- Positive - 23
- Neutral - 37
- Negative - 43
Customer Health Rating:
25 votes: 2.60/5
Glucerna Review – Shocking truth about Glucerna
What is Glucerna?
Featuring a lineup of shakes intended for the carbohydrate conscious community, it’s meant to provide a slow gradual maintenance in blood sugar. There’s even mention of it being the number 1 doctor suggested brand for those with diabetes.
The product is available in many different flavors and in advanced and hunger satisfying specific formulas. While the product is very popular it’s now important to figure out how valuable it actually is.
Time to see what it can do.
Who makes it?
US based Abbott Laboratories which not only produces health care products, but they’re also a pharmaceutical giant. The company has been in operation since 1888.
They currently hold 2 records. One for receiving the 2nd largest criminal penalty in the US, the second record for landing the 3rd largest penalty of any pharmaceutical company. Both were handed for illegal marketing of their products in which lies were made of the potential benefits.
How (and) does it work?
A standard 8 ounce bottle of Glucerna contains about 200 calories with 10 grams of protein, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar and 27 vitamins and minerals.
The real kicker is how they source their protein which comes from soy protein isolate. This while easy to digest and full of amino acids is genetically modified. Also there is a high potential risk of it interfering with ones natural hormones and it may possibly effect estrogen production.
This product does not feature the optimum amount of good ingredients for optimum demands. It has artificial ingredients, soy, and corn based additives.
What’s inside of it and are there side effects?
Since it relies on soy protein isolate to provide its protein, it isn’t the optimum choice for those looking to avoid GMO’s and potential estrogen production. Soy and GMO free shakes are listed in a list featuring the overall top 10 best meal replacement goods.
Ingredients:
- Corn Maltodextrin: Corn sourced food thickener that’s a carbohydrate that raises blood sugar.
- High Oleic Sunflower Oil: High in monounsaturated fats meant to preserve shelf life longer.
- Soy Protein Isolate: Form of protein extracted from soybeans and used to provide all amino acids at an easy to digest rate. It is one of the most GMO type foods produced.
- Sucromalt: Has similar calories to sugar however this sweetener is slowly digested by the body.
- Fructose: Fast absorbed fruit sugar that is considered the sweetest and one of the cheapest forms available.
Potential Side Effects: Headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, gas, bloating, cramping, abdominal pain, dehydration, and fatigue.
What’s good about it?
It has a wide distribution and can be purchased in bulk. Also many flavors are offered thru every single one of their specific brands. It also has a clearly listed nutritional facts listing that’s available to read before purchase. Products are gluten free and safe to consume by those who are lactose intolerant.
What’s bad about it?
The first 2 ingredients from this product are water and corn maltodextrin which are meant to thicken it. This means that the product(unlike others) does not have an optimum set of protein needed to provide the body with the nutrition and hunger satisfying profile a shake should have.
Low ranking quality of ingredients is a repeated issue as most of the ingredients present are cheap substitutes for high quality ingredients. There is GMO soy inside instead of the healthier non genetically modified source. Also the product contains a bunch of other corn derivatives that are also GMO. Even included are artificial ingredients which are not needed and only add a bit of flavoring.
Inside these bottles are good forms of sweeteners in the form of Sucromalt, but then they add fructose which is known to cause blood sugar spikes. It contradicts and deflates the addition of a low blood sugar producing sweetener and it’s only added because it’s cheap to add.
Wrap Up
It’s great when a product fits in a niche market meant to help those struggling with diabetes or for those who need a blood sugar stabilizing product. This product aims to target that and it does feature a good sweetener. However it also has a form of sugar known to contribute to high cholesterol, obesity and a rise in blood sugar. It could have been avoided but instead it’s added in order to give a cheap source of sugar. This habit repeats itself by featuring cheaply priced and inferior ingredients that don’t perform as well. It’s too lacking in quality and nutrition to be considered a good option.
Bottom Line:
It would have been great if this product lived up to its own hype and marketing. Though fortunately there are better suited substituted that provide high quality featured inside a top 10 list.
Searching for the right option in terms of meal replacement shakes is even easier when you notice the well suited options. A comprehensive listing of the 10 best products is broken down front to back.
Top Rated Diet Shakes of 2023
- 18shake4.9/5
- Effectiveness
- Consumer reviews
- Quality of ingredients
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- Money Back
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- Vega One shake4.7/5
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25 votes: 2.60/5
For me glucerna has been a disaster. I am consistently coughing and it is causing my sugar level to be high. Never again shall I buy this product.
GLUCERNA PROVED TO BE A TERRIBLE PRODUCT FOR ME. I HAVE BEEN COUGHING A LOT AND IT WAS NOT HELPING MY SUGAR LEVEL AT ALL; INFACT IT WAS RAISING MY SUGAR LEVEL. FOR ME THIS PRODUCT COULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS PHYSICAL PROBLEMS IF I DID NOT STOP DRINKING THIS POISON. EVEN AFTER STOPPING THE CONSUMPTION OF THIS PRODUCT I AM STILL COUGHING BUT NOT AS MUCH AS WHEN I WAS CONSUMING IT. I WILL NEVER BUY THIS PRODUCT
EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!
