A Healthy Meal Replacement. This is what Beachbody claims with a nutritional dose of 70 plus ingredients, which include 23 vitamins and minerals. But, what about the Shakeology Ingredients? This Shakeology is more than just a “protein shake”. Throughout the following, we will take an in depth look at all of the Shakeology Ingredients listed on the bag, and examine what they do for you whether good or bad.

First, here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to understanding the Shakeology Ingredients:

• We will be using the nutrition label of the Chocolate Flavor Shakeology ingredients (click here to see the nutrition label).  I want to use the “whey” based blend, because it is very popular and if you remove the “whey”, you have the vegan blend, with additional vegan proteins to replace the “whey”.  (I personally have the vegan blend, click here to see the nutrition label.
• We are going to start with the ingredients after the typical nutrition facts (calories, carbs, protein, and vitamins). This means we will begin with Folic acid and Biotin. We will then dig into the Proprietary Superfoods, along with the “other ingredients” listed on the label.

Remember, this post is a little unique. Usually I am all about family, workouts, health and nutrition, goal setting, but I really want you to know about the Shakeology Ingredients.  My goal is to help you understand what the ingredients are and how (and IF) they can benefit you.   As you may know from some of my other posts I am gluten-free.  I have been drinking Shakeology for over 3 years now, as well as my husband.  I also had it throughout my pregnancy with my son daily.  I proceeded to have it throughout the next two years while I was breastfeeding my son.  Not once did I have any side effects that were negative.  We now all have it daily.  My husband, daughter, son and myself.  So, let’s take a look and break down the Shakeology Ingredients.

Shakeology Ingredients – The daily Ingredients

These are sort of  “daily ingredients”, they are still hard to understand. These are nutritional ingredients are so important to have every single day.  You may have seen these before in other foods, but here is what they do and why they are important for your health.

• Folic Acid (50% of DV): This ingredient can also be referred to as Vitamin M or B9. Folic acid has many benefits including: Stroke reduction, Sperm Quality (in males, helps reduce chromosomal defects in sperm), Macular Degeneration (In Fact, a study was completed where women have reduced potential for degeneration by 34.7%).

• Biotin (30% of DV): Also know as Vitamin H. Biotin’s primary purpose is to help break down fatty cells and help metabolism (fat burner, which we all need!)

• Chromium (50% of DV): Chromium enhances the production of insulin in your body. Insulin helps with the metabolism and storage of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in your body. This in turn can help regulate potential for diabetes and speed up that metabolism.

• Molybdenum (40% of DV): Similar to phosphorus, this ingredient helps strengthen tooth enamel and helps prevent tooth decay. A great reason to have this ingredient in your kids diet as well!

• Pantothenic acid (50% of DV): This ingredient (Vitamin B5) helps with oxygen utilization efficiency. What does that mean? It helps fuel oxygen to your muscles, which reduces muscle soreness and aches.

• Zinc (40% of DV): this is a great ingredient and supplement you should always have. Zinc is beneficial for your immune system. Better than that, it helps decrease the acceleration of skin and muscle aging. Not only that, it can be beneficial for your digestive trac (with proven abilities to reduce and eliminate diarrhea episodes, according to Bhutta, 2000).

• Phosphorous (25% of DV): Having this ingredient daily can help strengthen tooth enamel. This leads to stronger teeth and prevention of early tooth decay.

• Iodine (35% of DV): This ingredient is widely known to help with your thyroid. But not only that, iodine is beneficial for breast, stomach, brain, and other important tissues. Not having enough (or having TOO much) can cause problems for these vital tissues (source here).

• Magnesium (20% of DV): magnesium helps regulates blood sugar, and keeps heart rhythm running, strong bones, and your immune system in check.

• Copper (40% of DV): not having enough copper in your diet can lead towards deficiencies such as osteoporosis, infections, and glucose problems. Copper ingests into your liver and spreads through your bloodstream to regulate your blood sugar and benefit your bones and glucose levels significantly.

• Manganese (100% of DV): one of the awesome Shakeology ingredients that helps your body properly digest and collaborate with other ingredients like zinc, copper, and iron better. Manganese has been seen helping treat things like:  diabetes, Schizophrenics, Rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, asthma, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, (find out more here). A powerful ingredient that gives you 100% of your daily value in one serving of Shakeology.

As you can see, even the “daily” foundation of Shakeology Ingredients are very much needed, fast food won’t get you those! So the big question is: Why can’t we just eat healthy and get these? You can! The only thing you should consider is the price. To match the serving of all of these ingredients in everyday food will cost you more than a $4.33 serving of Shakeology.

