protein and supplement drinks - suggestions? (edit: anything that helps with weight gain!)

[MayGodBlessYou]

(edit: what helps with weight gain? food /drinks / anything!)

for weight gain / maintenance and nutrition, what drinks do you take?

the ones on the market are overloaded with sugar and dairy, otherwise they'd be a lot of benefit i think.

in au we have sustagen, staminade,

other brands i've heard of are 'ensure' and fortisip,

but they're almost prescription, difficult to access.

energy drinks are definitely out,

they leach any health you have right out of you;

and the protein drinks aren't much far behind.

might just have to take them in small amounts.

thanks

[MyStar86]

Hi, I’m in the UK and there are a few that you can get via prescription as you mentioned Ensure, fortisip, vital 1.5kcal and calogen shots are the ones that I have tried and on prescription I get 84 of the vital shakes enough for 3x daily under just one prescription so around £9……I don’t know the exact cost as I get mine free on prescription as I have an ileostomy.

You can buy ensure, fortisip and vital 1.5kcal online I think they even sell ensure in boots but they are pretty expensive, they even sell fortisip and ensure on eBay but again you would have to look around.

I can’t offer advice on any others because I’m never quite sure about the powders and things online so I opted the dietitian/gp route to get mine on prescription. I have brought some online before just to try the different flavours before changing my prescription etc.

Not sure if that helps xx

[MayGodBlessYou in reply to MyStar86]

great ... thanks - are you finding them helpful ?

they seem to not be helping my Mum,

i also reworded my question, what helps with weight gain, not necessarily drinks!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to MayGodBlessYou]

My friend had Fortisip for a couple of years - don’t think she takes them now though and she was getting to the stage she was eating them rather than proper food which I didn’t think was a great idea. She was never a keen eater and the fortisip sort of took the edge off her hunger.

If you Google there are lots of suggestions - I’ve included this one derbyshire.gov.uk/site-elem...

But I’d say probably small amounts of high calorie food, the link suggests milky drinks and creamy soups etc. when I was first diagnosed I used the ROS calcium rich food chooser - loads of things I loved like quiche - then I discovered I had put on a lot of weight and had to be more sensible. theros.org.uk/information-a...

Then without overloading her with sugar rich foods add in some nice treats with her morning and afternoon drinks.

It’s very difficult to get someone elderly to eat or drink come to that.

Just had a thought - what about making chicken soup bone broth - that would help her bones and be nourishing while still light?

[MayGodBlessYou in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

thanks, Fruitandnut!, and yes, Mum has chicken broth ...ooh, reading the Derbyshire link, i'll use yoghurt in cooking

[MyStar86 in reply to MayGodBlessYou]

Hi, I find they help me sustain my weight but with my bowel issues it’s a bit different I like the shakes because it gives me all the vitamins and minerals needed vs just eating bad food. They usually say to up your intake of higher fat foods which I can’t do after having my gallbladder out but normal people can add full fat butter, whole milk, cheese, rich red meats, full fat yogurts are a good one because they are no heavy on the stomach, protein bars……just a few ideas but more high fat protein less carbs as it’s less filling. Not sure if that helps, have you lost a lot of weight or just trying to build up? Good luck

[MayGodBlessYou in reply to MyStar86]

thanks again, MyStar, asking on behalf of my Mum, smallish eater and not in the habit of 5 small meals a day .. has a pretty big breakfast though; being aged doesn't help.

will keep in mind upping up the red meat, Mum prefers chicken

[MyStar86 in reply to MayGodBlessYou]

Chicken is still a good source of protein but try to get the more fatty cuts like the legs and thigh’s they are also more tasty but chicken breast without skin doesn’t have many calories xx

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to MyStar86]

We use chicken thighs most of the time, I find they are much tastier and cheaper than breasts. I buy legs with the thigh attached - we eat a lot of chicken and sometimes I just can’t face doing ‘clever’ things with a whole cooked chicken which is there the thighs and thighs and legs come in handy.

[cocoa]

I was given Aymes protein shake when in hospital. I was hospitalised for two months and lost weight. They definitely helped me regain the weight.

[MayGodBlessYou in reply to cocoa]

great, the choc one looks like it might have the least sugar, and the rest of ingredients pretty good.

[cocoa in reply to MayGodBlessYou]

The chocolate one was my favourite. These are available on prescription but my GP would not prescribe them and told me to buy them myself.

[Rileylove]

I like Orgain protein shakes. They are organic. I'm in the US, and I'm not sure where else they are available.

[HealthELiving]

Also in the US, I buy Premier Protein shakes. Non-GMO, non-soy (fermented soy=good, but others, not so much). Some products (like Ensure?) have a lot of sugar so read the labels to be sure you are getting healthy caloric intake. The good thing about these shakes is that they are also high in Calcium, although at a little over 600mg, the body doesn't really absorb more than 500mg at one time. That's ok... I continue to get calcium from food and drink sources throughout the day without supplements.

[Catseyes235]

water is best… no commercial processed drink or food will help. Cook from scratch ..fresh fruit and veg.