I am often leery of the products I see advertised on TV for
kids. One of them I have seen a lot lately is for PediaSure. So I
decided to check the ingredients list and nutrition label. It was at that
point that I asked myself, why would anyone give this stuff to their
kids? Answer: Because advertisers do a great job of marketing.
PediaSure is basically water, milk and sugar with some chemicals
and other nasties. Here's the ingredients list for PediaSure Strawberry Ready
to Drink:
Water, Sugar, Corn Maltodextrin, Milk Protein Concentrate, High
Oleic Safflower Oil, Canola Oil, Whey Protein Concentrate. Less than 0.5% of
the Following: Soy Protein Isolate, Short-Chain Fructooligosaccharides,
Cellulose Gel, Magnesium Phosphate, Natural & Artificial Flavor, Potassium
Chloride, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium
Phosphate, Tuna Oil, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Soy
Lecithin, Monoglycerides, Potassium Hydroxide, m-Inositol, Carrageenan,
Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, L-Carnitine, Zinc
Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Niacinamide, FD&C Red #3, Manganese Sulfate,
Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Lutein,
Cupric Sulfate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Chromium Chloride, Biotin,
Sodium Selenate, Sodium Molybdate, Potassium Iodide, Phylloquinone, Vitamin D3,
and Cyanocobalamin.
Whew! Notice the artificial flavors, FD&C Red #3 (food
dye), and dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl (synthetic Vitamin E). Since I am not an
expert at reading food labels, I can only assume that if the Vitamin E is
synthetic, so are the other vitamins. This list is enough for me to know
that I would never feed Pediasure to my grandchildren.
Fortunately, I have found an excellent meal supplement. It's
called Meal Shake and it's from Shaklee. You won't find artificial flavors, dyes or
synthetic vitamins in this product. It comes in Vanilla and Bavarian
Cocoa (very yummy) flavors. I gave it to my boys when they needed extra
calories during their sports seasons. It's also excellent for picky eaters,
providing 19 essential vitamins and minerals.
I
have said it before and I will say it again. Advertisers get paid to sell
stuff. And they are very good at it. So it's up to us as wise
consumers to really listen to what they are saying and then check it out.
Don't be fooled by terms like "for baby" or "pediatrician
approved." Take a look at the "#1 choice of
pediatricians" (AKA Dreft.) It contains chemicals like Propylene Glycol;
which is an immune system toxin, neurotoxin, reproductive toxin, respiratory
toxin, and skin toxin. But I digress...
By
now I am sure you get my point. I just want us all to be smart shoppers,
especially when it comes to making safe & healthy choices for our kids!
