MEAL REPLACEMENT DRINKS

It seems that every other person is on a diet. Many people ask me about meal replacement drinks, which have become a part of the dieting scene. These can be helpful for weight-loss, weight-gain, detoxification, improving digestion, building muscle and athletic performance. Below I have compared 6 professional products and 12 commercial products. For more information, you can access websites for each of these.

PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTS
Professional products are made by companies that sell to licensed health-care providers only. These are usually to aid in detoxification, improve digestion, or to speed
weight-loss. They aspire to be hypoallergenic, meaning they do not contain dairy, gluten, egg, soy, corn, dyes, or synthetic additives. Most are made with rice protein to avoid common food allergens, or isolated soy or milk proteins (pre-digested). Most contain the basic 28 vitamins and minerals. Many contain glutamine to improve digestion, or glutathione to improve liver detoxification, or other therapeutic agents, plus antioxidants. The added ingredients improve the effect of these products, but raise the price. Most of these are sold in cans of 20 - 21 servings; Pure Encapsulations are sold in cans for 13 or 15 servings.
 

PROFESSIONAL MEAL REPLACEMENT DRINKS
In Alphabetical Order

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS
Commercial meal replacement drinks are sold in stores and online. These are used for multiple purposes. Those for weight loss contain less calories; while those for weight gain have more calories. Those used for muscle building or athletic performance contain
very high protein content and more calories. Some are protein powders in cans or packets; others are single-use drinks for convenience. Many of these are available with
"packages", energy bars, antioxidant drinks, or other health or weight-loss products, or even pre-packaged meals. Ingredients vary considerably, but usually contain some vitamins and minerals. Some even contain organic, kosher or isolated proteins; while others contain antioxidants. Undesirable ingredients include: sulfites, corn syrup, dyes, artificial flavors, Splenda (sucralose, chlorinated table sugar), wheat or oat (gluten), and assorted fillers - which are highlighted in red.

COMMERCIAL MEAL REPLACEMENT DRINKS
In Alphabetical Order