Update 7/30/19. When I first heard about Ensure Clinical Strength, also called Ensure Revigor and Ensure Muscle Health, I was intrigued. I was intrigued because Ensure Muscle Health contains a very interesting ingredient called HMB, which several studies have shown can reduce muscle tissue breakdown. Because many people (but not all) drink Ensure because they are either older and have a poor appetite, or are sick and can't eat much, to me, the addition of HMB sounded like such a win-win combination. In this review, let's take a look at HMB and then Ensure Muscle Health with HMB so you can get a better idea of it's right for you.
What is HMB?
HMB stands for beta hydroxy betamethyl buterate.
Small amounts of HMB are naturally created when we breakdown the amino acid leucine. So, you are making HMB all the time, just not very much of it. Leucine is one of the branch chain amino acids and is found in any “any food that had a mother” such as chicken, fish, steak, etc.
Studies show that HMB may help reduce muscle protein breakdown. As such, HMB was at one time popular among bodybuilders. Athletes however quickly stopped using this supplement after research started to show HMB worked best in beginners – not experienced weight lifters.
This fact is what made adding HMB to Ensure such an interesting idea to me. Most older adults and sick folks don't exercise very much – if at all. In theory, they would be prime candidates to benefit from HMB supplements.
People who have cancer, HIV and other serious illnesses often experience a muscle-wasting disease called cachexia. Research has shown that HMB might help reverse cachexia in some people when used in conjunction with the amino acids, arginine, and glutamine.
HMB can also be found on Amazon as a stand-alone supplement, for those who want to just take it without Ensure.
What's in Ensure Clinical Strength?
The Nutrition Facts Label for Ensure Revigor tells us it contains the following ingredients:
| Serving size | 1 bottle ( 8 oz) | Percent of daily value |
| Calories | 250 | |
| Calories from fat | 100 | |
| Total fat | 11 grams |
17% |
| Saturated fat | 1 gram |
5% |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 4 grams | |
| Monounsaturated fat | 6 grams | |
| Sodium | 240 milligrams |
10% |
| Potassium | 840 milligrams |
24% |
| Total carbs | 51 grams |
17% |
| Dietary fiber | 3 grams |
12% |
| Sugars | 20 grams | |
| Protein | 13 grams |
26% |
Notice Ensure has 250 calories. When I purchased Ensure for this review, my bottles said 350 calories. Thanks to one of the readers in the comments, I was alerted to the change to 250 calories.
While the label does not say how much HMB is in Ensure Muscle Health, I called Abbott Labs, the maker of Ensure and asked them. They told me that each bottle contains 1.5 grams of HMB. They recommend people use 2 bottles a day, which would give people a total of 3 grams of HMB. 3 grams of HMB is what has been used in many clinical studies to have positive effects.
The studies of HMB I mentioned above found that 3 grams of HMB worked best. This is why Abbott Labs recommends drinking 2 bottles of Ensure Revigor per day – to get the maximum effect of HMB.
Why Do They Call It Revigor?
To me, revigor sounds like the word reinvigorate. In other words, drinking Revigor will reinvigorate you. It's a catchy name.
Other Effects of HMB?
While most of the clinical research on HMB has been directed at testing how it might help decrease muscle breakdown, other studies have hinted that it may help lower cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. This is preliminary research only and will remain this way until other studies replicate these findings.
HMB Side Effects
HMB appears to be safe. No study to my knowledge has shown any negative side effects. That said, if you take any medicine (blood thinners etc), talk to your pharmacist and doctor.
What Does “Clinical Strength” Mean?
Since two bottles contain 3 grams of HMB – the amount used in clinical studies – I understand why they would call it clinical strength. And, its good marketing too.
Who Might Ensure Revigor Help?
I believe Ensure Revigor is probably best for people who:
1. Are older and do not exercise
2. Are older and just starting to exercise
3. Those who have cancer, HIV or other serious health issues
4. Anyone experiencing muscle-wasting conditions
Can You Take Ensure But Not Exercise?
Exercise has many benefits. Any physical activity you can do will help HMB work better.
Why Don't They Make Revigor Ensure Any More?
