Drinking Ensure While Pregnant: Should You Do It?

It’s always important to meet your nutrition goals — but it’s even more critical while pregnant. Carrying a child puts extra stress on your body, so it’s vital to focus on your health and nutrition. In addition, your child needs important nutrients to develop. Because of this, many women often wonder if it’s safe to drink food replacement shakes while pregnant. One of the most popular meal replacement drinks is made by Ensure. So can you drink Ensure while pregnant? Let’s get into it.

Can you drink Ensure while pregnant?
How many Ensures can you drink a day while pregnant?
Can Ensure help with morning sickness?
Which ensure drinks are best during pregnancy?
Conclusion

Can you drink Ensure while pregnant?

The short answer is Yes.

It’s perfectly safe to drink Ensure while pregnant. Not only is it tasty and convenient, but Ensure shakes help provide critical nutrients in order to keep your body strong and help your unborn child develop.

Many doctors recommend Ensure because it contains important vitamins and minerals like folic acid, calcium, and iron, which are all critical for a healthy pregnancy. Additionally, Ensure can help you maintain a healthy weight, which is important for both you and your baby.

How many Ensures can you drink a day while pregnant?

If you’re missing out on essential nutrients like protein, then one to two servings of Ensure can help you hit your daily needs and is perfectly safe.

The biggest concern of overconsuming Ensure while pregnant would be excess vitamin A, which can lead to birth defects.

The World Health Organization recommends a maximum of 10,000 international units (IU) of Vitamin A while pregnant. One 8 ounce serving of Ensure Original contains 1,250 IUs of Vitamin A, which means at a maximum you could theoretically consume 8 Ensures a day. In reality, however, you’re likely already getting Vitamin A from other sources, such as prenatal pills and other meals.

The bottom line is that a safe amount of Ensure can vary from person to person. You should consume Ensure (and any foods) in moderation, based on your nutritional needs and current diet.

Can Ensure help with morning sickness?

Although Ensure won’t stop morning sickness, it can be help by making it easier for you to consume vital nutrients if your too nauseous to eat solid foods.

Making sure you meet your nutritional needs can also help alleviate some of the symptoms of morning sickness such as nausea, which can be caused (or amplified) by having an empty stomach.

Which ensure drinks are best during pregnancy?

There are many different Ensure drinks to choose from if you’re looking to supplement your meal intake while pregnant. Here are a few of our favorite choices.

1. Ensure Original: This is a classic Ensure drink that has been around for years. It is packed with vitamins and minerals, as well as 9 grams of protein and 220 calories.

2. Ensure Max Protein: This drink has 30% more protein than the original Ensure, making it a great choice for pregnant women who are looking to up their protein intake. It has 16 grams of protein and only 210 calories.

3. Ensure Clear: This is a newer option from Ensure that is clear, refreshing and has no added sugars. It has 15 grams of protein and only 90 calories, making it a great low-calorie choice for pregnant women.

4. Ensure Enlive: This drink is designed to help support muscle health and has 20 grams of protein. It also has 220 calories, making it a great choice for pregnant women who are looking for a high-protein drink.

5. Ensure Light: This light version of Ensure has 50% fewer calories than the original, making it a great choice for pregnant women who are watching their calorie intake. It has 9 grams of protein and 110 calories.

Conclusion

Choosing the right food to eat while pregnant is important, not just for the health of the mother, but also for the developing baby. If you’re unable to meet your nutritional needs with food and prenatal pills, then Ensure is a great option to help fill the gap. Just make sure that you’re consuming it in moderation, based on your current nutritional intake and needs. In addition, make sure to consult with your doctor for any nutritional concerns that you may have while pregnant.