Anyone interested in nutrition and fitness will know the importance of protein. It's essential for building, maintaining and repairing muscles, skin, hair and bones – and the more active you are, the more protein you'll need. Our bodies don't store protein so we need to make sure we're getting enough on a daily basis. It's better to spread our intake throughout the day so our bodies can use it as they need it.
Upbeat Drinks offered me the chance to review their range of dairy-based protein drinks and I was happy to do so as I'm always looking for clever ways to get more protein (I love the stuff). The drinks come in four different flavours – mango & passion fruit, strawberry, blueberry & raspberry and chocolate & orange. I'd describe them as a cross between a fruit smoothie and a milkshake.
Before putting anything into my
body, I always check the ingredients list. Upbeat doesn't score too
badly: it mainly consists of whey protein (from milk), fruit juices
and purees and some natural colours and flavourings. The only bad
thing I can see is that it contains sucralose (an artificial
sweetener) and for this reason I wouldn't recommend drinking it on a
daily basis.
The drinks do contain a significant
amount of protein – 20g per 250ml bottle, which is about a third of
most people's daily protein needs. All four flavours have fewer than
150 calories per bottle. They also taste a hell of a lot better than
most protein shakes on the market and are only made with fresh,
British milk. They'd make a good post-workout drink or a healthy
snack to keep you going until your next meal – much healthier than
a chocolate bar!
Upbeat dairy protein drinks retail
at £1.79 per bottle, which is slightly expensive for 250ml but do
offer a good protein hit for the money. You can find them in the
dairy aisle of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Holland & Barrett, Waitrose,
The Co-Op and WHSmith. However...
I'm offering my awesome readers the chance to try Upbeat for yourselves (UK only). One lucky winner will receive a voucher for a FREE bottle of Upbeat, redeemable at any stockist, and I'll also send two runners-up some money off coupons. To enter, just leave a comment telling me which flavour you fancy trying if you win!
The competition is open until Monday 19th July when I will reveal the winners on Twitter at 7pm BST. Good luck!
Thanks
to Upbeat for sending me a selection of their drinks to review. If
you have a health/fitness/nutrition related product you'd like me to
review, you can either email me at nicspirational@gmail.com
or
contact me via Twitter.
I will aim to post my review within a week of receiving your product
and will always give my honest opinion.
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