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For those of us with significant food allergies, vegans, or people looking to go gluten-free, getting supplement protein from powders and shakes can be tricky. Whether it’s eggs, nuts, lactose, or gluten, the majority of protein powders are going to cause you problems.

Thankfully, a few alternatives to whey and casein have come on the health and nutrition scene in recent years, including soy, hemp protein powder, and even rice protein powder. Thanks to its gluten-free ingredients, rice protein is becoming a popular alternative and helps athletes and those looking to lose weight avoid common food allergens. It’s a fantastic supplement to use as part of a good protein diet plan.

Rice Protein Powder Basics

Thanks to it’s unique processing method, rice protein powder is a very pure, all-natural protein that amazingly helps you to avoid carbs as well. A complex enzyme process separates the protein and carbohydrate portion of the rice, and this protein is refined into a highly digestible powder.

It’s a surprisingly dense protein as well, with about 80% of it’s weight consisting of protein. The most natural version of rice protein will be unflavored with no other ingredients, but you can also try out flavored varieties such as chocolate, vanilla, and berry as well (if your diet allows you to consume the artificial sweeteners that usually come along with these flavored varieties).

Any Concerns with Rice Protein?

There’s plenty to like about rice, but like all powder varieties, there are a few areas where it doesn’t stack up well against common alternatives.

For instance, the overall protein content per serving isn’t that high, when compared to whey or casein powders. This is a common complaint among natural proteins like hemp, but overall they are great sources of protein when meat may be off the table.

Also, you may have a little trouble getting rice to dissolve quite as completely as more processed powders with fillers. However, choosing a thicker base for your protein drinks and shakes can help out. We’re guessing milk is out of the picture, but try almond or rice milk instead of water.

Blending with fruit and ice in your protein shake recipes also helps smooth out the general texture and helps things go down more easily.

But all in all, rice protein makes for a highly-digestible, protein-rich alternative to milk-based powders like whey, and helps you put on muscle or lose weight while avoiding gluten and other allergens.