What is the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance?

Written by Jack Schrupp and reviewed by Ella McGonagle, M.S. Nutrition

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drink wholesome is the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance. It is additive-free, dairy-free, and made with real foods, not protein isolates – 99% of supplements fail to meet at least one of these criteria. This makes it perfect for people with hormone imbalances, as well as for people just looking to boost their protein intake without the processing and added junk. Order samples to see if our protein powder is right for you. 

★★★★★

“It has ingredients you can actually pronounce and is freaking delicious.”

-Kallie

drink wholesome is the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance.

Does protein affect hormones?

Does protein powder cause a hormonal imbalance?

What is the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance?

Why drink wholesome?

Does protein affect hormones?

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Dietary protein intake has been shown to affect hormone levels in both men and women. One study found that whey and soy protein supplementation can affect acute hormonal responses in men. Soy protein appears to impact testosterone levels, and whey protein appears to impact cortisol levels. Another study demonstrated that dietary protein intake can cause hormonal changes in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Specifically, it found that a high protein diet can reduce sex hormone levels in women with PCOS when compared with a conventional diet.

Research has also shown that a low-protein diet or insufficient intake of essential amino acids can lead to thyroid abnormalities. The thyroid is an endocrine gland that makes two hormones: thyroxine and triiodothyronine. Although more research is needed to fully understand the impact of dietary protein intake on hormones, it is safe to say that both the type and amount of protein you eat can affect hormone levels in the body. This is not to say that eating protein will cause a hormonal imbalance. It is simply a reminder that protein intake does affect your hormones, and that people with a hormone imbalance should be mindful of how much and the type of protein that they eat.

Does protein powder cause a hormonal imbalance?

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Protein itself is unlikely to cause a hormonal imbalance. As you just learned, protein does affect your hormone levels, but it will not cause an imbalance if consumed as part of a balanced diet. That said, most protein supplements contain added ingredients that might cause problems.

Increasing scientific evidence suggests that, over time, food additives can disrupt the endocrine system, the system of glands that make hormones. Given that most protein shakes and powders contain additives (emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, sweeteners, flavors, preservatives, etc.), and that many people drink protein shakes every day, this is reason for concern. One of the main reasons why food additives affect your hormones has a lot to do with the hormone-gut microbiome axis, the two-way biochemical signaling pathway between the microorganisms living in your digestive tract and your endocrine system.

More and more research is showing that the composition of your gut microbiome has a profound impact on your hormonal environment (the mechanisms of these interactions are still being explored), which means that an imbalance in your gut microbiome may cause a hormonal imbalance. Food additives, it turns out, are terrible for your gut, and therefore terrible for your endocrine system. This is especially true to people with hormone-related diseases such as PCOS, ovarian cancer, postmenopausal osteoporosis, and type 1 diabetes.

What is the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance?

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Again, for healthy individuals, the type and amount that you consume will not disrupt your hormones. People with a hormone imbalance may want to consider avoiding dairy and soy-based proteins, as both have been shown to impact hormone levels more than other dietary protein sources, but even dairy and soy, if consumed in moderation, should not cause problems. Food additives, on the other hand, are a different story. Accumulating evidence suggests that food additives, and therefore most protein supplements, may cause a hormonal imbalance over time. For this reason, you should pick the protein powder with the fewest additives possible, or with no additives at all.

Why drink wholesome? 

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drink wholesome is additive-free.

One of the reasons why we make the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance is that we do not use food additives. As you just learned, food additives can disrupt regulatory pathways in your gut, which, in turn, can disrupt your endocrine system. One additive to avoid in particular is artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are among the most harmful food additives in the long term as they alter the composition of your gut microbiota, causing permanent damage to the gut microbiome. 

Here is a list of the most common food additives in protein powder:

acacia gum, acesulfame potassium, artificial flavors, aspartame, carrageenan, cellulose gum, dextrin, dextrose, erythritol, gellan gum, guar gum, gum arabic, inulin, locust bean gum, “natural” flavors, maltodextrin, rice syrup solids, soy lecithin, silica, sucralose, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum, xylitol

When it comes to identifying food additives, go with your gut. 😉 As a rule of thumb, they are the ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Food additives are not the only thing to look out for when buying protein powder, however. There are several other ingredients that can disrupt your gut microbiome.

our ingredients: 

egg whites, coconut, cocoa, monk fruit

the alternative:

Protein Matrix Comprised of (Whey Protein Concentrate,  Whey Protein Isolate, Calcium Caseinate, Micellar Casein, Milk Protein Isolate, Egg Albumen, Glutamine Peptides), Polydextrose, Sunflower Creamer (Sunflower Oil, Corn Syrup Solids,  Sodium Caseinate, Mono- and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin, Tocopherols), Natural and Artificial Flavor, MCT Powder (Medium Chain Triglycerides, Nonfat Dry Milk, Disodium Phosphate, Silicon Dioxide), Lecithin, Cellulose Gum, Salt, Yellow 5, Sucralose, Acesulfame Potassium, Papain, Bromelain.

*This is the actual ingredient list of one of the best-selling protein powders in the United States.

drink wholesome is dairy-free.

Another reason why we make the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance is that we do not use dairy-based proteins. Many protein powders are made with whey and casein, which are byproducts of cheese and yogurt production, and known to cause digestive issues, especially for people with lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Over one in three Americans are lactose intolerant, and the prevalence of IBS is somewhere between 10 and 15 percent in the United States. It follows that you may be lactose intolerant or have IBS and not even know it.

drink wholesome is made with real foods.

A final reason why we make the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance is that we do not use protein isolates. Most protein powders, on the contrary, are made with protein concentrates and/or isolates, foods stripped of everything but the protein. They are listed on the ingredient list as “collagen protein,” “pea protein, and” “whey protein” as opposed to “collagen,” “peas,” and “whey.” I will not go into the details, but protein concentrates and isolates undergo heavy mechanical and chemical processing before becoming protein powder. Sometimes, manufacturers use chemical solvents like hexane to isolate (separate) the protein from the food. This means that what you end up putting into your body looks nothing like real food. If you think about it, your gut was designed to digest naturally occurring foods, not laboratory formulated imitations, so if you feed it anything but real food, it might get upset. 

Instead of protein concentrates or isolates, we make the best protein powder for hormonal imbalance with egg whites and almonds. Egg whites are simply pasteurized and dried before becoming protein powder. Almonds are just roasted, pressed, and ground. Minimally-processed ingredients like these are an easy to digest, gut-friendly alternative to protein concentrates and isolates. Unless you have a sensitivity or allergy to eggs, egg white protein is the best protein for your gut. Egg whites are low in fiber, low-FODMAP, naturally alkaline, and have the highest protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of any whole food. Our customers have experienced fewer digestive issues with egg white protein than with any other type of protein. If you cannot eat eggs, try our almond protein powder. Unlike protein concentrates or isolates, almonds contain lots of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients like calcium and vitamin E. We prefer almonds to other minimally-processed plant protein sources because they are more gut-friendly. Research suggests that almonds possess prebiotic properties and can improve the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome.

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easy to digest

“I’ve had Crohn’s disease for 20+ years and it’s always been hard to find a protein powder my stomach can handle. I’ve had no problem digesting drink wholesome AND it tastes great. I highly recommend this protein powder if you have IBS or Crohn’s.” – Jesse

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drink wholesome is the best best protein powder for hormonal imbalance.

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This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. drink wholesome is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.