How to Find the Best Meal Replacement Shakes for Crohn’s Disease

📌 Overview and Key Takeaways

This is a Certified Nutrition Coach’s guide on how to find the best meal replacement shakes for Crohn’s disease.

Discover how to safely meet your nutritional needs while managing Crohn’s.

Last Updated Jul 21, 2026

Author and Medical Reviewer

Jack, CNC

Jack is a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Nutrition Coach.

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Disclaimer: This communication is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice.

Meal Replacement Shakes for Crohn’s

Are Meal Replacements Good for IBD?

Yes, meal replacements can be beneficial for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease.

Crohn’s disease is a type of IBD that causes chronic inflammation of the digestive tract.

Living with Crohn’s disease can be stressful and overwhelming because you have to pay close attention to what you eat.

Certain foods can trigger symptoms, called flares, such as diarrhea and stomach pain.

As you might imagine, selective eating in response to flares in addition to intestinal inflammation can lead to weight loss and malnutrition.

In fact, the likelihood of having malnutrition is over 5x higher among patients with IBD compared with those without IBD (AGA, 2024)

For this reason, some research suggests that patients with active Crohn’s flares supplement up to 600 calories per day through oral nutrition supplements. (Ther Adv Gastroenterol, 2013).

Moreover, the protein requirements for Crohn’s patients with active disease is 1.2-1.5 grams per kilogram of bodyweight per day (Eur J Nutr, 2021).

This is considerably more than the 0.8 g/kg/day recommended for the general population.

Eating all this extra food can be challenging, especially for someone with a sensitive gut, which is where meal replacement shakes can help.

Meal replacement shakes can be a convenient and effective way to ensure that you are getting the nutrients you need without irritating your gut.

Clinical research also confirms that liquid nutritional supplementation can have a positive impact on the onset and progression of IBD (Nutrients, 2017).

Here is a summary of the benefits of meal replacement shakes for individuals with Crohn’s:

• Convenience: Meal replacement shakes are quick and easy to prepare, making them a convenient meal option on busy days.
• Improved Nutrient Absorption: The liquid form of meal replacement shakes can allow for better nutrient absorption, ensuring you get the nutrition you need.
• Easier Digestion: Liquids arrive pre-digested, reducing the workload on an already inflamed digestive tract.

It is important to note, however, that meal replacement shakes should not replace other forms of nutrition – they are intended to only fill in gaps in your diet.

If you have questions about how or when to use meal replacements, consult our network of trusted healthcare professionals.

It is also worth noting that not all meal replacements are created equal.

What Are the Best Crohn’s Disease Meal Replacement Shakes?

Many meal replacements contain ingredients known to cause painful side effects and even long-term gut health problems.

Among these problematic ingredients are food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates.

🚫 Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, and other ultra-processed additives can alter the composition and function of your gut microbiome – the collection of microorganisms living in your gut (North Clin Istanb, 2020).

These shifts, known as gut dysbiosis, have been linked to the development of Crohn’s disease (Int J Mol Sci, 2022).

A healthy gut microbiome helps maintain your protective intestinal barrier and regulate immune cells called regulatory T cells that reduce inflammation (Annu Rev Immunol, 2020; Front Microbiol, 2019)

A dysbiotic microbiome thus makes you more susceptible to inflammation and less able to fight it.

⚠️ Here is a list of the most common food additives in meal replacements:

• acacia fiber
• acacia gum
• acesulfame potassium
• artificial flavors
• ascorbic acid
• aspartame
• calcium carbonate
• carrageenan
• cellulose gum
• dextrin
• dicalcium phosphate
• dipotassium phosphate
• erythritol
• gellan gum
• guar gum
• gum arabic
• inulin
• locust bean gum
• maltitol
• maltodextrin
• mono- and diglycerides
• ‘natural’ flavors
• rice bran extract
• rice dextrin
• rice hulls
• rosemary extract
• silica
• silicon dioxide
• sodium alginate
• soluble corn fiber
• sorbitol
• soy lecithin
• sucralose
• sunflower lecithin
• tocopherols
• tricalcium phosphate
• xanthan gum
• xylitol
• zinc oxide

Note that as a rule of thumb, if you cannot find an ingredient in nature or make it at home, it is likely a food additive.

🚫 Avoid Dairy-Based Proteins

Dairy-based proteins like whey and casein, although not a problem for everyone, can cause digestive issues too.

This is usually because they contain lactose – a sugar many individuals with sensitive stomachs cannot fully digest.

But you might be sensitive to dairy-based proteins even if you are not lactose intolerant.

For starters, the digestion of some caseins releases a bioactive peptide that has been linked to digestive issues (Adv Nutr, 2017).

Casein also forms a gel-like substance in your stomach that slows down digestion (Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2023).

For sensitive individuals, particularly true for those with cow’s milk protein allergy or intolerance, slower digestion can contribute to bloating, constipation, and other side effects.

🚫 Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

If you have a sensitive stomach, you might also want to avoid protein concentrates and isolates.

Most protein shakes and powders are made from one or both of these ultra-processed protein sources, which have been mechanically and/or chemically stripped of everything but the protein.

This includes the enzymes, fiber, and other natural digestive aids that help you break them down.

You therefore do not digest them in the same way that you do whole foods, which could affect your gut health.

For example, one study shows that regularly consuming protein concentrates and isolates might disrupt your gut microbiome (Nutrients, 2018).

Another study shows that it could cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut (Mol Nutr Food Res, 2024).

Although further research is needed, individuals with sensitive stomachs can play it safe by choosing protein shakes and powders made from minimally-processed protein sources like egg whites and almonds.

They are more gut-friendly.

Order Samples to see for yourself.

Sources

1. American Gastroenterological Association (AGA). AGA Clinical Practice Update on Diet and Nutritional Therapies in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Expert Review. 2024.
2. Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology (Ther Adv Gastroenterol). Nutritional management of Crohn’s disease. 2013.
3. European Journal of Nutrition (Eur J Nutr). Habitual dietary intake of IBD patients differs from population controls: a case-control study. 2021.
4. Nutrients (Nutrients). Dietary Protein and Amino Acid Supplementation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Course: What Impact on the Colonic Mucosa?. 2017.
5. Northern Clinics of Istanbul (North Clin Istanb). Food additives and microbiota. 2020.
6. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Int J Mol Sci). Dysbiosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Pathogenic Role and Potential Therapeutic Targets. 2022.
7. Advances in Nutrition | Journal (Adv Nutr). Systematic Review of the Gastrointestinal Effects of A1 Compared with A2 β-Casein. 2017.
8. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr). Milk proteins: Processing, gastric coagulation, amino acid availability and muscle protein synthesis. 2023.
9. Nutrients (Nutrients). Effect of a Protein Supplement on the Gut Microbiota of Endurance Athletes: A Randomized, Controlled, Double-Blind Pilot Study. 2018.
10. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research (Mol Nutr Food Res). In Vitro Fermentation of Animal and Plant Protein Isolates by the Human Gut Microbiota Under High and Low Carbohydrate Conditions. 2024.

Editorial Guidelines

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This article was written by a Certified Nutrition Coach and reviewed by a Registered Dietitian. We rely on peer-reviewed research and trusted medical sources, and regularly update our content to ensure accuracy and clarity.