I have no idea. Ensure Revigor is no longer listed on the Abbott Labs website. When I called Abbott Labs, I was told it was a company decision to stop making Revigor. As an alternative they told me to look at Ensure High Protein. This version does not contain HMB.
Ensure Revigor: Closing Thoughts
I was saddened Abbott Labs no longer makes Ensure Revigor. It sounded like a good addition to the Ensure line up. I wish it was around when my 104-year-old grandmother was still alive. That said, Ensure is still a fine product and for those who want to add HMB to their shakes, this is possible. HMB comes in both powder and capsules. For those who don't like swallowing capsules, you can open them up and add them to food or any shake you like to drink.
51 grams of Carbohydrates? 20 grams of Sugar?
Ensure is a meal *replacement* not a supplement and not a good one. HMB is available in supplement form, without the filler, from several manufacturers (I typed in ‘HMB Supplement’ & found pages of them). The biggest bait and switch here is Ensure’s addition of all of that unhealthy carb filler on top of the touted supplement. Nowhere in the article they cite do they suggest any such add-ons are necessary or desirable.
Disclaimer: Since reading Gary Taubes’ Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, I’ve followed a low-carb diet and have had both significant fat loss (26 pounds in 6 weeks with little exercise at that time, due to a pulled muscle), great bp, Cholesterol & LDL stats, and a significant gain in muscle, with moderate exercise. I’m 59.
Joe…yeah I was going to look into trying out optimum nutrition’s HMB supplement ive heard good reviews about it…yes Ive been in physical therapy for around 8 months..I had surgery in OCT 2011…I am going to have another one here in a month or two I just feel like my muscles are wasting away…and I know you lose what you don’t use and I haven’t been able to have a really good workout in a while
Jake, one thing you might try is lower body workouts. Since the more muscle you use the more the anabolic response, this might help you maintain some upper body strength. Leg presses might best rather than squats /deadliffts because of your rotators. if possible you might also try chest press with one arm. When you work the opposite side of the body, it helps the other side retain some of its strength. not to the same degree but just a little bit. I’m sure your physical therapists are aware of this also so you can speak to them about it. Obviously you wont be able to lift as much with one limb so don’t try. Aim for high reps and muscle endurance and not strength/power (we don’t want the other rotator getting injured!).
Hey Joe…I am 21 years old and I have had one shoulder surgery already I am going to go in on another one to repair a torn rotator cuff. I used to work out 5 days a week, Im 6’3 and i was at 225lbs lean muscle but since the injury is really preventing me from lifting and all i have dropped a good amount of size I haven’t been able to hit the gym hard and wont be able to for a while so i was wondering would it be in my best interest to take the ensure with envigor?
Jake, I dont think Ensure with Revigor will help much. It wont hurt but I dont think it will help much either. Even with your rotator cuff injury it sounds to me as if you are in too good of shape. Depending on price you could always opt to try just HMB for a month and see if that helps (Im not sure it will but I thought Id mention it in case its cheaper).
Have you been to physical therapy? Are you doing your rotator cuff exercises? I know what rotator cuff pain is like, believe me. I empathize with you!
Hi Joe, I’m a 55year old male in reasonable shape. at 5’8″ I’ve maintained a 187lbs weight for most of my adult life. In the last 5 or 6 years I’ve been less active at work and play and now I’m down to 165lbs with noticeable loss of body mass. I’ve just started light weight training and was wondering, after reading your post if ensure was the proper way to go or is there another direction for me to take?
Michael, you said you were less active. If you are able to, I recommend you start an exercise program that includes – if possible – some sort of resistance training. Nothing fancy just a couple of exercise to strengthen your muscles and bones. I think that more than anything else would help. The ensure wont hurt but that alone wont increase your muscle mass. Get checked out by your doctor first since its been a while since you worked out just to be safe. Also look at how much protein you are eating.
If you are “healthy” the RDA for protein is 0.4 grams per pound, so at 165 your RDA is 165 x 0.4 = 66 grams of protein per day. Working out often requires a little bit more than this so if you are going to be working out regularly, I recommend about 0.6 grams per pound, which would put you at 165 x 0.6 =99 grams per day).
Even so, I think the exercise is the most important part of the this. I think if you take it slow and focus on being healthy that in time you should start to see some of the changes you are looking for.
