What's with the Sugar in Shakeology Superfood Protein Powder?

All the Details About the Sugar in Shakeology Protein Powder

Shakeology is touted as a superfood loaded protein powder shake that is your daily dose of dense nutrition all in one glass. Then why is there sugar in Shakeology?

We know sugar is bad for us. So how could they include it in such a high quality health product?

In this post you will learn everything you every wanted to know about all of your questions about the sugar in Shakeology. Where it comes from, it’s glycemic index ratings, and how it affects your body.

**This post probably contains affiliate links to products that I own and love and am confident will benefit you immensely. You can read the full disclosure here.**

My Doubts About the Sugar in Shakeology

My doubts were huge. In fact if you are here and questioning the sugar content of Shakeology I can guarantee that I asked every single question you are thinking AND MORE!

I have a few different certifications in nutrition, it is something that I am passionate about. I write about it, teach about it, and am overall just care very deeply about nutrition!

So I know that sugar is the “white killer.” Sugar negatively affects so much more than your waistline! It can directly affect your morbidity and mortality.

Our modern day foods are absolutely inundated with sugars. White sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and dozens of other forms of sugar are in almost every prepackaged food.

Even your pasta sauce and granola bars contain sugar.

It is addictive, and it is everywhere!

But not all sugars are created equal. Which is why it is even more important to learn about the type of sugar that you will be consuming every single day, as with a daily protein powder.

Shakeology is high priced (and for good reason! Head over here if you want to learn more about the nutritents and value in Shakeology) but originally that made me question the sugar content even more.

I expect a cheap store shelf protein powder to be loaded with gobs of sugar or even sucralose in an attempt to make deceptive “sugar free” healthy food claims.

But I wouldn’t expect it in a superfood shake costing over $100 a bag!

Things I wondered about the sugars in Shakeology:

How could Shakeology be construed as a health food when it contains sugar?
How can you claim this protein powder is better than those that omit sugar from their ingredients?
Why do thousands of people including it’s creators swear by the life changing health benefits and ingredients in this protein shake? Isn’t the sugar ruining it?
Wouldn’t no sugar be better for your health?
Why is there so much sugar in Shakeology?
Will this sugar bloat me and cause water weight gain… as other sugar sources do for me?

So I did my research, SO MUCH RESEARCH:

got all the answers, and now drink Shakeology every day!

So in case you have your doubts, questions, and disbeliefs like me, I’m here to fill you in with more details than you can find anywhere else about the sugar in “Shakeo”.

And of course you will want to know all my best tricks to save big on your Shakeology too! You can save up to $50 using my tips.

How Much Sugar is in Shakeology?

First know that there is not so much sugar in Shakeology. Each serving only contains 7g of sugar.

Except the Cafe Latte flavor, which contains 8 grams of sugar per serving.

In a typical diet in 2020, that doesn’t sound like much at all. But coming from someone who eats no sugar other than fruit (me), 7 grams sounds like an awful lot.

To put it in comparison:

A medium banana contains 14 grams of sugar
An apple contains 19 grams of sugar
A cup of orange juice contains 21 grams of sugar

The amount of sugar in Shakeology superfood shake is comparable to a small yogurt cup. It really isn’t THAT much, but to me it sure felt like it was if I’m spending a pretty penny on a product!

It is recommended that women consume no more than 6 teaspoons or 25 grams a day and men should have no more than 9 teaspoons or 36 grams per day.

6 teaspoons sounds like NOTHING… and that is 25 grams of sugar!

Doing the simple math, IF the sugar in Shakeology was entirely cane sugar (which it is not hardly, we’ll get into the math of that later) it would still be less than 2 teaspoons per serving.

That’s like a hefty sprinkling at best.

What Type of Sugar is in Shakeology?

There are 4 types of sweeteners and two types of sugar in Shakeology.

Even the vanilla flavor of Shakeology is very sweet, and with such a low sugar content you might be wondering how they get it to taste that way.

Shakeology contains stevia leaf extract and monk fruit extract. Both are calorie-free superfoods that are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar! They ARE NOT artificial sweeteners.

They are not chemicals or laboratory creations like aspartame and sucralose. This is straight plants.

So why a sugar blend instead of just stevia and monk fruit?

While those two sugar alternatives are phenomenal choices to lower calories and sugars in your foods while enhancing your health, their flavor can turn many people off.

They are super sweet, but don’t taste quite like sugar and have a mild bitter aftertaste.

But when blended with a bit of real sugar, even those with a huge sweet tooth often can’t tell the difference when much of the sugar is replaced with stevia or monk fruit. Making you food far healthier, and equally as delicious.

The 2 Types of Sugars in Shakeology

The two actual sources of sugar in Shakeology are pure organic cane sugar and fructose. Organic cane sugar is basically “sugar in the raw.”

It is what you get from the pure sugar cane plant before all the processing and bleaching to create what we picture when we think of sugar.

Sugar cane in it’s pure naturally brown form actually has nutrients in it! When we bleach and heavily process sugar those nutrients of course are obliterated.

So organic sugar cane is actually a good source of some vitamins like vitamin C, vitamin B2, magnesium, iron, potassium, and phosphorus.

