Best Protein Powder for Weight Gain Without Side Effects

For millennia, humans have long searched for the basic secret of life, and, as Kurt Vonnegut wrote in his 1963 novel Cat’s Cradle, scientists have recently discovered that the basic secret of life is “something about protein.”

Mystery solved, case closed: the answer to everything is protein.

If you’re a bodybuilder or avid strength-trainer, this is certainly true. For many exercisers and athletes, the most important supplement of their daily supplement stack is their post-workout protein powder supplement.

So, even if protein doesn’t actually explain everything, it remains the basic secret of a bodybuilder’s lifestyle.

Especially if you’re looking to build muscle and/or increase your overall weight, an increase in protein intake to promote post-exercise muscle tissue repair and growth is generally required. That muscle doesn’t spontaneously grow from nowhere.

Yet, as is the case with any supplement, the question of “side effects” is an important one here.

Is it safe and healthy to increase your daily protein consumption via supplementation or should you only get your protein from dietary food sources?

Most already know that protein supplements are overwhelmingly safe and effective for weight gain, but some supplements are, of course, safer and more effective than others.

In this article, we cover the Best Protein Powder for Weight Gain Without Side Effects, including a breakdown of the anabolic health and fitness benefits of protein supplementation.

But, first, let’s start with the basics.

Different Types of Protein Powders for Weight Gain

Not all proteins are equal. In the body, there are fibrous proteins, globular proteins, membrane proteins, and so on.

Likewise, there are different types of dietary proteins that come from different dietary sources and that have at least marginally different effects.

This is why when we buy protein powder supplements, they don’t simply come with the label “Protein, but instead they’re categorized separately as “whey” protein, “casein” protein, etc. etc.

Really, when it comes to weight gain, simply increasing your protein intake works for increasing your muscle mass.

However, the type of protein you consume matters for maximizing the anabolic potential of your protein intake while also minimizing your risk of side effects.

With that in mind, the different types of protein powders for weight gain split into two general categories: animal-based and plant-based. Here they are:

Animal-Based Proteins

Typically, when we think “protein,” we think “animal meat.” We think of steak and chicken—maybe even lamb, if you’re a Greek boi.

As a key staple of the human omnivore’s diet, animal meats are a complete protein source, meaning that they contain all the essential amino acids required by the body.

Consuming more animal-based proteins, such as meat and dairy, is an effective strategy for increasing your overall daily protein intake.

However, for immediate post-exercise protein intake, quickly cooking up a steak after working out isn’t exactly an easy option for most people.

This is why, instead, many exercisers opt for the following types of animal-based (specifically, dairy-based) protein powder supplements:

Whey Protein

The most popular type of protein supplement, whey comprises 20% of the protein in milk—with casein taking the other 80%.

Compared to casein (see below), whey absorbs quicker, making it the more viable protein supplement option for immediate post-workout protein intake.

Because whey absorbs faster, it’s typically preferred for quickly kickstarting muscle repair and growth following strength-training exercise.^[1]

Casein Protein

A slow absorbing protein, casein is also commonly derived from the cheesemaking process, providing your body with a “slow release” delivery of protein-synthesizing amino acids.

Whereas blood amino levels stay elevated for 90 minutes after consumption of whey protein, casein protein elevates blood amino levels for as long as four to five hours.^[2]

Comparatively, the slower, steadier distribution of protein makes casein a better option for, say, pre-sleep consumption, while whey remains the better option for post-workout consumption.

Milk Protein

A hybrid combination of both whey and casein, milk protein is exactly what it sounds: the protein acquired by drinking milk.

For a combination of both fast-absorbing whey and slow-releasing casein, milk does offer a bit of “best of both worlds” advantages for muscle recovery—at least in theory.^[3]

However, to achieve similar anabolic benefits of both whey and casein, you’d have to drink a lot of milk, making it a much less viable workout supplement option than both whey and casein protein powder supplements—as well as the plant-based proteins below.

