There are several ways to gain weight with Absorb Plus Elemental Diet Shakes – and the methods differ depending on whether you need to keep the shakes elemental (enteral diet) or whether you can add regular foods and liquids to the shakes (semi-elemental diet or simply as a supplement to regular food).
Weight gain with Elemental Liquid diet shakes
If you are using Absorb Plus as an elemental liquid diet shake, you can increase the calories per shake by simply adding as much flax or udo oil as you tolerate (up to 1.5 tbsp per shake). This keeps the shake elemental (pre-digested) but increases the amount of calories per shake to 540 per shake. Then simply drink as many shakes per day as you can fit in (maximum 12). When I was on the IBD remission diet, I drank 8 to 9 shakes a day and increased my weight from 40kg to 60kg within 6 weeks (muscle training – gym training and cycling). The quick way to find out how many shakes you need to drink each day to gain weight is to simply start with 6 shakes a day and increase until you notice weight gain (the more shakes you drink, the faster you will gain weight).
**Note: Many readers have written to us asking if they can add more than the recommended scoop amount to their shakes – and if there are any downsides to doing so. In my book, The IBD Remission Diet, I talk about why I formulated Absorb Plus to contain about 27 grams of protein per serving. I based this calculation on the protein intake of bodybuilders. Because if you consume more proteins than your body can use, it will excrete it through urine. Therefore, I recommend my readers not to consume more than 1 shake per hour for efficient protein utilization. And be sure to drink your shakes slowly to ensure maximum nutrient retention/utilization!
Weight gain with a semi-element diet or the use of supplement shakes
If you don’t have to follow a strict elemental diet, you can mix Absorb Plus with other liquids, increasing the calorie count of each shake even further. I don’t use soy milk (too much estrogen, affects thyroid function and inhibits mineral absorption) or rice milk (high glycemic index). But there are several other great options you can take advantage of:
1. Raw cow, camel or goat milk – unpasteurized milk from pasture-fed (not grain-fed) cows, goats or camels. Raw milk from goats or camels seems to be better tolerated than raw milk from cows. But raw milk from cows that is processed into yogurt is often well tolerated.
2. Almond milk – If you are using store-bought products, try to find a brand without carrageenan (large amounts cause colitis in rats) as a thickener and make sure it is organic. Best of all, you can make your own almond milk and then even add some of the leftover almond pulp to your Absorb Plus shake to add even more healthy protein and fiber.
3. Coconut milk – There are now several great options for organic coconut milk in different flavors in stores. Or you can make your own recipe using this recipe from one of my readers (Jonathan F.):
“What you need is a high speed blender (I have a Vitamix) and a cotton drip bag. I put 3 cups of filtered water in the blender and then add 1.5 cups of flaked or shredded coconut, preferably organic. I blend on high for three to four minutes, pour it into my cheesecloth bag and squeeze out the coconut milk. Once I have it in a container, I store it in my fridge, and “It makes about four shakes for me. The coconut milk separates but can be strained or stirred to make a more homogeneous liquid. Since it is rich, I use about half a cup of milk with water to get the required 8 ounces and then follow Jini’s instructions for AbsorbPlus.”
Jonathan says when he uses this homemade coconut milk along with Udo’s oil, he consumes about 650 calories per shake:
“I have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease for 16 years. My symptoms follow the normal progression, the cycles of normal health and terrible illness, with everything in between. I am now in a period of healing and one of the products I have used is Absorb Plus, with the main goal of gaining weight. Over the Christmas holidays I was given five cans as gifts from various family members, all of whom have done their part to help me. Since then I have gained about 15 pounds. I started taking the shakes use, and as anyone with Crohn’s disease knows, you feel that little feeling of triumph every time you step on the scale and the needle goes up.
One thing I think us Crohn’s people are obsessed with is calories, but we need to make sure the calories we eat are nutrient dense. One way to up the calories for myself is to definitely use Udo’s oil as a supplement, but also to mix up my own homemade coconut milk to use as a “medium.” After a little research, I calculated that my single-serve shakes are around 650 calories. This obviously helps with weight gain, but I also know that the shake has a wonderful balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Thank you for the product, I really love the taste.
Although these may seem expensive, you get a significant nutritional boost by adding the oil. My weight gain was a blessing and now my wife is teaching me yoga. I look forward to better health.”
4. Coconut water – Did you know that coconut water is so similar in composition to our blood plasma that it can be used intravenously when the correct blood type for a transfusion is not available? Common sense tells you that if we drink it too, it must be healthy for us! I recently tested about 7 different brands of coconut water and my favorite (for taste, healthy packaging, quick heating) is Zico.
Now of course it would be ideal if you could get your own green coconuts, cut the top off and drink the water raw – and that’s what I’ll be doing every day for two weeks when I travel to Mexico next week! But ANY sap once taken from the plant has a maximum lifespan of the enzyme of 3 days. Everything sold in a store (unless it’s frozen) is pasteurized in some way, and short-term pasteurization (heated and cooled in seconds, rather than over a longer period of time, and then poured cool into the containers) seems to be the best option at the moment.
Unfortunately, coconut water doesn’t increase your calorie count by much (only 43 calories per 8-ounce serving), but if you mix it half and half with coconut milk, almond milk, or raw milk, you can reap the benefits of both, and mixing also works well for those who can’t yet tolerate the heaviness of milk. Of course, don’t forget to add the udo or linseed oil too.
5. Add Fruit – Many of my readers enjoy adding a banana to their Absorb Plus shake, along with one of the healthy milks mentioned above and Udo’s or flaxseed oil. This means that the number of calories per shake is well over 650 per shake.
Remember the clinical trial that showed a semi-elemental diet kept 65% of testers flare-free for two years? So if you can’t afford to drink enough Absorb Plus shakes per day to achieve a pure Elemental diet, you’ll probably still get good results from drinking some Elemental shakes and mixing the rest with other nutrients to increase the calorie count (so that means fewer shakes needed per day overall = cheaper cost).
We also had a reader write about his success with a half-element diet – you can read all about it here. 🙂
If you’ve discovered any other tricks or have shake recipes you’d like to share, please post them below!
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
