The ketogenic diet, or keto diet, has gained significant popularity as a method for weight loss and overall health improvement. This diet relies on shifting the body's primary fuel source from carbohydrates to fat, inducing a metabolic state called ketosis. In ketosis, the body breaks down stored fats into ketone bodies, which are then used for energy. To support individuals following a ketogenic lifestyle, numerous keto shakes and meal replacement products have emerged on the market. This article provides a comprehensive review of keto shakes, with a focus on Keto Science Keto Meal Shake, and offers recommendations to help you choose the best option for your specific needs and goals.
Understanding Ketosis and the Keto Diet
Ketosis is a natural metabolic state in which your body burns fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates. When you decrease the available glucose in your body, stored fats are broken down and create "ketone bodies" that are released into the bloodstream and used as fuel.
The goal of the keto diet is to limit your carbohydrate intake. For your ketogenic diet to work, you have to meet specific requirements. For instance, consuming too many carbs can knock you out of ketosis and thus ruin your weight loss efforts or keto lifestyle. To stay in nutritional ketosis, you can have any drink that doesn’t contain high amounts of sugar or carbs.
Keto Science: A Brand Focused on Ketogenic Support
Keto Science embodies the best in functional nutritional supplements and meal replacement products that are perfect for supporting a ketogenic lifestyle. Keto Science products help promote nutritional ketosis and support a carb-fighting diet by providing a full range of healthy fats, ketogenic meal supplements and research-proven GoBHB ketone salts.
Keto Science Keto Meal Shake: An Overview
Keto Science Keto Meal Shake is designed to fuel ketogenic weight loss goals by including natural sources of essential fats to help keep your body in a ketosis state throughout the day. This creamy low carb, nutritional treat is also available in a chocolate cream flavor. Keto Science Keto Meal Shake is made with coconut oil, grass fed butter, avocado oil, hydrolyzed collagen, MCTs (Medium Chain Triglycerides), plus numerous vitamins and minerals.
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Ingredients
Keto Science Keto Meal Shake includes: Ketogenic Blend [coconut oil, sunflower oil, MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) oil, avocado oil, grass-fed butter], KetoProtein Blend (hydrolyzed collagen, egg white), cocoa, natural chocolate flavor, Himalayan pink salt, xanthan gum, silica, high purity steviol glycosides, Luo han guo extract, gum acacia and flaxseed.
How to Use
Add two scoops of Keto Science Keto Meal Shake into 8-10 fl. oz. of water or your favorite beverage.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Keto Shake
When selecting a keto shake or meal replacement, it's essential to consider several factors to ensure it aligns with your dietary needs and preferences.
- Total Calories: This is essential if your goal is to replace a full meal. Products in this category have enough calories to replace a full meal.
- Grams of Protein: A good keto shake should contain a reasonable amount of protein. Protein helps you maintain lean muscle tissue, and contrary to popular belief, consuming significant amounts of protein doesn’t kick you out of ketosis.
- Total and Net Carbs: The goal of the keto diet is to limit your carbohydrate intake. Some keto replacement shakes contain a lot of fiber, which also increases their total amount of carbohydrates. However, your body doesn’t use carbs from fiber as fuel, so you don’t have to worry about them.
- Fat Content: Fat is your primary source of energy while in ketosis, so a good keto meal replacement shake must have a high fat content.
- Other Ingredients: Some keto drink mixes contain ingredients such as the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB), carnitine (an amino acid), chromium, creatine, hydroxymethyl butyrate, ECA stack, fish oil, magnesium, potassium, sodium and vitamin D. I prefer products that contain natural sources of these ingredients.
