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I'm on a ketogenic diet and have stopped taking protein shakes (excepting post-workout protein powder with water) because I've heard that it may cause an insulin spike. Is it true that protein powder with water will knock you out of ketosis? The one I'm using in particular is Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey.

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I don't think insulin is a problem for your ketosis, but the glucose definetly is. – Sebas Feb 7 at 21:00

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Yes it can.

Protein is made up of seven different aminos, some of which (just as j.rightly correctly pointed out) can knock you out of ketosis because they are broken down into glucose in your blood.

j.rightly is corrct. Do some research and it will confirm that protein can knock you out of keto. Anyone who says it can't doesn't understand the science behind it.

That is why you are meant to eat about 65% of your diet from fats, 30% protein and no more than about 5% carbs (which will be incidental from your fat & protein based meals) to be sure you stay in ketosis.

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Explain how an increase in insulin results in an increase in blood sugar which would disrupt ketosis. I think you're the one who doesn't understand the science. Insulin != blood sugar. – jcollum Apr 24 '12 at 19:19
the amino acid is broken into glucose if excedentary, then reactively inducing an insuline secretion. – Sebas Feb 7 at 20:59
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No.

Ketosis is the deprivation of carbs. High end protein shakes, such as your ON Gold, don't contain many carbs. Thus, drinking your protein shake won't remove you from your ketogenic state. On the other hand, cheap proteins (Muscle Milk) and any protein labeled as "mass builder" will contain carbs to prevent ketosis.

Your comment about protein shakes spiking insulin is wrong. Insulin is secreted to process sugar. Your ON Gold with water has hardly any sugar. Thus, drinking your protein shake will not spike your insulin. Insulin spikes usually only occur when you eat simple carbs from fruit, candy, etc...

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-1 for an incorrect answer. Ketosis occurs when the body breaks down fat. When blood sugar is raised, even if due to excess protein consumption, ketosis may stop. This is why the Atkins diet specifically limits the amount of protein meats you can consume in a meal (6-8 oz generally). – j.rightly Jan 26 '12 at 20:10
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+1 for answer. @j.rightly You're confusing insulin with blood sugar. I've been reading about this today and yes, protein does cause an insulin response. The theory is that this is so that aminos will be transported into cells. However I've never heard of insulin disrupting ketosis. Insulin in the blood does not equate directly with glucose in the blood. marksdailyapple.com/insulin-index/#axzz1szDOPYww – jcollum Apr 24 '12 at 19:23
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I was on Keto for 14 days and after my bootcamp classes; I drank GS Whey with water and wasn't kicked out of Ketosis. Moreover, during the workout I sipped on BCAA too. I lost 3 inches and 6 pounds.

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Welcome to fitness.SE. We like answers that explain deeply more, than simple one-liners. Please be more detailed when answering. – Informaficker Oct 9 '12 at 19:50

We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context. Don't just give a one-line answer: please explain why you're recommending it as a solution. Answers that don't explain anything will be deleted. See Good Subjective, Bad Subjective for more information.
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From my personal experience: yes, whey isolate can kick you off the ketosis. It happens with me this week; I feel fatique although I eat enough, and ketostix became negative. I drunk 60g of whey isolate three days in the morning (Monday, Tuesday, and today is Wednesday)

It boosts insulin (or something else; and it doesn't matter what); in fact, I don't feel as energized as I was during weekend.

It is third time when I am on ketogenic diet in my life (during past 15 years); first time I was drinking-eating raw egg whites (20-30 a day) and eating meat etc; second time meat; and now I was drinking protein shakes too in the morning, instead of breakfast.

I read in few different sources: main idea behind ketogenic diet is not "low carbo"... indeed, it is "do not eat unnatural food", do not eat grains, sugar, _protein_powder_, anything whichever is unnatural to millions-years history of humans.

I am on ketosis 18 days; I lost about 8-9 pounds, and about 1 - 1.5 inches. However, most weight loss (4-5 pounds) happened in first two days; and now everything stopped (although I do not eat any sugar! I even replaced my BCAA powder which had some maltodextrin) - now I know where the problem is...

Yes, insulin is spiked to process sugar, and not protein. And, body can generate glucose from protein. Someone posted here: "Glucose is the bodies preferred fuel - the body can convert 100% of carbs, 58% of protein & 10% of dietary fat into glucose."

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May I ask what dietary recommendation led you to consume 20-30 raw egg whites a day? (Especially since the yolk has most of the nutrients, and also almost doubles the protein content). – JohnP Feb 6 at 22:29
I was in another country where eggs were 10-100 times cheaper than imported protein; and at that time pure protein was unavailable. I consumed about 5-6 egg yolks a day, plus 20-30 egg whites. You can get intoxicated if you drink 30 yolks :) – Fuad Efendi Feb 6 at 22:39
At that time, about 1996, I read an article about Shawn Ray (bodybuilder). Before competition, two-three months in advance, he goes total "ketogenic", and what he eats is... 4-5 kilo of fish! He is amateur fisherman, check his video: youtube.com/watch?v=epa0hbpZcFw – Fuad Efendi Feb 6 at 22:51
up vote -2 down vote

Excess protein can cause an insulin spike because excess protein gets converted into glucose. Too much protein will bring you out of ketosis. Believe me now or believe me later..

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Care to explain how this works, because else this is nothing more than a comment. – Ivo Flipse♦ May 11 '11 at 17:49
I'm sorry you have trouble understanding. The question was "Is it true that protein powder with water will knock you out of ketosis?" and the answer is Yes. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucogenic_amino_acid for a list of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that convert to glucose. – j.rightly May 11 '11 at 17:59
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@jrightly, the goal of my comment was so you'd add additional information and improve your answer. I've already converted some of your posts to comments, because you were posting a series of answers, some of which were just one-liner answers. There's nothing wrong with posting a lot of answers, but you would do well to focus on quality, rather than quantity. – Ivo Flipse♦ May 11 '11 at 18:14
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A link to an article that backs this statement up would be really nice. – Chris Pietschmann May 11 '11 at 20:08
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-1 for opinion with no science to back it up. – jcollum Apr 24 '12 at 19:20
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Yes they can, even the one's that have zero carbs. With no carbs a protein powder will not raise your blood sugar, but it can and will cause an insulin spike. This is your body's way of coping with no carbs and it allows your cells/muscles to absorb nutrients from food, and also helps the liver create glucagon from the protein. When you body takes in virtually NO carbs, it still needs to control and regulate your blood sugar and also create enough energy that your body can still survive and allow you to be active. The process is described better in this article... http://www.marksdailyapple.com/insulin-index/#axzz23kFePfEA and more info here... http://4hourpeople.com/question/1110/TIP-Avoid-whey-protein-when-burning-fat-

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Are you really citing an article by some Jane Schmoe on the net that concludes with a paragraph replete with "you should be" and "may be" and "I think"? -1. – JohnP Aug 16 '12 at 22:36

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