Casein Free Diet--is Whey Protein Ok?

[kathy2005]

Hi,

For those of you who have a casein intolerance I am wondering if you are able to eat whey protein or if you react to it as well? I am wondering specifically about whey protein isolate/concentrate protein powders.

I have been on a gluten & casein free diet wile awaiting my Enterolab results and I am feeling better. I have also discontinued my whey protein drinks as well. I am not sure if it was necessary to eliminate my whey protein shakes to be casein free. Any opinions?

Thanks for any help.

Kathy

[mythreesuns]

For those of you who have a casein intolerance I am wondering if you are able to eat whey protein or if you react to it as well?

It's my understanding that it's the milk protein that is the source of the intolerance. I consider myself casein intolerant, and I stay away from ALL PARTS of milk, whatever they call it.

[happygirl]

Kathy-

Whey is not safe for the casein intolerant.

Laura

[Nancym]

I've heard that whey protein is contaminated with casein proteins too.

[kathy2005]

Thanks for all the replies and information. I now have the willpower to wait until my Enterolab results come in!

Kathy

[emcmaster]

Thanks for all the replies and information. I now have the willpower to wait until my Enterolab results come in!

Kathy

If you're looking for a good protein powder, NOW brand makes an egg white protein powder that has no taste, is allergen free (except for eggs, of course), and blends extremely well. I make protein shakes with it and OJ and berries - delicious!

[kathy2005]

Elizabeth,

Thank you for the review of the NOW egg protein powder. I found it on the Lame Advertisement.com site for $10.79 for one pound which seems like a good price. The nice thing about the NOW powder seems to be that it does not contain any flavoring or sweeteners. I should have ordered from them. I used to order most of my supplements from Lame Advertisement until they changed their shipping policy (they used to give free shipping for orders over $40). I switched my supplier to Vitacost because of the good shipping prices and their NSI supplement brand that I have come to really like. Earlier in the week I placed an order with Vitacost and ordered Chocolate Optium Nutrition Egg Protein Powder. It was $28.49 for two pounds. I am supposed to receive my order today so I have not tried it yet. Unfortunately I could only find chocolate from Vitacost and it also contains cocoa, artificial flavor and sucralose. This probably was not a good purchase decision at the time because of the extra ingredients! I may wind up yet again with another can of protein powder in my cupboard that does not get used!

Kathy

[jenvan]

I haven't tried it yet, but I just bought some Nutiva hemp protein powder. See it here: Open Original Shared Link I ordered it from the gluten-free mall. There is no gluten or dairy in the powder.

[emcmaster]

Kathy, let me know how the chocolate egg white protein powder is! Almost all of my supplements are from NOW - I like that they don't add anything to their products and all are allergen free, except when obvious (like the eggs in egg white protein powder).

Good luck!

[kathy2005]

Hi Elizabeth,

I would recommend the ON Chocolate egg white protein powder if you are sure that Splenda is OK for you. I tried it this morning for breakfast with coconut milk, strawberries and a little ice in the blender. The taste was good but next time I think I would leave out the strawberries. Plain with just water it is much thinner than whey protein powder but the taste is not too bad; not quite as good as the ON chocolate whey protein powder though. It may have more of an aftertaste than the whey protein powder does as well. I tried it plain once yesterday.

Unfortunately for me I think that I must be sensitive to Splenda. Yesterday after drinking the plain protein powder I got a head ache several hours later. After drinking my breakfast drink this morning I am not feeling right and I feel like I am on the edge of getting another head ache. I have had several head aches this week and each time it was after consuming something with Splenda in it. (I have been trying to expand my diet after being on my strict elimination diet for the past month--with no headaches until this week with the Splenda.) This is really a surprise to me because I used to eat Splenda all the time before I went on my elimination diet and I thought it did not bother me. I did have fatigue though so maybe the Splenda contributed to the fatigue.

I called around to several stores this morning and I found the plain Now egg white protein powder at one of the health food stores; I am going to pick some up this weekend. The lady on the phone also recommend Jay Robb plain egg white protein powder; it does have some digestive enzymes and "natural flavors" in it though and is a little more expensive than the Now brand. Some Jay Robb protein powders have stevia for the sweetener. My favorite doctor actually recommended Jay Robb whey protein powder to me several months ago; I tried a sample from his office and liked it very much but I thought the cost was too high and wound up using the Optimum Nutrition whey brand that contains artificial sweeteners instead of stevia. I am going to buy the NOW brand because at this point I do not want to risk finding out that the "natural flavors" in the Jay Robb brand bother me. The thing that I do not understand is that ON uses acesulfame potassium for the whey protein powders that I have purchased but sucralose (Splenda) for their egg white protein powder. It may be that I never got a head ache after drinking the whey protein powder because I am not sensitive to acesulfame potassium like I think I am to Splenda. All of this is so confusing and hard to figure out so I think that I am just going to eliminate all artificial sweeteners rather than risking another head ache that ruins my day.

Thanks again for recommending the Now brand!

