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.
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.
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.
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.
Potential Side Effects: Headaches, diarrhea, vomiting, gas, bloating, cramping, abdominal pain, dehydration, and fatigue.
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.
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.
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.
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.