Plant-Based Proteins

Both whey and casein proteins are dairy byproducts of cheese production, which makes these proteins a no-go for those with dairy allergies, lactose intolerance, etc.

Though massively popular, many are turning away from such animal-based products, not strictly due to vegetarian reasons but also due to the reasonable suspicion that animal-based proteins come with questionably harmful byproducts.

This is why many, both vegans and non-vegans alike, are turning towards plant-based proteins. Some of the more popular types of plant protein supplements include:

Soy Protein
Hemp Protein
Pea Protein
Pumpkin Seed Protein
Sunflower Seed Protein
Sacha Inchi Protein
Chia Protein
Brown Rice Protein

Especially in the case of seed proteins, many supplements offer a blend of various plant proteins to achieve a more complete protein amino profile.^[4]

However, of these plant-based proteins, one that’s especially been gaining traction, namely due to its comparable effectiveness to whey protein, is brown rice protein—more specifically: Oryzatein® Certified Organic Brown Rice Protein.

Oryzatein® Brown Rice Protein

The only certified organic brown rice protein shown to build muscle as effectively as whey, Oryzatein® is a clean, premium rice protein made with low heat and natural enzymes.

While research suggests that rice protein may work as a fast-absorbing, slow-releasing “hybrid” intermediate between “fast” whey protein and “slow” casein protein, the most anabolic amino (leucine) found in Oryzatein® rice protein absorbs at a 30% quicker rate than whey leucine, potentially making this the smarter anabolic option compared to whey.^[5,6]

Whereas animal- and dairy-based protein powders may come with risky, unwanted animal byproducts, Oryzatein® encompasses a cleaner, safer, and purer protein powder.

Sourced from the world’s best organic rice farms via a clean, eco-friendly process, Oryzatein® is the best plant-based protein powder supplement—as well as the best overall protein powder for weight gain without side effects.

Best Protein Powder for Weight Gain Without Side Effects: Performance Lab® Protein

Powered by Oryzatein® certified organic brown rice protein, Performance Lab® SPORT Protein is the world’s cleanest and most effective protein powder.

As effective as whey for building muscle, minus the typical synthetics and artificial sweeteners found in most powder supplements, SPORT Protein enhances your anabolic muscle metabolism without disturbing your gut health or digestive performance.

In addition to organic brown rice protein, SPORT Protein is flavored and sweetened with organic cocoa, vanilla bean, cinnamon, yacon root, monk fruit, and stevia, making this also one of the naturally tastiest protein formulas around.

Key Features

Oryzatein® Certified Organic Brown Rice Protein, 20g
Himalayan Pink Salt, 50mg

Sourced from soy, dairy, and other questionable animal origins, many standard protein supplements fail to deliver a protein powder that’s conducive to a healthy, clean lifestyle.

Loaded with “dirty” artificial additives and sweeteners, they also mask their unpleasant taste with synthetic compounds that can be harmful to the gut.

By using a natural, premium, plant-based protein source, Oryzatein®, with natural flavors, natural sweeteners, and natural thickening agents, Performance Lab® SPORT Protein supplies the world’s cleanest and best-tasting protein powder on the market.

Naturally fit for human consumption, Performance Lab® SPORT Protein is easy to absorb and fit for all dietary lifestyles—whether omnivore, carnivore, or vegan.

Key Benefits

Powered by the extensively researched Oryzatein® rice protein, Performance Lab® SPORT Protein enhances athletic performance by helping to:

Build Muscle
Increase Power
Enhance Strength
Improve Endurance
Support Exercise Recovery
Control Hunger and Appetite

With a rice leucine that absorbs 30% faster than your typical whey leucine, SPORT Protein potentially outperforms the more popular whey-type protein supplements in terms of anabolic muscle growth and post-exercise recovery speed.

Enhanced with probiotic Bacillus coagulans, a probiotic believed to improve protein absorption, Performance Lab® SPORT Protein offers a protein powder that’s not only safe on sensitive stomachs but healthy for the gut microbiome, making this one of the cleanest, safest, and overall healthiest protein supplements available.

