For patients who can’t eat after an operation, hospitals have a wide selection of meal replacement shakes.
However, experts warn that the most widely-used drinks are incredibly dangerous, filled with refined sugars linked to chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver disease.
The supplemental ‘nutrition’ smoothies are commonly found in care homes and hospitals and are often recommended to people who are struggling to take in enough daily calories and protein.
Ironically, public health experts say, you would be better off making your own than accepting one of the brands served up in medical centers across the US.
Meal replacement drinks like Boost are mostly made up of water, sugar and corn syrup
Supplemental shakes like Boost are widely prescribed by physicians, hospitals and nursing facilities to people who have difficulty chewing, have loss their appetite, or are recovering from a surgery or illness.
The general goal of these products is to provide protein, carbohydrate, and fat to malnourished people.
Although they contain immune system-boosting antioxidants like vitamin C, these ingredients are blended with sugar to help improve taste.
For instance, the first three ingredients listed on a chocolate-flavored Boost drink contains are: water, sugar, and corn syrup. This means the product contains more of these three ingredients than vitamins A, B and C.
Corn syrup, a processed sweetener made from corn starch, has been linked it to many negative health effects, including an increased risk of heart disease, liver damage, diabetes, and cancer.
Research published in a 2013 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found high fructose corn syrup can directly cause liver damage in laboratory animals.
Furthermore, a Boost drink is mostly made up of sugar and contains just three grams of Fiber, and 10 grams of protein content.
The high-sugar content in juices can also have adverse health effects for people with diabetes – a group of diseases that result in too much sugar in the blood.
‘These drinks contain lots of sugar so while a little natural sugar like the kind found in fruit juice may seem harmless, your body can’t distinguish between that and straight up candy,’ Dr Vanessa Risetto, dietitian and registered nurse, told Daily Mail Online.
These replacement drinks are also filled with chemicals.
For example, Ensure contains GMO-based vitamins, high soy, corn-based products and chemicals used for enhancing flavor.
And in Boost’s case, besides water and sugar, its ingredients are chemicals that are hard to pronounce.
Experts have said hospital food lacks proper nutrition.
‘If we look at the standard bland food that’s served for lunch and dinner, the “meat and vegetable”’ Dr Kevin Pho, an internal medicine physician at St Joseph Hospital, wrote. ‘Not only is it dull and boring but it also falls strikingly short of really promoting healthier eating to our patients.’
In fact, a 2012 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found hospital food contains a lot of salt.
They found 100 percent of the meals exceeded the adequate daily intake of 1,500 mg of sodium, and 86 percent surpassed the maximum recommended levels of 2,300 mg.
Alternatives to meal replacement shakes include yogurts, which can be high in calorie and protein. They also contain probiotics, which boosts the immune system and promotes a healthy digestive tract
Other healthier options include food-based shakes or smoothies which are less processed, and juices that include the skin of fruits and vegetables for fiber.