Wednesday, June 19, 2013

6 Ways To Use A Liquid Meal Replacement

By Liliana Mills


Almost all of us will require liquified food sources at some point in our lifetimes. There is a wide range of formulas available to satisfy a multitude of uses. The uses may be as complex as sustaining life or as simple as serving as a lifestyle convenience. These are six ways we all may use a liquid meal replacement at different points in our everyday lives.

People leading busy lives often search for a quick way to slip in a meal. Work and a fast-paced lifestyle tend to push our nutritional needs to the end of our priority list. Consequently, we rely on the convenience of replacing one or more meals - usually lunch or breakfast - with a nutritious shake that can also be delicious. A single serving contains a third of the nutrients required for a daily balanced diet. It is a tempting way to make sure we meet our dietary needs in a frenetic world.

One of the most common issues facing society is obesity and being overweight. Replacing just one meal a day can be beneficial to weight related health issues. It is the perfect answer for portion control, in that a single serving is equivalent in value to a nutritious meal. In contrast, a person would have to overeat to get identical nutrients offered by that same great-tasting shake. It makes sense then to trade in calorie counting, food weighing, and guesswork for simplicity and certainty.

Meal replacements can be excellent sources of protein for those who either require more protein or desire it. Weightlifters and bodybuilders often turn to liquid protein meals to help with muscle recovery and muscle building. Vegetarians, who often struggle with getting enough protein in their diets, use them to meet daily protein requirements.

Various health problems like type 2 diabetes respond well to meal replacements that are high in protein. They are able to lose weight, lower their body mass index, improve good cholesterol levels, and control blood sugar. Consequently, in some cases, they are able to lower their daily insulin doses. Replacements benefit people with other health issues in similar ways.

In extreme cases, liquified nutrients may be the sole source of nutrition for a person. For example, for people who require tube feeding, their entire nutritional requirements rely on a liquid diet delivery system. Often, due to drastic medical procedures, the elderly are in need of this form of life-giving nutritional support.

Whether by choice or necessity, some mothers cannot breastfeed their infants. In these cases, formula feeding becomes the single source of nutrition for the infant from birth to three months. Commonly, nutrients that are essential to the development of a baby are provided through the use of these high value formulas.

Liquid meal replacements provide vital and necessary sources of nutrition throughout our lifetimes from our first days to our last. No matter if we use them for their dietary convenience, to assist us in muscle gain or weight loss, to aid us in disease management or recovery, or even to sustain our lives, we will most likely use them at one point or another. Lucky for us, these nutritional powerhouses are widely available to us.




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