Ensure has been the best-known brand in meal replacement drinks since 1973. While most associate Ensure with meal supplements for the elderly, Ensure has grown to make both an art and a science out of creating highly nutritious meal replacement drinks that work for people of all ages and lifestyles.
With nearly a dozen types of Ensure, including Original, Plus, Enlive, High Protein, Clear, Max Protein, and more, the various types of Ensure are tailored to suit specific dietary needs. Whether you need more protein as your body ages or you’re seeking a high-energy boost for an active lifestyle, there’s an Ensure for you.
With flavors such as vanilla, butter pecan, milk and dark chocolate, strawberry, and coffee, it’s not hard to find a blend that’s a match to your tastes – and they can be mixed and used in a variety of innovative recipes.
Overall Rating
While there’s a great deal of variety in Ensure and it’s great as a meal supplement, it should only be used as a meal replacement in the short term to avoid lasting negative effects.
Digestive side effects plus a few issues with cloying or “mealy” flavors bring the score down, as well as the fact that often people – especially the elderly – derive less nutritional value from vitamins and minerals consumed in liquid form over the long term than from solid food.
- Contains 26 crucial vitamins and minerals
- Provides nine grams of protein
- Contains antioxidants
- checkFacilitates brain health with 25 percent of daily requirement of B vitamins
- checkComes in vanilla, strawberry, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, banana nut, butter pecan, and coffee latte
- checkSix grams of fat with only one gram of saturated fat and zero trans fats
- checkLess than five milligrams of cholesterol
How Do Meal Replacement Drinks Work?
Meal replacement drinks provide the same nutrition as a balanced meal, rendered from solid into liquid form. While most of the time meal replacement drinks should be used as a supplement for solid food to enhance nutritional value, in the short term they can be used alone.
For seniors, they can provide an extra boost to support gaining and maintaining a healthy weight – or dropping those extra pounds by cutting out the excess.
Benefits of Ensure Meal Replacement Drinks
You may not be getting all the vitamins you need from your food. Ensure is a nutritious, delicious way to make sure you get enough nutrients and essentials without falling back on multivitamins, which don’t leave you feeling full and can leave you unsatisfied.
Meal replacement drinks also help to overcome certain dietary issues, such as lactose intolerance or food allergies. Using meal replacement drinks can be a great way to round out your diet and guarantee you’re safely supplying your body with the fuel it needs.
Why Should the Elderly Use Ensure Meal Replacement Drinks?
As you get older and your metabolism slows down, it can be difficult to control your weight – especially when dealing with special dietary requirements caused by age-related conditions, such as diabetes, blood pressure, lactose intolerance, and digestive problems.
Drinking Ensure helps you take control over metabolic issues. As a meal replacement, it can provide complete nutrition for fewer calories and carbs when trying to lose weight; as a meal supplement, it can help with nutritional balance when trying to gain weight.
If you’re suffering from nutritional deficiency but can’t find it in your diet due to medical issues, Ensure can provide the nutrients needed without aggravating your conditions.
Features of Ensure Original Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
Ensure’s Original formulation has stood the test of time, and it remains one of their top-selling products.
- Contains 26 crucial vitamins and minerals
- Provides nine grams of protein
- Contains antioxidants
- checkFacilitates brain health with 25 percent of daily requirement of B vitamins
- checkComes in vanilla, strawberry, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, banana nut, butter pecan, and coffee latte
- checkSix grams of fat with only one gram of saturated fat and zero trans fats
- checkLess than five milligrams of cholesterol
Each bottle of Ensure provides a significant amount of daily vitamins and minerals, up to 60 percent of daily requirements, while also offering critical protein and a percentage of the healthy fats required for proper metabolic function
Ingredients of Ensure Original Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
The complete list of ingredients in Ensure Original as provided by the manufacturer includes:
- Water
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Sugar
- Milk Protein Concentrate
- stop-circle-oBlend of Vegetable Oils (Canola, Corn)
- stop-circle-oSoy Protein Isolate
- stop-circle-oNonfat Milk
- stop-circle-oLess than 0.5 percent of:
- Magnesium Phosphate
- checkPotassium Citrate
- checkNatural & Artificial Flavor
- checkCellulose Gel
- checkSalt
- checkCalcium Carbonate
- checkCalcium Phosphate
- checkCholine Chloride
- checkAscorbic Acid
- checkSodium Citrate
- checkCellulose Gum
- checkPotassium Chloride
- checkMonoglycerides
- checkSoy Lecithin
- checkCarrageenan
- checkPotassium Hydroxide
- checkLiquid Sucralose
- checkFerrous Sulfate
- checkZinc Sulfate
- checkAcesulfame Potassium
- checkdl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate
- checkNiacinamide
- checkManganese Sulfate
- checkCalcium Pantothenate
- checkCopper Sulfate
- checkThiamine Chloride Hydrochloride
- checkPyridoxine Hydrochloride
- checkVitamin A Palmitate
- checkRiboflavin
- checkChromium Chloride
- checkFolic Acid
- checkBiotin
- checkSodium Molybdate
- checkPotassium Iodide
- checkSodium Selenate
- checkPhylloquinone
- checkVitamin D3
- checkVitamin B12
Overall, most of these ingredients are fairly harmless vitamins and minerals, with the exception of corn maltodextrin, which is a highly processed substance used as a thickener. Maltodextrin can cause blood sugar spikes and allergic reactions, and it can alter your digestive bacteria.
