What is it?
HMR Shakes are a brand of meal replacement shakes marketed as vitamin and mineral rich solution for weight loss. They contain low amounts of calories and fats, and claim to be physician recommended for over 30 years.
There are 4 different kinds of shakes offered, HMR 12, HMR 70 plus, HMR 500, and HMR 800. Some have fewer calories, more protein, no lactose, or they’re available in single serving packages. Each version is offered in either vanilla or chocolate. Our experts have rated many different meal replacement shakes and they found the most nutritious and effective for appetite suppression is 18Shake. This meal replacement has 15 grams of whey protein and 5 grams of fiber for hours of hunger satisfaction. To learn more information about the benefits of 18Shake, click on the link here.
HMR Shakes Ingredients and Side Effects
Here are the ingredients to their original HMR shake:
Nonfat Dry Milk |
Maltodextrin |
Natural Flavor |
Artificial Flavor |
Xanthan Gum |
Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose |
Dried Egg White |
Sodium Saccharin |
Sucrose |
Lecithin |
Magnesium Oxide |
Potassium Chloride |
Vitamin A Palminate |
Phytonadione |
Vitamin D3 |
Nonfat Dry Milk: Evaporated dairy product which is also free of any fat. It’s a low calorie source of calcium and vitamin d.
Due to its processing it often comes from China, where there have been issues with contamination in the past.
There have been concerns about the lack of accountability and safety because pasteurization does not kill all bacteria. Some batches of this ingredient have been shown to be contaminated with melamine, which can be potentially fatal.
Artificial Flavor: This man made ingredient is added to help mimic a natural flavor. It can be extracted from many things including common allergens such as wheat, soy, dairy, corn, and other foods. Because of the way it’s processed, it often retains a flavor for a long time without perishing.
There has been concern over possible side effects due to the issue of not knowing where it’s extracted from. The FDA does not require companies to list where their artificial flavors are sourced from.
Click the link provided here to see a top 10 ranked list of the best meal replacement shakes.
Sodium Carboxymethylcellulose: Cellulose used as a thickener and stabilizer to things like laxatives, tooth paste, paper products, and other goods. A clinical study by the International Weekly Journal of Science known as Nature said:
“disturbance of microbiota-host relationship is associated with numerous chronic inflammatory diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and the group of obesity-related diseases”
It has been shown to be harmful and it may lead to serious diseases. They also said:
“might be contributing to an increased societal incidence of obesity/metabolic syndrome”
This additive has been shown to be potentially damaging to the immune system as well as having a harmful effect on metabolism.
Dried Egg White: Pasteurized egg whites which are treated to prevent food borne illness. They contain fewer nutrients than egg yolk, though they offer higher protein.
Sodium Saccharin: Artificial sweetener which is on average much sweeter than standard sucrose. The Center for Science in the Public Interest warned consumers that it can be possible carcinogenic. This means it can potentially lead to cancer.
It may also lead to weight gain as Live Strong.com adds:
“may increase the risk of obesity”
This is due because:
“sweet taste of saccharin signals to your body that it is about to receive a high amount of calories… when these calories do not come, your body may become resistant to this response, which can promote fat storage and weight gain”
It also has been shown to be potentially damaging to insulin sensitivity, which can lead to diabetes.
Sucrose: Common simple carbohydrate which is a sugar source. It can potentially lead to tooth decay and metabolism disorder. There are other issues as well as Live Strong.com adds:
“sucrose can cause a sharp increase in blood sugar that is often followed by sharp decrease… often affects mood, causing sudden bouts of irritability and fatigue’
This can often affect weight gain as well as the same group adds:
“releasing glucose in the blood faster than it can be burned. Glucose not used for energy is stored as fat. Sucrose can also trigger strong sweet cravings, causing you to eat more than you intend to”
These effects make it a poor choice as a sweetener for a weight loss meal replacement shake. For a list of the highest rated meal replacements click the link cited here.
HMR Shakes Quality of Ingredients
There are some unwanted ingredients such as artificial flavors, cheap thickeners and sweeteners, and cheap milk protein. The kinds of additives used have been shown to be potentially dangerous.
The sweeteners are known to cause weight gain in large amounts, and the manufacturers fail to list how much sugar they add to their shakes. This additive should be limited as much as possible as it has no nutritional benefit, and is only added to sweeten these shakes.
There’s also a lack of information about the full ingredient dosage strength for all the additives. This makes it impossible to determine the overall quality.
Since there are many cheap additives in unknown strength which may cause weight gain, it makes this an overall poor quality meal replacement. Click the link here for a top 10 ranked meal replacement list.
The Price and Quality of HMR Shakes
Sales have to be made through a distributor or via joining the company’s comprehensive diet plan. There are no quoted prices on the official website however, one has to provide personal information before determine if it’s priced fairly.
There are some sellers on Amazon.com providing these shakes. With an average price of $33.50 per 12 serving canister. At 2 shakes a day this averages to a price of $5.58. This is pricy, and it’s unknown if it’s a fair price since no prices are available on the official website.
The overall quality of these shakes is poor due to the cheap sweeteners, thickeners, and artificial flavors. Much of the actually effective ingredients can be purchased for cheaper elsewhere. The actually useful additives are dried egg white and nonfat dry milk, both low in cost via supermarkets.
The overall quality of these shakes is poor due to all the cheap additives and the unknown official price. Our expert compiled list of the highest rated meal replacements is offered in the link here.
Business of HMR Shakes
The company is known as HMR Weight Management Service Corp. They can be contacted via the following:
Phone Number: (617) 357-9690
Address: 99 Summer Street Suite 1200
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
No FDA or FTC complaints have been reported, though there is also a lack of a Better Business Bureau listing.
Customer Opinions of HMR Shakes
Here are some direct quotes taken from customer reviews:
“it caused embarrassing flatulence”
“There are severe side effects not limited to sleeplessness, flatulence, dizziness, fainting, extreme confusion, hair loss, and loss of attention span”
“HMR Shakes are NOT healthy”
“NOT healthy way to lose weight. I ended up fainting on my neighbor’s front lawns and the paramedic hauled me off to the emergency room”
Those who received thee shakes noticed how there was a significant amount of sugar. One customer noted there was a total of 14 grams of sugar per serving in one brand of shake.
There have also been extreme side effects which are uncommon to meal replacements. Some have experienced nausea, gas, headaches, fatigue, and other kinds of side effects.
There was also concern about the overall nutritional profile, with some adding how it’s not healthy to drink shakes with these ingredients. To see a listing of the top ranked meal replacements click on the link here.
Conclusion – Does HMR Shakes Work?
HMR Shakes are available in 4 different forms, each one claiming to provide a nutritionally well-rounded vitamin and mineral profile. There is no available information about the total strength of each ingredient, since there is no nutrition facts label offered. Customers have complained about both a lack of weight loss and an increase of side effects. There have been issues as well with the high amount of sugar added, which one brand has an exceptionally high 14 grams in one serving. Many of the ingredients are cheap and may actually be unhealthy and contributing to weight gain. This includes cheap sweeteners, thickens, an artificial flavors.
Our experts have rated many meal replacements and the highest rated one overall was 18Shake. This meal replacement is high in whey protein and fiber which can help suppress appetite for hours. It also has only 1 gram of sugar from all natural stevia. There are no artificial colors, flavors, binders, or cheap additive included. The official website also hosts customer testimonials and reviews from satisfied users.
18Shake is supported by an entire 30 day money back return policy. This guarantee is offered with no questions asked for the whole 30 days. To learn more about the benefits of 18Shake click the link provided here.