Glucerna was a huge mistake.
I purchased it because it claims to minimize spikes in blood sugar. Since my husbands surgery for esophageal cancer, he struggles with dumping syndrome and has spikes in blood sugar, after which it drops dangerously low. With only 6 gms of sugar listed on the label, we thought it would be safe and possibly help him put on some weight. Right after drinking this product his blood sugar spiked and then, as it typically does, it dropped….dangerously low.
So, we thought, it wasn’t for him.
I don’t have any dietary issues, and thought then that I could drink it to use it up. At least it wouldn’t go to waste. That was my next mistake. I had one at breakfast and by noon I was doubled over with gas, bloating and abdominal pain that lasted for the rest of the day.
I called the number on the Glucerna website and lodged a complaint. Of course you get all sorts of reasons from them why it didn’t work as advertised. They took the lot number and are issuing a refund.
I had gas and horrible stomach pains. I considered going to the emergency room but ate toast and drank a lot of fluids
I just started glucerna. I think it’s OK with me. It controlling my appetite so far. Just having irritating cough.
I’m going to do bariatric surgery. So my dietitian suggest me glucerna for bariatric food supplement.
I wish I would have found this before adding it to my daily regimen for the past week…shortly after starting I developed an ache in my right mid back that seemed to radiate towards the front along with my intestines feeling painful…along with lots of gas…the pain and gas led me to schedule a Dr’s appt for tommorow…I drank the last one about 11 am this morning and about an hour later started having alot of palpitations. I checked my blood pressure and it’s ok…but if the palpitations don’t calm down I’m heading into the ER. How can stuff like this be marketed as healthy…I was recently diagnosed with an A1C of 7.0, am not on any medications, and was thinking it would help prevent any spikes…although I’ve never had a reading below 89 or above 168. For the price they charge for this crap you’d think it would have only the best of ingredients and that stuff this dangerous wouldn’t be sold at pharmacies.
I just want to know if glucerna make you gain weight ?
Well it raised my blood count from 10.3 to 11.3. after hour testing. Had the strawberry. Wanted something different for breakfast. Was not filling at all. Left me empty. I checked again and now 14.8 Guess I will make a hard boil egg to bring it down. I won’t bother to return product to store for refund. No stomach issues. Just really really dissapointed. Now don’t even want to try the others. Wish more people would leave comments.
I have been using Glucerna for about a month now. I am diabetic and I will admit that I don’t eat correctly. Recently finding myself single again, I have neither the time to cook, nor the desire to go through all of that effort for one person (me). Enter microwave dinners. Very little nutrition, but quick and relatively cheap. I saw all of the ‘nutrition’ on the label of the Glucerna bottle and ordered a bunch. It is very convenient to keep a case at the office for that ‘working through lunch’ thing. I sip it over the course of a half-hour. I do not experience any of the bloating or anything that others have stated. I don’t monitor my blood sugars like I should (and eat candy), so spikes are not an issue for me. I drink it for the nutrition. I on on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) as my body does not like to product testosterone. I stay away from soy to limit estrogen production. I was shocked to learn (from the article above) that Glucerna is using soy as its protein source. That ends my relationship with Glucerna! I will use up what I have since I have about 100 bottle of the stuff. I changed my subscribe and save to another recommended diabetic friendly, high quality meal replacement shake. Thanks for the article and for the informative comments from fellow users of Glucerna! Now I know better. 🙂
Yes, I am having dangerous results. My blood glucose reads 290 after consuming one bottle. This has been going on for 3 days. Warning to other diabetics like me.
I have Diarreha every time I drink a shake. Raises my blood sugar. I have lost weight but that’s due to the diarrhea!!
Bad product for diabeates
i have upset stomach, diarreah after i drink the bottle, it happens every time
Well I’m not surprised my doctor prescribed me this shit ….not to mention the tests, complaints, sleepless nights, humility, lost wages, malnutrition, pain, bloating, hospital visits and no finger pointing God forbid …any accountability except that it’s my pathology..so to my doctors and the manufacturer’s of this poison if you haven’t been told enough…Fuck you!! Cause you’re killing me!!
I have been on Glucerna for around 2yrs and the only side effects i do have is, Yes it does spike my sugare and gives me the runs in the am after breakfast, a little gas but i see as me being lactose intolerant which is to me a normal problem. Now for the sugar spike it is not much of a problem, You see my sugar has a high range from 180 up to 200 – 300 about that every other day. Glucerna has helped me to control my sugar spikes a lot better, Iam now seeing my glucose level coming down closer not my goal of 170 the 280 range, it has been a great product and i like to keep using it.
Worst meal replacement diebetes drink ever made, and can’t believe it lies about keeping blood sugar in the safe zone when it definitely does not it spikes you and makes you bloated,gassy,stomach won’t stop growling and diarrhea for 10 hours after.