One thing to note is that Ensure Original and all Ensure formulations in this review contain soy and milk, for anyone with allergies. It’s also a good idea to be wary of “natural & artificial flavor,” since there’s little disclosure about what this actually is. Ensure Original also includes liquid sucralose, which can cause headaches and migraines.
If you’re worried about some of the more obscure-sounding names in these ingredients, though, don’t be. Carrageenan, for example, is naturally derived from seaweed and is used as a thickener. Dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate is another name for synthetic Vitamin E. And Pyridoxine Hydrochloride? Is just Vitamin B-6.
PROS
- checkBalanced assortment of vitamins and minerals
- checkGood source of caloric intake
- checkFlavors can encourage nutrition in picky eaters
CONS
- No lasting feeling of fullness
- closeNot an adequate substitute for solid food
- closeReported to cause short-term digestive issues in some, including nausea, cramps, and diarrhea
- closeMay cause more severe health issues when incorrectly consumed, including cramps, breathing issues, and seizures
Features of Ensure Plus Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
Ensure Plus packs a little more than Ensure Original, and it is specifically designed for healthy weight gain and maintenance.
- 350 calories per serving
- check13 grams of protein
- check26 vitamins and minerals
This formulation comes in vanilla, milk chocolate, strawberry, butter pecan, and dark chocolate.
Ingredients of Ensure Plus Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
The ingredients in Ensure Plus are almost the same as Ensure Original, including:
- Water
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Sugar
- Blend of Vegetable Oils (Canola, Corn)
- Milk Protein Concentrate
- Soy Protein Isolate
- Cocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali)
- Less than 0.5 percent of:
- Nonfat Milk
- checkMagnesium Phosphate
- checkSodium Citrate
- checkSoy Lecithin
- checkNatural & Artificial Flavor
- checkCalcium Phosphate
- checkPotassium Chloride
- checkCellulose Gum
- checkPotassium Citrate
- checkCholine Chloride
- checkAscorbic Acid
- checkCellulose Gel
- checkCarrageenan
- checkSalt, Ferric Phosphate
- checkdl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate
- checkZinc Sulfate
- checkNiacinamide
- checkManganese Sulfate
- checkCalcium Pantothenate
- checkCopper Sulfate
- checkThiamine Chloride Hydrochloride
- checkVitamin A Palmitate
- checkPyridoxine Hydrochloride
- checkRiboflavin
- checkFolic Acid
- checkBiotin
- checkChromium Chloride
- checkSodium Molybdate
- checkSodium Selenate
- checkPotassium Iodide
- checkVitamin B12
- checkPhylloquinone
- checkVitamin D3
The difference here tends to be the concentrations, with Ensure Plus containing more calories and protein. (The inclusion of Cocoa Powder in this list is because this list comes from the chocolate flavor.)
PROS
- checkIncreased caloric intake for weight gain and maintenance
- checkHigher levels of protein for muscle and brain function
CONS
- Same issues as Ensure Original
- closeMuch higher levels of sodium at 220 mg
- closeMore fat, with 11g total consisting of 1.5g of saturated fat, 4g of polyunsaturated fat, and 5g of monounsaturated fat
- closeMay cause unwanted/excess weight gain if used for too long as a meal supplement
Features of Ensure High Protein Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
Ensure High Protein is the next step up in Ensure’s line of meal replacement drinks. It includes:
- 16 grams of protein
- checkFour grams of sugar
- checkTwo grams of fat
- check23 vitamins and minerals
- check160 calories
Flavors are strawberry, vanilla, and milk chocolate.
Pros and Cons of Ensure High Protein Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
Looking at the pros and cons of Ensure High Protein is complicated, considering that while it offers more protein, it falls short in other areas compared to other Ensure drinks.
Ingredients of Ensure High Protein Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks
The ingredients list in Ensure High Protein is once again not much different from other Ensure formulations:
- Water
- stop-circle-oMilk Protein Concentrate
- stop-circle-oCorn Maltodextrin
- stop-circle-oSugar
- stop-circle-oSoy Protein Isolate
- stop-circle-oCocoa Powder (Processed with Alkali)
- stop-circle-oCanola Oil.
