Ensure

Does anyone drink this? I was thinking of having a couple a day to replace food and give my bowels a bit of a rest, and hopefully making it easier for me to absorb nutrients. Was just curious as to what everyone thought of it and if anyone has any experience. I had it 4 years ago when I was first diagnosed and it didn't seem to bug me but who knows now. I'm in a bad flare, no formed stools going around 15 times a day with blood and pain. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Probiotic said...
Isn't it loaded to the hilt with lactose and corn syrup?

No, it's lactose-free. Although not dairy-free.

Despite Ensure being filled with a list of 'illegal' ingredients longer than your arm, it still works well as a liquid diet for Crohn's. There are many studies which compare liquid diets favourably with steroids for paediatric patients. However, that is children with Crohn's and not adults with UC, the latter of which is a different kettle of fish. Bowel rest hasn't been proven to work for UC.

That said, topic creator, if you would prefer to drink some of your calories, there is no harm in doing that. I was on a couple of liquid diets myself. One was a Fortisip diet (Fortisip is similar to Ensure). I felt better while on the actual diet, but relapsed soon after coming off it. The other was an elemental liquid diet, and the drinks were so vile, they should be banned for breaching human rights. (No, I did not get better.)

I drink ensure and really like it. I can't do dairy and have not had problems with it.

What is whey?

Post Edited (Coffeencake) : 3/7/2014 9:44:17 AM (GMT-7)

Also pedilight to replace electrolytes! I cut it with water because its a little sweet for me

I'd read this study before trying ensure or other drinks loaded with controversial junk and sugars:

Because of the acknowledged carcinogenic properties of degraded carrageenan in animal models and the cancer-promoting effects of undegraded carrageenan in experimental models, the widespread use of carrageenan in the Western diet should be reconsidered.

And yes, researchers do use carrageenan to induce ulcerative colitis in lab rats so that they can test out various anti-inflammatories like mesalamines on them.

I'm not trying to scare you because there are better and more therapeutic drinks out there, so there's no need to short change yourself and your health. Just find the best thing for your health! I second the whey protein recommendations. Whey protein shakes have clinical backing to them for their gut repair properties.

Jini Patel Thompson is generally a snake oil salesman, but she has a product,Absorb Plus that is formulated around the elemental diet.

Post Edited (StealthGuardian) : 3/7/2014 5:46:56 AM (GMT-7)

"Ingredients [–]

Water, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Canola Oil, Sodium Caseinate, Milk Protein Concentrate, Corn Oil, Short-Chain Fructooligosaccharides, Soy Protein Isolate, Calcium Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate. Less than 0.5% of the Following: Potassium Citrate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Magnesium Phosphate, Soy Lecithin, Sodium Phosphate, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Potassium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Calcium Carbonate, L-Carnitine, Carrageenan, Ferrous Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Gellan Gum, Niacinamide, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, FD&C Red #3, Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, FD&C Yellow #6, Biotin, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Potassium Iodide, FD&C Blue #1, Phylloquinone, Vitamin D3, and Cyanocobalamin.
Contains milk and soy ingredients.; Contains Milk Ingredients; Contains Soy Ingredients; Gluten-Free; Halal; Kosher Dairy; Not for patients with galactosemia; Suitable for Lactose Intolerance; "

dyes, canola oil, carrageenan, soy , artificial flavors, etc, ................................. uh, no thanks -

there are much better ways - but you have to decide what's best for your body -

personally, i avoid drinks/supplements with lots of crazy ingredients. i know if i can't pronounce them then my body won't recognize them either.

Soystud,

Thanks for listing the ingredients of Ensure for all the nay-sayers who think it's so good for them.

I like ensure, but it does tend to create GI problems for me if I drink more than a couple a day. I had jaw surgery four years ago and had to have a liquid diet... and had a bad time with my gut due to relying on ensure mostly.

I do think one or two a day to help add weight doesn't hurt too much, at least for me.

I used to do several protein shakes a day (5-6) when I put myself on bowel rest, and it was great! Studies do show bowel rest is very effective.

Now in remission, I still do my daily morning shake as I believe it's so important for the body and gut to know it's going to be getting what it needs.

The product I like and my gut loves is Dr. Mercola's Pro-Optimal whey shake it's got no hormones, no antibiotics, and comes from grassfed cows, also contains digestive enzymes which makes it easy on the gut.
To it I add chia seeds, various supplements, MACA powder, d-ribose, etc... Of course with almond milk.