Who knew right?!

I surely didn’t. Much like wheat and corn… it was originally full of nutrients until we processed and changed it so much that the food is hardly recognizable and stripped of it’s original nutrients and benefits.

The second form of sugar in Shakeology is fructose. You probably know that fructose is fruit sugar. There are a lot of fruit superfoods in Shakeology and I assume the fructose is directly coming from them.

Just some of the superfood fruits in Shakeo are:

acerola
bilberry
blueberry
camu-camu

Fructose is mostly directly changed into glucose and utilized by the body. The remaining glucose is stored in the liver and used later, typically none is converted into adipose fat in humans.

So who knew… sugar doesn’t have to be all that bad!

But there’s lots more to know:

so KEEP READING!

What is the Glycemic Index Rating of Shakeology?

The Glycemic Index is a way that we rate the sugars in food in relation to how they are used in the body and how much they will spike your blood sugars. The GI is a rating from 0 to 100, with 100 representing pure glucose.

The GI rating represents the rise in blood glucose after 2 hours of consuming a certain food.

So basically, if a food has a high GI it will spike your blood sugars and give you a burst of energy and then a “crash.” A food with a low GI rating will provide you with slower sustained energy and blood sugar levels and the sugars are better utilized by the body.

When we’re talking sugars, it’s a good idea to know the glycemic index rating of your foods.

When Shakeology had it’s GI tested at Glycemic Index Laboratories it came back with an impressive rating of only 24!

To put that in perspective:

an apple has a GI of 38
lowfat yogurt has a GI of 33
peanuts have a GI of 14
a banana has a GI of 52 (source)

So a GI rating of 24 is insanely impressive!

You won’t be getting a sugar rush, a blood sugar spike, or the typical sugar bloat.

How much cane sugar vs. fructose is in Shakeology?

The creators of Shakeology won’t tell us their secret exact amounts of cane sugar vs. fructose to get their delicious flavor, but we can do a little math and make a pretty good guess.

Cane sugar (sucrose) has a GI rating of 65
Fructose has a GI rating of 19.

Of course all the other many ingredients and superfoods in Shakeo each have their own GI rating, resulting in the VERY low rating of Shakeology, but when mathematically comparing just the sugars:

Shakeology probably contains around 1 gram of cane sugar and 6 grams of fructose considering the GI raking for each of the two ingredients, and the resulting GI ranking of Shakeology. It’s just math.

So in case the organic cane sugars are still turning you off. Know that there is probably only about 1 gram of cane sugar in each serving of Shakeology.

Why is the Sugar in Shakeology Different than Sugar in Most Foods?

When you look at a high price tag and an ingredient list that has what we all fear, SUGAR you want to call shenanigans.

But if you do your research, this is not really what we think of as sugar at all.

This is a combination of pure organic cane sugar still containing its essential nutrition, and a bit of sugar sourced directly from fruits.

Your body is going to use it up and won’t get a sugar rush, blood sugar spike, OR fat from it at all.

There really should be more detail on ingredient labels. They are deceptive in many ways.

Originally, it wasn’t in the plan to add sugar to Shakeology at all. But due to having such a plethora of health foods in it, some sugar had to be compromised into the ingredients to create a pleasing taste.

And they did not disappoint!

Is Shakeology Healthy?

Shakeology’s tagline is “your daily dose of dense nutrition” and that’s exactly what it is.

In one glass of Shakeology you are getting probiotics, prebiotics, adaptogens, antioxidants, digestive enzymes, greens, 9 servings of fruits and vegetables, and dozens and dozens of superfoods.

Getting that amount of nutrition from other supplements or foods would cost a fortune. In fact, I was able to eliminate so many of my supplements by adding Shakeology into my diet that I am saving over $50 a month!

Here you can read ALL the details of what is in Shakeology and if it’s worth the price tag.

Where Can I Get Shakeology?

This is one product that you need to try for yourself to believe.

I say that because I was a nay-sayer at first too.

But I’ve done the research, I’ve tried the product, and I can attest to how impressive it is!

AND you can try it RISK FREE.

That’s right, they have a bottom of the bag guarantee!

If for any reason you aren’t loving Shakeology within the first 30 days, you can get all your money back, even if the bag is completely empty.

Because they know their product is awesome.

Ready to give it a try? Click here to get your Shakeo now!

And of course you will want to know all my best tricks to save big on your Shakeology too! You can save up to $50 using my tips.

Shakeology comes in whey or vegan options and the flavors are vanilla, chocolate, cafe latte, and strawberry.

Wrapping Up the Sugars in Shakeology

So now you know.

Those scary 7 grams of sugar on the label aren’t even that scary.

They are around a gram from organic cane sugar and around 6 grams of fructose, from fruit.

Shakeology’s glycemic index rating is a 26, which is REALLY low. Attesting to their excellent choice in selection of sweeteners and the entire protein shake’s formulation.

That low GI rating will provide you with sustained energy and low blood sugar levels.

And any sugar in the product will be utilized by the body, not stored as fat, because of the TYPE of sugar it is.

Get yourself a Shakeology sample pack NOW!

What’s with the Sugar in Shakeology Superfood Protein Powder?