Is this product not a massive rip off? Gee lets cut the necessary HMB in half and recommend 2 bottles a day. that is over $4 and 500 calories a day rediculous! Please comment.
Steve, what you say does make sense. I’ve noticed that Ensure also has a version that has higher protein than other types of the drink. I would have much rather seen Ensure add the extra protein and the HMB in one single drink. They dont do that and I believe its for the same reason you cited -to maximize profits.
Is there a reason they can’t increase the level of HMB’s in each bottle other than the fact that half the beneficial amount will increase sales for the Ensure makers?
Ronald, that’s one possibility and probably the best bet. I wonder if there is a limit on how much HMB we can absorb at a time? I’m not sure if there is or not. When in doubt the simplest answer – what you said – is probalby the correct answer 😉
Hi Joe,
I am a 21 year old female, who was very active in high school (volleyball, lacrosse, tennis, basketball) but now in the work force I have little/no time to workout at the gym. I live a half hour from any gym in my current residence. I purchased Ensure Muscle Health, and was hoping I could still benefit from it stretching/exercising at home. I don’t have any equipment, but I can do the usual (sit-ups, crunches, leg lifts) Will this product benefit me? Do you think this attempt will be a failure?
Michelle, what are your fitness goals? If its weight loss, I dont recommend Ensure as its too high in calories. Since you are younger and pretty active (your more active than you think), I dont think its a right fit for you. There are other protein shakes out there that might work better. I like RTD 51 which has 240 calories and 51 grams of protein. That’s a lot of protein for you but it also has 15 oz per can so it would fill you up.
All that said, you probalby dont need anything. I’d just eat food. If you want to add a shake in that’s fine but the food is the most important. You dont need to go to the gym to get a good workout. Do include some walking in your routine if you can and Id also say get a cheap pair of push up bars and start trying to do those. Push ups are a total body exercise. They can be hard in the beginning but, if your healthy, I see no reason why you can’t do them if 🙂
Joe, I am a 53 year old male. Former police officer and was very active and fit. In 2006 I was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis. I have continued to lose muscle like I left a faucet on.
I have tried experimental therapies per various doctors that nearly killed me due to side effects. I was wondering what your thoughts were in using this to aid the slowing of muscle loss?
Mike, its possible. Give it a try and see if it helps. I’d also combine it with a little more protein that Ensure has. You can get HMB at Vitamin Shoppe etc and bypass Ensure all together as well. You might also ask your doctor about HMB and see if there is a prescription form of it. I dont know if there is or isn’t but the idea that Abbott Labs – the maker of Ensure – is putting in their product makes me wonder if there might be a more higher potency version.
Joe…great stuff….so bottom line for someone like me – 55, that exercises 3-4 days/week, but is concerned about losing muscle, and does not want to gain weight – 170 now – is rather than use Ensure, make up my own shake with the ingredients you have mentioned – fruit, yogurt, protein powder – it will have less calories and do the same for my muscles. I guess the only other question is would there be any value to adding a little of the ensure to that shake for the HMB (my guess is no – because they say you need two bottles a day to have any effect – and that is way too many calories) — Brian
Brian, thanks. yes i think you can make your own shake thats just as good. I have not checked but I think HMB is pretty cheap. also since you work out as much as you do I dont think you need HMB. it works best in beginners. I dont know if it would benefit you or not. if you want to use a protein shake thats ready made I like RTD 51 which you can get at vitamin shoppe or GNC. that said if you make your own you can add fruit etc and make it even healthier
I am the Health, Wellness, and Beauty Advisor for Crossmark. I work at the Sam’s Club store in Catonsville MD. My job is to answer questions about products and help people make selections from the Health and Beauty department. We feature certain products each week and I did Ensure with Revigor last weekend. I ended up referring most of the customers over to the Premium Protein because they were not in the muscle wasting category. Plus I thought the Ensure had way too much sugar and carbs for a “normally” healthy person.
Interesting, I go to BJs and they dont have any service like you offer. Pretty neat!
