Examination of the lactose content of ‘Lactose Free’ whey protein based sports nutrition products

Abstract

Whey is the most popular protein source in the sports nutrition market but there is a shift towards plant based and lactose free options. Most lactose malabsorbers can tolerate at least 12g of lactose without symptoms. Five lactose free WPI sports nutrition products were tested, as well as one WPC product using HPLC and RI detection. All of the samples tested were produced by a popular sports nutrition brand. None of the WPI products contained detectable amounts of lactose. The WPC product was found to contain 1.6g/100g (±0.2) of lactose which is well below the threshold required to elicit symptoms in the vast majority of LI individuals when the product is consumed as indicated on the product label. The lactose content of all products tested was consistent with the product labels. Future studies should investigate a broader range of lactose free sports nutrition products from a variety of producers in order to obtain a more complete data set. Individuals particularly sensitive to lactose should consider using plant based alternatives to whey based products.