How to Find the Best Protein Powder for Multiple Sclerosis

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

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

Discover how to safely meet your protein needs while managing multiple sclerosis (MS).

Last Updated Aug 18, 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 and Multiple Sclerosis

Is Protein Powder Good for Multiple Sclerosis?

Protein powder can be a great option if you have multiple sclerosis and struggle to eat enough protein.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-lasting neurological disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord.

MS is considered an autoimmune disorder, meaning the immune system, which normally fights infection, mistakenly attacks the body.

In MS, it attacks the protective covering around nerve fibers, called myelin.

Myelin helps nerve signals travel quickly, so when it is damaged, messages between the brain and the rest of the body can slow down or stop.

The exact cause of MS is still unknown, but researchers believe it involves a mix of genetic and environmental factors.

Common symptoms might include fatigue, muscle weakness or stiffness, problems with coordination and balance, and memory or thinking problems.

Keep in mind that MS symptoms can vary widely from person to person.

The symptoms also depend on where the nerve damage is located and how severe it is.

There is no cure for MS, but treatments are available that may help manage symptoms, slow the disease, and improve quality of life.

They might include medications and lifestyle changes that help reduce inflammation and change how the immune system responds.

Some people with MS also say that following a special diet helps them feel better and manage their symptoms.

While this could be true for some individuals, there is not enough evidence to recommend any single diet for people with MS,

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is the only recommendation.

There is no specific protein requirement for people with MS, but eating enough protein – at least 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight – supports tissue repair, muscle maintenance, and immune function (NEJM, 2024).

For some people with MS, meeting this basic goal can be challenging for several reasons:

• Some people with MS might need to limit high-protein foods like dairy and red meat.
• Some people with MS experience dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) and might need soft or liquid protein sources.
• Some people with MS have trouble moving around the kitchen and preparing meals.

In short, if you cannot easily meet your protein needs by eating foods like dairy, eggs, fish, legumes, meat, nuts, and seeds, protein powder might be a great addition to your diet.

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

This can be especially useful for someone who has trouble preparing or swallowing food.

That said, not all protein powders are created equal.

What Is the Best Protein Powder for Multiple Sclerosis?

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 MS.

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

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Regularly consuming emulsifiers, thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and other ultra-processed additives might alter the makeup of your gut microbiome – the community of bacteria and other microbes living in your digestive tract (North Clin Istanb, 2020).

These shifts, known as gut dysbiosis, have been consistently linked to the development of MS (Lancet Neurol, 2020).

Specifically, immune dysregulation, increased gut permeability (“leaky gut”), and dysbiosis-driven pro-inflammatory signaling might contribute to the inflammation observed in MS (Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med, 2018).

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 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. New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Guidance on Energy and Macronutrients across the Life Span. 2024.
2. Lancet. The gut microbiome in neurological disorders. 2020.
3. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2020.
4. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine (Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med). The Gut Microbiome and Multiple Sclerosis. 2018.
5. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
6. 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.