Lactose, gluten, xylitol and FODMAP in protein products: what affects digestibility and your wellbeing

With our products, we want to support your wellbeing and therefore we pay close attention to natural digestibility. It is increasingly understood that physical health, mental health and wellbeing are also rooted in our gut. That is why we chose to place particular importance on ensuring that our products do not only provide optimal nutrients for your body, but that your gut microbiome feels well nourished too. Enjoyment is important to us, so we make sure, it does not fall short.

Wheycation develops functional and delicious food with ingredient lists, that we keep as short and transparent as possible, using Swiss whey and other premium raw materials. This approach is no coincidence: the fewer unnecessary additives a product contains, the easier it is to understand what is actually relevant to your own digestibility.

For us, digestibility is not a blank promise, but a question we want to answer with nuance. Because digestibility is more than just the presence or absence of certain ingredients. It is highly individual to you. Your body, your lifestyle and above all your gut microbiome are unique. That is why, we create transparency, so that with our support you can decide for yourself what wellbeing means to you.

During cheese production, a large portion of the lactose from milk passes into the side stream product whey. To produce whey protein concentrate, whey is then filtered and concentrated. This removes a large portion of lactose, but a certain amount naturally remains in whey protein concentrate.

Wheycation uses Swiss whey protein concentrate for its protein products, not whey protein isolate from which lactose has been completely removed. This is why our protein products are not lactose-free.

In Switzerland, foods containing less than 0.1g of lactose per 100g/ml are considered lactose-free. Products with less than 1g per 100ml are considered low in lactose and are generally well tolerated by many lactose-sensitive individuals.

The amount of lactose you consume from a Wheycation product depends on the specific formulation and serving size.

Our Protein Powder Nature, for example, contains 9.8g of lactose per 100g of powder. At the recommended serving of 25g, this amounts to around 2.5g of lactose.

Regular cow milk contains around 5g of lactose per 100ml. Our protein shakes, prepared with 40g of powder and 200ml of water contain less than 1g of lactose per 100ml, which is around one fifth of that.

Our Protein Porridge contains even less lactose.

Many of our customers with lactose intolerance report very good tolerability, also thanks to our carefully balanced formulation with natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners.

The exact nutritional values can always be found directly on the individual product page. If you do not tolerate lactose well, it is worth checking the individual amount per serving and considering your own personal tolerance.

Milk does not contain one single type of protein. Milk proteins are divided into casein and whey proteins. During cheese production, these protein fractions are largely separated: casein, together with the milk fat, forms the basis of the cheese, while the whey proteins remain in the liquid whey.

Our whey protein concentrate contains whey proteins and differs significantly in its protein composition from that of cheese.

The digestibility of whey proteins and casein can differ, as they are distinct in protein fractions. Whey proteins are generally better tolerated than casein.

Lactose intolerance affects milk sugar, while a milk protein allergy affects the milk proteins themselves. With an allergy, the immune system reacts to certain components of the milk protein. Even small amounts can therefore trigger a reaction.

Anyone with a diagnosed milk protein allergy should avoid products containing both whey proteins and casein.

Gluten is a collective term for certain proteins found in grains such as wheat, spelt, rye and barley. It is responsible, for example, for making doughs elastic and helping them hold their structure.

For the vast majority of the population, gluten is a normal part of the diet. The situation is different for people with coeliac disease: here, gluten triggers an immune response that can damage the lining of the small intestine.

Symptoms following the consumption of grain products do not only affect people with coeliac disease. In addition to coeliac disease, there are other forms of gluten sensitivity.

For recurring symptoms, medical assessment is advisable before permanently eliminating gluten from the diet.

Our protein powders contain no gluten by formulation. We only use gluten-containing ingredients in the Protein Porridges (due to the oats) and in the pancake mix.

Since gluten-containing raw materials are used in our production, we cannot rule out, despite a strict allergen management concept, that trace amounts of gluten may be present in the powders. However, allergen cleaning procedures are regularly monitored for their effectiveness and products are tested for cross-contamination. The amounts found always remain clearly below the legal limits. For anyone with medically confirmed coeliac disease, we nonetheless recommend consulting a specialist before consuming our products.