The Best Low Sugar Protein Shakes for Seniors

Protein shakes are a powerful solution for seniors – particularly low sugar protein shakes. The idea might seem odd, as whole foods are normally considered better for health. Even so, protein shakes can be relevant in many situations.

Among other things, they help seniors to get the nutrition they need. Shakes are especially important when seniors need soft foods and in cases where they don’t want to eat. After all, a shake is often appealing even when regular food isn’t.

There are plenty of shake options out there, but most are high in sugar. Some products even end up being worse than a candy bar – containing plenty of sugar and little nutrition. The items in this post are all healthy alternatives, ones that are low in sugar.

Our Favorite Low Sugar Protein Shakes for Seniors

Ensure Protein Shakes

While most of the shakes from Ensure are high in sugar, there are some interesting options that keep the sugar content low. The first of these is Ensure Max Protein.

This type of shake is mostly designed for people focused on muscle building and/or weight loss. There are 30 grams of protein per serving, plus 1.5 grams of fat and just 1 gram of sugar.

While the balance of protein to sugar is impressive, this type of shake gets a mixed reception. A shake with this much protein is never going to taste as good as something low in protein and high in sugar. There’s often a slightly chalky flavor or an undesirable aftertaste.

As such, Ensure Max Protein mightn’t be the best choice for seniors. Some would enjoy the shake, while others might refuse to drink it.

The Ensure High Protein shake could be a better choice for many seniors. This one offers 16 grams of protein per serving, plus 2 grams of fat and 4 grams of sugar.

The balance of protein, fat, and sugar mightn’t be as healthy, but does give the shake a more appealing flavor. And, honestly, 16 grams of protein is often enough.

Boost Protein Shakes

Like Ensure, Boost has a wide range of shakes with various nutritional profiles. Most of them are high in sugar, but there are a few low sugar protein shakes too.

The first of these is Boost Max Nutritional Shake. It’s similar to Ensure Max Protein in that there are 30 grams of protein per serving and just 1 gram of sugar.

Most of the reviews are positive, although some people mention that it doesn’t taste like the other Boost chocolate shakes. This isn’t surprising given the high protein and low sugar content.

Boost also has a Boost Glucose Control Max.

This is a strange entry, as the shake’s nutritional profile is almost exactly the same as the regular Boost Max shake. It isn’t even clear what makes this shake more suitable for diabetics.

Beyond this, Boost also offers a regular Glucose Control Nutritional Drink and a Boost Women Nutritional Drink, which both contain 4 grams of sugar per serving. The Glucose Control version contains 16 grams of protein per serving, while the women one contains 15 instead, so they’re pretty similar.

As with Ensure, this balance of 15 or 16 grams of protein to 4 grams of sugar makes the shakes taste fairly good. They’d certainly be easier to drink than those with 30 grams of protein and just 1 gram of sugar.

Glucerna

Next we have the shakes from Glucerna. This brand specifically focuses on blood sugar management, partly through the use of their own slow-release carbohydrate blend called CARBSTEADY.

The Glucerna Original Shake offers 10 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar, making it a fairly low sugar choice. However, the low protein content means this one wouldn’t be useful as a meal replacement.

Another option is the Glucerna Protein Smart Shake. This one offers 30 grams of protein and just two grams of sugar per serving.

There are also two Hunger Smart shakes – one regular and one meal sized. These contain a little more sugar, but they’re still decent for meal replacement shakes.

Premier Protein Shakes

This is a brand I’ve relied on myself, partly due to availability. The low sugar versions of Boost and Ensure can be tricky to find, while the Premier Protein Shakes are common at stores like Meijer or Walmart.

The shakes come in a huge variety of flavors, including some unusual ones. Options include Strawberries & Cream, Cake Batter Delight, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Cinnamon Roll, Cookies & Cream, and many more

Most of the shakes offer 30 grams of protein with just 1 gram of sugar, so you can simply choose the flavor you like the most.

