Tell Me About Nutrition Shakes

In My Humble Opinion
1

Once upon a time I had a severe gastrointestinal illness and my doctor recommended those nutrition shakes (Ensure, Boost, etc.) until I got my weight back up to the normal range and could eat normally again. So yeah, clearly that was a good thing at the time.

Now, I’m basically running the health-beauty-cosmetics section of a big-box retailer (my employer prefers I not mention them by name on line in most circumstances). Part of that section carries several brands of said “adult nutrition beverages”. Quite a few people buy them, and they aren’t all recovering from severe norovirus like I was. I’m wondering why people buy them (obviously, I have some guesses but I’m interested in other peoples’ opinions, too) and just how useful they are or aren’t. Yes, this is somewhat related to this thread.

So… do you use these? What brands and flavors? Why? Your opinions?

2

My grandmother in law uses them. She has reached the stage in her life where she eats almost nothing and what she does eat is rarely the good for her stuff. She will probably never eat normally again so she is basically in the same situation you were but will stay there for the rest of her life.

3

The one I’ve tried so far is the Wally*World equivalent to Ensure, chocolate edition, only because I’m just getting started. It tastes OK, but I get a low level sensation of nausea after drinking it. Real appetite killer for solid food.

Some manufacturer could make a fortune selling sample packs with all their flavors included. Just sayin’…

My issue is chronic liver disease and associated weight loss. Down 50+ lbs. since mid-June and still going.

4

I get the Ensure Active High Protein. It’s so that if I don’t have something to eat before I leave the house, I can have it as a snack on the run and not get too hungry.

I avoid the true meal replacement Ensure or Boost because they’re what I drink when I have panic attacks and can’t eat or keep food down. I associate that one unique taste with some really shitty times in life.

5

They are, literally, better than death. For those who cannot eat all the calories they need to, and have physical or mental impairment that makes it impossible to make their own shakes out of real food, they’re a lifesaver. But their nutrition is fairly abysmal for long term use.

I don’t recommend them for people of normal weight or not at risk of a nutritional deficit. Calories from real food - even if that’s pureed meat and mushy peas - is almost always the better choice from a nutritional standpoint, as well as a psychosocial one. No one really enjoys it if Grandma is sipping at her Ensure while everyone else is having dinner. Better to dice up the turkey small and make sure her dressing is moist and soft so she can gum and swallow it.

If my patients are able, or have a willing caregiver, I gladly share with them some recipe ideas and a table with suggested ingredients to make their own shakes in the blender. It does also include a recipe for a homemade Ensure like shake, using Carnation Instant Breakfast, milk, and I think some oil, as well as condensed milk. Sometimes, that’s the one people will use. But making it themselves is cheaper, and there’s always the hope that someday they’ll be inspired to throw half a banana in there, too. It’s one of my most used patient handouts. Everyone wants Ensure, but Medicaid won’t pay for it unless you have a very specific couple of conditions. But they all ask me to try to get it for them, either because they drink it because cooking is too much trouble, or…

…there is another, sadder use of Ensure: many people who are homeless or very poor use them instead of food. They sell them by the single can in convenience stores and gas stations, usually for a dollar or two a can. People with really limited budgets will use them to stay alive when they can’t afford real food or if it hurts too much to chew. :frowning:

6

I have a friend who suffers from more-or-less constant nausea and cannot bear to eat. She drinks these things to try to gain weight. She is down to 70 lb at about 5’4", which is not a healthy weight. She needs a valve job, but they afraid to operate because she is so weak.

7

We buy the whey protein shake things every so often. They are nice for post-morning workouts when I end up driving to work shortly after and don’t have time for a real breakfast. It is nice to have around for other reasons mentioned above.

My son has Short Bowel Syndrome, so he is on a type of ensure for use in his feed pump. We have replaced it with regular shakes in a pinch (traveling, or run out on the wrong day and not realized it*). His docs know, but would prefer we stick to the prescribed formula. Of course, the formula is kind of ridiculous written down, but it works well for him. We use several cans of the shakes/formula, some protein powder, some cheese, bananas (or banana baby food), and a large amount of peanut butter.