Types of Keto Shakes
Keto shakes can be broadly categorized based on their calorie content and primary ingredients:
Meal Replacement Shakes
Products in this category have enough calories to replace a full meal. These meal replacement products also provide enough fat and have a low amount of net carbs, so you can stay in ketosis.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
HLTH Code Complete Meal: HLTH Code Complete Meal was co-founded by the metabolic scientist Dr. Ben Bikman, which means the company has first-hand knowledge about how food influences the human metabolism. One thing to note is that if you take a close look at the nutrition label, you’ll see that this meal shake has much more protein than most of the other products in this list. The reality is that gluconeogenesis (the process of making glucose from non-carb sources) is demand-driven rather than supply-driven. Additionally, some studies suggest that you can enhance muscle protein synthesis by consuming fat and protein at a ratio of 1:1. I had a chance to try both the chocolate macadamia and creamy vanilla flavors (of the traditional formula), and even though I consider myself a chocolate guy, I couldn’t pick a favorite. Both taste absolutely delicious and have a creamy texture that makes you want more. Most plant-based meal shakes have a gritty and earthy texture that I don’t like much. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively smooth texture of HLTH Code’s vegan formulas. While I still prefer the taste of the traditional formula mixed with full-fat raw dairy, the vegan powder had a pleasant taste, even when mixed with plain water. The one big downside to this product is that most of its vitamins and minerals are from synthetic sources. As a rule, research strongly suggests that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones, in large part because natural forms of nutrients are more bioavailable (meaning they’re more easily absorbed and utilized by the body).
Keto Fuel: Keto Fuel is Super Body Fuel’s keto meal replacement shake, offering fewer carbs and slightly higher amounts of fat (medium-chain triglycerides) than their regular meal shakes. I tried mixing Keto Fuel with almond milk and I loved the taste. The only downside is that you have to let it rest in the fridge for about two hours to get the optimal taste and texture. Additionally, all of the protein from Keto Fuel comes from brown rice, which is a less-than-ideal source of protein for humans because of its poor bioavailability and absorbability.
High-Fat, Low-Calorie Shakes
Products in this category contain a lot of fat - usually in the form of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) - and low amounts of carbs and protein. As delicious and healthy as these ketogenic shakes might be, keep in mind that consuming high amounts of MCTs can cause an upset stomach and lead to gas, bloating and diarrhea. Plus, these products will likely not keep you satiated for very long because of their lack of protein.
Perfect Keto’s MCT Oil Powder: Perfect Keto’s MCT Oil Powder is a great keto shake that’s relatively stomach-friendly due to its moderate amount of medium-chain triglycerides (from coconut oil). However, each serving has just 70 to 80 calories, depending on the flavor. That limits its usefulness to specific cases where you’re not actually trying to replace a meal.
Naked Keto: The unflavored version of Naked Keto contains only two simple and clean ingredients: MCT oil powder and high-oleic sunflower oil powder. However, both of these powders are made with fillers and flow agents, including inulin (a fiber that can make you bloated), sunflower lecithin, silicon dioxide and others. Additionally, I’m not a fan of vegetable and seed oils, such as sunflower oil, because they usually contain high ratios of unstable and inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Naked Keto contains what’s called high-oleic sunflower oil, which has much lower concentrations of PUFAs in lieu of stable monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs).
Read also: Magnesium Supplements for Keto
Fat Fuel: Fat Fuel is slightly different than the other products on this list, in that it doesn’t market itself as a shake. All three flavors contain coconut oil powder, grass-fed butter powder and MCT oil powder as healthy sources of fat. Fat Fuel Cocoa has 0.1 grams of erythritol, a sugar alcohol that I usually try to stay away from. However, it’s such a small amount that I wouldn’t worry too much about it. This is nowhere near the amount of sweetener normally found in cocoa powder. What’s convenient about Fat Fuel is that the powder comes in individual, single-serving pouches. That makes it easy to bring along on trips. As mentioned before, be careful with MCTs and note that coconut oil is a natural source of them.
Protein-Focused Shakes
Products in this category contain protein powder - usually grass-fed whey protein or collagen peptides - and lower amounts of fat. As a result, they lack the calories necessary to replace a full meal.
Perfect Keto’s collagen peptides powder: What I like about Perfect Keto’s collagen peptides powder is that it doesn’t contain anything except hydrolyzed collagen powder (amounting to 10 grams of protein per serving) and a moderate amount of MCTs (four grams).
LevelUp Grass-Fed Keto Protein Powder: LevelUp Grass-Fed Keto Protein Powder is neither a potent protein powder nor a keto meal replacement. However, considering its premium ingredients, it can still have a place in your keto diet as a supplement. It’s a tasty shake that’s easy to prepare, and it contains no chemicals or fillers.