- stop-circle-oLess than 0.5 percent of:
- checkMagnesium Phosphate
- checkNatural & Artificial Flavor
- checkPotassium Citrate
- checkCellulose Gum
- checkSalt
- checkSodium Ascorbate
- checkLiquid Sucralose
- checkCarrageenan
- checkCellulose Gel
- checkAcesulfame Potassium
- checkGellan Gum
- checkdl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate
- checkFerrous Sulfate
- checkNiacinamide
- checkZinc Gluconate
- checkCalcium Pantothenate
- checkVitamin A Palmitate
- checkThiamine Chloride Hydrochloride
- checkPyridoxine Hydrochloride
- checkRiboflavin
- checkManganese Gluconate
- checkFolic Acid
- checkBeta-Carotene
- checkBiotin
- checkChromium Chloride
- checkPotassium Iodide
- checkPhytonadione
- checkSodium Molybdate
- checkSodium Selenite
- checkVitamin D3
- checkCyanocobalamin
That new addition to the list, cyanocobalamin, is nothing to worry about. While technically it’s a member of the cyanide family, it’s also a form of B-12. You would need a dose thousands of times higher than is available in a standard dose of B-12 for it to equate the toxicity of poisonous cyanide.
PROS
- checkLess fat than other Ensure products
- checkGood for a quick low-calorie burst of energy
- checkExcellent source of protein with highest protein content yet
CONS
- Fewer calories; not as viable as a completed meal replacement
- closeFewer vitamins than Ensure Plus
Features of Ensure Original Meal Replacement Powder
Ensure’s powder form can be a more cost-effective alternative that lets you mix up your own servings, with multiple servings per container instead of one. Each serving includes:
- 250 calories
- checkNine grams of protein
- check26 vitamins and minerals
- checkAntioxidants
The Original formula powder only comes in milk chocolate and vanilla flavors.
Ingredients of Ensure Original Meal Replacement Powder
Ingredients in Ensure Original Meal Replacement Powder include:
- Corn Syrup
- Corn Maltodextrin
- Sugar
- Corn Oil
- stop-circle-oSodium & Calcium Caseinates
- stop-circle-oSoy Protein Isolate
- stop-circle-oArtificial Flavor
- stop-circle-oPotassium Citrate
- stop-circle-oMagnesium Chloride
- stop-circle-oCalcium Phosphate
- stop-circle-oSodium Citrate
- stop-circle-oLess than 0.5 percent of:
- checkPotassium Chloride
- checkSoy Lecithin
- checkAscorbic Acid
- checkCholine Chloride
- checkdl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate
- checkZinc Sulfate
- checkNiacinamide
- checkFerrous Sulfate
- checkCalcium Pantothenate
- checkManganese Sulfate
- checkCupric Sulfate
- checkThiamine Chloride Hydrochloride
- checkPyridoxine Hydrochloride
- checkRiboflavin
- checkVitamin A Palmitate
- checkFolic Acid
- checkBiotin
- checkChromium Chloride
- checkSodium Molybdate
- checkPotassium Iodide
- checkSodium Selenate
- checkPhylloquinone
- checkVitamin D3
- checkCyanocobalamin
Still not much different from the shakes. One newcomer to the list, though, is phylloquinone. This is just a K vitamin found in spinach, cabbage, and certain other leafy greens, and it’s critical to blood clotting.
PROS
- checkMore affordable in powder form, with multiple servings per container
- checkMore portable
- checkSelf-determined serving sizes
CONS
- Mixing may be difficult, especially for the elderly
- closeNot as smooth as the pre-made shakes
- closeDifferences in flavor
Ensure Meal Replacement Nutrition Drinks vs. Boost
Boost is another meal replacement drink with a solid position in the market. So how does it stack up against Ensure?
When it comes to nutritional content and ingredients, they run almost neck and neck, with Ensure offering 250 calories per serving and Boost offering 240 – but balancing out with Boost’s 10 grams of protein per serving versus Ensure’s nine grams.
What makes one stand out the difference for Ensure, though, is that it has 320 milligrams of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which Boost utterly lacks. On other vitamin and mineral fronts, the two vary depending on specific ingredients, but overall Boost provides a higher percentage of essential vitamins.
And as far as pricing? Just doing a price comparison on Amazon shows wildly fluctuating price differences, so the price may depend on the source.
Other Ensure Products Seniors Can Take
Ensure also offers a wide range of other specialized products, such as Ensure Clear – which is reminiscent of Crystal Light, but with the same nutritional value as Ensure shakes. For the lactose intolerant or others who can’t have milk-based shake-type drinks, Ensure Clear offers an excellent alternative.
For specialized needs, there’s also Ensure Pre-Surgery and Ensure Surgery Immunonutrition Shake. These drinks are specifically formulated to meet requirements for both pre-and- post-surgery nutrition, providing an advantage over sports drinks.
Final Review of the Best Ensure Meal Replacement Drinks for Seniors
While people with certain conditions or sensitive stomachs may need to be wary, in the end, Ensure can be a balanced meal supplement or replacement when used appropriately.
The extra protein and vitamins can be essential for seniors struggling with getting enough nutrition or adapting to a changing metabolism, and as long as the drinks are used as recommended, they can be a valuable daily addition to your diet.
Questions? Comments? Leave a response below and let us know what you think of Ensure.