Get the Best Deal on Performance Lab® Protein Here

How to Use Protein to Gain Weight

When people think of gaining weight with protein, they typically mean gaining muscle mass—not necessarily fat mass.

In fact, even if protein results in a net increase in your total weight, protein powder supplementation may actually help you significantly decrease your fat mass for an overall greater composition of fat-free mass (FFM)—i.e., lean muscle.

Below, we’ll go into greater detail on how much protein you should take. But for muscle-building, as part of a strength-training regimen, it’s often recommended to take 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.

Taking a protein shake immediately (15-60 minutes) after exercising may help kickstart muscle repair, recovery, and growth for greater anabolic muscle gains. However, even taking a protein shake in between meals, or prior to bedtime, may also help elevate your overall daily protein intake for safe and healthy weight gain.

Though it’s best to combine protein supplementation with strength-training exercise, a high-protein diet in general may also assist with muscle growth, as a high-fat protein diet encourages your body to use extra food calories for muscle maintenance—not fat storage.^[7]

The Link Between Protein and Muscle Mass

When you think about it, the idea that our muscle tissues comprise the foods we shove into our mouths is pretty wild and miraculous.

Although there are different types of muscles—smooth, skeletal, etc.—the muscle we’re typically referring to when we talk about “increasing muscle mass” is skeletal muscle tissue composed of thread-like myofibrils and sarcomeres.

When we exercise, we damage our muscle fibers, which the body then repairs and fuses to create new muscle fibers.

Essentially, the metabolic stress of exercise triggers the anabolic effects of strength-training, which predominantly occur after exercise while at rest.

And during rest, the body breaks down your dietary protein (e.g., from your post-workout protein shake) into amino acid sub-components that will be used to transform damaged muscle tissue fibers into larger, stronger muscle tissue fibers.

Increasing protein intake helps provide a sufficient supply of muscle-building nutrients to the post-exercise recovering body.

However, consuming branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), a class of amino acids required for hypertrophy, even in addition to protein supplementation, is another effective way at stimulating muscle gains.^[8]

“Good” Weight Gain vs. “Bad” Weight Gain: What’s the Difference?

Binge-eating donuts and cookies is one effective strategy to gain weight, but virtually everyone in the world would describe this as “bad” weight gain.

Additionally, gaining too much weight too fast is another way to approach weight gain the “bad” way, increasing your risk of metabolic issues and other serious health conditions.

For both “good” and “bad” weight gain, you’re required to consume more calories than you burn on a daily basis.

But how many more calories you consume, as well as the type of calories you consume, does matter here. Really, these are measures of both caloric quantity and quality:

Quantity: if you want to gain weight slowly and steadily, aim for an excess of 300-500 calories daily—or 700-1000 excess calories for fast weight gain.
Quality: the term “empty calories” refers to high-caloric foods with low nutrient density (e.g., highly processed sugar), which may result in a paradoxical state where you’re gaining weight (as fat) in a malnourished state.^[9]

Of course, no one really knows how many calories they burn on a daily basis. On average, an active 6’0’’ male who weighs 200 pounds needs roughly 3200 daily calories to maintain weight.

This doesn’t mean you necessarily need to “calorie count,” but having a general awareness of how much you’re consuming vs. expending is key to a successful, sustainable weight gain regimen.

Protein Powder Benefits for Weight Management

Focusing strictly on calories isn’t the best way to achieve “good” weight gain. The same applies for “good” weight loss, if you’re looking to lose weight strictly through a reduction in your caloric intake.

The best way to maintain a healthy weight is to increase your energy expenditure (i.e., exercise) to match your energy intake (i.e., how much you eat), while ensuring that you are getting all your proper daily nutrition. Protein supplements can at least help on the muscle-building front of nutrition.