Ingredients to Avoid
Some keto shakes contain ingredients that may be unhealthy or irritating for certain individuals. It's essential to be aware of these and choose products accordingly. The two products below contain unhealthy or irritating ingredients that I would rather stay away from. The worst shake, from a health perspective, is definitely Atkins.
- Gums: Many gums are in natural products that are derived from plants, but some have the potential to cause stomach problems in people who are sensitive.
- Corn: Corn has little nutritional value compared to other vegetables and fruits, and it contains certain types of proteins that your body can’t properly break down. These prolamins can lead to or exacerbate leaky gut syndrome and the growth of harmful bacteria in your gut.
- Vegetable and Seed Oils: I’m not a fan of vegetable and seed oils, such as sunflower oil, because they usually contain high ratios of unstable and inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
Where to Buy Keto Shakes
The most convenient way to buy keto shakes and meal replacement drinks is online. If you want to leverage any of my discount codes, you usually have to purchase the products directly from the manufacturer’s online store. However, some of the brands I mentioned above also sell their shakes on Amazon. Walmart sells numerous keto shakes online and in its stores. Target offers a ton of keto shakes.
Benefits and Limitations of Keto Shakes
Benefits
- Convenience: Keto shakes offer a convenient way to maintain a ketogenic diet, especially when you’re traveling or don’t have access to high-quality food.
- Supplementation: Some people who follow the keto diet use meal shakes to supplement their regular meal plan.
- Energy Boost: In the case of exogenous ketones, they can temporarily boost your energy levels and even lessen the symptoms of the keto flu.
Limitations
- Cost: They can be expensive, especially compared to protein shakes.
- Gut Irritation: Some of the ingredients manufacturers use in their products have the potential to irritate your gut.
- Not a Miracle Solution: However, keto shakes are no miracle solution for losing weight and no shortcut for maintaining a proper ketogenic lifestyle that keeps you in nutritional ketosis.
Common Questions About Keto Shakes
- Do keto meal replacement shakes work? That depends on what your goals are and how you define “work.” Keto shakes certainly work as an easy keto snack, and replacement shakes can stand in for a full meal if you don’t have access to high-quality food.
- What is the best keto shake? That depends on a number of factors, including your dietary lifestyle and goals. Based on the research I’ve done, I’d argue that it’s one of the shakes mentioned in this review.
- Do you need ketone supplements if you started a keto diet to lose weight? You probably don’t. I would focus all my energy on staying in nutritional ketosis to allow your body to burn its own fat.
- Can you have a protein shake while on keto? Yes, you can certainly have protein shakes on a ketogenic diet - particularly if you exercise. However, keep in mind that some people react to consuming large amounts of protein by releasing insulin. That might (temporarily) kick you out of ketosis.
- Are SlimFast shakes good? No.
- Are SlimFast Fat Bombs keto? Technically, SlimFast Fat Bombs are keto. However, they’re highly-processed junk food containing soy, peanuts and erythritol (sugar alcohol). So I’d stay away from them.
- Can you have almond milk on keto? You can have almost anything on keto as long as you stay below your individual carb limit. Almond milk has carbs that your body can convert quickly into glucose. So if you drink almond milk, do so in moderation. More importantly, most nuts and seeds are rich sources of antinutrients that can be detrimental to your health. That’s why I recommend staying away from them.
- Can you use heavy cream instead of coconut milk for smoothies? You can certainly use cream, but I’d recommend using cream from 100% grass-fed cows only because it has more nutrients. For the same reason, I’d also recommend raw over pasteurized cream.
- What’s the difference between protein and collagen? Hydrolyzed collagen contains collagen peptides, which are the building blocks of protein. The advantage of collagen is that your body can absorb it incredibly quickly and efficiently and it helps to support hair, nail, skin, joint and digestive health. However, it’s important to understand that collagen has an incomplete amino acid profile. That means it’s missing certain essential amino acids - the building blocks of peptides - that milk (casein) or animal protein have. Practically, that means that collagen is an excellent supplement but no replacement for other sources of protein, such as beef, poultry or seafood.