At last! As a diabetic, I've been searching for a diet drink or bar that was low in sugar and tasted better than castor oil. I've tried several (two of which I wrote Epinions about) and have been sorely disappointed each time.

Many of the so-called Diet foods are bad jokes for diabetics. Slim-Fast and many other brands contain up to 30g of sugar per serving. If you are diabetic or you're related to one, you know how useless these products are for you or your loved one. The same holds true for many "Health" cereals that are full of sugar.

I was looking through the diet food section of my local HEB grocery store when I spied the following phrase on a box: "For People With Diabetes." The product inside the box was a Shake under the brand name "Glucerna" from the makers of Ensure (also generally with a high sugar content). I searched for the nutrition facts and found the following:

Calories: 220 for the 8 ounce can (fairly high)
Total Fat: 11g or 17% of the Daily Value (again fairly high)
Saturate Fat: 1g or 5% of Daily Value (acceptable)
Cholesterol: less than 5 mg (excellent)
Sodium: 210mg or 9% DV (acceptable)
Total Carbohydrate 22g or 7%
Sugars: 4g (not too bad if you are careful with other sugar intake)
Protein: 10g or 20% DV (good)

Glucerna is also chock full of 24 essential vitamins including 100% of your daily Vitamins C and E requirements. All other vitamins and minerals listed include at least 25% of your daily requirements.

The product is designed for dietary management of people with diabetes.

So far, so good. Now for the real test: The Taste Test. The shakes I bought were chocolate flavored (they also come in Vanilla and Butter Pecan) and I was instructed to chill the shake before I drank it. I did this plus I put a small amount of ice in a glass.

The moment of truth arrived. My initial reaction is pure joy. It tastes great. Chocolate with no bitter aftertaste. Just after that first taste, there is a slight medicinal taste so I am apprehensive that this is another foul tasting substitute that diabetics have to settle for. The second taste was excellent and for some reason not understood by me had no bad aftertaste. In fact, the rest of the shake was wonderful. Maybe not Ben & Jerry's wonderful but better by far than anything else I've tried.

For the serious diabetic (as opposed the humorous ones?), the exchange rate is as follows:

1 1/2 Starch
1 Lean Meat
1 1/2 Fat

I salute Ensure for finally producing a product that is both low in sugar and delicious. Of course, I can't go overboard on these shakes but it's sure nice to know that they are there for an occasional treat.

Recommended: Yes