Medifast Shake Nutrition Information - (Calories, Carbohydrates, Protein, and Vitamins & Minerals)

I get a lot of questions about the Medifast shakes. I believe that this is because, without a doubt, these are the most popular and well known component of (and food on) the diet. They are tasty, easy to prepare, actually good for you, and pretty filling. But, people often want to know exactly what are the ingredients in (and nutritional value of) them. I'll go over many of these issues in the following article.

Information About The Most Popular Medifast Shake First: The 55: I would venture to say that the 55 shake is the most widely used in the Medifast diet. These shakes come with the women's basic plan / package and they are in my opinion the most tasty and versatile on the plan. They come in a variety of flavors, but the nutrition is for the most part the same no matter whether you chose one of the chocolate and vanilla varieties or the fruit flavors. Generally, these contain around 90 - 100 calories, have around 11 - 13 grams of carbs, about 11- 15 grams of protein, less than 10 grams of sugars, and at least five grams of fiber. This combination helps all of the foods put your body in fat burning mode because the carb to protein ratio is quite friendly.

In general, all of the Medifast shakes are low in lactose, are relatively gluten free, are kosher, and are vegetarian. These options are generally very nutritionally sound. For example, the 55 shakes contain anywhere from 15 - 60% of the daily requirements for vitamins and minerals like vitamins A, B, C, and D, iron, magnesium, folate, zinc, copper, selenium, and biotin, to name only a few.

The 75 shakes are very similar to the 55, but they contain more protein and are generally recommended for men or for very active folks or women who are athletes or are serious about building muscle.

Other than the 55, the momentum line is probably the next popular. These items are meant to boost your metabolism and to that end they contain additional caffeine and the active ingredient in green tea. Other than that, the rest of the nutritional information is mostly the same. There are three different shake options on the momentum line.

Nutritional Information About The Medifast Ready To Drink Shakes: All of the options that I have previously discussed have required that you mix them. You can either use the little shaker cup that comes with them or a blender. (I have better results with a blender.) So, some people really like having the option of using a shake that doesn't require any preparation and that's why many really like the ready to drink. This option comes in a box with a straw. All you have to worry about doing is opening and then drinking it.

In general, the caloric and nutritional content is very similar on these. They run around 90 calories and have 12 grams of carbs and protein. They are a little light on the fiber at only 3 grams, but they are full of all the vitamins and minerals, providing 40 percent of your daily calcium needs as one example.

Specialty Shakes: In addition to the items I mentioned above, this plan does offer some specialty shakes. Examples are diabetic, heart health, joint health, antioxidant fortified, and hormonal health options. In general, these are basically the 55 with some supplementation added in. For example, omega 3s are added to the heart health meals and herbs meant to deal with menopause are added into the hormonal health.