I don’t know that it is super helpful, but the shakes literally help him get enough calories in a form easy enough to absorb, and that is what we’ve needed them for.

*While this sounds incredibly irresponsible, it has happened that we have run out in the evening and his regular formula after the pharmacy we use closed (or so late that we couldn’t drive there in time before they did). It is roughly 45 minutes from our house. We are also roughly 30-40 minutes to any store other than a gas station. It is an extremely rural area. A single bottle of ensure from a convenience store is better than him not getting anything through the pump before we can get to the real store in the morning.

8

Sorry, I don’t know much about nutrition.

9

I was thinking recipe, not formula. I don’t know. Awkward wording, but I missed the edit window.

10

I started drinking these when I began suffering from TMJD when I was 18. I couldn’t use my jaw to chew so it was the only way to get a meal.

Since then I’ve bought shakes or made shakes as meal replacement. Bars, too. Put enough protein in there and they can fill the gap between breakfast and dinner.

Really nice for after work but before a workout. You’re not hungry anymore but you’re also not full.

I think the Atkins brand shakes are good, but I prefer EAS brand because they are just as delicious but cheaper.

11

:smiley:

12

Nice one, shakes.

Now I’m trying to figure out the difference between Ensure and cousins and “weight loss shakes” like Slim-Fast. Taste? Nutrition?

I know a lot of the “meal replacement bars” and “protein bars” are basically candy bars with maybe marginally more protein/less carbs than Hershey’s or Nestle’s offerings. Is Slim-Fast basically a liquid candy bar?

13

They are all very similar, except that Glucerna is significantly lower in sugar. Ensure and Glucerna are lactose free, the others are not. I believe, but am not certain, that Glucerna is the only one that is gluten free. So those with diabetes are probably best off with Glucerna, and anyone else can choose what tastes best to them.

“They gave me Ensure in the hospital, so that’s the one I want!” Uh-huh. That’s because Ensure sells hospitals pallets of Ensure for pennies. They can’t quite get away with giving them free anymore (that’s how Tylenol became “the number one choice of hospitals”), but they make the deal so sweet that they’re the most commonly stocked. There’s nothing better (or worse) about Ensure brand.

Boost
Per 237 mL
Calories 240
Calories from Fat 35
Protein 10 g
Total Fat 4 g
Sugars 20 g
Fiber 3 g

Ensure
Per 8 ounces (237 mL)
Calories 220
Calories from Fat 50
Protein 9 g
Total Fat 6 g
Sugars 15 g
Fiber 1 g

Glucerna
Per 237mL
Calories 190
Calories from Fat 60
Protein 10 g
Total Fat 7 g
Sugars 6 g
Fiber 3 g

Slim-Fast (Rich Chocolate Royale)
Per 295 mL
Calories 190
Calories from Fat 54
Protein 10 g
Total Fat 6 g
Sugars 18 g
Fiber 5 g

Carnation Breakfast Essentials Drink (Ready to Drink, Rich Milk Chocolate)
Per 8 ounces (237 mL)
Calories 240
Calories from Fat 36
Protein 10 g
Total Fat 4 g
Sugars 15 g
Fiber 0 g

Carnation Instant Breakfast, Rich Milk Chocolate, prepared with 1 cup skim milk
Per 8 ounces (237 mL)
Calories 220
Calories from Fat 27
Protein 13 g
Total Fat 3 g
Sugars 32 g
Fiber <1 g

Snickers Bar
Per 1 regular sized bar
Calories 250
Calories from Fat 108
Protein 4 g
Total Fat 12 g
Sugars 27 g
Fiber 1 g

So…more fat in a Snickers bar, and less protein. Same ballpark amount of sugar, however, which is something of a wake up call to many people, particularly people with diabetes who are drinking shakes other than Glucerna and not accounting for them when bolusing insulin.