substitutes, is also falling from grace because of its bitter aftertaste.

Unlike sugar, stevia activates bitter taste receptors in addition to sweet taste receptors.

This leaves us with monk fruit, also known as luo han guo, which is a melon-like fruit native to Southeast Asia. 

Unlike stevia, monk fruit does not have an unpleasant aftertaste, and has been safely used in Asian cuisine for centuries with no known side effects, even when consumed in large quantities.

Moreover, small randomized trials have shown that monk fruit sweetener does not negatively impact blood sugar or insulin levels.

So, if you are trying to avoid Added Sugars, and do not care for the bitter aftertaste of stevia, give monk fruit a try.

It is over 200 times sweeter than sugar, but sugar-free thanks to compounds called mogrosides.

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

Thanks to the monk fruit, our Protein Powders are sweet (but not too sweet!), and contain only 1-3 grams of Total (not Added) Sugars.