By: Emily Karataeva and Igor Klibanov
As we all know, having diabetes, or being at risk for it is no joke. If you have diabetes, you’re probably familiar with all the medications, treatments, lifestyle changes that come with keeping the symptoms of it at bay. However, one of the biggest things you might be worried about is your blood glucose level, and keeping it in check. You may have already tried a few of these like:
- Replacing soda and juice with water
- Eating few processed carbohydrates
- Having regular meal times
- Exercising
These are all very effective and also your best courses of action, but sometimes, you simply don’t have the time to create a blood sugar-friendly meal. The problem is, most ready-made protein shakes/bars that people often turn to in a pinch are high in exactly the type of things you might want to steer clear of as a diabetic. I’m talking about high carbohydrate content, and the sometimes questionable nutritional value. However, there is a great alternative meal-replacement for diabetes called “Glucerna.” That’s what we’ll talk about here.
In this article, you can expect to learn:
- What Glucerna is
- How Glucerna can compliment your diet
- The key nutrients in Glucerna
- Pros and cons
- If Glucerna has any known side effects
- That Glucerna is effective, but…
So, before we get started, let me tell you a bit about myself, and what qualifies me to advise you on your methods to manage diabetes.
Hiya!
I’m Igor Klibanov. I am the proud author of 8 different books on fitness and nutrition. One of those books is an Amazon bestseller: Type 2 Diabetes Reversal Secrets. I am also a personal trainer, and many of my clients are diabetics who I’ve either helped reverse their diabetes, or manage their symptoms better.
Now that you know who I am, let’s talk about:
What is Glucerna?
Glucerna is a nutritional shake which acts as a meal replacement that contains many essential vitamins and minerals. It was created for people with diabetes, as it can definitely help manag
e blood sugar levels, and minimize blood sugar spikes. (we’ll explain how later in this article). Glucerna comes in different flavours, and there are also shakes designed specifically for weight loss or athletes. They can also come in the form of snack bars as well, but I will just be focusing on the shakes here.
Some of the benefits of using Glucerna include:
- Regulated blood sugar levels
- Helpful way to supplement processed foods by using it as a meal or snack
- An easy way to manage carb intake
- Reduced cravings
- Sustained energy throughout the day
- Possible weight loss
- It’s highly accessible, as it can be found in almost all grocery stores
Glucerna shakes also have a high fibre content alongside its moderate protein content and unique blend of slow release carbs, which helps you feel ‘fuller’ and more satisfied after drinking it.
Now, keep in mind that Glucerna is a meal replacement, not a diet. Its main purpose is to be a tool to help manage your blood sugar.
For many people, it can serve as a start to a healthier lifestyle because it replaces what would have been an otherwise unhealthy and highly processed meal, with an adequate protein shake. In other words, Glucerna can serve as a stepping stone for any diabetics struggling to move their diets from what got them to be diabetic, so a healthy one that is packed with whole foods.
However, that’s not to say that you should go and replace all your meals with a nutritional shakes. Although the shake is a good source of your daily value of protein and fibre, you shouldn’t have too much of it. It is meant to supplement processed foods in the form of a meal or snack, not make up your entire nutritional profile.
Which brings me to my next topic:
How Glucerna May Complement Your Diet
Although Glucerna is meant to complement a whole food diet, it doesn’t necessarily always have to. Of course a whole food diet is optimal for diabetes care, but it takes a while to transition from a diet rich in processed carbs and sugar, to chicken salads.
So, like I mentioned in the previous section, replacing one of your highly processed meals with 2-3 of these shakes a day is already a start. At least with this method, you could have a solid serving of protein, and fibre, whereas the meal you replaced might have been entirely devoid of these. This directly can help manage blood sugar levels.
That being said, you also shouldn’t entirely rely on Glucerna to help you manage your blood sugar levels forever. There is not a single shake on the planet that can truly substitute a good meal made out of whole foods. Rather, think of it as a first step and a transition period during the time it takes for you to research and build a healthy diet that works for you… however long that transition period lasts.
But besides that, here are a couple scenarios in which I think the use of Glucerna would be beneficial and completely justified:
- If you’re in a rush to get somewhere and you haven’t eaten for several hours
- As a beverage alongside a small serving of carbs (like a single apple, for example, so as to help minimize the blood sugar spike of a pure carb)
- As a snack in between meals
- As a supplementary meal when you don’t have the energy to cook a whole food meal from scratch, and there aren’t any leftovers (you might need 2-3 Glucerna shakes for it to be a true meal replacement. A single shake wouldn’t suffice usually)
- As a temporary meal replacement while you work towards a healthier diet
You can use Glucerna on occasion. At the end of the day, 3 Glucernas are much better than one large poutine.
Now that we’ve discussed all the potential ways you can use Glucerna to your benefit, let’s find out:
What Are the Key Nutrients in the Glucerna Shake?
Now that you’re familiar with what this product is, let’s zoom in on the nutrition information, and find out what’s going on inside. Looking at the nutrition information of your food is also a good component of a diabetes management plan. How much a nutrient can impact your health is important knowledge for diabetics, so lets start here.
The shake contains many key nutrients in its 8 fl oz bottle, which include iron and calcium. It also has no trans fat and less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol per bottle. There is also acesulfame potassium. Acesulfame potassium is just a fancy term for an artificial sweetner, which I will touch upon later. There are also some significant vitamins such as vitamins C, E (dl alpha tocopheryl acetate), and D,
Although these things are not very relevant to blood sugar management, I include them here for completeness. The crux of the benefit of Glucerna is that it is a good source of nutrition in the form of 180 calories per bottle, which contains 10 grams of protein (soy protein isolate and milk protein concentrate), and 4 grams fiber.
