What Is the Best Protein Powder for ALS Patients?

Are you looking for the best protein powder for ALS patients? Discover how to safely supplement your protein intake with ALS.

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Protein Powder for ALS

Is Protein Powder Good for ALS patients?

ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

It is also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, named after the famous baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS.

In ALS, the motor neurons, which are responsible for transmitting signals from the brain to the muscles, gradually degenerate and die.

As a result, the muscles that are controlled by these neurons begin to weaken and atrophy over time.

This leads to difficulties in speaking, swallowing, breathing, and eventually, the ability to move.

The exact cause of ALS is not fully understood, but it is believed to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for ALS.

Treatment simply focuses on managing symptoms and improving the patient’s quality of life.

Maintaining good nutrition is one of the most important aspects of living with ALS.

Eating enough calories, protein, and other nutrients can help:

• Meet increased energy needs (15% higher than someone who does not have ALS)
• Slow muscle breakdown
• Keep the immune system strong and ready to fight infection
• Maximize energy levels

Getting adequate nutrition is challenging for many people with ALS, however.

Weakened muscles and difficulty with hand or limb coordination can make preparing and eating food difficult.

Chewing and swallowing food can also become challenging, and fatigue and lack of appetite might contribute to the inability to eat typical meals.

This is where protein powder can help.

Adding protein powder to your diet is an easy way to boost protein intake and fill in nutritional gaps

It can be added to soft foods like oatmeal and yogurt, or mixed with just milk or water to make protein shakes.

What is the best protein powder for ALS?

Not all protein powders are created equal.

As long as you are eating a balanced diet – getting protein from a variety of sources – the type of protein supplement you use does not matter.

Ingredients do matter, however.

Many protein powders contain ingredients that might contribute to the development and progression of ALS.

Among the top offenders are food additives and protein concentrates and isolates.

Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, and other additives can alter the composition of your gut microbiome.

Over time, this can lead to gut dysbiosis, which has been linked to the development of ALS. 

It is thought that gut dysbiosis disrupts the gut-brain axis, leading to increased intestinal permeability, neuroinflammation, and excitotoxicity (nerve damage).

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 could not find an ingredient in nature or make it at home, it is a food additive.

Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

You might also want to consider avoiding protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein supplements are made from one or both of these 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 can affect everything from satiety to gut health.

In fact, studies show that regularly eating protein concentrates and isolates can disrupt your gut microbiome and cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut.

Once again, this is not good for someone with ALS.

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Drink Wholesome Is the Best Protein Powder for ALS

Finding a protein powder free from food additives 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 protein powder for Lou Gehrig’s disease​ because we use a short list of simple ingredients.

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 whole food protein sources like egg whites and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

It follows that our customers experience fewer gut health-related issues with our Protein Powder than with any other type of protein supplement.

Order Samples to see for yourself.