Glucerna Shake is a meal replacement shake made to reduce blood sugar for diabetics and those who follow a low glycemic diet. They offer ready to drink shakes and powders for appetite suppression, immune health, and heart support.
Calories can range upwards of 200 calories and each is meant to satisfy appetite using a mixture of high protein, low carbohydrate ingredients.
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Sales are available online and in many stores. Their 8 fl oz case of 24 currently sales for $45.99, which averages to $1.91 per 8 fl oz bottle.
2 shakes a day would then cost $3.82. This can vary however as different stores sell it at their own prices. The kind of protein used comes from 2 sources:
Milk Protein Concentrate: Processed protein which is treated in order so it preserves better. It contains around 40% to 90% protein. It contains a rich source of nutrition as it preserves the nutrients found in milk.
Soy Protein Isolate: Soybean extract which contains at least 90% protein. Though soy is often easy to digest for most users, it is used controversially due to it often being GMO and capable of producing estrogen. Soy is also a cheap ingredient which can be sourced for cheap from other sources. Phytates are another concern as these compounds in soy can lead to a loss of minerals.
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Also added to this formula are artificial ingredients, food coloring, thickeners, and binders. The food coloring is of concern due to it not only being unnecessary, but some studies have shown it can potentially lead to DNA damage and ADHD symptoms. The only benefit of food coloring is that it gives the shakes a certain shade of color, but it does not affect the nutritional yield.
Furthermore, these shakes can range upwards of 200 calories which is exceptionally higher than other brands. Higher calories means one has to work harder in order to lose weight. In order to support weight loss one should look to consume as few calories as possible.
There’s also the use of artificial flavors which can come from a number of different sources. Ingredients like these are cheap additives which are used to mimic real ingredients. The issue is that this can come from many different unwholesome sources including common allergens.
While the shake is said to be the number one doctor and nutritionist recommended brand, there is no evidence of this online. It would be strange to think a healthcare expert would advise one to take in so many processed and artificial additives.
Glucerna | 18Shake | GNC Lean | Herbalife | Visalus | |
Soy free protein | |||||
Helps with hunger | |||||
Low sugar | |||||
No artificial flavors or colors | |||||
Good taste | |||||
Money back guarantee |
The sweeteners added include fructose, short chained fructoligosaccharides and patented sucromalt. Sucromalt is a slow digestion carbohydrate used to balance out glucose.
Fructose is considered one of the worst sweeteners as it has shown the potential to increase the risk for obesity .A study by Harvard showed:
“Higher intakes of fructose are associated with these conditions”
The conditions include things like fatty liver disease, obesity, plaque buildup, and other conditions related to weight gain. Glucerna Shake can have upwards of 6 grams per tiny 8 fl oz serving. At 2 a day one is receiving a high 12 grams of sugar which are best avoided for general health reasons as well as weight loss.
The added fructoligosaccharides are good for gut health, but excess amounts can potentially cause gas and stomach issues.
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*per serving
The creators of Glucerna Shake are Abbott Laboratories, a world renowned healthcare corporation. The company has had to settle major lawsuits over illegal marketing tactics, which found that they were guilty of these charges.
Returns are not handled by the official company, but may be offered depending on where you purchase the shakes from.
In reading the ingredients list and noticing the heavy use of artificial additives, food coloring, sugar, and high amounts of calories it’s difficult to see how this would help with weight loss. Additives like Fructose are known to spike blood sugar, so it’s strange it would be included in a formula intended for those concerned about the glycemic index.
Better options for meal replacements are available such as the top ranked shakes.
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