We get a lot of questions sent to us, and I was asked this question from Camile through the Edify F.A.Q. page recently. When I had finished my reply, I thought it worth sharing here on the blog as I do see questions about protein shakes being asked in LCHF circles. This is my take on it.
Can you drink Protein Shakes while doing LCHF?
This is a three sided question for me so I’ll answer on each side separately.
Side One : Moderate Protein
While LCHF is Low Carb and High Fat, it is only Moderate Protein. The body can only store a small amount of protein at any one time, so too much protein can cause the body to convert the excess protein to glucose, which raises blood sugar, which releases more insulin, which stores the glucose as fat…. see the pattern? I like to consume my protein in the form of meat and eggs because while you are consuming their protein, you are also consuming the valuable good fats at the same time. Plus it is natural and healthy foods… which leads me to…..
Side Two : Just Eat Real Food
I am a FIRM believer that one of the most important steps to good health is “Just Eat Real Food”. Just as important as limiting carb intake and increasing fat intake, is to cut out processed foods and unfortunately, protein shakes (in mine, and many others opinion) are far from natural foods, and are highly processed. On the Edify Food Pyramid on our website, almost everything we advise to eat are single ingredient, naturally grown produce to be cooked and consumed. There is nothing more important than eating healthy, natural foods, cooked from scratch.
Side Three : Check the Labels
Have a look at the ingredients in these protein shakes. When I looked into them a while back, I struggled to find a single one which wasn’t chock full of BAD stuff. Added Flavours, Fructose (sugar), Maltodextrin (more sugar) and worse of all Soy Products (which most of the worlds soy is GMO). I did a quick search on my local supermarket online shopping site and here is a list of ingredients in just one “healthy, low fat” protein shake they sell…..
Ingredients : Instantised Whey Protein Isolate (Milk, Soy Lecithin), Instantised Skim Milk Powder, Instantised Full Cream Milk Powder (Soy Lecithin), Instantised Whey Protein Concentrate (Milk), Maltodextrin (Corn), Dextrose, Amino Acid Blend (L-Lysine, L-Leucine, L-Histidine, L-Arginine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine, Glycine, L-Tyrosine, L-Threonine, L-Methionine), Inulin, Flavour (Milk), Vegetable Gum (412), Food Acid (330), Sweetener (955).
Some shakes have less ingredients, but still they all seem to contain a lot of unnatural and additional ingredients which I believe should be avoided.
Overall, I would certainly suggest that protein shakes are not the way to go and it would be much more beneficial to just eat real food instead of the convenience of pre-made products.
What about home made protein shakes? I have an excellent Whey Protein source (cold pressed, non denatured, etc) and thought if i mixed that with a good Almond/Coconut Milk and perhaps Coconut Oil I’d have a good post workout shake
Thing is with all foods… these are decisions you have to make for yourself. The way I would look at it for myself is, does the whey protein tick off the 3 points I made. Am I consuming too much protein in a shake? Would I consider the whey protein to be “Real Food”? How refined is the product?
LCHF isn’t a one-size-fits-all way of life. Everyone needs to find out what suits them, their body and their lifestyle. If it works for you, go for it.