As a personal trainer and health coach living with an autoimmune condition, I can thrive and feel amazing like any other athletic person, as long as I adhere to a paleo-based autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet. I’m grateful that the AIP diet helps prevent autoimmune flareups, so I don’t have to rely on steroid medications with debilitating side effects.
The only downside to the AIP diet is that it’s more restrictive than the typical paleo/primal diet. I can’t eat any nightshades, dairy, gluten, grains, chocolate, legumes, seeds, nuts, spirulina/chlorella, artificial sweeteners, and most natural sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit. That means I literally can’t consume any sports protein products on the market without consequences.
All that changed when I found CHICKEN ISOLATE™ CHiK|PRO® Protein sold by Driven Nutrition. It’s the first-ever meat-based protein isolate powder that fuels muscle recovery and growth without any flavours or additives that could trigger a flareup. It’s 100% chicken protein and nothing else.
But Isn’t Beef Protein Powder Paleo/AIP Friendly?
Most beef protein recovery powders on the market are made from skin, bones, and connective tissues. In other words, they’re collagen in disguise. If the product in question doesn’t disclose on the label whether it is collagen or meat-based protein, chances are it’s collagen. Call the company and ask.
On its own, collagen is fantastic for healing a leaky gut that would otherwise contribute to more autoimmune flareups. According to Dr Sarah Ballantyne, who wrote the book on AIP, a leaky gut can either cause or exacerbate most autoimmune diseases. I drink bone broth with an extra scoop of collagen powder every morning for this very reason.
Unfortunately, collagen by itself is not the best choice for growing muscles, as it’s rather deficient in leucine, one of the branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) essential for muscle repair and growth.
How Does CHiK|PRO® Protein Taste?
Does the thought of an unflavoured chicken protein gross you out? Let me tell you something: when you have an autoimmune disorder, taste should be the least of your worries; be grateful you can have any protein powder at all!
In any case, I find CHICKEN ISOLATE™ CHiK|PRO® Protein tastes relatively neutral and slightly gritty, although nowhere near as gritty as hemp protein. This product tastes best when mixed into natural fruit juice or savoury dishes like soups and stews. I’ve even tried baking it into paleo AIP-friendly banana bread and couldn’t tell it was in there.
Why Not Just Eat Real Chicken to Grow Muscles?
Have you ever tried eating 150+ grams of protein per day from chicken for months on end? If you’re working out hard and your goal is to gain muscle, your protein requirements skyrocket. It’s highly unlikely anyone living with an autoimmune condition and fragile digestive system can consume that much meat.
Like it or not, supplementing protein is essential for significant anabolic growth. CHICKEN ISOLATE™ CHiK|PRO® Protein refines the complete-protein efficiency of chicken into the most efficient source for crucial muscle-building amino acids.
Most importantly, one of the AIP guidelines is to minimize pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids while increasing anti-inflammatory omega-3s. Since chicken is notoriously high in omega-6s, consuming vast quantities of chicken meat could potentially make an autoimmune disorder worse. Luckily, CHiKPRO Chicken Protein Isolate only has 2g of fat per scoop!
You Won’t Give a Cluck About Other Protein Powders Again
Every scoop of CHICKEN ISOLATE™ CHiK|PRO® Protein packs 22 grams of complete protein. According to the company, you’d need at least ⅓ more of most kinds of protein supplement to get the same amount of essential amino acids in CHiK|PRO® chicken protein isolate.
This incredible new product is a game-changer for those living with autoimmune conditions who can’t have any flavoured plant or dairy-based protein powder. I’m grateful this product exists and recommend it to anyone following a paleo AIP diet!
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