How to Find the Best Protein Powder for Hashimoto’s

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

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

Discover how to safely meet your protein needs while managing Hashimoto’s.

Last Updated Aug 5, 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 Hashimoto’s

Is Protein Powder Good for Hashimoto’s?

Protein powder can be a great option if you have Hashimoto’s disease and struggle to eat enough protein, as long as you choose the right product.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, also called Hashimoto’s disease or chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disorder.

It affects the thyroid gland, a small gland in your neck that makes hormones that control your metabolism – the process that turns food into energy.

When you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, your immune system mistakenly treats your thyroid gland as a threat.

Over time, this can lead to inflammation and lasting damage to your thyroid gland.

Common symptoms include fatigue, weight gain, muscle weakness, joint pain, mood changes, depression, and digestive problems.

Treatment for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis usually involves thyroid hormone replacement therapy with medications such as levothyroxine, along with lifestyle and dietary changes.

Although there is no protein requirement specifically for people with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, eating enough protein is necessary to support normal thyroid hormone production and metabolism.

In addition, not eating enough protein might contribute to abnormal thyroid hormone levels (Nutrients, 2017).

For these reasons, people with Hashimoto’s should want to pay close attention to how much protein they eat.

If you find that you are not eating enough protein, protein powder can be an easy way to add more to your diet.

You can add it to smoothies, oatmeal, and other recipes, or mix it with just milk or water to make a quick protein shake.

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

What Is the Best Protein Powder for Hashimoto’s?

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

Ingredients do matter, however.

Many protein shakes and powders contain ingredients that might indirectly contribute to painful side effects and even long-term health problems.

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

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and other ultra-processed additives might change the makeup and function of your gut microbiome – the community of microbes that lives in your digestive tract (North Clin Istanb, 2020).

These changes, known as gut dysbiosis, have been linked to the development and progression of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (Front Immunol, 2021).

Specifically, gut dysbiosis might contribute to Hashimoto’s by increasing intestinal permeability, which could expose the immune system to microbial particles and promote inflammation (Front Immunol, 2021).

It is important to note that much of this research is still emerging, so more studies are needed to clarify these relationships.

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 found 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 an ingredient 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. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effects of Dietary Protein on Thyroid Axis Activity. 2017.
2. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2020.
3. Frontiers in Immunology (Front Immunol). Detection of Alterations in the Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Permeability in Patients With Hashimoto Thyroiditis. 2021.
4. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
5. 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.