There are also mini ones, which are smaller and come in at just 22 grams of protein. They’re fantastic as a between meal snack and still contain just 1 gram of sugar per serving.

Atkins Shakes

The Atkins diet is a low carb approach for weight loss, so it’s no surprise that their shakes are low in sugar.

There are a few different styles of shake to look out for.

The first is their regular shakes, which contain 15 grams of protein and just 1 gram of sugar. There are some unusual flavors for these, such as Creamy Root Beer Float, Iced Chai, and Creamy Cinnamon Swirl. Many of the shakes use real cream as an ingredient.

Then there are the higher protein shakes. There are fewer of these, so you don’t have as many flavors to choose from.

Some of these are the Atkins Strong shakes, which offer 30 grams of carbs and 1 gram of sugar, plus 7 grams of prebiotic fiber. There are also Atkins Plus shakes, which have a similar nutritional profile, with some slight differences in ingredients.

Make Your Own

If you have the time, making your own low sugar protein shake will always be the best option. This gives you full control over the flavor and nutrient profile, allowing you to make a tastier shake that perfectly matches the senior’s needs.

Besides, prepackaged shakes often use additives or artificial ingredients. Those ingredients are essential for giving the shakes their shelf life, but they’re certainly not great for health. Making shakes yourself gets around this problem.

There are two main approaches you can take here.

Use Your Own Ingredients

The first is to focus on minimally processed ingredients, like fruit, nuts, and cocoa powder. This creates the healthiest type of shake and gives you plenty of options for flavor.

You could also include ice or frozen fruit and create a smoothie instead of a shake. Why not experiment with the texture and find out what the senior enjoys the most?

If you are making your own shake or smoothie, pay close attention to the nutrient balance. It’s too easy to end up with a high sugar and low protein shake, one that isn’t very healthy at all. 

Here are some useful ingredients that can raise the protein content of the shake, without ruining its flavor or texture.

• Any type of nut butter. Why not add some cocoa powder too and create a chocolate and peanut butter shake?
• Chia seeds. These little seeds offer plenty of protein and fiber, with barely any flavor. Just make sure you blend the smoothie well, as the little seeds become gelatinous in water.
• Hemp seeds. Don’t worry, hemp seeds aren’t psychoactive. They do, however, contain plenty of protein and healthy fatty acids.
• Greek yogurt. Plain or flavored Greek yogurt is a fantastic addition. Just be sure to choose a low sugar product (some are shockingly high in sugar).  
• Silken tofu. Strange as it sounds, blended silken tofu works well in smoothies. It provides extra thickness and nutrients, without changing the flavor much at all.

Add Protein Powder

Alternatively, you could try protein powder.

This boosts the protein content of your shake and sometimes adds nutrients too. It’s easy to use too – just add a scoop or two to your recipe. Sometimes you can simply mix the powder with milk or water, then you’re ready to go.

Protein powders are processed, so they’re not quite as healthy as using all natural ingredients. But, they’re still pretty good and contain fewer additives than pre-prepared shakes.

There are plenty of great brands to choose from, so we’re only going to feature our two favorite brands.

Naked Whey Protein Powder

This brand is a very good low sugar product, as the pictured product is just whey protein concentrate, nothing else.

There are some interesting flavors too, including chocolate, vanilla, double chocolate, and strawberry. These all rely on natural ingredients but aren’t all low in sugar. So, you’ll need to carefully check the ingredients label.

The unflavored version wouldn’t taste that good if you were just mixing it with a liquid. However, it would be perfect if you plan to make a more complex shake.

You can also check out other products from the brand, including those using different protein sources and their Naked Shakes. The sugar content varies here too, with some products being lower in sugar than others.

Garden of Life Sport Protein Powder

Garden of Life is a popular brand, with a focus on plant-based protein powders. This one offers 30 grams of protein per serving and doesn’t have any added sugars at all. The powder is so vegan, organic, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

This product contains many more ingredients than the Naked Whey version because it also offers more nutrients and beneficial compounds. As such, this could be a healthier choice for some people. It all depends on what you’re looking for.