Next we will explore the Best Superfoods.  We will delve deeper into the specific Proprietary Shakeology ingredients.

Shakeology Ingredients – The Best Superfoods

• Proprietary Protein Blend: Proteins are important for mental clarity, lean muscle building, improving skin and hair, and reducing cravings. The proprietary superfoods in this blend include: Whey, Sacha Inchi, Chia, Flax, Quinoa, Amaranth, Brown Rice, Pea.

• Proprietary Super-Fruit/Antioxidant Blend: promotes antioxidant support for a healthy immune system, heart, and optimal blood pressure. The proprietary superfoods in this blend include: Camu-Camu, Acai, Acerola Cherry, Bilberry, Goji Berry, Grape Seed, Green Tea, Lun Hao Guo, Pomegranate, Rose Hips.

• Proprietary Super-Green/Phytonutrient Blend: This is an interesting blend of the Shakeology ingredients, mainly because of what it can do. It detoxifies! The liver, kidneys, and blood get detoxification benefits that restore health and vitality. Superfoods in this blend include: Moringa, Chlorella, Spirulina, Spinach, Barley Grass, Kamut Grass, Wheat Grass, Oat Grass.

• Proprietary Adaptogen Blend: this helps protect the body from stress, supports the immune system, and balances the endocrine system. Superfoods that support this blend include: Ashwagandha, Astragalus, Cordyceps, Ginkgo, Maca, Maitake, Reishi, Schisandra, Tulsi (Holy Basil).

• Proprietary Pre- and Probiotic/Digestive Enzyme Blend: helps increase nutrition absorption, promotes regularity, and improves digestion. Superfoods in this blend include: Yacon Root, Lactobacillus Sporogenes, Amylase, Cellulase, Lactase, Lipase, Protease, Bromelain, Papain.

Shakeology Ingredients – The “Other” Ingredients

Ingredients to any foods are good to look at on a normal basis. You never know what lies beneath until you turn over to the nutrition label and look at the bottom. Let’s look at the “other” ingredients listed on the Shakeology bag, and what they mean, and if they are bad for you.

• Natural Sweetener Blend (Non-GMO Fructose, Stevia): this is where the 6 grams of sugar in each serving come from. But unlike other “diet” and health shakes that used the cursed “Aspartame”, Shakeology has NO aspartame and uses Stevia. Stevia is found in sunflower family of sweetleaf and sugarleaf. The sweetness ends up being 300 times more sweet than artificial flavorings. The best part is, it controls diet by giving you less carbs and less chance of disease and study-proven cancer like Aspartame.

• Natural Chocolate Flavor: this means that the flavor of chocolate is derived from a cacao plant, which produces natural cocoa.

• Xanthan Gum: this ingredient is in a good number of food we eat (along with Guar Gum). This is basically a laxitive ingredient that helps with food thickening.  Find out more about this ingredient here.

• Guar Gum: according to Wikipedia, this gum can help with digestion and regularity. It has a significant amount of soluble fiber which helps promote this effort, and is used for most foods to thicken appearance. Again, I couldn’t find anything too risky on this ingredient either.

Shakeology Ingredients – Good or Bad?

So here we are.  You have now been given a pretty sufficient breakdown of the Shakeology Ingredients.  They are not perfect as is nothing.  As a gluten-free mom of two, this is the best meal replacement supplement I have found.  I stand by it, not just because I am a coach, but because my family has seen so many benefits over the last 3 years.  Being gluten-free has gotten easier as our culture has found so many allergies relating to it, Shakeology has never affected me negatively.

It is gluten-free, making it the best possible option for my entire family.  Personally, we prefer the Vegan Chocolate Shakeology or the Tropical Vegan Shakeology.  I prefer to get my animal based protien through other sources than whey.  This is my personal opinion only.

Getting all of these ingredients in your daily diet would cost you a whole lot of money. It would be incredibly expensive because many of the items must be bought in bulk and you would have to buy them in their perishable form.  By going through and finding each of the 70 plus ingredients it would be around $1256.40 per month, at $41.88 per day. One serving of Shakeology is around $4.33 or $129.95 per month.

If you are like me and are serious about your health, take the first step and talk with me.  You do not do this on your own.  I am a fitness coach, a person that genuinely loves helping others.  I want you to reach your goals.  I want to walk along side you through the good and the bad.   So, take the first step and fill out some basic info here, and let’s begin this incredible journey towards getting in the best shape of our lives!