Eat a balanced diet made up of a variety of foods.
That’s the recommendation from most nutritionists and dietitians.
But sometimes that’s not possible, especially during extended illnesses.
That’s when dietitians turn to nutritional supplements and beverages, including the well-
known brand Ensure.
“It’s kind of like everything in one package,” said Margaret Hines, a dietitian at Providence Regional Cancer Partnership, a part of Providence Regional Medical Center Everett.
Hines specializes in working with cancer patients.
The drinks are calorie-rich and loaded with protein, vitamins and minerals. Each 8-ounce Ensure Nutrition shake contains about 250 calories, nine grams of protein and about one-quarter of the daily dose of many vitamins and minerals.
“If you have specific needs, (they) can be met with a canned product, which is a relief for a lot of people,” Hines said.
Older people can lose their appetites or forget to eat, she said. Cancer patients often suffer from mouth sores or have difficulty swallowing.
These people need a way to get balanced nutrition and meet daily caloric minimums with minimal effort and discomfort. Fortified canned and bottled products can come in handy.
Ensure, which has been making nutritional beverages for more than 30 years, generally sells for about $1 per bottle. The product is available at many pharmacies and grocery stores. It retails for a bit more than $9 a 12-pack on Drugstore.com or $7.99 for a 6-pack at Walgreens.com.
Because Ensure and many similar products are sold in cans or plastic bottles, they’re highly portable.
That’s important for people who may be rushing to doctor’s appointments or don’t have easy access to refrigeration.
Which brand or product is best? The one the person will drink.
“If the patient loves them, that’s the one for them,” Hines said.
The drinks aren’t for everyone. Some people don’t like the taste. Others don’t like the processed and mysterious ingredients on the label.
“Ensure’s got a lot of stuff good and a lot of stuff bad,” Hines said.
The drinks purposefully are very high in calories and fat, plus “it’s got a lot of things that we can’t pronounce in it,” she said.
There are alternatives.
Some juice companies make protein-rich shakes found in the grocer’s refrigerated section. While made with whole foods that are recognizable, they often can be too acidic for some people, Hines said.
“If that’s the case, we go for ice cream,” the dietitian said. “It’s a personal taste thing.”
The folks who make Ensure are quick to point out that they offer a variety of products available for different dietary needs, not just sick people in the hospital.
For example, Ensure Muscle Health has protein that can help maintain muscle mass, which is known to diminish in older adults.
“Both healthy adults and those recovering from illness, injury or surgery should consider Ensure,” Sondra Miller said in an email interview.
Miller is a spokeswoman for Abbott Nutrition, the company that makes Ensure.
“When diet alone isn’t enough or when schedules get in the way of good nutrition,” she said, “Ensure can help.”
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