How to Find the Best Protein Powder for ALS Patients

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Certified Nutrition Coach’s guide on how to find the best protein powder for ALS patients.

Discover how to safely meet your protein needs while managing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Last Updated Aug 19, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Jack, CNC

Jack is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Nutrition Coach.

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Disclaimer: This communication is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice.

Protein Powder for ALS

Is Protein Powder Good for People With ALS?

Protein powder can be a great option for ALS patients because it offers an easy way to meet protein needs when eating solid food becomes difficult.

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord (Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2022).

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

In ALS, the motor neurons, which are the nerve cells that carry signals from the brain to the muscles, gradually break down and die.

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

This can lead to difficulty speaking, swallowing, breathing, and eventually moving.

The exact cause of ALS is not fully understood, but researchers believe it involves a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

There is also no cure for ALS, so treatment focuses on managing symptoms and improving quality of life.

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

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

• Meet higher energy needs (Muscle & Nerve, 2026)
• Slow muscle breakdown
• Support the immune system
• Support energy levels

Eating enough can be challenging for many people with ALS, however.

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

Chewing and swallowing can also become difficult, and fatigue or a reduced appetite might make it hard to eat typical meals.

For these reasons, protein-energy malnutrition is common in ALS, affecting 16-55% of patients (Nutrition, 2023).

Keep in mind that standard protein targets for patients with ALS are 0.8-1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, alongside 25–30 calories/kg/day (Nutrition, 2012).

If hitting these numbers is hard, protein powder can help.

Adding protein powder to your diet is an easy way to help you meet your basic protein needs.

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

That said, not all protein powders are created equal.

What Is the Best Protein Powder for ALS?

As long as you are eating a balanced diet – getting protein from a variety of sources – any type of protein shake or powder can help you meet your total daily protein needs.

But ingredients do matter.

Many protein shakes and powders contain ingredients that might indirectly contribute to painful side effects and even the progression of COPD.

Among the top offenders are artificial and ultra-processed food additives.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, and other ultra-processed additives might alter the composition of your gut microbiome, which is the community of bacteria and other microbes that live in your digestive tract (North Clin Istanb, 2020).

Over time, these shifts, known as gut dysbiosis, have been shown to contribute to ALS (Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2022).

Researchers think that gut dysbiosis might disrupt the gut-brain axis, the two-way communication system between your gut and your brain, which could contribute inflammation in the nervous system and nerve damage (Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2022).

It is important to note that this research is still emerging, and more studies are needed to confirm this relationship.

That said, the preliminary findings suggest that because protein shakes and powders are something you consume regularly, if not every day, the cumulative effects of small amounts of potentially harmful ingredients is worth taking seriously.

⚠️ Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein shakes and powders:

• 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

I also recommend avoiding protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein shakes and powders 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 you break them down.

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

For example, one study shows that regularly consuming protein concentrates and isolates might disrupt your gut microbiome (Nutrients, 2018).

Another study shows that it could cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut (Mol Nutr Food Res, 2024).

Although further research is needed, you can play it safe by choosing protein shakes and powders made from minimally-processed protein sources like egg whites and almonds.

Our customers find them to be more gut-friendly.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. Muscle & Nerve (Muscle & Nerve). Development of a Complex Intervention to Support High Calorie Diets for People With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. 2026.
2. Nutrition (Nutrition). Nutritional and metabolic support in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 2012.
3. Nutrition (Nutrition) Malnutrition assessment by Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition criteria in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. 2023.
4. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2020.
5. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Nicrobiology (Front Cell Infect Microbiol). A Gut Feeling in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Microbiome of Mice and Men. 2022.
6. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
7. 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 Certified Nutrition Coach and reviewed by a Registered Dietitian. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.