Protein Powders

Everyone always asks, "what type of protein powder should I buy?" The answer depends on how you plan to use it. I mostly use protein powder to add to yogurt or to cookies, and so for me, it is preferable to have a powder with a sweeter flavour, such as vanilla. Add a bit of cocoa powder to make a delicious post-exercise shake.

Of course, when my mother decided to bake her famous gluten-free bread a few visits ago, the sweetened vanilla protein powder was an unwelcome addition to her pastry mixture. Blecccch. It sometimes makes sense to have a plain/natural flavour of protein powder on-hand.

In keeping with a sugar-free Celiac diet, the powder you buy must not have any sugar in it. Many natural flavour powders will have no sweeteners of any kind. The only allowable sweetener is stevia, because sucralose, oligosaccharides, anything ending in "-ose" are just fancy names for sugars, so avoid these. I also never suggest buying anything sweetened with Acesulfame potassium or K, because while it is zero-carb, it has caused some people to have convulsions or other neurological problems. Sweeteners such as maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol are sugar alcohols and may give you gas or diarrhea. Play it safe with the sweet stevia plant!

Another options is whether to choose a vegan source of protein. Yesterday I bought Absolute Vegetarian Protein which is a mix of soy, brown rice and pea proteins. It has 8 of the 11 essential amino acids and I'm happy incorporating more non-animal protein sources into my diet. Soy protein tends to be higher in carbs, although this label says it contains 0 grams. This product is also quite gritty and doesn't blend as nicely as the Proteins Plus I've been using lately.

Finally, if you choose to go with a whey protein, choose one from New Zealand or Canada where cows are not fed rBGH (a growth hormone). I think I've only ever seen one organic protein powder on the market and not sure they're even in business anymore.

Keep reading those labels and you will make the choice that is right for you.