What is the best protein powder for psoriasis?
Written by Jack Schrupp and reviewed by Ella McGonagle, M.S. Nutrition
drink wholesome is the best protein powder for psoriasis. 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 psoriasis, 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.
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“It has ingredients you can actually pronounce and is freaking delicious.”
-Kallie
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drink wholesome is the best protein powder for psoriasis.
What is psoriasis?
Is protein powder good for psoriasis?
Why drink wholesome?
What is psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disorder. It occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy skin cells, causing them to regenerate more rapidly than they should. This overproduction of skin cells leads to the formation of skin plaques (raised skin covered in scales).
Psoriasis can be triggered by a variety of factors, including stress, infections, certain medications, and changes in climate or weather. The condition is not contagious, meaning it cannot be passed from one person to another. While there is no cure for psoriasis, there are treatments that can help manage symptoms, including topical medications, light therapy, oral medications, and biologic injections. Several studies demonstrate that dietary habits can also influence psoriasis development and severity. For instance, low-calorie diets for obese patients, gluten-free diets for patients with celiac disease, and the Mediterranean diet may all have benefits for psoriasis patients.
Is protein powder good for psoriasis?
Nutrition is one factor in the management of inflammatory diseases like psoriasis. The complexity of the interaction between nutrition and immunology is enormous, however, and the effect of different types and amounts of dietary protein on psoriasis is poorly understood. Animal studies have found that neither low nor high protein diets have significant effects on skin inflammation and psoriasis, which means that the type of protein powder you use may not matter. What certainly does matter, however, are the ingredients in your protein powder.
Most protein supplements are full of inflammatory ingredients that can disrupt your gut microbiome (the collection of microorganisms that help you digest food). Moreover, research shows that the health of the gut microbiome can have a significant impact on immunological development and disease risk, especially for autoimmune conditions like psoriasis. Specially, microbiome disruptions (too much or too little of certain microorganisms), may act as potential pathogenic factors for psoriasis. This means that choosing a protein supplement made with gut-friendly ingredients is crucial if you suffer from psoriasis.
What is the best protein powder for psoriasis?
There are two types of protein supplements: ready-to-drink (store-bought) protein shakes, and protein shakes made with protein powder. In order to make protein shakes for psoriasis with protein powder, you have to mix the powder with milk or water. This requires a blender or a shaker bottle, and a little extra time and effort. Some people prefer ready-to-drink protein shakes because they are more convenient, but if they knew what they were drinking, they would probably feel sick.
Ready-to-drink protein shakes are full of emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, sweeteners, and flavors. Ingredients like these improve characteristics like taste, texture, and shelf stability, but can cause uncomfortable side effects and long-term gut damage (more about this soon). This is why I recommend that you make your own psoriasis protein shakes with protein powder. That said, not all protein powders are created equal, and many contain the same additives found in ready-to-drink protein shakes!
Why drink wholesome?
drink wholesome is additive-free.
One of the reasons why we make the best protein powder for psoriasis is that we do not use food additives. Most protein powders, on the other hand, are full of food additives. Although not necessarily bad for you in small quantities, additives can add up quickly (especially if you drink a protein shake every day), and disrupt regulatory pathways in the intestine, which can result in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and systemic inflammatory disorders.
When buying protein powder, one ingredient 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. This can lead to serious, chronic GI problems, widespread inflammation, and 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 upset your stomach.
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 psoriasis 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. They may cause cause inflammation in your skin because dairy hinders your ability to process blood sugar efficiently.
drink wholesome is made with real foods.
A final reason why we make the best protein powder for psoriasis 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. The long term implications of eating processed foods are still not well understood, but more and more research is finding that it can alter the composition of your gut microbiota, and lead to inflammatory diseases. Given the role of gut health in the development and severity of psoriasis, is in your best interest to avoid protein powders made with protein concentrates and isolates.
Instead of protein concentrates or isolates, we make the best protein powder for psoriasis 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.
★★★★★
“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 protein supplement for psoriasis.
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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.