Ensure – the “healthy” drink that contains mostly sugar and refined carbs

Want to ensure that you stay healthy and free of disease? Well this Ensure “healthy drink”, recommended for patients at risk of malnutrition, sounds really promising! Until you take a closer look at the nutrition facts, that is…
if you want to "ensure" that you stay sick, swill a bunch of this corn syrup garbage parading as a health supplement pic.twitter.com/FcoFwKNHnl
— Shawn Baker (@SBakerMD) 8 augusti 2016
Sugar…
Just look at the two main ingredients (after water): corn maltodextrin and sugar. WHO recommends no more than 10% of energy in the diet to come from sugar, ideally below 5%. The sugar in this drink makes up a full 25 % of the energy. Five times more than the maximum recommendation.
…and then more bad carbs
Add the refined starch (corn maltodextrin) that rapidly turns into glucose in the blood, and the truly bad carbs add up to 56 % of the energy in this drink.
This is not that different from eating a bag of candy or drinking soda. Add a vitamin pill and you’ll get something very similar.
If you want to ensure that you become obese and sick, then you should buy this drink.
A better alternative
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76 comments
If you are referring to Ensure, we don't recommend it at all. However, a low carb or keto diet can help improve your immune system. This article may be of interest. https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/for-doctors/lung-disease#inflamma... If you or a family member is currently sick, we recommend working with your doctor.
can it cause cancer in the body :/
Ensure and Yoplait, a hell of a hill to die on, Mom. I suppose the idea of eating meat, fish, nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, and healthy fats, while living another twenty to thirty years, was too miserable sounding to even consider. I love you though.
I am so very sorry for your loss.
That is true, Ensure Milk or other nutrition doctors recommended drinks has sugar and other elements may not be good for people need diet controls, but they are life supplies for people cannot eat or drink other solid or fresh foods like me when I had the stage-IV cancer treatment 25 years ago. That was the only food, 6 bottles of Ensure Milk a day, supported my life through the 6 months treatment. If drank or swallowed other foods I would throw up, even got fever, right away.
So sorry to hear of your troubles! We would not recommend this drink. However, if you're unable to follow a keto or low-carb diet plan, you may want to discuss other options with your doctor.
I'm in great shape. I exercise regularly. I have a sensible diet. I don't drink soda or eat fast food. I've eaten and drank less than healthy things before but even then it was moderately. However, every time I drank either a half or full Ensure Plus, within 10 minutes the life drained out of me and felt my body become ill. Not nauseous but drained, weak and had a feeling of unwell-ness. It lasted for 10 minutes and faded away to where I felt good again. I've NEVER drank ANYTHING in my entire life that made me feel this way. EVER. It's so so strange.
I drink protein smoothies regularly. 90% of the time though I make them myself at home. I buy small tubs of whey or plant protein powder from the nutrition store of my choice and put scoops in a blender along with a banana, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and water. Blend it up and drink. Delicious, healthy and never ever makes me sick. Why? Because whatever protein powder I buy has only 2 grams of sugar, NO high fructose corn syrup or corn maltodextrin, hardly any carbs and is high in amino acids and vitamins. Plant based is my first recommendation for protein powders as they are derived from real, healthy Plant sources which are ultimately better for you than whey or soy.
With ready to drink protein drinks, AVOID Ensure and all other high sugar and high carb ones. The lower the sugar content the better. Look at the label of any powders or ready to drinks you buy. Be smart about it. Don't be fooled by the "Doctor" recommended ENSURE products.
First off, Ensure is made for people who for whatever reason cannot eat "normal food". It was never designed or intended for you egotistical health nuts to consume. It is designed for people who for whatever health reason can't normally eat, yet you preach from your ego pulpits to eat KETO.... Hellooooo McFly, that is not even an option for the intended users... If a Dr or Nurses tell you while on a regimented diet to drink 1, 2 or even 6 ensures a day, I PROMISE YOU A KETO DIET IS NOT AN OPTION !!!
There are many medical situations in life that eating traditional solid food of any type is not an option, period, and telling people to avoid something made to give them easily digested and life saving glucose, protien, fat, and over 25 esential vitamins and minerals is absurd and just shows the true ignorance of so many people today.
I promise you, if the doctor had a choice, of course they would recommend whole foods and fruits and vegetables over a nutritional drink designed to be easily digested by people who's immediate health conditions for whatever reason require an easily digestible LIQUID suppliment.
Your fresh health shakes while easy for your healthy body to digest could easily be to hard for an unhealthy or recovering gut to digest....
Ensure saved my life. It allowed me to nurse myself back up to health and strength before fully addressing the underlying issues of why I couldn’t/wouldn’t eat. Keto could not have done that. It was ensure or some kind of nutrition drink, or eventual hospitalization and nutrition lines.
If you are suffering from anything at all that is effecting your strength and health, talk to your doctor about the best course of action. If they ever recommend ensure, know it’s for a reason and that reason is in your absolute best interest. Wish you all the best, and much love, health, and happiness.