What are the best meal replacement shakes for morning sickness?

drink wholesome makes the best meal replacement shakes for morning sickness.

Written by Jack Schrupp & endorsed by Baylee Reller, RDN

What is morning sickness? 

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Morning sickness is a common condition experienced by pregnant women. It is characterized by nausea and vomiting, and can make it difficult for pregnant women to consume enough food and nutrients to support the growth and development of their baby. Despite its name, morning sickness can occur at any time of the day or night. It affects more than half of pregnant mothers, usually during the first trimester, but some women experience it throughout pregnancy. Knowing how and what to eat can help you avoid symptoms and settle your stomach when it is upset.

Are meal replacements good for morning sickness?

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The biggest mistake that pregnant women make is not eating because they are afraid that doing so will make them sick. Although this seems intuitive, it is almost always better to have something in your stomach. An empty stomach can actually aggravate nausea.

To keep morning sickness at bay, eat a light, protein-rich meal every couple of hours. Eating high protein foods is important because research shows that protein can help reduce feelings of nausea. Pregnancy often causes a protein deficiency, which in turn can cause gastric dysrhythmias (abnormal myoelectrical rhythms of the stomach).

Dysrhythmias are one of the mechanisms underlying the symptom of nausea, so eating lots of protein can help settle your stomach. Meal replacement shakes, especially high protein ones, are thus a great option for pregnant women. That said, not all meal replacement shakes are created equal.

What are the best meal replacement shakes for morning sickness?

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The best meal replacement shakes for women are made with a short list of simple ingredients. The fewer the ingredients, and the more they look like real food, the better.

Unfortunately, many meal replacement companies add lots of heavily-processed ingredients to their recipes, which can upset your stomach. This is the last thing you want if you are already experiencing morning sickness. Continue reading to learn more.

Why drink wholesome? 

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drink wholesome is additive-free.

One of the reasons why we make the best meal replacements for morning sickness is that we do not use food additives. In contrast, the majority of meal replacements are loaded with emulsifiers, thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and flavors. Even when these ingredients are used in small quantities, they can cause painful side effects, particularly for people with pre-existing gut issues. Common side effects include bloating, flatulence, and stomach pain.

Simply put, food additives look nothing like real food, making them hard to break down. Consequently, they linger in your gastrointestinal tract, causing your colon to absorb excess water. This can lead to diarrhea. Partially digested food additives also feed the bacteria living in your gut, which release gas as they eat. Extra gas can cause bloating, flatulence, stomach pain, and even constipation.

Here is a list of the most common food additives in meal replacement powder:

acacia gum, acesulfame potassium, artificial flavors, aspartame, carrageenan, cellulose gum, dextrin, dextrose, erythritol, gellan gum, guar gum, gum arabic, inulin, locust bean gum, “natural” flavors, maltodextrin, rice syrup solids, soy lecithin, silica, sucralose, sunflower lecithin, xanthan gum, xylitol

The primary reason to steer clear of food additives is their long-term effects on your gut health. Regularly eating additives can interfere with the regulatory pathways in your intestines, thereby increasing your risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and a range of other systemic inflammatory disorders.

Food additives, especially artificial sweeteners, also possess the capacity to disturb your gut microbiome – the community of microorganisms that help with digestion. Gut dysbiosis, the term used to describe an unhealthy gut microbiome, is a common cause of inflammation.

our ingredients: 

egg whites, almonds, oats, coconut, cocoa, monk fruit

the alternative:

SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, CANOLA OIL, MALTODEXTRIN, ISOMALTULOSE, SOLUBLE CORN FIBER, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, VITAMIN AND MINERAL PREMIX, CELLULOSE, NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, SOY LECITHIN, SALT, MONO & DIGLYCERIDE, XANTHAN GUM, SUCRALOSE

drink wholesome is dairy-free.

Another reason why we make the best meal replacements for morning sickness is that we do not use dairy-based proteins. Many other meal replacements use whey and/or casein protein, which are derived from the production of cheese and yogurt.

These dairy-based proteins can cause digestive distress, particularly for the millions of adults with lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerant individuals lack the enzymes needed to fully digest lactose, the sugar in dairy. As you now know, partially broken-down food can result in painful side effects.

drink wholesome is made with real foods.

A final reason why we make the best meal replacements for morning sickness is that we do not use protein concentrates or isolates. Virtually all other meal replacements are made with one or both of these protein sources, which are basically foods stripped down to only the protein.

The problem with protein concentrates and isolates is that making them requires significant mechanical and chemical pressing, often involving solvents like hexane. This means that what you put into your body bears only a faint semblance to real food.

Your gut is meant to digest unprocessed or minimally processed real foods, not protein concentrates and isolates. This is why emerging research suggests that refined ingredients like these can disturb your gut microbiome. An unhealthy gut microbiome will impair your ability to break down and absorb food, which is the last thing you want if you have morning sickness.

Instead of using protein concentrates or isolates, we make the best meal replacements for morning sickness with whole foods like egg whites and almonds. These simple ingredients are gut-friendly alternatives to protein concentrates and isolates.

Unlike protein isolates and concentrates, real foods have not been stripped of the enzymes that help you break them down. Furthermore, egg whites are alkaline (they maintain healthy pH levels in your gut), low in fiber, low FODMAP, and known to promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria.

Almonds, on the other hand, are prebiotic, supporting the diversity of the gut microbiome. They also promote regular and healthy bowel movements. In short, we create meal replacements that are easy to digest using simple, real food ingredients.

★★★★★

no stomach issues

“I bought Drink Wholesome because I am having serious stomach problems and just about everything makes me sick. it is as advertised, does not bother my stomach, not making me sick and is giving me valuable nutrients.” – Carla

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