Keto shakes are specifically designed to address the nutritional needs of people on the low-carb keto diet.
Keto shakes are very low in carbs while being rich in protein, beneficial fats and a host of other nutrients relevant to keto dieters.
Keto shakes make it easier to adhere to the strict keto diet by providing nutrients you might not otherwise get.
19 Benefits Of Keto Shakes
The following are 19 keto shake benefits as determined by our team of experts.
1: Keto shakes help you stay keto-compliant.
The keto diet (1) is guaranteed to work if you stick with it. Trouble is, sticking with it can be very difficult, since it requires giving up almost all carbs. (You know, those things you love like pasta, potatoes and pizza, to name a few.) Keto shakes can help you stay on the straight and narrow with your keto diet by providing a tasty, but low-carb, alternative to high-carb foods.
2: Keto shakes help you maintain a healthy weight, diet, or no diet.
There is no doubt that keto shakes can be a valuable addition to a keto-dieter’s routine. But they’re not just for those on the keto diet. Busy professionals and students pressed for time, seniors unable to fix themselves a proper meal, and others will find keto shakes a fast, convenient way to fill the dietary void.
3: Keto shakes are low in sugar.
The best keto shakes are sugar-free, and here’s why. Maintaining a state of ketosis depends on a person limiting carb intake to 30-50 grams per day. But a single teaspoon of sugar is about 5 grams. So, if you have two cups of coffee during the day with a teaspoon of sugar in each, that’s as much as 1/3 of your carb total for the entire day. As you can imagine, things can get out of hand pretty quick.
4: Keto shakes are good for your brain.
Speaking of sugar… scientists have known for decades that too much sugar in the blood can interfere with cognitive function (2). This is one reason people often feel groggy after eating. It’s called ‘postprandial spike’ (3), and it affects both diabetics and non-diabetics alike. Because keto shakes are low in sugar and carbs, they help you avoid blood glucose spikes and maintain cognitive health.
5: Keto shakes can get your keto diet back on track.
People on the keto diet often find that some little unintentional slip will bounce them out of ketosis. In which case, they have to buckle down and be extra vigilant to get back into ketosis and stay there. Keto shakes can help by providing a predictable amount of carbs that can be easily tracked and weighed against other foods they eat.
6: Keto shakes provide a viable meal replacement option for seniors.
Too many senior citizens are not getting the nourishment they need to maintain optimal health (4). In many cases, it’s because they cannot cook for themselves like they used to. Some rely on family or friends to help out. But even then, they are sometimes forgotten. Keto shakes can be a viable option for older folks when the chips are down, or any time for that matter.
7: Keto shakes provide much-needed energy.
By restricting carbohydrate intake, you are denying your body its default energy source. It then has to shift to its backup plan, which is to produce ketones it can use to metabolize fat. Keto dieters depend on healthy fats to power basic bodily functions. Keto shakes provide those healthy fats. As such, it is not unusual that after enjoying a keto shake, a keto dieter will also enjoy a boost in energy.
8: Keto shakes are low in calories.
Because most people who consume keto shakes are trying to lose weight, the calorie count is deliberately kept low (typically below 400 calories per shake). Most of those calories also come from beneficial fats rather than carbs to ensure the person drinking the shake does not bump themselves out of ketosis. However, if you are not dieting, you can always augment the shake with fruit or something else.
9: Keto shakes produce almost no side effects.
Keto shakes are typically well-tolerated by healthy people of all ages. In rare instances, when side effects do occur, they are almost always the result of a food allergy, or a person drinking only shakes at the exclusion of other foods. People who are lactose intolerant, for instance, will often react poorly to keto shakes since many of them use whey protein.
10: Keto shakes provide other vital nutrients.
Keto shakes usually provide more than just healthy fats and protein. Most also provide antioxidants that fight oxidative stress, calcium for strong bones and teeth, magnesium (5), which is crucial for protein synthesis, zinc (6), which bolsters the immune system, vitamin B12 (7), which is crucial for cell metabolism, and much much more.
11: Keto shakes are good for your skin.
Keto shakes promote healthy skin in a couple of ways. First, they can help reduce inflammation, which is responsible for chronic skin conditions like eczema, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis. And second, many keto shakes contain a generous dose of antioxidants. Antioxidants are our primary defense against oxidative stress (8), which is responsible for cell death and a loss of skin integrity.
12: Keto shakes help you keep healthcare costs down.
A healthier person who is not beset by weight-related maladies (9) including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and joint degradation, is someone who will not be spending as much money on healthcare. Not only do healthier people make fewer trips to the doctor, they also get a break on health insurance premiums. So they save on both ends of the healthcare spectrum.
13: Keto shakes can help stabilize blood glucose levels.
When people routinely eat more carbohydrates than they need, the body begins to build insulin resistance. That means it is no longer able to adequately handle the tsunami of blood sugar. The most common outcome is type 2 diabetes (10). Doing nothing will help ensure that is the case. You don’t have to adapt the keto diet to cut carbs and reduce your risk of diabetes. Keto shakes can help you achieve that goal.
14: Keto shakes are good for your heart.
Many keto shakes contain some combination of B-complex vitamins as well as vitamins A, C, D, E, and K. All of these vitamins have some degree of anti-inflammatory capabilities. Inflammation is a major contributor to heart disease (11). As such, reducing chronic inflammation is one of the primary goals of any wellness plan. And that goes for the keto diet too.
15: Keto shakes are low in carbs.
The obesity epidemic sweeping the globe (12) could accurately be called the ‘carbohydrate epidemic’. Because at the heart of it is the fact that people are consuming way more carbs than their bodies need to function. All those excess carbs end up around waistlines worldwide, prompting people to seek effective solutions, like the keto diet. Keto shakes are low in carbs, making them a smart choice for people trying to control their weight.
16: Keto shakes won’t leave you feeling sluggish.
After a carb-heavy meal, people often drag themselves away from the table, feeling like they’re carrying a sandbag around their waist. That won’t happen with a keto shake. They’re formulated to fill you up without weighing you down. That way, you can get back to what you were doing feeling energized and light on your feet.
17: Keto shakes are affordable.
It’s not cheap to eat out (13). Dinner at a nice restaurant (white tablecloths, etc.) can cost you upwards of $75 (per person, plus taxes and tip). Even drive-through burgers and fries will run you on average about six bucks. By comparison, the keto shakes on our list will cost anywhere from one to three dollars per shake. And you won’t get all the sugar, salt, and empty, waist-expanding carbs you get with the burgers and fries.
18: Keto shakes fight inflammation.
Research suggests there is a link between excessive carbohydrate intake and inflammation (14). Why is that important? Because chronic inflammation is believed to contribute to numerous diseases (15), including heart disease and cancer. Low-carb keto shakes enable you to get the nutrients you need without the excessive carbohydrate load associated with so much of the food we eat today.
19: Keto shakes are portable.
You can take any of the keto shake – whether pre-mixed or powder – to work with you. You can mix up a shake and take it with you when you go to the park. You can take a tub of keto shake meal replacement powder with you when you go camping or on a road trip. Wherever you want to go (except maybe on an airplane), your keto shake can go with you.
Conclusion
Keto shakes enable people to stay compliant with the carb-restrictive keto diet so that they can lose weight and achieve a higher degree of overall health. As a bit of icing on the cake they can also help fight inflammation, stabilize blood sugars and provide an energy boost when you need it most.