How to Find a Protein Powder with Stevia or Monk Fruit

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Dietitian’s guide on the best protein powder with stevia or monk fruit.

Discover how to supplement your protein intake with natural sweeteners.

Last Updated
Jan 31, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Written by Kayla Kamen, MS, RD

Kayla Kamen is a Registered Dietitian with a MS in Nutrition.

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Fossett, PA-C

Jennifer Fossett is a Physician Assistant with a BA in Nutritional Sciences.

Protein Powder with Stevia or Monk Fruit

Why Should I Use Natural Sweeteners?

Stevia is a sweetener extracted from the stevia rebaudiana plant.

Monk fruit, also known as lo han guo, is a small, melon-like round fruit native to Southeast Asia.

Both are intensely sweet, but virtually calorie and sugar-free.

Moreover, both stevia and monk fruit are generally recognized as safe and do not cause any severe side effects.

They also have minimal impacts on blood glucose (sugar) and insulin levels, making them a great option for people with insulin resistance and diabetes.

Other sugar substitutes, including artificial sweeteners like sucralose, are associated with higher risk of glucose intolerance, which is a precursor for pre-diabetes and diabetes (Nature, 2014).

They can also increase cravings toward sugary and sweet foods, leading to binging and feelings of withdrawal (Yale J Biol Med, 2010).

Should I Use Stevia or Monk Fruit?

The one advantage stevia has over monk fruit is cost: stevia is far less expensive.

But monk fruit, despite being more expensive, has several distinct advantages over stevia.

For starters, monk fruit, unlike stevia, does not activate bitter taste receptors (Genes Nutr, 2014).

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Many people do not care for stevia because it has a bitter aftertaste.

Monk fruit is also a far more natural sugar substitute than stevia.

That is, chemicals or solvents are not required to make monk fruit sweetener.

It is made by simply removing the seeds and skin, crushing the fruit, and collecting the juice, which is dried into a fine powder.

Making stevia, on the contrary, requires the use of chemicals like ethanol and methyl alcohol.

This, some argue, makes it barely more natural than the artificial sweeteners that it seeks to replace (Food Navigator, 2012).

What Is the Best Protein Powder with Monk Fruit or Stevia?

To know if a protein powder contains a particular sweetener, refer to the ingredient list on the Nutrition or Supplement Facts panel.

And while you are there, check to see if there are any other sweeteners listed.

Other common sweeteners include artificial sweeteners like acesulfame potassium and sucralose, and sugar alcohols like erythritol and xylitol.

It is worth noting that sugar alcohols like erythritol are sometimes added to sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit.

I mention this because these ingredients are not always required to be listed on the Nutrition Facts label, which means that your protein powder could contain a sugar alcohol, but you would never know it.

If this is a concern for you, reach out to the brand to ask if it uses any undeclared ingredients.

Sources

1. Nature (Nature). Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. 2014.
2. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (Yale J Biol Med). Gain weight by “going diet?” Artificial sweeteners and the neurobiology of sugar cravings: Neuroscience 2010. 2010.
3. Genes & Nutrition (Genes Nutr). Genetic signature of differential sensitivity to stevioside in the Italian population. 2014.
4. Food Navigator (Food Navigator). Europe debates stevia’s ‘natural’ claims. 2012.

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This article was written by a Registered Dietitian and reviewed by a Physician Assistant. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.