If you need to gain weight or you have a health condition that makes it difficult for you to eat all of the calories and nutrients you need, Ensure Nutrition Shakes may be able to help you meet your requirements. They are high-calorie shakes from Abbott Nutrition, and they are fortified with vitamins and minerals. Ask your doctor if you think a nutrition shake may help you, and read the labels to help you decide which type to get.
Ensure Background
Ensure Nutrition Shakes may benefit you if you are having trouble chewing or swallowing solid food, or if your energy needs are higher than usual. You can drink them with meals or in between meals to supplement your diet. Ensure Nutrition Shake comes in 8-oz. ready-to-drink bottles in dark or milk chocolate, vanilla, butter pecan, coffee latte and strawberries and cream. The drink is gluten free, and appropriate for individuals with lactose intolerance.
Nutritional Overview
Ensure Nutrition has 250 calories and 6 g total fat with 1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat and 2 g monounsaturated fat. It has 320 mg, or 20 percent of the daily value for, alpha-linolenic acid, a heart-healthy omega-three fat. The shake has 9 g protein from sources that include milk and soy protein and 41 g total carbohydrates, including 1 g dietary fiber and 18 g sugars with added sugars from sugar and corn syrup. It has less than 5 mg cholesterol, 200 mg sodium and 420 mg potassium.
Vitamins and Minerals
Ensure Nutrition has 25 percent of the daily value for biotin, vitamins A, D and K and for the B vitamins. It has 50 percent of the daily value for the antioxidant vitamin C, and 30 percent of the daily value for vitamin E, another heart-healthy antioxidant. The shake has 30 percent of the daily value for calcium, which is essential for bone health, and for selenium, which promotes antioxidant activity in your body. Ensure Nutrition has 25 percent of the daily value for other essential minerals, such as iron, phosphorus, magnesium, chromium and copper.
Other Types
If you have specific nutritional needs, your doctor may recommend one of the more specialized kinds of Ensure shakes with different features. For example Ensure Plus has extra energy -- 350 calories -- and Ensure Bone Health has 50 percent of the daily value for calcium and vitamin D. Ensure Immune Health has more vitamin E, vitamin C and selenium, and Ensure Clinical Strength has extra fiber and calories compared to Ensure Nutrition. Ensure Muscle Health for older adults with HMB, an amino acid metabolite that is necessary for muscle protein synthesis to help your body maintain lean muscle mass and strength. If you have any difficulty eating or you are concerned about your health, be sure to contact your doctor before using Ensure.
Member Comments