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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Boost Energy Drink: Lactose-Free But Not Casein-Free


I found this article - which is as close to a press release as I've ever seen; let's not pretend this is real journalism - that touts the wonderful benefits of Boost nutritional energy drink.

What caught my attention was the claim that Boost is lactose-free.

People who are at risk for osteoporosis or bone loss include older adults, non-ambulatory people who have difficulty exercising, post-menopausal women, and people who are on chronic steroid therapy for medical conditions. Older adults who are lactose-intolerant or allergic to milk are also at risk for calcium deficiency. Now, BOOST® comes with CalciLock® to help maintain bone health. Each BOOST® drink contains just as much calcium as an 8-ounce glass of milk, but it’s lactose-free.

OK, sounds good. I check everything, especially press releases. That's my mission. So I went to the Boost website to search for ingredients.
Water, corn syrup solids, sugar, vegetable oil, (canola, high oleic sunflower, corn oils) milk protein concentrate, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, and less than 0.5% of potassium citrate, magnesium chloride, soy lecithin, calcium phosphate, salt, ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate, beta-carotene, biotin, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6 hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine, hydrochloride, folic acid, potassium iodide, magnesium phosphate, natural and artificial flavor, choline chloride, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3, vitamin K1, carrageenan, potassium chloride, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, cupric sulfate, chromic chloride, sodium molybdate, sodium selenite, ferrous sulfate. Contains milk protein and soy.

Contains milk protein. So people with milk protein allergies, beware.

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14 comments:

Registered Dietitian said...

So what is your point? Milk protein is not lactose because lactose is milk sugar. A product can be lactose free because it either contains no milk or because the milk sugar (lactose) has been broken down so that it is digestible for people who are lactose intolerant. Lactaid milk is real milk with the lactose already broken down so it is digestible for lactose intolerant people and Lactaid milk has milk protein just lie regular milk. A milk protein allergy is not the same as lactose intolerance lactose intolerance is caused by an enzyme deficiency, it's not an allergy.

Anonymous said...

Horsefeathers! Every item that claims to be lactose free still affects ME. I have to treat even lactose free products by consuming not less than six (6) lactose pills per glass/bowl of ice cream/etc...

brinbre said...

Agree with anonymous. I am lactose intolerant and none of the so claimed lactose free dairy products work for me. I go with almond milk. You can call it what you want but if it is in any way related to a dairy product and causes you digestion problems, it has lactose in it!

Dan Jen said...

Regardless, boost can still give people who ate lactose intolerant a good bout of diarea, so people beware.

Anonymous said...

There are a couple different enzymes in milk that can cause digestive issues, not just the lactose so it is smart to beware. It may not just be the lactose you have an issue with in dairy products.

Steve Carper said...

The problem with that press release is the weasel wording. It said "Older adults who are lactose-intolerant or allergic to milk are also at risk for calcium deficiency. Now, BOOST® comes with CalciLock® to help maintain bone health." That clearly implies it is for people who are allergic to milk. But milk protein concentrate obviously contains milk protein, exactly what those people are allergic to. Milk protein concentrate normally contains lactose as well. It's milk protein isolate that doesn't. If they have a form of milk protein concentrate that is lactose-free they should say so directly.

There are no enzymes in milk that can cause digestive issues. The milk proteins are not enzymes.

Unknown said...

I am confused. I have been drinking Ensure/Boost for a few years and suddenly I broke out in hives. My Dr says I am allergic to Cow's milk. My only question is this: Can you drink Boost if you are allergic to Cow's milk?

Anonymous said...

Anonoymous....Like you I have tried everything that **claims** to be lactose-free....and then plan on staying home that day and maybe the next. I add a ton of the lactose pills (which are getting more expensive by the day)...double the expense and enjoy a day at home I guess.

Someone mentioned Almond milk. Educate me please....I thought this was mile with almond flavoring....am I wrong? Appears so.

(Please excuse errors...I am legally blind and just do the best I can on here)

Steve Carper said...

To Buzzmoogy. If you are allergic to cow's milk, you are allergic to cow's milk protein. As I said in the article, there is cow's milk protein in Boost. I strongly advise you not to use it.

To the last Anonymous. Almond milk is a white liquid made from mashing and processing almonds. There is no cow's milk or any animal milk in it. It's called "milk" simply because it's a white liquid.

J Miller | Remembering.com said...

Honey, almond milk is made from almonds. It's delicious, nutritious and dairy FREE ! :) Just try to get organic almond milk as almonds are a messy crop with chemicals, if not organic.

Anonymous said...

Lactase is the enzyme some people's body lacks. I took lactaid pills and had bloating, diarrhea, and vomiting anyways. My doctor then gave me Gastrocrom when he found this out. I have to take Gastrocrom in 8 ounces of water a half hour before dairy ingestion. Works like a charm. Gastrocrom is for Dairy allergy not Lactase enzyme deficiency there is a difference!

Anonymous said...

Drinking Cow's milk and its components especially CASEIN is unhealthy--short and/or long term. By the way, mammals should only drink milk from their own mama for a period of time based on their species(humans 1 to 3 years). Aftet that period has elapsed, drink only almond,soy, or hemp "milk".

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r7j6K0S8pb4

Unknown said...

I love Boost. But I started getting diarrhea when I drank it. I am lactose intolerant and am not allergic to milk. I can drink Lactsid with no problem. So what's going on?

Unknown said...

I meen it's better then real milk with lactose but like I still get symptoms when I drink boost ? Not the bad ones tho just my stomach bubbles.