What is the Best Meal Replacement Shake - Part 2
December 20, 2007
In Part 1 of this article we looked at the inception of Meal Replacement Shakes into the sports supplement industry starting with Met-Rx in the mids 1990’s. As knowledge of sports nutrition continues to grow with each year it only makes sense that nutritional supplements would also grow.
Enter the “Next Generation of Meal Replacement Shakes”
So what does it take to be considered a Next Generation MRP? A blend of different proteins, “healthy” fats, and low carbohydrates (5-15g). The addition of some fiber would be nice too but hardly any companies are adding this to their products.
Previously I reviewed two very similar products: MuscleMilk by CytoSport & Max Milk by EAS. This time I am going to look at
- True Mass by BSN
- Infusion by S.A.N.
- Muscle XGF by AST Sports Science
Let’s get started.
True Mass by BSN
Flavors: Chocolate Milk Shake, Strawberry Milk Shake, Vanilla Ice Cream
Size: 5.75lbs
Servings per Container: 18
Calories: 626
Protein: 46g
Fat: 15.5g
Carbohydrates: 75g
True Mass doesn’t fit into this category as well as the other products that I have reviewed but since it is a relatively new product and tons of people seem to love BSN I thought I would give it a more indepth look.
The Upside: Putting on muscle requires tons of calories. Many people have trouble sitting down and consuming 500-700 calories in one sitting and then repeating this 6-7 times a day. The upside to True Mass is that it contains 626 calories per serving. This is a serious dose of energy! Unlike many “mass gainers” of old True Mass contains a blend of some higher quality proteins. The protein found in the largest amount is whey concentrate (not the best but that’s okay) that is “rich in alpha-lactalbumin” (nice). This is followed up by a higher quality whey isolate containing whey isolate fractions. Why should you care about the protein peptide fractions? Because they are absorbed faster than unfractionated proteins. This will give you slow and fast digestion of amino acids allowing your blood amino acid levels to be elevated longer. The longer your blood amino acids levels are elevated the longer protein synthesis will be cranking. And isn’t that what we all want? Other proteins found in True Mass are calcium and micellular casein. However, these are at the end of the list so I’m not sure how much you will actually be getting. The protein blend is rounded out with glutamine peptides and branched chain amnio acids (these too will get into your blood stream pretty quick).
Looking at the fat content of True Mass it contains sunflower oil (more on that later) and medium chain triglycerides (MCTs). I discussed the benefits of MCTs in part one of this article series.
The Downside: Unfortunately True Mass fails where all “mass gainer” products fail – poor carbohydrate choices. True Mass contains 75 grams of carbohydrates with most of that coming from maltodextrin (ugh). In the fiber category it contains a dismal 5grams. Since I believe there is no such thing as “bad” food I think that there can be a place for True Mass in ones diet regardless of the less than optimal carbohydrate choices (more on that later too).
The other component of True Mass that I believe could be improved on is the fatty acids composition. The main fat source in True Mass is sunflower oil. Sunflower oil is predominantly (71%) made of omega-6 fatty acids. As I’ve mentions previously as Americans we get enough omega-6 fats and would benefit more from the addition of omega-3 or monounsaturated fats.
The Bottomline: So let’s say you love BSN products, you love the taste of True Mass, and you need extra calories in your diet. How can True Mass fit in? I would recommend having True Mass as the first meal 45-60 minutes after your workout nutrition. During this time period your body’s glucose sensitivity is extremely high so hopefully all the maltodextrin will get put to good use aiding in your body’s recovery process and not being packed away in fat cells for a rainy day.
Infusion by S.A.N.
Flavors: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Oatmeal, Vanilla Caramel, Wildberry Yogurt
Size: 2.42lbs
Servings per Container: 15
Calories: 324
Protein: 47g
Fat: 12g
Carbohydrates: 11g
Infusion has the best nutrient profile of all the products that I have reviewed . I don’t know why more people don’t use this supplement. The tag line for Infusion is “Nutrition so Powerful You Know You are On Something!” I don’t think it is THAT good, but it still is a great product.