As an added bonus, the carbs found in Glucerna are slow release carbohydrates, meaning they are the best kind of carbohydrates for diabetics. These types of carbs control your blood sugar spikes, and are definitely better compared to high glycemic carbohydrates.
In a sustainable diet that you enjoy and is good for you, you typically want a blend of slow release carbs, and an occasional ‘unhealthy’ carb (for your sanity!)
However, as a diabetic, your main concerns are the grams of protein and fibre content. Fibre is the most important nutrient when you’re looking to take care of your blood sugar levels, and protein will help keep you satiated and full, so you don’t feel the need to eat any more than you just did.
Overall, if you’re choosing to replace an entire meal with 2-3 Glucernas a day, that’s 20-30g of protein and 8-12g of fibre with each meal you replace. That, is already a pretty great start.
In addition to that, they’ve also got a high content of vitamin C (100%). This is an important nutrient for people with diabetes as they tend to have slower skin and wound healing. Vitamin C speeds up this process. Vitamin C also provides immune system support. Plus, the shakes are gluten free, and perfectly suitable for lactose intolerance.
For diabetics, 30-50g of fibre a day is optimal. Protein requirements vary widely for diabetics, from as little at 0.8 grams/kg/day, to as much as 2.7 grams/kg/day. Examine.com has a great guide on a person’s protein requirements in their daily diet. Already, with around 3 shakes, you’re meeting those requirements almost to the halfway mark. Not bad!
Now that we’ve analyzed the nutritional profile of a shake, let’s jump into the:
Pros and Cons
There are pros and cons to every decision we make in life, and the same is true when it comes to choosing a nutritional shake like Glucerna over other whole food meal options. More drastic/restrictive and specific diets may need to be overseen by medical supervision.
Apart from that, let’s take a closer look at both the good and the bad:
On the plus side:
- Glucerna products are high in fibre (which is great for people with diabetes!) and low-calorie, which can be helpful for those trying for weight loss or support blood sugar management
- They offer excellent nutrition in the form of high fibre content and moderate protein content (not as high as a protein shake, but not as low as water).
- Glucerna shakes are small, portable, and easy to carry with you when you’re on the go.
- The five sweet (albeit artificial) flavours such as rich chocolate, creamy strawberry, chocolate caramel and plain old vanilla, in Glucerna products satisfy the cravings of people with diabeties without causing too many spikes in your blood sugar. That is to say, they’re almost like a dessert, without actually being a desssert!
- Can serve as a tool to make transitioning to a healthier lifestyle that much easier
- Plus, in comparison with the calories in Glucerna products and the calories of the meal they’re replacing, it could potentially cause some weight loss/help you intentionally lose weight
- It’s better than its most common competitor – Ensure
On the down side:
- A shake doesn’t live up to the same standards as a real meal made from whole foods. For instance, a meal containing a cup of beans/lentils or brown rice, plus chicken or fish would be superior to any nutritional shakes, even a Glucerna one.
- May cause over-reliance if taken too much
In addition, the presence of artificial sweeteners might make you steer clear of this meal replacement, but I don’t particularly think it should, especially as a person with diabetes.
Artificial sweeteners like Aspartame and Splenda tend to carry a bad reputation with them. However, the reality of the situation is that artificial sweeteners are largely inert, meaning that they aren’t beneficial, but they’re not harmful either. People often assume that because they aren’t ‘natural’, then they’re harmful. However, natural doesn’t mean that something is automatically healthy.
For example, real sugar is natural, but that actually raises your blood glucose levels. However, artificial sweeteners do not. By this logic, artificial sweeteners should make diabetes care much easier, as it provides the taste of sweetness, without the adverse impacts of real sugar, especially added sugars. This is also a helpful aspect for people with diabetes.
As a general rule, try not to completely steer away from any product that has an ingredient that you know is ‘bad’ such as corn oil, canola oil, soluble corn fiber and many others because that makes the product ‘unhealthy’. If you follow this ruleset, you will be very hard pressed finding a diet that serves you properly, and it will actually hinder you, rather than help you.
However, after seeing some of the downsides to Glucerna, one might raise the question of:
Are There Any Side Effects to The Glucerna Shake?
Whenever you make a big change in your diet, it’s always important to be aware of any potential side effects. With Glucerna, some people have reported feeling sick, having diarrhea, or experiencing gas and bloating. Others have said that they didn’t like the taste or found it too thick, but these are more preferences than real side effects.
It’s also worth noting that because Glucerna products are manufactured and marketed as a meal replacement to replace whole foods rather than supplement them, you may experience some unwanted side effects if you switch from your regular diet to this shake abruptly. However, those unwanted side effects are simply side effects of cutting a high amount of sugar, other harmful ingredients, and excess calories (energy) out of your diet. Overall, these side effects are incredibly mild, and they don’t even come close to the side effects of untreated and mismanaged diabetes. Plus, not a lot of people experience them anyway.
All in all, Glucerna is a great choice for diabetics who are trying to make some incremental changes towards a healthier lifestyle, but just remember that:
Glucerna is Not a Diabetes Cure
Up to this point, I have already alluded to this being the case many times.
Glucerna, on its own, is not a cure for diabetes. But it sure can help lower your HbA1C by quite a bit.
What Glucerna is good for on its own is replacing a meal. Most diabetics aren’t going from a healthy, whole foods diet to Glucerna, but from a highly processed diet filled with burgers and fries to Glucerna. When you replace even one of those meals with Glucerna, you can start managing your diabetes a bit better.
Glucerna is a great way to start making some healthier choices in your diet, and trying to reverse some of the damage that diabetes, when untreated, can do. If you want to take the next step in managing your diabetes, then a good place to start would be my article on the best exercise for diabetics.
Glucerna is not a cure for diabetes, but rather another tool in your toolbox of diabetes management strategies.
