How to Find the Best Protein Powder for Diabetics
📌 Overview and Key Takeaways
This is a Certified Nutrition Coach’s guide on how to find the best protein powder for diabetics.
Discover how to safely meet your protein needs with diabetes.
Protein Powder for Diabetics
Is Protein Powder Good for Diabetics?
If you are diabetic, eating enough protein is important for several reasons, including:
Blood Glucose Management
When it comes to managing blood glucose (sugar) levels, protein plays an important role.
Unlike carbohydrates, protein has a minimal impact on blood glucose and can even help stabilize it.
There are several mechanisms by which this occurs.
First of all, protein stimulates the release of insulin, the hormone responsible for transporting glucose into your cells.
This helps you regulate your blood glucose levels and prevent sharp spikes or dips.
Second, protein slows down the digestive process (Nutrients, 2017).
It follows that when protein is consumed with carbohydrates, it leads to a more controlled release of glucose into the bloodstream.
This, in turn, helps prevent spikes in blood glucose levels after meals.
Third, protein consumption moderates glucose production in the liver, ensuring a steady release into the bloodstream and reducing the risk of blood glucose fluctuations.
Protein facilitates this by stimulating the release of glucagon, a hormone that promotes the breakdown of glycogen (stored glucose) in the liver.
Insulin Sensitivity and Satiety
Protein consumption also plays an important role in improving insulin sensitivity (Eur J Nutr, 2021).
By incorporating protein into your diet, you enhance your body’s responsiveness to insulin, which is crucial for regulating blood glucose levels effectively.
Protein intake stimulates the release of glucagon, a hormone that counteracts the effects of insulin, which helps prevent blood glucose spikes and contributes to better overall glycemic control (J Diabetes Investig, 2023).
Moreover, eating protein promotes satiety, making you feel full for longer.
This can be particularly advantageous for individuals who struggle with cravings or overeating.
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Muscle Growth and Repair
Without adequate protein intake, you cannot build and repair muscles.
This matters in the context of diabetes for two reasons: 1) diabetics can experience muscle wasting due to insulin resistance and 2) people with more muscle have higher metabolisms and burn more calories (Diabetol Metab Syndr, 2023).
Incorporating protein into your meals and snacks can thus help ensure that you are staying strong and managing your body weight.
Other Health Benefits
Protein plays a crucial role in supporting heart health, making it an essential part of a balanced diet for diabetics.
For example, protein consumption can contribute to improved lipid profiles, including lower levels of LDL cholesterol (commonly referred to as “bad” cholesterol) and higher levels of HDL cholesterol (known as “good” cholesterol).
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, increasing your dietary protein intake can lead to a reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease (Circulation, 2010).
A diet rich in protein has also been associated with lower blood pressure levels (Int J Angiol, 2010).
Protein plays a role in various physiological processes, including the synthesis of nitric oxide, a compound known for its vasodilatory effects.
By promoting the relaxation of blood vessels, adequate protein consumption may support improved blood flow and help regulate your blood pressure.
How Much Protein Do Diabetics Need?
Two common misconceptions about dietary protein intake in diabetes management are 1) that a certain amount of dietary protein is converted into blood glucose and 2) that consuming too much protein can lead to diabetic kidney disease.
Both misconceptions have been disproven.
Research shows that a dietary protein intake above the normal recommendation is actually better for diabetics as it can help with blood glucose and body weight management (Curr Diab Rep, 2011).
It also shows that a high protein diet has no negative effect on the kidneys for someone with normal kidney function.
Diabetics should therefore aim to eat at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, but could benefit from as much as 1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight in some cases (Diabetes Care, 2025; Eur J Nutr, 2025).
For reference, at 1.5 grams per kilogram of body weight, someone who weighs 150 pounds would have to eat over 100 grams of protein per day!
Just thinking about eating that much protein per day is overwhelming.
As you can see below, even if you eat a lot of protein with every meal, you would not even come close to meeting your daily protein needs.
- Breakfast: 2 eggs – 12 gram protein
- Lunch: 4 ounces chicken breast – 32 grams protein
- Snack: ¼ cup almonds – 7 grams protein
- Dinner: 4 ounces salmon – 23 grams protein
- Total: 74 grams protein
This is where diabetic-friendly protein powder can help as it can easily be added to smoothies, oatmeal, and other recipes to fill in nutritional gaps.
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What Is the Best Protein Powder for Diabetics?
Many protein powders are made with ingredients that are not suitable for diabetics.
Among these ingredients are added sugars, food additives, and protein concentrates and isolates.
Avoid Added Sugars
Diabetics should avoid protein powders with lots of Added Sugars, as they can trigger spikes in blood glucose.
Naturally occurring sugars like those found in fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are safe to eat.
There is no link between natural sugar consumption and diabetes (PLoS Med, 2017).
🚫 Avoid Food Additives
Diabetics should also avoid food additives.
Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, and other additives can not only upset your stomach, but also alter the composition of your gut microbiome – the collection of microorganisms living in your gut (North Clin Istanb, 2019).
This can lead to gut dysbiosis, or an imbalance in gut bacteria, which is linked to the development of Type 2 diabetes, as well as reduced efficacy of diabetic medications (Microorganisms, 2022; Diabetes; World J Methodol, 2022).
Although the exact mechanisms by which this happens are still unknown, it is thought that gut dysbiosis increases intestinal permeability and inflammation, causing abnormalities in glucose metabolism and signaling events that contribute to insulin homeostasis.
⚠️ 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
It is worth adding that artificial sweeteners are one of the most problematic food additives for diabetics.
Not only have several studies shown that artificial sweeteners may increase cravings toward sugary and sweet foods, but researchers have also found a link between the consumption of artificial sweeteners and a higher risk of glucose intolerance, which is a precursor for pre-diabetes and diabetes (Yale J Biol Med, 2010; Nature, 2014)).
🚫 Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates
Finally, steer clear of protein concentrates and isolates.
Most protein shakes and powders 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.
Your digestive system therefore does not digest them in the same way that it does whole foods, which can affect everything from satiety (you feel less full) to gut health.
Moreover, while extremely high-protein foods like these are low on the glycemic index, they can measure high on the insulin index.
As a result, they can cause hyperinsulinemia (abnormally high levels of insulin) because eating large amounts of protein without fats, carbs, fiber, etc. has an insulinotropic effect (it promotes insulin secretion) (J Funct Foods, 2014; Eur J Clin Nutr, 2014).
Sources
- Nutrients (Nutrients). The Effect of a Diet Moderately High in Protein and Fiber on Insulin Sensitivity Measured Using the Dynamic Insulin Sensitivity and Secretion Test (DISST). 2017.
- European Journal of Nutrition (Eur J Nutr). Effect of the intake of dietary protein on insulin resistance in subjects with obesity: a randomized controlled clinical trial. 2021.
- Journal of Diabetes Investigation (J Diabetes Investig). Robust increase in glucagon secretion after oral protein intake, but not after glucose or lipid intake in Japanese people without diabetes. 2023.
- Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome (Diabetol Metab Syndr). Causal relationship between insulin resistance and sarcopenia. 2023
- Circulation (Circulation). Major dietary protein sources and risk of coronary heart disease in women. 2010.
- The International Journal of Angiology (Int J Angiol). Antihypertensive effects of dietary protein and its mechanism. 2010.
- Current dDabetes Reports (Cur
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