The Upside: Let’s start with the protein content. Infusion contains more whey protein isolate (WPI) than whey protein concentrate (WPC). As we discussed before WPI is a more pure form of whey than WPC. The rest of the proteins found in Infusion are very similar to MuscleMilk; micellar casein, alpha-lactalbumin, colostrums, and glutamine peptides. All around a great protein blend.
The fatty acids blend in Infusion contains CLA, Flax, MCT, and unfortunately Sunflower Oil. 3 out of 4 is pretty good though! Infusion contains 11 grams of carbohydrates, similar to other products in the category. However, S.A.N. is the industry leader in this New Generation of MRPs in the carbohydrates section because Infusion contains SIX GRAMS OF FIBER! Finally, a product with a healthy dose of fiber. The icing on the cake is that the fiber found in Infusion comes from oats. Oats are a great source of the so-called “super fiber” beta-glucan.
The bells and whistles that round out Infusion are leucine, phenylalanine (2 of the branched chain amino acids), and the probiotics acidophilus and bifidus. I won’t go into details about probiotics, their benefits, and what you need to know about shopping for them because that is a topic for another article. However, the addition of probiotics to the Infusion formula is definitely a plus.
The Downside: Their claim that the product is “Nutrition so Powerful You Know You are On Something!”
The Bottomline: Infusion is my personal favorite of the group. Fiber, a great protein blend, healthy fats – Solid all around.
Muscle XGF by AST Sports Science
Flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla
Size: 2.64lbs
Servings per Container: 16
Calories: 350
Protein: 38g
Fat: 18g
Carbohydrates: 9
This is the newest product by AST Sports Science. Although it is marketed as a lean mass weight gainer, it fits perfectly in with my “Next Generation of MRP” heading.
The Upside: Starting with the protein content – Muscle XGF contains AST’s new 8 stage protein/amino acid blend. Even though it is called MyoGen-8 there are 10 different proteins/amnio acids in the formula. They are (in order):
- Calcium caseinate protein
- Milk protein concentrate
- Whey protein concentrate
- Whey protein isolate
- Hydrolyzed whey protein
- Colostrum
- Glutamine peptides
- l-Taurine
- l-Leucine
- Lactoferrin protein
MyoGen-8 gives the user a blend of fast and slow digesting proteins (this is what you want).
The fats found in Muscle XGF are sunflower, canola oil, flaxseed oil, and CLA. As I’ve commented on before, I’m not a huge fan of sunflower oil. Canola oil contains both omega-6 and omega-3 (mostly omega-6 though). The amounts of flaxseed and CLA are most likely minimal otherwise I’m sure AST would list their amounts. Muscle XGF does contain 3 grams of creatine and 1 gram of leucine. These are two solid additions to the product!
The Downside: While AST has put together a solid protein blend the protein quality is something that could be improved on. The leading 3 ingredients are calcium casienate and two protein concentrates. Protein concentrates are lower in purity when compared to protein isolates. Another aspect that sticks out is the lack of micellar casein (although it might be present in the milk protein concentrate). Maybe it was cost prohibitive to include it but this is a high quality protein that consumers are becoming accustomed seeing. The lack of fiber is another downside to Muscle XGF but this is something that most companies fail to put in their formulas.
The Bottomline: While Muscle XGF may contain protein concentrates it still has a solid protein blend and healthy doses of creatine and leucine. Creatine and Leucine are often added to products but not in high enough quantities to make a real difference. AST definitely went against the grain including 3 grams of creatine and an additional 1 gram of Leucine in Muscle XGF.
As you can see this new generation of meal replacement shakes is much different that the original products produced by Met-Rx. While these products are an improvement on the original meal replacement shakes they should not be a substitute to a good whole food based nutritional regimen. Each of the products I reviewed has its positives and negatives. It is important that as a consumer you decided what your goals are, what is important to you, and choose your product accordingly.
