What are the best diabetic meal replacement shakes?
Written by Jack Schrupp and reviewed by Ella McGonagle, M.S. Nutrition
drink wholesome makes the best diabetic meal replacement shakes. They are additive-free, dairy-free, and made with real foods, not chalky protein isolates – 99% of meal replacements fail to meet at least one of these criteria. This makes them perfect for people with gut issues and sensitive stomachs, as well as for people just looking for nutrition without the processing and added junk. Order samples to see if our meal replacements are right for you.
★★★★★
“I have a sensitive stomach, so most meal replacement powders leave me with gas, bloating, constipation, and stomach pain, but not this one.” – Shon
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drink wholesome makes the best diabetic meal replacement shakes
Are meal replacement shakes good for diabetes?
What are the best diabetic meal replacement shakes?
Why drink wholesome?
Are meal replacement shakes good for diabetes?
One of the main benefits of meal replacement shakes for people with diabetes is that they allow for easy control of nutrient intake. Unlike traditional meals, which can vary greatly in their nutrient (fats, carbs, protein, etc.) content, meal replacement shakes provide a consistent and balanced source of nutrition. This can make it much easier for people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels, as they know exactly what they are consuming.
Another benefit of meal replacement shakes is convenience. For people with busy lifestyles, preparing healthy, balanced meals can be challenging. Meal replacement shakes provide a convenient alternative as they are easy to make, and can be consumed on the go. This is especially helpful for diabetics, who need to be careful about what they eat and when they eat it. Meal replacement shakes can help to ensure that diabetics are getting the nutrients they need, even when they do not have time to prepare a traditional meal.
Meal replacement shakes, especially high protein meal replacement shakes, are also a great way to control calorie intake. This is important for diabetics looking to manage their weight. Not only do meal replacements make it easy to know exactly how many calories you are consuming, but they keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer. This is because protein is the most satiating nutrient, so it helps to prevent overeating and snacking between meals.
What are the best meal replacement shakes for diabetics?
If you have type 2 diabetes, the foods that you eat can have a huge effect on your blood sugar levels. Meal replacements are no exception. You should therefore avoid meal replacements with lots of simple carbohydrates like sugar as they can trigger blood sugar spikes. Naturally occurring sugars like those found in fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, are safe to eat. According to recent research, there is no link between natural sugar and diabetes since these types of sugar are digested and absorbed more slowly, and are therefore less likely to cause blood sugar spikes.
You should also be wary of meal replacements sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Several studies have shown that artificial sweeteners may increase cravings toward sugary and sweet foods, which can lead to binging and feelings of withdrawal. Other studies have associated artificial sweeteners with a higher risk of glucose intolerance, which is a precursor for pre-diabetes and diabetes.
Finally, you should avoid meal replacements made with protein concentrates and isolates, foods stripped of everything but the protein. The ingredients in question are listed as “pea protein” and “whey protein” as opposed to “peas” and “whey.” While high-protein, low-carb foods like these are low on the glycemic index, they can still measure high on the insulin index. For this reason, protein concentrates and isolates can cause hyperinsulinemia (abnormally high levels of insulin). In other words, while protein concentrates and isolates do not spike blood sugar the way that most carbohydrates do, they can still result in an insulin spike. This is because protein has an insulinotropic effect (it promotes insulin secretion).
Furthermore, there are two types of meal replacements: ready-to-drink (store-bought) meal replacement shakes, and meal replacement shakes made with meal replacement powder. In order to make a diabetes meal replacement shake with meal replacement powder, you have to mix the powder with milk or water. This requires a blender or a shaker bottle, and a little extra time and effort. Some people, prioritizing convenience, prefer to buy ready-to-drink shakes, but if they knew what they were drinking, they would probably vomit.
Ready-to-drink meal replacements shake are full of emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, sweeteners, and flavors. Ingredients like these improve characteristics like taste, texture, and shelf stability, but can cause uncomfortable side effects and long-term gut damage (more about this soon). This is why I recommend that you make your own diabetes meal replacement shakes with meal replacement powder. That said, not all meal replacement powders are created equal, and many contain the same additives found in ready-to-drink shakes!
Why drink wholesome?
drink wholesome is additive-free.
