A single serving contains 24 essential vitamins and minerals, which is the amount of vitamins and minerals the body needs based on a diet that contains 2, calories per day. Ensure Plus can also help promote better heart health as it includes milligrams of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids called alpha-linolenic acid.
These drinks are also suitable for those on gluten-free diets. Ensure Plus works the same as other liquid nutrition supplements and should be well shaken before consuming. You can serve it cold or over ice if you want a cooler more refreshing taste.
Since Ensure Plus is a rich source of concentrated calories you can even use it as a meal replacement. If you wish to use these shakes aside from meal times, we suggest that you use it between meals or after a meal to prevent decreasing your appetite for a proper meal. Significant weight loss can lead to frailty, especially in the elderly, and lack of appetite can be indicative of an underlying physical or mental problem, such as depression.
Though it is better to drink Ensure than eat nothing at all, weight will continue to be lost.
This is because an 8 oz. Therefore, drinking Ensure for breakfast, lunch and dinner will provide you with calories a day. Even if you add another bottle or two a day as snacks, your total caloric intake would be about half of what you should be getting.
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A major concern for anyone taking medication is the possibility of an adverse interaction with the ingredients in Ensure drinks. This includes prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs or supplements.
Such interactions might weaken or heighten the effects of your medication. Interactions also can cause damage to the body or disrupt its functioning in some way.
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Supplemental nutrition shakes contain more than just healthy ingredients. Salamon agrees. That can lead to weight gain and a list of complications associated with obesity, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Equally concerning is that nutrition in a can isn't the same as nutrition from food. A potentially healthier option is a shake or fruit smoothie that is food-based and found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
However, these tend to cost more than the shelf-stable shakes. No matter which drink you choose, look at the ingredients.
How to Use Ensure to Lose Weight
Ideally the first few ingredients should be fruit or forms of protein such as milk. If sugar is the first or second ingredient, there's probably a healthier option. Equally important are the calories. If you're replacing a meal, look for about calories per serving.
Ensure Drink Side Effects
Our experts advise against using the drinks as snacks, but Nelson says if you must, then don't go above calories. As for nutritional ratios in an 8-ounce serving, look for 10 to 20 grams of protein, no more than 6 grams of fat, and no more than 40 grams of carbohydrate, including sugar. Disclaimer: As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.