Kathy

[emcmaster]

Your welcome, Kathy. Thanks for the recommendation on the ON Chocolate Egg white pp. I'm not sure how I react to splenda - I typically stay away from artificial sweeteners mainly because I need the calories in sugar to keep my calories up. I will probably try it once I get through my tub of NOW brand pp.

I've had the Jay Robb egg white pp before - I stopped using it once I thought I had IBS and realized it had artificial sweeteners in it (something I used to avoid when I thought I had IBS, although it never seemed to bother me). I didn't like the Jay Robb pp as much as I do the NOW brand... the NOW brand is much creamier and doesn't have as much of an aftertaste as the Jay Robb one does.

One thing to know about the NOW pp - instead of the 8 or 10 oz. of liquid to 1/4 c. of the pp that it recommends, I usually add 16 oz. or so of liquid (my favorite is orange juice or chocolate almond/rice milk). I'm not sure why I like it better that way, but I do. Just FYI.

[kathy2005]

Hi Elizabeth,

Thanks for the information on the Jay Robb protein powders. I bought the NOW Eggwhite Protein powder yesterday. I tasted a small amount of the powder plain and it had a salty taste to me. I thought that was interesting since there is no added salt. I blended the power with coconut milk, pineapple with juice, and some ice and my smoothie was very good. The salty flavor that I noticed with the plain powder did not come through with my smoothie. My smoothie did have a foamy head. I wonder if the powder was mixed with a small amount of water if we could make meringue out of it since it seems to foam? I defiantly could not drink the NOW powder plain with water but that is OK because I am just happy to find a way to make protein smoothies again. Once I bought whey protein isolate from All The Whey on the internet; I bought mint chocolate and it was so good that I could drink it plain just mixed with water. It is too bad that they use sucralose to sweeten it.

Thanks again for the recommendation!

Kathy

[emcmaster]

Hi Kathy,

Yes, unfortunately we can't drink the egg white pp alone with water... I've never tried it, but I imagine it's pretty gross. I'd never thought about making meringue out of the foam - interesting. I personally like the foam, but I bet you could scrape it off if you didn't like it.

Enjoy!

[gf4life]

I have been using the Jay Robb egg protein powder (chocolate & strawberry) for 2 days in a row now. I felt sick yesterday with a bad headache, low energy, dizziness and body ache that started within a 1/2 hour of having a strawberry shake for breakfast and pretty much lasted the rest of the day until I took a pain pill and went to sleep.

Today I woke up feeling fine. I tried the chocolate flavored one for breakfast and felt fine all day. So I figured it wasn't the "egg" part of the shake that was doing it, then I tried some of the strawberry again after dinner and not long after I felt sick again. So I am sitting here with my head pounding, my body hurts, I'm dizzy and extremely low energy. Within an hour of drinking it I just want to go to sleep!

So I checked the ingredients and the only difference between the chocolate and the strawberry is that the strawberry contains stevia and the chocolate doesn't. Well, I guess the natural flavorings are different too, since they are different flavors, but I've never had issues with strawberries or chocolate before. I have never had stevia before. I went doing some research and apparently stevia can cause problems in large amounts. Maybe I am sensitive to small amounts (or there is too much in one scoop of egg protein!).

Has anyone else had issues with stevia. I cannot use ANY of the artificial sweeteners without problems, but I didn't figure that stevia would be a problem, since it is a natural sweetener. I'm not going to use it any more, but I am just curious if anyone else has any problems. I also got the plain, which is nothing but egg whites so I can use that, and I might look around and see if I can find the NOW powder.

[kathy2005]

I looked at the jayrobb site and the ingredient lists did not seem complete. The chocolate egg white protein does not even list chocolate flavor or coco as an ingredient. It seems like they are leaving things out. Also, I compared the egg white protein powders to the whey protein powders and the chocolate whey protein powder listed "natural flavors including stevia" under the ingredient list. I tried the chocolate whey protein powder in the past and it was defiantly sweetened with something. It is hard to believe that they would make a chocolate flavor without any sweetener. Why would they sweeten the chocolate whey protein but not the chocolate egg protein? Does the chocolate egg white protein powder taste sweet? If it is sweet then they neglected to include stevia on the ingredient list. Did you buy the protein powder in a can or was it in a bin at the health food sore? My health food sore offered Jay Robb protein powders in bulk bins as well as the regular cans. I am afraid of bin products due to possible contamination so I did not try it. Open Original Shared Link

Maybe it is not the stevia that you are reacting to. (I suspect that both of your protein powders have stevia in them. It might be worth calling the company to find out.)

You can buy the NOW brand of egg white protein power at www.Lame Advertisement.com. The price is better at Lame Advertisement than at my health food store. Lame Advertisement offers free ground shipping on all order over $60 which is new.

Good luck finding a good protein powder!

Kathy

[gf4life]

Thank you for checking into this for me. I am going to address each question separately:

I tried the chocolate whey protein powder in the past and it was definatly sweetened with something.

All of the whey protein mixes contain stevia, except the plain and it is on the label for all the flavors. Same with the soy protein.

Does the chocolate egg white protein powder taste sweet?

