Protein powder and bloating.

yirara
yirara Posts: 9,984 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to eat more protein, and am experimenting with a protein powder. Just 15gr vegan powder. It gives me quite a lot of bloating though. Are there other options?

Note: I have special dietary needs. I need a fair amount of carbs to function at all. And normally, too much protein without added fat results in reflux. Which basically excludes pretty much all vegetarian protein, chicken, lean fish, etc in bigger amounts. And as I need lots of carbs I can't sacrifice them for more fatty food. Hence the experiment with protein powder. 10-11gr of protein from that powder gets me up to at least 70gr per day. That's much better. No reflux, fortunately. But yeah, the bloating is not fun. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,653 Member
    Sometimes the flavouring causes the problem, so different flavours / brands can ease the issue. Or it might just be that time eases the issue - I struggled a lot with protein bars and powders initially but I’m better now after experimenting with different brands. I use Bulk Powders - haven’t tried the vegan options but they do a pea protein powder.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,984 Member
    Thanks a lot. I don't do it every day as there are days where I get there with just a glass of milk. Which generally is not a problem. I'm using a European brand pea powder with very little sweetener. Taste-wise it's fine. If it doesn't work I might try a different brand next.
  • kplatz2166
    kplatz2166 Posts: 1 Member
    Try adding nonfat Greek yogurt. The probiotics might help. And it makes your smoothie smoother
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,984 Member
    Hey, welcome here!

    I can't. I'm already on the edge of what I can sacrifice on carbs. And greek yogurt ads more protein in the end. Unless I use even less protein powder but milk or yogurt instead.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    I tend to stick to protein supplement powders that do not contain protein concentrate - but rather isolate. This helps as a more readily digestible protein will help with lowering the chances of getting bloated after eating it.

    Eating more probiotic/prebiotic foods along with it can help too - so the suggestion to add yogurt or more fiber rich ingredients can be good too.

    And you may have to experiment with different brands that use different sweeteners - I def have identified some non-sugar sweeteners that just don't jive with me. I haven't found any vegan protein supplement powder that I like actually - so I usually stick to whey or supplement from milk.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,984 Member
    Thanks a lot. Looks like I'll need to experiment more with this. The taste of the one I have now is actually not too bad because it's kind of (artificially) fruity and not overly sweet.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,653 Member
    westrich20940 wrote: »
    I tend to stick to protein supplement powders that do not contain protein concentrate - but rather isolate. This helps as a more readily digestible protein will help with lowering the chances of getting bloated after eating it.

    Eating more probiotic/prebiotic foods along with it can help too - so the suggestion to add yogurt or more fiber rich ingredients can be good too.

    And you may have to experiment with different brands that use different sweeteners - I def have identified some non-sugar sweeteners that just don't jive with me. I haven't found any vegan protein supplement powder that I like actually - so I usually stick to whey or supplement from milk.

    Actually that’s a really good point, I use the isolate Bulk powder and it causes me much less irritation. I hadn’t though of that until now!
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,879 Member
    Sweeteners can definitely have an impact. I'm very sensitive to oligofructose/polysaccharides, I have to avoid those if I'm working at the office or anywhere near other people :smiley:

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