Just giving a senior a bottle of Ensure for dinner isn’t enough. In fact, overreliance on these drinks can cause digestive issues like diarrhea. Lactose intolerance increases with age as well, therefore any nutritional shake made from milk proteins may cause flatulence, nausea, constipation or diarrhea.

What are the side effects of Ensure?

Both Ensure and Boost shakes may cause side effects, such as constipation, nausea, and flatulence. However, user reports indicate that most of them go away when consumed consistently. Other reported side effects include muscle cramps, irregular heartbeat, and shortness of breath.

Why Ensure is bad for you?

Drinking these sugar filled drinks can lead to blood sugar imbalances and dysglycemia (non-stable blood sugar) causing anxiety, depression, fatigue, brain fog and food cravings. High blood sugar eventually affects our insulin levels, contributing to insulin resistance and type II diabetes.

While Ensure drinks contain 24 vitamins and minerals, they should not be drunk in lieu of meals among the elderly, according to Dr. Amy Ehrlich of Montefiore Medical Center’s Geriatrics Division. Dr. Ehrlich states that using these drinks to replace meals does not meet the nutritional needs of the elderly.