Meal Replacements Safe & Effective?

Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Meal Replacements Safe & Effective?
5
Wed, 08-29-2007 - 11:40pm

Here is an interesting article about Meal Replacement bars and shakes.


With sales of over


$1 billion a year,


meal replacement


shakes and bars


are staples for American dieters.


The idea behind these products


is to replace a meal with a lowercalorie


shake or bar twice a day,


then eat one “regular” meal.


Sounds simple enough,


but are they safe? And do


they work?


The answer to both


questions is yes—but


there are a few things


to consider.


Safety First


“Meal replacements are


as safe for people


with diabetes as


they are for the


general public,”


says Marion J.


Franz, MS, RD,


CDE, a nutrition


health consultant in


Minneapolis, Minn. “Most of


them are well fortified with


vitamins and minerals.”


Franz recommends that you


read labels very carefully, both


for nutritional content and for


carbohydrate count. Taken by


themselves, many meal replacements


are high in carbohydrate.


However, they’re often lower in


carbohydrate than the meals


Meal replacements


Safe And Effective?


you’re using them to replace. That


will affect how much diabetes


medication or insulin you need.


“Talk to your doctor or


diabetes educator about your


medications because your meds


are set up to cover the foods you


eat,” says Franz. “If you dramatically


cut back on your food intake


,


you’ll need to adjust your insulin


or medications accordingly.”


Effectiveness


Meal replacements may be safe,


but can they help you lose


weight?


“They can and do work,” says


John Bantle, MD, professor of


medicine at the University of


Minnesota and researcher in the


multicenter Look AHEAD trial,


a study of the health benefits of


weight loss in people with type 2


diabetes. Some participants in


this trial are using meal replacements


as part of an intensive


weight-loss program. (For more


on the trial, see Research Shorts


on page 27.)


“Each shake or bar is about


200 to 250 calories. If you have


one of those instead of a burger


and fries or a tuna sandwich with


chips, that will be fewer calories,


and fewer calories means weight


loss,” Bantle says.


He says the convenience and


packaging of meal replacements


may be key to their effectiveness.


“There’s your can or your bar,


and you have that, and that’s all,”


he says. “But with food, many of


us will eat a meal and if there’s


anything left on the table, we’ll


eat that, too. It’s human nature to


nibble.”


Bantle points to a German


study that shows the effectiveness


of meal replacements. “There was


a significant weight loss of 11


percent among two-thirds of the


participants at 27 months,” he


says. “On the other hand, a third


of the participants dropped out.”


That high dropout rate is an


indication of a potential problem,


Bantle says. “It gets boring. After


a while, you can get tired of


. Also, they don’t


fill you up the same way as eating


a meal, so there’s a question


of satiety.”


In short, using meal replacements


works, as long as you stick


to it. “Whatever you do for


weight loss, you have to do it


long term to be successful,”


Bantle says.


Franz agrees. “It’s up to the


individual,” she says. “Like many


other weight-loss interventions,


they work when people follow


them.”


Terri D’Arrigo is an associate


editor of Diabetes Forecast.


D i a b e t es F o 16 r e c a s t | a u g u s t 2 0 0 7





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Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Thu, 08-30-2007 - 7:31am
Thanks for sharing that Mary Frances!!

Avatar for grammyellen
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2007
Thu, 08-30-2007 - 9:41am
i tried the meal replacement shakes before, but they are not satisfying.

so, i just try to eat low carb and if i lose weight that's great.






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iVillage Member
Registered: 02-27-2006
Tue, 09-04-2007 - 3:44pm
I've been learning a lot lately about nutrition and what we need for our bodies. Let me tell you what I found out about the meal replacements. The reason why most of them do not keep you full is because they do not have enough protein in them to satisfy you or they do not have the complete (set) of amino acids. Protein is important because it feeds your muscles, it burns calories, it keeps you satisfied and it regulates your metabolism. If you are not getting enough protein, then you definately are not going to feel full or even lose weight. The meal replacements that I take keep me full for at least four hours or even more. I have lost over 14 pounds in six weeks with my shakes and not to mention they are sooooo delicious. I look forward to eating my shakes everyday. If you would like some more information or have questions on what shakes I drink (or eat), you can write me at cruddycorrinamon@hotmail.com. I hope I have helped you even a little bit! Take care!
Corrine
Avatar for cl_coldfingers
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Tue, 09-04-2007 - 5:50pm

Hi Corrine!


Avatar for cl_maryfrances40
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Wed, 09-05-2007 - 12:38am

Hi Corrina,


Welcome to the board. Most of the meal replacements that are made for us diabetics have all the necessary nutrients in then except for fiber. Fiber is what slows the absorption along with protein and it gives you that full feeling.


I personally don't use meal replacements because I am on a specially designed eating plan that was worked out for me by a dietitian. It has worked really well. I don't feel deprived most of the time. I count carbs and that makes eating more normal.


I am glad you found us and hope you will stay around and visit with us.





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