With that in mind, the weight management benefits of protein supplementation include:

1| Enhanced Muscle Growth

For both aerobic and anaerobic exercise, research has found protein supplementation to be effective at improving muscle growth, strength, and physical performance with long-term training.

In a systematic review on the effects of protein supplements on muscle mass, strength, and aerobic and anaerobic power in healthy adults, a group of researchers found that “protein supplementation may enhance muscle mass and performance when the training stimulus is adequate (e.g., frequency, volume, duration), and dietary intake is consistent with recommendations for physically active individuals.”^[10]

2| Increased Fat Loss

Increased muscle mass contributes to an increase in fat loss, as the greater metabolic demands of muscle growth enhance your resting metabolic rate (RMR)—or how many calories you burn while at rest. In one study on the role of protein in weight management, it was concluded that “higher-protein diets […] provide improvements in appetite, body weight management, cardiometabolic risk factors, or all of these health outcomes.”^[11]

3| Improved Sleep Quality

To both increase muscle mass and reduce fat mass, it’s important to both get adequate daily protein and get good sleep. While many exercisers take a protein shake before hitting the hay to increase their overnight anabolic muscle recovery, the benefits of protein supplementation may also improve your overall sleep quality, as one study reports that “low protein intake (<16% of energy from protein) was associated with poor quality of sleep and marginally associated with difficulty initiating sleep.”^[12]

Does Too Much Protein Cause Side Effects?

Most people need to increase their protein intake to achieve greater muscle growth and overall weight gain. Meaning that few naturally consume enough protein through their average daily diet to sustain the anabolic demands of weightlifting, strength-training, aerobic exercise, etc. etc.

Even so, ingesting too much protein can happen and does come with a range of side effects, most notably:

Intestinal discomfort
Indigestion
Dehydration
Diarrhea
Nausea
Constipation
Sudden tiredness

Most of these side effects are attendant upon an acute overdose of protein—e.g., after consuming an excessively large amount of protein powder that far exceeds the recommended amount.

Obviously, with chronic overconsumption of protein comes a more severe range of side effects, including cardiometabolic issues, disorders of bone and calcium homeostasis, and injuries to the liver and kidneys.^[13]

Some People May Be Allergic to Milk Protein

Unlike lactose intolerance, which tends to be uncomfortable yet relatively mild to other allergy conditions, whey and casein can cause severe immune responses to those with milk-protein allergies.

Typically, those who experience an allergic reaction to one type of milk protein tend to also be allergic to the other type—however, it is possible to be allergic to, say, casein while still having the tolerance for whey.^[14]

Either way, this further highlights why many, vegans and non-vegans alike, are increasingly turning towards cleaner, purer, plant-based options with a reduced risk of allergens.

How Much Protein Should You Take?

While the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is a modest 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight, the amount of protein you need to boost and sustain increased muscle mass bumps up to 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day—which translates to 0.5-0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight.^[15]

Performance Lab® Protein supplies 20g Oryzatein® Certified Organic Brown Rice Protein per serving, a clinically backed amount for immediate post-workout recovery.

Most protein powder users take a scoop serving of protein immediately after finishing their workout.

However, Performance Lab® Protein may also be taken 2-3 hours prior to training or competition, as well as right before bed for overnight muscle growth and repair.

Summary: Performance Lab® Protein is the Safest, Cleanest Powder for Muscle Gains

Sourced from animal byproducts, many protein powder shakes may help you achieve greater muscle growth, but they’re not exactly cut from the cleanest cloth.

By supplying clean, green, rice-based Oryzatein® with a healthy, tasty mix of natural flavors and sweeteners, Performance Lab® Protein isn’t only the best protein powder for weight gain without side effects—it is also the most delicious.

Taken immediately after exercise, between meals, or prior to sleep, Performance Lab® Protein can help you stay atop your heightened muscle protein demands while seeking a healthier weight—whether this involves weight gain or weight loss.

The absence of any synthetics or artificial additives makes this the most sustainable long-term protein supplement currently available on the market.