Note: This articles was originally published at Bodybuilding.com
What is the Best Meal Replacement Shake - Part 1
December 20, 2007
The Next Generation of Meal Replacement Shakes
In the 90’s Met-Rx revolutionized the sports supplement world with their protein powder (2 scoops of “base” and 1 scoop of “plus”) and then they introduced meal replacement shakes or MRPs. MRPs changed the protein powder world because just protein wasn’t enough. People were on the go and they need meals that could be on the go with them. EAS took the torch and the world went nuts over Myoplex. People were drinking Myoplex shakes all day long - for breakfast, as a post workout drink, in pudding form before bed. The shakes were high protein and low fat – PERFECT!
So we thought….
The year 2000 came. Fat was no longer the enemy; all of a sudden there were “healthy” fats. Carbohydrates were blamed for the health woes of our chubby society and people weren’t really into gulping down 3 MRPs a day with the carbohydrate content being 20-30g a shot with most of the carbs coming from maltodextrose. So what were people to do? Go back to drinking pure protein shakes and chomp on some almonds?
The industry responded…and a new generation of MRPs was created. Some people may categorize these products as protein powders but they are more that than. The new generation of MRPs contains a blend of high quality slow and fast digesting proteins plus a mixture of healthy and essential fatty acids. Not to mention vitamins, minerals, and some even contain a good dose of fiber. Truly these are more than protein powders or the MRPs from the 90’s.
Let’s take a look at some products that are leading the way in this new generation of MRPs.
Flavors: Banana Crème, Bluberries & Cream, Chocolate, Chocolate Banana Crunch, Chocolate Caramel Pecan, Chocolate Mint Chip, Cookies & Cream, Crème Brulee, Dulce De Leche, Egg Nog, Mocha Joe, Orange Crème, Peach Mango, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Pina Colada, Rocky Road, Root Beer Float, Strawberry, Strawberry Banana, Vanilla
Size: 2.48lbs
Serving per Container: 15
Calories: 348
Protein: 32g
Fats: 18g
Carbohydrates: 12g
The Upside: MuscleMilk is truly the leader in this new generation of MRPs. It comes in an incredible 20 flavors including Root Beer Float and Egg Nog. The protein found in MuscleMilk is a special CytoSport blend called EVOPRO. When the people at CytoSport designed EVOPRO they tried to mimic the protein and amino acid profile of human milk, a powerful growth promoting substance. As a result EVOPRO contains a significant dose of micellar casein along with whey concentrates, isolates, and even bovine colostrums - another compound thought to be rather anabolic (Note: You can buy EVOPRO as a stand alone product).
MuscleMilk also contains a blend of high quality fatty acids. At first you might think that 18g of fat per serving is a lot but a good portion of these fats come from medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) and long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the world of fats these are top notch. MCTs are saturated fatty acids but because they are shorter in length than regular saturated fats the body processes them differently. They are almost exclusively used as energy and not stored as body fat. Unfortunately the people at CytoSport don’t mention the type of long chain polyunsaturated fats they put in MuscleMilk, they could be omega-6 (not so good) or omega-3 (yeah!). Either way long chain polyunsaturated fats have a special role in our body and are not likely to be stored at fat.
The Downside: MuscleMilk is a great product, that tastes great too but there are a couple things that could be changed to make it even better.
MuscleMilk only contains 12 grams of carbohydrates which is good because you don’t want to combine too many carbs and fats (and MuscleMilk already has a good dose of fat). Unfortunately fiber is pretty much non existent from the MuscleMilk formula. This is a too bad because a good dose of fiber would make the nutritent profile of this product even better! Also maltodextrin is the main source of carbs. This isn’t ideal but I guess you can’t have amazing taste and ideal carbs in the same shake.
