Supplement Research

Today I drove over to the health food market and picked up a few things for post-op.

In my WLS class they recommended trying a few things before surgery to avoid buy things that aren't good.

They mentioned the "protein bullet" as a good source of protein in a very compact form.

The IDS New Whey Liquid Protein comes in a 3.4 fl. oz. screw top container. It comes in fruit punch, orange, blue raspberry and grape flavors. It contains 42g of protein, 0g of sugar, and 0g of fat.

I mentioned previously that the body can only utilize at maximum 35g of protein in one meal. The nutritionist recommended 60g to 80g of protein a day. So that means 3 or 4 meals containing 20g of protein.

These protein drinks are the perfect two "meal" size. Theoretically I could drink half and then drink another half at a later time for two very quick protein meals.

Now, let's talk about the taste. It is sweetened it with sucralose and acesulfame. I generally find anything sweetened with sucralose too sweet and this product is no exception. I quite frankly would describe the taste, smell and texture as drinking sugar-free gelatin before it sets. It's quite thick and very sweet. I have found that cutting it with 3 parts cold water helped it become more palatable.

The next product I purchased was No Shot® Sub-lingual B-12. The bottle contains 100 very small red tablets. When I was at my local pharmacy earlier the sub-lingual b-12 they sold were large tablets that took several minutes to dissolve. The No Shot® brand promised a quick dissolve. And they are correct. I placed the small tablet under my tongue and within 30 seconds it was dissolved. It was nicely priced at 11.99 per bottle and the product works as described.

And the last product I purchased today was Designer Whey Natural French Vanilla flavor protein powder. I absolutely love their natural flavor powder but sometimes I don't have time to haul out the blender, frozen fruit, yogurt, bananas and milk to make my own flavored protein drink. Don't get me wrong this is my preferred method but seeing as how protein will be a major dietary concern after surgery I need quick options.

One scoop delivers 2g Sugar, 2g Fat and 18g of protein. The manufacturer recommends mixing 3 oz. of water or milk (I tried both) with one scoop of protein powder. Much like the natural flavor it dissolves very well with no grit or aftertaste. It has a hint of vanilla flavor and is not sweet. I liked it very much. I did not discern any taste difference between milk and water. Those that prefer sweet protein drinks will not favor this product or may need to add their favorite artificial sweetener. This product is sweetened with olgiofructose or inulin.

So this rounds up my current product research. I think I will continue to purchase all three after surgery.

My next plan is to attempt to make naturally flavored gelatin. I purchased some organic blueberry juice and will try my hand at that later on tonight.