Flatulence from whey please help

[Varven]

Hi all,

I presume this is a fairly common problem but I get nasty nasty bouts of gas from protein shakes.

I absolutely detest it, its been so bad the last few days ive gone of whey n tried to stick with more whole foods.

But I need whey to maintain my mandatory protein intake.

Do you guys have any reccomendations or suggestions?

Im unable to even live with myself, Ive nick named them the death farts.

In desperate need of help.

[Ash]

What type of whey are you using? If it's a concentrate, you may be struggling to digest the lactose, fat etc. it contains. Some people get very gassy and bloated on concentrate and some concentrates are only 65-70% protein - the rest is all milk fat, lactose and minerals.

Moving to a higher quality whey with more protein and less carbs and fat might help. The best I've found locally is the Balance Unflavoured Ion Exchange Whey. A 30g serve has only 0.15g of carbs and 0.15g of fat plus 28.5g of protein.

If you're already on an isolate - well then you might just have a digestive system that doesn't like that much protein. Maybe a nutritionist could help you.

[Varven]

I use Pharmasport, noticed it on both their whey and mass gainer.

I am lactose intolerant to a certain extent, more than one glass full of milk irritates my system.

Will convert to balance and see how it goes .

cheers mate.

[deegee]

I have used pharmasport alot in the past because of its price, but not had any problems with it

[Varven]

Funny thing is,

when Im off whey for a while, say about 2/3 weeks and then return to it,

Im fine for the initial 3 weeks. After that problem returns . discontinuin the whey instantly cures it.

Noticed it with red 8 as well.

Not sure what it could be, its almost as though it sorta builds up. Lol maybe I should start cycling whey, 4 weeks on 3 weeks off 8)

[Pseudonym]

All those symptoms sound exactly like lactose intolerance, Varvez.

As Ash says, try using an isolate-only whey. These usually contain minimal lactose.

You could also try taking a lactose-digesting enzyme called lactase (I think). I don't know much about it, but from what I remember, the problem is that some people's bodies can't produce the lactase required to deal with lactose properly. So supplementing this may help.

[Spitterkat]

drink water, it will make the concentration less (might help :wink: )

[Varven]

Thanks for the options guys,

will try a purer form of whey, guess there is some truth to " you get what you pay for" .

Alternatively will try looking up the lactase supplementation option as well.

best,

v.v.

[Varven]

Something just struck me, could one of the 3 essential BCAA be triggering it off ?

considering I get similair and worse results on BCAA supplements ?

[Ash]

Something just struck me, could one of the 3 essential BCAA be triggering it off ?

considering I get similair and worse results on BCAA supplements ?

Could be...could also be the phase of the moon :grin:

When in doubt, apply Occam's Razor. Ditch that nasty old WPC and see what happens.

[frogie2001]

I have read an article lately that says if you go for a whey that is more purified it loses alot of its bio availabitilty and can't be absorbed into the system: anyone have any comments on the truth to this? because my farts are beginning to become a bit of an environmental issue, and I think Kyoto is going to have to kick in soon :wink:

[waldo]

Something just struck me, could one of the 3 essential BCAA be triggering it off ?

considering I get similair and worse results on BCAA supplements ?

Could be...could also be the phase of the moon :grin:

When in doubt, apply Occam's Razor. Ditch that nasty old WPC and see what happens.

Ahh, Occam's Razor. Most simple explanation is the best. You could also try charcoal tabs too.

[frogie2001]

in all honesty i didn't know that their was a way to cut the gas out of the whole eating thing. i thought it just went hand in hand. might have to giv it a go and cut the milk down a little. does anyone know if the change to Soy will help? and what affect will that have on my protein intake?

[Ash]

in all honesty i didn't know that their was a way to cut the gas out of the whole eating thing. i thought it just went hand in hand. might have to giv it a go and cut the milk down a little. does anyone know if the change to Soy will help? and what affect will that have on my protein intake?

There may not be a way to get rid of all the gas if you're eating a typical bodybuilding diet.

I think a certain amount of gas is inevitable but I would imagine that if you're lactose intolerant to some degree and eating lots of dairy, then the consequences could be smelly to say the least. :shifty: Cutting out dairy for a while to see if there is a difference might be worthwhile if the gas really bothers you.

Looking at some Soy Milk I've got here, the breakdown per 100ml is :

Protein 3.1g

Fat 3.1g

Carbs 4.6g

So it's got about the same protein content as standard milk but less than ultra-low fat milks like SuperTrim. I think there are low fat versions of Soy Milk - I don't drink it myself so I'm not too familiar with what's available.