As you might already know, I fuel my body on a daily basis with the BEST NUTRITION possible that can be found in my Super Foods Shake. What's so funny to me is when people tell me they won't drink the shake because it contains SUGAR - OK, WHAT?!@#$$ DID I JUST HEAR YOU CORRECTLY? SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! STOP IT!
Breathe, Heather!
Ok, I know (i'm guilty) it comes down to education. You need to know what you mean by that before you shut the door and tell yourself you can't have a DENSE NUTRITION SHAKE that promotes good health and possible weight loss, helps eliminate SUGAR AND SWEET CRAVINGS completely! I'm pretty sure almost everything you put in your mouth has some type of sugar in it including the one glass of wine you might have at night to CHILL out. lol - Ok, seriously - let's talk about the SUGAR content and how to really read the macros on things you fuel your body with.
I can totally be a NERD here so, let's go!
You probably know by now that if you want to get healthy and fit, Shakeology can play a key role in helping you hit that goal.
This superfood supplement shake works by filling some of the nutritional gaps in your diet with ingredients that can help support digestive health, provide healthy energy, and reduce cravings, and also help you just plain feel better.*
When you drink a Shakeology every day, it can help you build the strong nutritional foundation you need to take on bigger challenges l
ike a fitness program or a healthier diet.
Shakeology includes a variety of nutrients, including protein, carbs, fiber, phytonutrients, antioxidants, digestive enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics, adaptogens, vitamins, and minerals.
But you’re probably thinking to yourself, “OK, that all sounds great, but what about sugar?”
That’s an excellent question because there’s ample evidence that sugar doesn’t do sweet things to your health.
For reference, the American Heart Association recommendations for daily added sugar intake is no more than six teaspoons (25 g) for women, and nine teaspoons (36 g) for men (yes, teaspoons).
So, yes, it’s a good thing to keep an eye on how much
sugar you’re consuming on a daily basis.
Here’s the 411 on sugar and Shakeology.
Shakeology Sugar Content
Shakeology contains seven grams of sugar per serving from a combination of organic cane sugar and fruit powders. (Vegan Café Latte contains eight grams per serving.)
To put this into perspective, there are 14 grams of sugar in a medium banana and 19 grams of sugar in a medium apple.
Previously, fructose was an ingredient in whey-based Shakeology and agave was an ingredient in Vegan Shakeology. However, we found that replacing fructose and agave with organic cane sugar resulted in a more well-rounded sweetness.
We reformulated Shakeology in 2017 using a carefully selected sweetener system containing organic cane sugar and two plant-based, no-calorie sweeteners:
1. Stevia, an extract from the leaves of the stevia plant that’s 150 times sweeter than sugar
2. Luo han guo (aka, monk fruit), a fruit extract that is nearly 300 times sweeter than sugar
That’s it. No artificial sweeteners, colors, preservatives, or flavors.
Sugar vs. Sweeteners
Sweetness can be achieved in a variety of ways: First, there’s sugar, which can be found listed as “Sugars” under the Total Carbohydrate section on a package label – which includes both sugar-based ingredients and sugars inherent in other botanical ingredients in the product.
Sugar-based ingredients come in many forms including cane sugar, honey, molasses, and more controversial ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Sugar can also be found within other ingredients in a product, such as skimmed milk powder, which contains lactose (milk sugar), and fruit powders, which contain fruit sugar (fructose).
Sugar is nutritive, meaning it contains calories, versus non-nutritive sweeteners, meaning ingredients that add flavor but few or no calories.
Non-nutritive sweeteners include artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, as well as plant-based sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit.
The easiest way to sweeten something is to just add sugar, but that drives the calories up, which isn’t always the best way to go. While non-nutritive sweeteners solve the calorie issue, they tend to have their own unique properties and challenges.
Therefore, to find a balance of flavor, sweetness, and smart nutrition, it often makes sense to use a combination of sugar and sweeteners.
Sugar Content Information
To see the sugar content in a product, check out the Nutrition Facts box or Supplement Facts box on the back of the label, which has to list ALL sugars in a product, not just the added ones.
Some products will claim to have “no sugar added” on the packaging. But that doesn’t mean these products are entirely free of sugar. It just means the sugars in the product aren’t “added sugars.” Rather, the sugars are inherent in other ingredients.
Sugar can go by many names, so it’s important to recognize other ways sugar can be hidden in the ingredient list. Other names include:
fruit juice concentrate
cane juice
turbinado
malt syrup
corn syrup solids
dextrin
words that end in -ose, like maltose, dextrose, and fructose
In the “Ingredients” section on a typical food label, they are listed in order of greatest to least amount.
The Bottom Line
Following a healthy, balanced diet doesn’t mean cutting sugar out completely. By making smart food choices, you can still enjoy the sweetness in life!