The other thing I’m not crazy about with MuscleMilk is the addition of glycocyamine. Strangely enough CytoSport extols the fact that glycocyamine is in their product. Why include glycocyamine? Well glycocyamine is a direct precursor to creatine (it is converted to creatine in the liver). Unfortunately supplementing with glycocyamine has been shown to cause increases in homocysteine levels!! Increased homecysteine levels have been shown to greatly increase one’s risk of heart disease. To make it even worse glycocyamine has been shown to DECREASE creatine uptake by muscles. It is speculated that the addition of betaine while supplementing with glycocyamine will help prevent the increases in homocysteine levels. I cannot comment on whether or not this is true as I have not seen evidence one way or the other (though in theory it makes sense). MuscleMilk does contain betaine and SAMe (another compound that theoretically will work like betaine) so increased levels of homocysteine MAY NOT occur.
The Bottom Line: I’ve said this several times already MuscleMilk is a great product with one of the most complete protein blends on the market and a healthy dose of healthy fats. My fears of glycocyamine is enough to make me weary enough not to use MuscleMilk everyday but definitely a 1-3 times a weeks when I need a change.
Max Milk by EAS
Flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Cookies & Cream
Size: 2.48lbs
Serving per Container: 16
Calories: 340
Protein: 32g
Fats: 18g
Carbohydrates: 12g
The Upside: The similarities between Max Milk and MuscleMilk are so great it is a little scary. This can be looked at as a good thing because MuscleMilk is a solid product. On the protein front Max Milk contains a blend of whey concentrate, whey isolate, and Ca+/Na+ caseinates. It also contains micellar casein and colostrums but these two are found in smaller amounts than the whey products. The protein blend that EAS put together for this product is rounded out with glutamine peptides (the most abundant amino acid in muscle) and taurine (the second most abundant amino acid in muscle) two compounds that are said to have cell “volumizing” effects. Although glutamine isn’t as popular as it once was, at least in some circles, taurine has shown promise as of late and it being included in a lot more products.
The lipid blend found in Max Milk contains the vaguely listed “dairy lipids”. At first I thought this meant it contained CLA but I’m sure if it did EAS would have listed it on the bottle. The other fats listed are sunflower oil (high in omega-6 polyunsaturated fats), medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), and coconut oil (one of my preferred sources of saturated fats). The combination of MCTs and coconut oil is a blend of “good” saturated fats. Max Milk also contains L-carnitine which is responsible for transporting long chain fatty acids into a cell’s mitochondria so that they can be used for energy.
The carbohydrate profile of Max Milk looks similar to MuscleMilk except EAS has used fructose instead of maltodextrin. In the end like the maltodextrin in MuscleMilk 12g of carbohydrates isn’t very much and as long as it isn’t pure dextrose it probably won’t make a huge negative impact.
The additional bells and whistles that are found in Max Milk come in the form of the “Creatine Potentiator Blend”. This is 3 grams of creatine, betaine, arginine, and methionine. There probably isn’t enough of these ingredients to make a noticeable impact on your physique but the creatine is a nice addition.
The Downside: Max Milk has the same fiber problem that MuscleMilk does – there is no fiber! But this is a major flaw of most MRPs (new or old generation). If I could change one thing about Max Milk it would be the lipid blend, namely the sunflower oil. Sunflower oil contains a high concentration of omega-6 fatty acids. Most people’s diets are high enough in omega-6 fatty acids to start out with and the last thing they need is a heaping dose of some more in their shake.
The Bottom Line: Max Milk is a solid product that has a nutrient profile comparable to MuscleMilk. Because it doesn’t contain glycocyamine I would feel comfortable using it on a daily basis. But the hefty dose of sunflower oil would prevent me from using it more than once a day.
Note: I analyzed the ingredients found in the Max Milk Chocolate flavor. Vanilla and Cookies & Cream may have different nutrient profiles.
In Part II, I’ll examine four more next generation MRPs: Infusion by S.A.N., Muscle XGF by AST Sports Science, Lean Mass by BSN, and Muscle Meals by Muscle-Link.
This article was originally published at Bodybuilding.com
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