Do you currently use a meal replacement shake, is it truly healthy? I was absolutely amazed by how many meal replacement shakes were staring back at me on the shelves of my local supermarket the other day.
Every one of them was claiming to nourish, energise and revitalise your body ! All the marketing buzzwords are there competing for you to pick them up and get scanned at the checkout. Ca-ching! Digestion, protein, probiotics, fibre, antioxidants, low-fat, fat-free, no artificial colours (they forgot to mention flavouring though), and on and on they go.
After scanning the food labels of some of them I was inspired to buy a few and share my thoughts on them. It’s only when you start to understand the nutritional labels and dig deeper into the actual ingredients that you’ll find that many are not what they claim!
Don’t be a duped consumer
A few things to consider before you buy your next meal replacement shake:
1) Sugar: The World Health Organisation recommends that an average adult consumes no more than 25g of sugar per day which is approximately 6 teaspoons. Yes thats over the WHOLE day not just one meal or drink! To calculate the sugar content of a product just divide the sugar content ‘per serve’ by 4 (a standard teaspoon), you may be surprised by the results. Also, as a side note, I avoid any brands that claim to be fat-free. Why? As they have removed the fat to reduce the energy per gram and have replaced it with… sugar.
If you are genuinely wanting to improve your health, simply reduce your sugar intake. Sugar is your enemy, not your sweet tasting friend, overconsumption is linked to diabetes and many more health conditions. Keep your daily sugar intake low. Why compound it?
2) Vegetable Oils: After interviewing hundreds of the worlds best health experts on our podcast ‘The Health Sessions‘ they all agree that processed vegetable oils should be avoided at all costs. Consuming these refined oils which are high in omega-6 fats have been shown to fuel our body’s inflammatory pathways and scientists have hypothesized that eating too much omega-6 can lead to increased inflammation in the body and potentially contribute to disease. Personally I avoid as many products as I can that contain vegetable oils and favour natural healthy fats instead like avocados, nuts, seeds and coconut oil etc.
With this in mind, I’ve listed the leading brands of meal replacement shakes below (in no particular order) including their sugar, protein and vegetable oil content. It’s worth highlighting that a meal replacement worthy of your attention should ideally have:
- A Low Sugar Content
- Contain Balanced Protein, Healthy Fat & Fibre
- No Artificial Sweeteners, Fillers or Thickeners
- More Real-Food Ingredients Than Chemicals
Here is what I found on the shelves…
Sustagen Active: 
Claim: Stay strong and active with nutritionally complete drink to supplement your diet. Fact: With a whopping 7.5 teaspoons of sugar per serve you’ve exceeded your total daily limit of sugar in one drink!
• Sugar per serve: 30g
• Protein per serve: 13.8g
• Vegetable Oils: No
Ensure Nutrition Powder: 
Claim: Each serving of Ensure Original Nutrition Powder provides complete, balanced nutrition. Fact: Using corn syrup as the leading ingredient plus added sugars and synthetic vegetable oils, ‘complete, balanced nutrition’ is an interesting claim indeed.
• Sugar per serve: 12g
• Protein per serve: 8g
• Vegetable Oils: Yes
Glucerna Health Shake: 
Claim: A nutritional health shake drink, containing slow-release carbohydrate system and a healthy fat blend. Fact: This is packed full of maltodextrin (an inexpensive additive to thicken food products), vegetable oils and sugar alcohols which we recommend to avoid for better health.
• Sugar per 100g serve: 5.7g
• Protein per serve: 10.1g
• Vegetable Oils: Yes
Oz Farm Aged Care Formula: 
Claim: Enriched nutrition for vitality, strength, illness & recovery making it the perfect nutritional support for aged care. Fact: This formula is little more than milk solids with added vitamins that also contains vegetable oil and LOTS of sugar.
• Sugar per 100g serve: 25g
• Protein per serve: 14.6g
• Vegetable Oils: Yes
Faulding NutriCare:
Claim: Meal replacement powder containing essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients to assist in maintaining well-being. Fact: Interesting that this product contains artificial sweeteners yet still contains the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar per serve!
• Sugar per 100g serve: 24.5g
• Protein per serve: 14g
• Vegetable Oils: No
So there you have it, was your current brand listed above?
There are many meal replacement products I haven’t mentioned as the list would be extremely long, but you get the general idea. In short, it’s important to note that nothing beats ‘real food’ but if you are going to use a meal replacement, choose one with ingredients that you recognise while minimising the sugar and dodging the vegetable oils.
If you use a meal replacement powder I’d love to hear your thoughts on the brands you eat and why?
180 Nutrition is Leading the Natural Meal Replacement Revolution
If you believe that 100% natural nutrition products are better for you than products packed with preservatives, chemical and artificial flavours and colours… then you are in the right place.
Imagine a meal replacement that contains only natural ingredients, completely free of all fillers, thickeners, sugars & preservatives. A meal replacement that contains essential micro nutrients, antioxidants and fibre to assist metabolic rates and keep your digestive system functioning at optimum levels, a meal replacement that is actually healthy for you!
Introducing our Superfood Protein Blend, a meal replacement made from real food with not a chemical in sight!
Discover below how our ingredients stack up to the top-selling product:
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Superfood Protein Blend Ingredients | Top Selling Products Ingredients |
| Grass-Fed Whey Protein | Non Fat Milk Solids |
| Organic Flaxseed | Corn Syrup Solids |
| Cocoa | Whole Milk Powder |
| Almond Meal | Sugar |
| Sunflower Seeds | Minerals |
| Organic Coconut Flour | Stabiliser (414) |
| Organic Sesame Seeds | Flavour |
| Chia Seeds | – |
| Psyllium Husks | – |
| Stevia Leaf | – |
| Protein Per Serve: 23g | Protein Per Serve: 13.8g |
| Sugar Per Serve: 0.4g | Protein Per Serve: 27g |
| Vegetable Oils: No | Vegetable Oils: Yes |
I hope you notice the BIG difference here. I totally understand that there are lots of times when we can’t completely control the intake or preservatives and processed foods but when you CAN make that choice …
Doesn’t it make more sense to choose the option that contains 100% Natural Ingredients and no chemicals?
| Customer Testimonial – The Best Meal Replacement I Have Ever Had!
“I have been taking the 180 Nutrition meal replacement and organic greens powder for a couple of years now. It is hands down the BEST product I have ever used. Consuming it turned my life around to the point that at 61 years of age I have just walked 2,000 kilometres across France and Spain with not a single ache or pain! Before getting onto the protein powder and greens powder, I was overweight, lethargic and had absolutely zero motivation for anything. I am now a completely different person thanks to 180 Nutrition!” |
HOW TO PREPARE
- Mix it: Add a serve of Superfood Protein Blend to your muesli, oats or simply yogurt and fruit. Just one serve will help you add more protein, healthy fat and digestion friendly fibre to your meal.
- Blend it: Add a serve of Superfood Protein Blend with 200ml of milk or water into a blender. Add a little fruit if you want, blend and enjoy. This deeply nutritious smoothie will keep you felling full for longer.
If you are not 100% satisfied for any reason with your purchase of 180 Nutrition’s Superfood Protein Blend, keep the remainder of the product, contact us and we will arrange for a 100% refund. No questions, no hassles.
So I am pretty damn confident that our natural meal replacement will do everything we claim, so click below to place your order today. We have a range of sizes and even offer a huge bulk discount on larger bags. The prices are all on the order page, but they don’t really matter, because you have the money back guarantee, so there’s not even any risk.
