I knew about Shakeology for over a year (probably around two years) before I decided to try it. I had lots of concerns. Here I explain what my concerns were and how I resolved them. What are your concerns about Shakeology? Why haven't you tried it yet?
Confession #4: Some things take me a while. One of those things was deciding to try Shakeology. I've known about it for over a year. And to tell you the truth, I used to be totally opposed to it! I can distinctly remember having conversations with at least 5 friends about why I was opposed to it. I'm a pretty healthy eater and I think it is a good idea to get your nutrition from eating healthy foods. I supplement with vitamins, but I try to get lots of vitamins by eating lots of fruits and vegetables. And I get my protein from veggies, legumes, nuts, dairy, meat, seeds. I am not a fan of protein shakes, I don't really think they're healthy. I am also not a fan of most meal replacement shakes, again because I don't think they're very healthy. They tend to have lots of sugar, low nutrition, and many have soy which is bad for your body for lots of reasons. So when I got into a regular exercise phase and healthy eating cycle last year I looked up recipes for homemade protein smoothies. They were good and healthy. But they had raw eggs in them for the protein and I have since learned that most of the protein in eggs is not digestible when the eggs are raw. I also didn't really feel any difference when I was drinking them verses not. And with all the fruits and veggies and eggs I was putting in I was still spending around $3/smoothie.
Once Mikey joined us I stopped worrying about exercise and eating super healthy and focused on sleep. Well, when I decided to start exercise and healthy eating again and started the 21 Day Fix program I was still opposed to Shakeology. The cost was a big deterrent and I wasn't convinced that it was even healthy. One of my friends that did 21 Day Fix who also felt the cost of Shakeology was prohibitive told me she drank IdealShake and really liked it. I did some research and saw that it didn't have has much nutrition as Shakeology, but was half the cost and was supposed to be more filling. So I decided to try it. I was fine with the taste of it but it didn't fill me up, I didn't feel any better drinking it, and it still had sugar and other things I didn't think were great and didn't provide much nutrition. The protein content was less than my eggs scramble, as was the nutrition, and it didn't fill me up any more, so I decided it wasn't worth it. Egg scrambles were better. It was time for me to address my concerns about Shakeology.
I had heard that one of the ingredients in it, moringa, had some link to infertility and miscarriages. This was a HUGE concern for me. So I did a lot of research. I searched every article I could find on moringa in both Baylor's and TCU's library. There have been very few studies on moringa and fertility. In fact, the only ones I could find were for male fertility and moringa was found to protect fertility when males were subjected to things like radiation and other fertility challenging things. The articles I found that did indicate moringa had some effect on female fertility showed that it was only a specific subspecies of moringa and when the women ate the root - so high quantities and a different part of the plant than what is in Shakeology. I also prayed about it and felt peace in regards to moringa.
My next concern was green tea. I don't drink coffee or tea. I never have. I also rarely ever drink caffeinated sodas - I don't like them. I know there are lots of health benefits to green tea but I generally still avoid it. So, I did some research into the green tea content in Shakeology. It is small enough that it only contributes 1.23 mg of caffeine. There are 35-55 mg of caffeine in most cans of caffeinated sodas (and the caffeine in them is extracted from tea or coffee), 37-75 in 12 oz of most tea, and 150-260 mg in 12 oz of most coffee. The caffeine is not extracted from the tea leaf in Shakeology, but since they use the whole leaf you get the health benefits as well. I decided that for me the amount of green tea in Shakeology was acceptable.
I then was concerned about the real health benefits of it. Why was it so expensive and was it worth it. So I spent a day doing research. I looked up every ingredient one by one to find out how it would benefit my health. It is impressive. These ingredients are correlated with increased cognitive functioning, defense against cancer, decreases in the effects of aging, boosting the immune system, decreasing chronic inflammation, improved digestion, and a bunch of other stuff I don’t remember right now. And it is chalked full of amino acids, essential fatty acids, fiber – all the nutrients that my body needs. After my research I was convinced that it really is good for me. It is not just a protein drink. It is not just a weight loss drug. It is a meal replacement shake that provides me with an entire days nutrients in one low calorie smoothie!
I was concerned that it wasn’t really worth the hype. But all my friends that drink it only have good things to say about it. They get sick less, they have more energy, they have improved digestion, they have less arthritis pain, etc. Everyone was a fan!
Shakeology comes with a satisfaction money-back guarantee – so I WAS SOLD! I figured I may as well try it and see if it lived up to its reputation.
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