Lactose Intolerance, Protein Powders, and Sucralose

Lactose Intolerance is the inability to absorb lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. It can cause abdominal upset and gastrointestinal issues. I have lactose intolerance to such a degree that drinking milk (now I drink rice milk), some whey proteins with water, eating certain types of cheese (swiss cheese has low lactose), and even having some ice cream causes me to have horrible abdominal pain. It sucks.

I went through about a dozen different proteins before I found one that does not cause me to have stomach issues. Biochem 100% Whey Protein. It’s 100% pure Ultra-Filtered/Micro Filtered Whey Protein Isolate. However, I do not like the taste.

I went on a hunt for other low Lactose or Lactose free proteins that tasted good. What I found was even if they said low or no lactose they STILL caused me to have horrible abdominal pains. I spent a lot of money before I figured out it wasn’t just lactose, it was another common ingredient that caused my abdominal pains. Sucralose was the culprit, that fake chemical sweetener that they seem to use in about everything these days. It’s also known as Splenda. There are a lot of people out there with cramping and pain from Splenda. Try doing a google search.

Aspartame is another chemical sweetener that is in a lot of products and has quite a few bad reviews going for it. However, for whatever reason, this doesn’t seem to hurt my stomach. But I also only have aspartame if I have a stomach issue as I’ll drink Sprite Zero (seems to help).

Now, I didn’t have these issues when I first started working out. They were very minimal but it got worse over time. I have since cut out all lactose products and anything with sucralose and have not had any abdominal pain since. I am trying some egg proteins now that do not have lactose, sucralose, and taste good. However, with my current exercise program I am trying to get all protein from lean meats.

If you are having any bad GI abdominal pains Lactose Intolerance or Sucralose may be the culprit.

2015: I now take IDLife's Shake for lunch as a meal replacement (no stomach issues) and ID Nutrition. Very high quality and pharmaceutical grade ingredients. In addition, I also take About Time Protein to reach my 200g a day goal (muscles contain around 25% protein, so you need to get the proper amount to build muscle). Both are sweetened with Stevia, which doesn't cause me to have abdominal pains.

Or you can give Biochem 100% Whey Protein a try and see if that helps. You'll probably need to mix it with Rice Milk or add fruit to cover the taste. But consider the alternative, horrible abdominal pain.

Updated: Nov. 2015