By Kathleen Goodwin, RD

Nutritional energy drinks: fountain of youth?

If you haven't seen television ads depicting seniors re-energized by liquid nutritional energy drinks, then surely you've noticed their presence in the grocery stores. Products such as Ensure, Boost, Sustacal and Resource have been used for years in health care facilities and nursing homes as easy, calorie-dense sources for frail patients who frequently refuse to eat meals. Now, however, the manufacturers are touting these supplements as healthful meal replacements appropriate for the general, and certainly not frail, population. What's the bottom line on the nutritional value of these products behind all the advertising fervor? To find the answer, we decided to check out four of the leading supplements—Ensure, Boost, Carnation Instant Breakfast and Resource.

Ingredients count

One of the most important things a consumer can do to be certain they are not being misled by nutritional marketing strategies is to be a savvy label reader. For instance, you should be aware that ingredients on a food label must be listed in the order of greatest quantity to smallest quantity. Therefore, when having a meal or a "meal replacement" it would be wise to be certain that the first few ingredients of the foods you are consuming come from nutritious and nutrient dense sources. A food can be described as nutrient dense when per a given quantity of calories the food is also providing several other good nutrients such as complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber. For example, whole wheat bread is very nutrient dense since in an 80-calorie slice it is providing your body with complex carbohydrates, fiber, B vitamins and minerals. Popsicles, on the other hand, would not be considered nutrient dense since within a 60 calorie pop you are getting little short of table sugar. With this in mind, a short scan of the first few ingredients in these nutritional supplements would help to tell us where the bulk of the calories come from and whether these ingredients are nutrient dense sources. With the exception of Carnation Instant Breakfast, the other supplements we reviewed list water and corn syrup or corn syrup solids as their first two ingredients. Follow that with more sugar, a soy or milk protein source, some oils, and a quarter to a half of a multivitamin pill and you've got the makings for a complete "nutritional energy drink." Is the reality behind the marketing starting to sound less appealing now?

Are nutritional energy drinks better than a candy bar?

One of the arguments often given in defense of these supplements is that they are a better snack or meal replacement than a candy bar or chips and a soda. This is true to some extent since the supplements include several vitamins and minerals not found in the latter and they are often lower in saturated fat. However, both have little fiber, are much too high in calories from simple sugars and non-nutrient dense ingredients, and lack the phytochemicals found in fruits, vegetables and other plant products which may prevent disease. Using these products frequently as meal replacements adds difficulty to ensuring adequate intake of other "real foods" and nutrients that are linked to better health and disease prevention.

The bottom line: nutritional comparison of energy drinks versus real food

The chart below was devised to compare the four nutrition supplements against each other as well a convenient "real food" counterpart—a low-fat yogurt and an orange.

* Prices based on a San Diego, California grocery store in 1999. Prices in your area may differ. All samples tested were vanilla flavored.

The products are not hugely different in their calorie, carbohydrate or protein content. Carnation Instant Breakfast is the winner as far as lowest fat content is concerned (although 3-6 grams of fat in a meal or snack is not a lot no matter how you slice it). Kudos again to Carnation Instant Breakfast for boning up on the calcium content and having a non-fat dairy product and water as its first two ingredients. All of the products are sorely deficient in fiber. Carnation Instant Breakfast is the cheapest supplement per serving, and in this author's opinion, the best tasting. So, all in all Carnation Instant Breakfast appears to be the winner as far as the four beverage comparisons go. The gold medal definitely goes to the low-fat yogurt and orange, however, for more nutrient dense ingredients, more fiber and vitamin C, a low-fat and high-calcium content, cheaper price and best taste. And besides all that—phytochemicals too!

Healthy guidelines for supplement users

If you still wish to include these products frequently in your diet, then it is a good idea to also follow these guidelines to be certain you are giving your body the nutrients it needs:

1. Have at least 5 fruit and vegetable servings daily.

2. Have 6-11 servings of grain products daily, preferably from whole-grain and high fiber sources.

3. Have 2-3 low-fat or non-fat servings of dairy products daily.

4. Have 2-3 low-fat protein servings daily.

If you are drinking lots of these drinks but are not following the above guidelines, then no matter what the advertisers say you are not providing your body with optimal nutrition. For more information on an optimal diet, check out the Food Guide Pyramid.