There are a lot more brands of protein shakes than just Ensure. I only compared Nepro and Ensure because Nepro is practically the only product designed specifically for dialysis patients, and we have a lot of Ensure High Protein at home already. I did a search of Amazon for the most popular protein shakes and got this list. The Nepro column is in there for comparison; it’s not that popular:
| Brand | Nepro | Premier Protein | Boost High Protein | Orgain Clean | Ensure Max Protein | Core Power | Muscle Milk | Iconic |
| Flavor | Mixed Berry | Café Latte | Rich Chocolate | Rich Chocolate | Milk Chocolate | Chocolate | Chocolate | Café Latte |
| Serving Size | 8 oz | 11 oz | 8 oz | 11 oz | 11 oz | 11.5 oz | 11 oz | 11.5 oz |
| Calories | 425 | 160 | 240 | 140 | 150 | 240 | 160 | 130 |
| Total Fat | 22.7 g | 3 g | 6 g | 2 g | 1.5 g | 3.5 g | 4.5 g | 2 g |
| Sat. Fat | 2.0 g | 0.5 g | 1 g | 0.5 g | 0.5 g | 2 g | 1 g | 0 g |
| Cholesterol | 6.5 mg | 20 mg | 10 mg | 16 mg | 20 mg | 15 mg | 15 mg | 10 mg |
| Sodium | 250 mg | 220 mg | 230 mg | 240 mg | 140 mg | 160 mg | 250 mg | 220 mg |
| Total Carbs | 37.9 g | 5 g | 28 g | 10 g | 6 g | 28 g | 7 g | 8 g |
| Protein | 19.1 g | 30 g | 20 g | 20 g | 30 g | 26 g | 25 g | 20 g |
| Calcium | 250 mg | 650 mg (50%) | 380 mg (30%) | 50% | 50% | 70% | 30% | 25% |
| Potassium | 250 mg | 360 mg (8%) | 470 mg (10%) | 300 mg (9%) | 10% | 600 mg (17%) | 770 mg (22%) | 380 mg (11%) |
| Phosphorus | 170 mg | 620 mg (50%) | 25% | NA | 40% | NA | 40% | 40% |
| Amazon | 24/$57.00* | 12/$23.99 | 24/$28.98 | 12/$20.91 | 12/$26.16 | 12/$23.79 | 12/$9.28 | 12/$33.99 |
| Price/serving | $2.38 | $2.00 | $1.21 | $1.74 | $2.18 | $1.98 | $0.77 | $2.83 |
Once again, Nepro seems to be the fat bomb with the most fat, carbs, and calories per serving. What I’m most worried about however, is the levels of potassium (K) and phosphorus (P). Since Nepro was designed for dialysis patients, it makes sense that it would have low levels of both. Most of the other protein shakes listed have lots of both, assuming NA for P means at least 40% DV. If I wanted to keep both K and P low, then I’m stuck with Nepro or Ensure Original/Plus/High Protein. If I had to get something else, I guess Boost is a viable option, except it’s made by Nestlé, the evil food corporation.
I wish Orgain would detail how much P there is per serving since everything else looks okay. The ingredients for the Clean Protein Shake includes sodium phosphate, magnesium phosphate, and tricalcium phosphate. Usually if there are several ingredients with something phosphate, there’s probably a lot of P in the product. There also seems to be a sale on Muscle Milk since it’s only $0.77 per carton. Maybe I can buy it for my mom since her kidneys are fine so the high levels of P and K is okay.
The best option is probably to eat well balanced meals so I don’t need to drink protein shakes. That’s not that easy now that I’m working again. Often, none of the food choices look appetizing to me. Also, it’s hard to figure out nutritional information for my parent’s home Chinese cooking.
Life with chronic diseases 
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