One of the reasons why we make the best diabetic meal replacement shakes is that we do not use food additives. Most meal replacements, on the other hand, are full of food additives. Although not necessarily bad for you in small quantities, additives can add up quickly (especially if you drink a meal replacement shake every day) and cause gastrointestinal (GI) side effects like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas, and stomach pain. This is because food additives are hard to digest, and sit in your gut for longer than food should, which gives your gut bacteria more time to eat. As they eat, these bacteria produce gas, which causes bloating and stomach pain. Gas also slows colonic transit (the amount of time it takes food to travel through the colon), and can lead to constipation. In the long term, food additives can disrupt regulatory pathways in the intestine, which can result in the development of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and systemic inflammatory disorders.
When buying diabetic meal replacement powder, one ingredient to avoid in particular is artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners are among the most harmful food additives in the long term as they alter the composition of your gut microbiota (the collection of microorganisms that help you digest food). This can lead to serious, chronic GI problems, widespread inflammation, and permanent damage to the gut microbiome. Some sweeteners, especially sugar alcohols like xylitol, are also poorly absorbed by the gut (meaning they feed those hungry gut bacteria), and cause diarrhea because they draw water into your intestine. Now you finally have something to blame for those post-meal replacement shake trips to the bathroom!
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
When it comes to identifying food additives, go with your gut. 😉 As a rule of thumb, they are the ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Food additives are not the only thing to look out for when buying diabetic meal replacement powder, however. There are several other ingredients that can upset your stomach.
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
*This is the actual ingredient list of one of the best-selling meal replacements in the United States.
drink wholesome is dairy-free.
Another reason why we make the best meal replacements for diabetics is that we do not use dairy-based proteins. Many meal replacements are made with whey and casein, which are byproducts of cheese and yogurt production, and known to cause digestive issues, especially for people with lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Over one in three Americans are lactose intolerant, and the prevalence of IBS is somewhere between 10 and 15 percent in the United States. It follows that you may be lactose intolerant or have IBS and not even know it. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a poorly understood condition, and it is unclear why dairy triggers symptoms. Lactose intolerance, on the other hand, is clearly understood. People with lactose intolerance are unable to fully digest lactose, the sugar in dairy. As you just learned, partially digested food feeds the bacteria in your gut, which produce gas.
drink wholesome is made with real foods.
A final reason why we make the best meal replacements for diabetes is that we do not use protein isolates. Most meal replacements, on the contrary, are made with protein concentrates and/or isolates, foods stripped of everything but the protein. They are listed on the ingredient list as “pea protein” and “whey protein” as opposed to “peas” and “whey.” I will not go into the details, but protein concentrates and isolates undergo heavy mechanical and chemical processing before becoming meal replacement. Sometimes, manufacturers use chemical solvents like hexane to isolate (separate) the protein from the food. This means that what you end up putting into your body looks nothing like real food.
If you think about it, your gut was designed to digest naturally occurring foods, not laboratory formulated imitations, so if you feed it anything but real food, it might get upset. The long term implications of eating processed foods are still not well understood, but more and more research is finding that it can alter the composition of your gut microbiota, and lead to permanent damage to the gut microbiome. It is therefore in your best interest to avoid meal replacements made with protein concentrates and isolates.
Instead of protein concentrates or isolates, we make the best diabetic meal replacement shakes with whole foods like egg whites and almonds. Egg whites are simply pasteurized and dried before becoming meal replacement. Almonds are just roasted, pressed, and ground. Whole foods like these are an easy to digest, gut-friendly alternative to protein concentrates and isolates. This is in part because whole foods contain a variety of enzymes and other digestive aids that help to break down the food, making it easier for the body to absorb the nutrients. Protein isolates and concentrates, on the other hand, have been stripped of these digestive aids, making them harder for the body to digest and absorb. Moreover, minimally-processed plant-based foods like almonds are rich in fiber, which helps promote healthy digestion and regular bowel movements.
Unless you have a sensitivity or allergy to eggs, egg white protein is the best protein for your gut. Egg whites are low in fiber, low-FODMAP, naturally alkaline, and have the highest protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of any whole food. Our customers have experienced fewer digestive issues with egg white protein than with any other type of protein. We like almonds too because research suggests that they possess prebiotic properties and can improve the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome.
★★★★★
“I’ve tried out so many protein powders and meal replacements, and they always gave me stomach issues…That’s why I got drink wholesome.” – Tommy
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drink wholesome makes the best meal replacement shakes for diabetics.
MEAL REPLACEMENT POWDERS
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This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. drink wholesome is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.