It tastes chocolatey, but not very sweet. I like it better that way. The strawberry tasted VERY sweet and that is even after I blended in the frozen (sour) strawberries. On the ingredients lists on the website and in the catalog Jay Robb sent me with the order they specifically mention that the strawberry egg protein powder contains stevia and the others don't.

Did you buy the protein powder in a can or was it in a bin at the health food sore?

I bought 3 2lb containers directly from the Jay Robb site, one strawberry, one chocolate and one plain. I don't buy stuff from bins anywhere.

I looked at the jayrobb site and the ingredient lists did not seem complete. The chocolate egg white protein does not even list chocolate flavor or coco as an ingredient. It seems like they are leaving things out.

I think that the strawberry, chocolate, vanilla flavoring counts in the "natural" flavoring. Remember these are supplements and are not required to list everything like the FDA requires of food. If I am buying a protein powder that is chocolate flavored, then I expect there to be some form of chocolate in the flavoring.

I didn't have a shake today and I am feeling fine. I will try again tomorrow and see what happens with the chocolate. I will not be trying to strawberry again if I do not have a reaction to the chocolate. I plan to try the plain later on next week. I have to get some different fruits to blend with it to make it taste better.

[Guest Kathy Ann]

Any good protein shake mixes for people with gluten, dairy, soy and egg allergies? I noticed the hemp one, but haven't tried it. What about the rice protein ones? Do they sit pretty well for most of you?

I have a casein allergy tested by enterolab. Then my ELISA test said I also was allergic to whey protein. So I figure all dairy protein is taboo for me.

[gf4life]

I tried a rice protein powder that I got from Whole Foods, I can't recall the name of it, but it was NASTY. It tasted horrible and didn't blend well with anything. It was also a little on the gritty side and I can't stand anything gritty in my mouth, especially drinks. I'll see if I can find out the name of it for you. I have never seen the hemp ones.

[tarnalberry]

For protein powders (that are GFCFSF), I use either rice protein powder (a couple companies make this, including MLO), hemp powder (I also use Nutiva, but there's at least one other), or Peaceful Planet's blend (only one is gluten-free, afaik). They all have a taste that's unique, but not bad either.

[gf4life]

Jay Robb recently changed their formula and now the chocolate has stevia in it too. I am bummed. I had to go find me another brand of protein to have for breakfast...

But it shoudl taste sweeter now for those of you who can have stevia, and they do list the cocoa powder on the ingredients now.

[gf4life]

I got some plain egg protein and have been trying to blend it with some cocoa powder for my shake. I can't get the plain egg to blend right. It comes out either chunky or if I mix it enough to be smooth then it is frothy (like egg would be if it was whipped!) and I end up gassy and bloated from ingesting too much air. I can't take it anymore.

I need to find me a new shake I can have for breakfast. I haven't found a rice protein that isn't gritty. I will try the hemp shake as soon as I find a place to order it from that doesn't charge too much for shipping...

I might have to go back to "eating" breakfast, but that is setting me up for disaster, since I will skip it most days when I am busy and that isn't healthy for me...

Any suggestions are welcomed. Please! Just remember that is has to be gluten, dairy, and soy free and preferably low in refined sugar and can't have artificial sugars or stevia. Thanks.

[hustlinwheat]

I am in the same boat as a lot of you on this one, but I think I may have found a very good solution. Rose Acre Farms makes a very good "dried egg white" protein powder which you can order from them online. I started out with the 2lb one but when that runs out it will be time for the 10lb box. It is made from their own eggs, which are cage free (nice!) and there is absolutely nothing else added.. I have been mixing 1 tablespoon (11g protein) per 4 oz of Almond Breeze Chocolate (sweetened with evaporated cane juice) almond milk. It mixes (and scales) very well in these amounts in a shaker cup and actually tastes really good. You don't taste the egg at all, but part of it is foamy as others have described their egg proteins to be, not excessively though.

If you're looking for egg free, this isn't going to work, but for those of you who are GFCFSF, drink it with almond milk or rice milk. If you're just Gluten-free Casein-free then you have your pick of rice, soy, or almond milk. I prefer almond milk because I really don't care for soy at all, and I eat enough rice in my diet as it is. The almond milk tastes really good and allows me to mix up my diet to hopefully avoid getting a rice allergy someday. This combo has been the best for me given all of the constraints (price, naturalness, variety from rice, taste, ease of digestion, etc...)

[tarnalberry]

With most of the protein powders, I find that it helps to make a slurry the same way you do for thinkening foods with corn starch or rice flour, to give the powder time and ability to absorb moisture evenly. So, you put a little in a glass, add a bit of water, and mix it up, adding a little more water so it goes from being a thick paste to a slurry. Then you add it to whatever liquid you're adding it to. Never any lumps and little grit.

In the case of rice protein powder, I find it helps to give it a few minutes to sit and absorb the water. So, I'll make a slurry out if it, then get out my blender and other ingredients, make the slurry sans protein powder, then add the protein powder, then give it another minute or two, then drink - but I don't drink it in any particular hurry either.