Boost, one of the most popular health drinks for kids in India, is filled with 17 essential nutrients that focus mainly on improving your kid’s overall stamina and health. Having said so, adults can also consume Boost as it is filled with nutrients and boosts your overall stamina. Advertised by the tagline “Boost is the secret of my energy” and endorsed by famous cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, this health drink has become immensely popular and consumed all over India. Boost is manufactured and marketed by Hindustan Unilever in India.
So today, in this article we will be reviewing Boost by analyzing its ingredients, nutritional value and claims made by the brand. Also, we will be clarifying whether it is safe for kids and adults. Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
Ingredients in Boost health drink
- Malted Barley
- Sugar
- Wheat Flour
- Milk Solids
- Minerals
- Wheat Gluten
- Natural Colour (Ins 150C)
- Acidity Regulators (Ins 501(Ii), Ins 500(Ii))\
- Glucose
- Salt
- Cocoa Powder
- Vitamins
- Soy Protein Isolate
- Nature Identical Flavouring Substances
Nutritional Information of Boost
Nutrition | Amount |
Energy | 373Kcal |
Fat | 2.5g |
Carbohydrate | 80g |
Sugar | 9.5g |
Protein | 7.5g |
Along with this Boost is also rich in certain vitamins and minerals. The amount of vitamins and minerals present in 100g Boost are as follows.
Boost Health Drink Review – Analyzing claims and ingredients
3x more stamina?
Boost’s packaging mentions 3x stamina which generally means that this product provides you with 3 times more stamina. According to the packaging, the secret of their 3x stamina is due to the presence of energy-rich cereal, the goodness of milk, and required vitamins and minerals. Let’s analyze if these claims made by boost are real or not.
Energy-rich cereal
Boost contains cereal extracts (name not specified), barley, malted barley, wheat and millets (name not specified). Malted barley provides us with extra energy and is very easy to digest. But except for this, I couldn’t find out any other ingredients that can provide you with extra energy. Also, the name of millets used in this health drink is again not specified. Compared to Horlicks or Bournvita, I could not find any big difference which can provide you with 3 times more stamina. Only the presence of malted barley alone cannot make such a difference.
Goodness of milk
You might be thinking that Boost contains a lot of milk. But to be honest this is not the case. Boost contains 8.8% milk solids which are very low. The protein content of 100g Boost is 7.5g. One serving of Boost is 20g. So basically from one serving of Boost health drink, you are getting not more than 1.5g of protein. Now if you mix Boost with milk, then this statement gets justified as milk has its nutritive value.
Vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals are extremely required especially if your child is into any type of sport. Boost contains various types of B complex vitamins. B complex vitamins are water-soluble vitamins that play a vital role in maintaining your stamina, metabolism and overall growth. If you give 1 serving of Boost to your child, it fulfills almost 40-50% of Vitamin B requirements. So this is a great point about Boost. Along with this, Boost contains Iodine, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper and other minerals which are also required by your body regularly. The other vitamins present in Boost are in good amounts as well. The only disappointing point in this section is the amount of Vitamin D (0.2%) present in Boost. Vitamin D is extremely required when your child is into any type of sports and also the only natural source of Vitamin D is sunlight (when exposed to sunlight your skin makes Vitamin D from cholesterol). So in this case, Boost could have increased the Vitamin D content.
Daily requirement fulfillment
Although the daily requirement of protein can never be fulfilled by drinking Boost alone, the amount of other minerals present in Boost almost fulfills their consecutive daily requirement. For example, 1 serving of Boost fulfills almost 50% of your Vitamin B daily requirement, 50% of your daily iron requirement, 85% of your daily requirement of Vitamin C and 35% of your daily requirement of Vitamin A. If your child is into any type of sports, then the calcium content comes into play. 1 serving of Boost fulfills 18% of your child’s daily requirement of Calcium. But serving it with milk fulfills almost 55% of your child’s daily Calcium requirement.
Amount of sugar
100g of Boost contains about 19g of sugar which is quite moderate compared to other health drinks in India. If calculated further 1 serving of Boost has 5g of sugar (1 tablespoon) which is quite low. This is another great plus point of Boost.
Cocoa powder
Another great point of Boost health drink is the presence of cocoa powder. Generally, chocolate health drinks use artificial flavors and sweeteners to produce a chocolaty taste. But Boost directly uses cocoa powder to achieve the taste. This point sort of impressed me a lot.
Natural color 150c
As everything cannot be perfect in a product, here comes natural color 150c. Boost mentions the presence of natural color 150c which contains ammonia. Any foods that contain 150c can lead to side effects like cancer, destruction of DNA and decreased immune function if consumed in large amounts. But the amount of natural color 150c present in Boost is in permissible amount. This health drink could have been considered perfect for kids if this natural color would have been replaced by 150a.
Acidity regulators 500 and 501
Boost mentions the presence of acidity regulators 500 and 501. These acidity regulators are types of baking soda and are not harmful to your health. Acidity regulators are generally added to health drinks to improve the shelf life and taste of the drink.
Emulsifier 412
Emulsifier 412 also known as guar gum works as a fiber in your body. It is considered safe for your health but people who are allergic to guar gum should avoid it as it would lead to the formation of gas and acidity.
Packaging
The packaging of Boost seems attractive and full of information. Yes, some are marketing strategies but some are also entirely true as well. The packaging seems travel-friendly as well. The problem lies in the storage. The packaging does not remain air-tight after breaking the seal. The powder gets stuck on the lid and forms lumps as it is not air-tight. So it is advisable to keep the Boost powder in a separate air-tight container or in an air-sealed packet to make it lump-free.
Pricing
The pricing of Boost health drink is also very affordable and right up to the mark. The 500g jar pack costs you around Rs 269 whereas the 1 kg container costs you around Rs 480.
Review
So overall, Boost is a health drink that is worth it. Most points about this health drink are positive. The only downside is the amount of protein present in it and the usage of natural color 150c. Except for these two points, everything seems perfect to me. If your child is into any sorts of sports then you can definitely give Boost to your child to increase his/her stamina levels. Along with this, a balanced diet is also similarly important because a health drink can never fulfill your child’s 100% daily requirement of nutrients.
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