Posted 1/29/2015 9:06 PM (GMT -5)
I see a lot of posts on Enteral Nutriton and people asking about/trying Ensure and others such as Orgain and so on.... there's a bazillion of them out there. So both Liquid Meal Replacements, Enteral Formula, and Liquid Polymeric Formulas. Some can be brutally expensive.
When it comes to Ensure everyone kinda stumbles around the ingredient list - Essentially it is just four basic things - water, sugar, oil and protein concentrate with a small amount of vitamins thrown in.
There are other "less-immunogenic" or "hypoallergenic" formulas available as well and these are simply classified as "hypoallergenic" based on the type of protein. Instead of using whole source proteins, they use individual amino acids and single molecule carbs (glucose) to achieve this rating. These would be Enteral Formulas. Liquid Polymeric adds slightly more complex carbs (starches), but still quite simple in structure.
So the same thing as either of the above (Ensure or Hypo-allegenic Enteral Formula or Liquid Polymeric Formula) can all be made from scratch, at home for the same cost as Ensure (roughly) with a far better source of ingredients commonly available and with a much better nutrient profile and zero additives.
Examples:
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ENSURE ORIGINAL : (Chocolate)
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Calories 250
Carbs 42
Fat 6
Protein 9
Sodium 200
Sugar 23
COST: ~$2.00 ea.
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HOME MADE VERSION: (This would be classified as Hypo-allergenic)
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Ingredients:
Tropicana - 100% Juice Orange Juice, 10 oz
Genuine Health - O3mega (Liquid), 10 mL (2 teaspoons)
Genuine Health - Protein Plus, 1 scoop
Water - Municipal, 0.5 cup (8 fl oz) - Optional
Calories 277
Carbs 34
Fat 9
Protein 15
Sodium 22
Sugar 28
COST: ~$3.80 ea.
Switch to True Nutrition Whey Protein Isolate (1 Scoop):
COST ~$2.15 ea. (which is the same cost as Ensure basically)
Add a single general multivitamin a day to this and you have a better vitamin profile than Ensure or any of the formulas for that matter. So factor in this cost of say ~$1.00 a day perhaps would be a safe number - or add $0.25 to each serving.
So this is an alternative for those that are happy with the serving size and nutrition profile of Ensure but want to avoid the "additives" and unknowns. Also the nutritional profile of the home made version is slightly higher in protein and the fat sources are of a far better quality and more balanced source (ratio).
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ADVANCED FORMULA - (Has Starch - Resistant Starch) Would be the same as a Liquid Polymeric Formula
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Same as above but with 2 tablespoons of Bob's Redmill Potato Starch:
Calories 357
Carbs 54
Fat 9
Protein 15
Sodium 22
Sugar 28
COST: ~$4.23 ea
COST: ~$2.57 ea. (With True Nutrition Whey Protein Isolate)
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SCD COMPLIANT HOME MADE VERSION (Also would be hypo-allergenic)
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Ingredients:
Tropicana - 100% Juice Orange Juice, 10 oz
Genuine Health - O3mega (Liquid), 10 mL (2 teaspoons)
True Nutrition Beef Protein Isolate, 1 scoop
Water - Municipal, 0.5 cup (8 fl oz) - Optional
Calories 277
Carbs 34
Fat 9
Protein 15
Sodium 22
Sugar 28
COST ~$2.28 ea.
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You could of course adjust any of these for flavour however you choose by changing Orange Juice to Mango Juice, or Grape Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Black Cheery Juice or Peach Juice etc etc as long as you avoid added sugars to these juices.
Or you can add a ripe blended Banana to the SCD version for some more calories, easily digestible carbs and potassium source and still remain "Hypo-Alergenic".
Anyways - was just trying to provide some on here with options to consider aside from Ensure.
Hope it helps some.