What Are the Best Meal Replacement Shakes for Diverticulitis? 

Are you looking for the best meal replacement shakes for diverticulitis? Discover how to safely supplement your diet with diverticulitis.

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Meal Replacement Shakes for Diverticulitis

Are Meal Replacement Shakes Good for Diverticulitis? 

Around the age of 40, some people start to develop small, bulging pouches in the lining of their large intestine.

These pouches are called diverticula, and can become inflamed or infected, which can lead to a condition called diverticulitis.

Common symptoms include bloating and stomach pain.

Diverticula develop when weak spots in the outside layer of the colon give way and the inner layer squeezes through.

Experts attribute this to a combination of increased intracolonic pressure and weakness in the colon wall.

Weakness in the colon wall is associated with aging, whereas higher intracolonic pressure is attributed to low dietary fiber intake (fiber softens stool, which reduces pressure on the colon).

It follows that if you have diverticulitis, or if you have had diverticulitis in the past, your doctor may recommend eating a high-fiber diet.

Although the research is inconclusive, there is lots of circumstantial evidence that eating fiber helps reduce diverticulitis symptoms.

It is also important to note that experts used to believe that avoiding certain foods was key to managing diverticulitis symptoms, but this is no longer the case.

That said, you may find that certain types or amounts of foods affect your symptoms.

Some of the most common foods that people with diverticulitis choose to avoid are red meats, fried foods, and processed foods.  

Keep in mind that every gut is different, so a diet that works for someone else may not necessarily work for you.

For personalized nutrition advice, you should always consult a registered dietitian.

He or she may recommend you use meal replacement shakes to fill in gaps in your diet. 

Meal replacement shakes can be a convenient option for people who have difficulty stomaching solid foods during flare-ups.

They are also a great way to meet your calorie and protein needs, which may be higher than those of healthy adults.

Not all meal replacement shakes are created equal, however.

What Are the Best Meal Replacements for Diverticulitis? 

Unless you have a food allergy, the type of protein powder you add to your diet does not matter.

As long as you are eating a balanced diet – getting your protein from a variety of sources – any type of protein powder can help you meet 100% of your protein needs.

Ingredients do matter, however, and many meal replacements contain ingredients that can cause painful side effects and even long-term issues for someone with diverticulitis.

Among these ingredients are food additives and protein concentrates and isolates. 

Avoid Food Additives

Regularly eating emulsifiers, thickeners, artificial sweeteners, and other additives can not only upset your stomach, but also alter the composition of your gut microbiome.

Over time, this can lead to gut dysbiosis, which might be associated with the development of diverticulitis.

It is thought that dysbiosis causes altered nerve fibre activation and subsequent neuronal and muscular dysfunction, both of which favor the development of diverticulosis.

Recent reviews and studies also indicate that dysbiosis can lead to a decrease in beneficial short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria and an increase in pathogenic bacteria, which might disrupt your mucosal barrier and immune function, leading to inflammation.

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

As a rule of thumb, if you could not find an ingredient in nature or make it at home, it is a food additive.

Avoid Protein Concentrates and Isolates

You might also want to consider avoiding protein concentrates and isolates.

Most meal replacements are made from one or both of these 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 can affect your gut health.

In fact, studies show that regularly eating protein concentrates and isolates can disrupt your gut microbiome and cause the formation of toxic byproducts in your gut.

Sticking to whole food protein sources is thus a good idea​, especially if you have diverticulitis.

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Drink Wholesome Makes the Best Meal Replacement Shakes for Diverticulitis

Finding a meal replacement free from food additives, dairy-based proteins, and protein concentrates and isolates is hard.

In fact, 99% of meal replacements contain one or more of these problematic ingredients, which is why we created Drink Wholesome.

We make the best meal replacement for diverticulitis because we use a short list of simple ingredients.

Our Ingredients

egg whites

coconut

vanilla

monk fruit

NOT Our Ingredients

• acacia gum

• acesulfame potassium

• artificial flavors

• carrageenan

• erythritol

• guar gum

• inulin

• maltodextrin

• 'natural' flavors

• silica

• soy lecithin

• sucralose

• xanthan gum

• xylitol

Note that instead of using protein concentrates or isolates, we use whole food protein sources like egg whites and almonds, which are easier to digest and absorb.

It follows that our customers experience fewer digestive issues with our Meal Replacement Powder than with any other type of meal replacement.

Order Samples to see for yourself.