Think Before You Drink
added 02/06/08
by Mary Saucier Choate, M.S., R.D., L.D.
…this time she found a little bottle…and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words “DRINK ME” beautifully printed on it in large letters. It was all very well to say “Drink me,” but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry.—Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
Energy drinks, high protein drinks, and “meals in a can” are all the rage. For years they have been marketed to hospitals as high-calorie meal supplements for the sick or frail who have difficulty eating enough. Now they are marketed to the public as a way for healthy, on-the-go baby boomers to get the nutrients they need when they are too busy to eat.
Can These Drinks be Helpful?
Energy drinks can certainly help out if someone is at risk for losing weight or is frail and unable to eat enough calories. For people who are ill or have just had certain kinds of surgery, the shakes can be a short-term source of nutrition until regular foods can be eaten again. Jaw surgery patients find them especially useful, but often prefer homemade blenderized shakes because they taste so much better. For healthy people, in a pinch, energy drinks can replace an occasional snack or a meal.
Are They Necessary?
Energy drinks and meal replacements are certainly more nutritious than a candy bar, but whole food choices provide energy, protein, additional nutrients, and longer-lasting satisfaction for less money. For example, for similar calories and protein, you could eat an orange or a half-cup of grapes or berries and a low fat yogurt topped with a tablespoon of nuts. Are you really on the run? Have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread or a handful of mixed nuts and raisins. The fiber, healthful fat, and protein in these choices will stick with you. Furthermore, early research on hunger and satiety indicates that eating your calories rather than drinking them results in feeling more satisfied on fewer calories. That means drinking a shake may leave you hungrier than consuming solid foods with the same number of calories.
What Are They?
Meal replacements are sweetened milk, soy, or a combination of both, fortified with varying levels of vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients. Added sugars, artificial and natural flavors and colors, thickeners, gums, and emulsifiers in energy drinks are necessary for processing, but are not needed in whole or lightly processed foods.
Separating nutrients from foods or adding them back into refined foods results in a manufactured product that is missing important compounds lost during processing. Highly processed foods such as energy shakes lack health-protecting phytochemicals and naturally occurring fiber.
All Foods Can Fit
In an eating plan that includes a variety of healthful whole foods, energy drinks can serve as an occasional snack, depending on calorie needs. Read the Nutrition Facts label to see if your drink is a snack that fits into your calorie budget for the day.