Glad I found this article Joe. I had to feature the product Ensure Muscle Health with Revigor at work. I tried to find out what the revigor is but could not. I did notice the first two ingredients which are water and sugar. I have read that the first ingredients are what the products mostly consist of. Ensure does not impress me as something a normally healthy or overweight person should use as a protein supplement. As you pointed out, the high calorie and low volume content is made for the very specific purpose of keeping weight on and helping with a loss of appetite. Thanks for the information about the HMB. Is this supposed to be the Revigor?
Christallin, glad to help! What do you do at work that you had to feature Ensure Revigor? Sounds like a fun place to work 🙂 Yes Revigor is their name for the HMB ingredient. Im guessing they call it that because its supposed to re-invigorate muscles. You are right, the most plentiful ingredients are listed at the beginning of the list and the least plentiful at the end.
Is it okay if I take muscle milk and not workout? Some days when I am busy I won’t be able to but I will try to do some push ups.
One of my friends told me that protein shakes won’t be effective at all if you don’t work out.
Jman, its not that protein shakes wont be effective but they wont help you build muscle as much as if you do work out. They really are best used when you workout. Why dont you try to eat a little better until you have the time to work out and then do the protein shakes. I hope you are eating breakfast because that really does help you do better in school. You can get a cheap pair of push up bars at Walmart (they take the stress off your wrists) and that can be your workout until you decide to do other things. Do all this in small steps. start with trying to eat 3-4 small meals a day. include some protein in each meal. that can be a protein shake or it can be a couple of eggs with breakfast.
Hey Joe, I am a 20 yr old male and I weigh just 102 pounds. One of my friends recommended me Ensure to gain weight. I have never worked out before. I am planning to but college makes it hard for me to start working out. I eat healthy but I guess I am not eating right. I REALLY want to gain weight. What do you suggest I can do?
Jman, the Ensure wont help you but since its only about 6 oz can I suggest another protein shake like muscle milk or RTD 51. I like those better and the RTD 51 is 16 oz I believe so it will fill you up more. Its a preference in taste. you can always try the ensure for a month and see if it helps and then try something else. Gaining weight is really a matter of eating just a few extra calories – this will help you from gaining fat rather than muscle. If you are eating at college be cautious of those “all you can eat” cafeterias and the “freshman 30”. When I was in college it was all you could eat for only $3.75. Im sure its a little more now but its still going to be pretty cheap. If working out is hard because of college how about just doing some push ups. They can be hard to do but they are a full body exercise pretty much.
Hope that helps Jman 🙂
Hi, I’m 30 years old and have very little muscle mass due to the many crash diets I have done for years & years. Can I drink Ensure Revigor & add exercise to my lifestyle to help me regain muscle mass? I’m m tired of the diets and Id like to know what it looks like to see muscles in my body. Please help.
Blair, remember that your body is very resilient – and you are very young. Even though you may have done some crash diets in the past does not mean you cant come back and add muscle. you can. Sure you can use Ensure with Revigor – or any other good protein shake. Try the Revigor for a few weeks and see how you feel. Remember that Ensure – or any protein shake – is just a supplement to eating well. if you are not sure how to eat healthy you can always consult a dietitian or read good websites that have nutrition info. I like the website of Today’s Dietitian magazine. Nutrition Action Newsletter is also a good source. If you start an exercise program remember to start slow and if you are not sure how to exercise consult a personal trainer. I’ve written a lot of exercise/personal training info on my personal website Joe-cannon.com and Im about to post something there about how to pick a personal trainer.
If there is only 1.5 grams of HMB per bottle of the product and the recommendation is to use two bottles per day to obtain positive muscle building results ; then why isn’t it formulated with 3 grams per bottle. At about $2.50/bottle that drives the cost up to $5.00 a day for a glorified vitamin supplement.
Jim, Its a good question. It may have to do with cost (HMB may be expensive) but Im not sure. Feel free to call them and ask them this question. If they give you an answer Id like to do what it is.
Hi Keith
Ive never heard about Ensure causing people to be tired. Can I suggest you go to your doctor and get checked out. Tell your doctor about your sudden loss of energy. A sudden lack of energy could be due to many things. I dont think its due to the Ensure. Part of me wants to say its because your not eating enough but honestly I just don’t know. I think it’s best for you if you go get a full check out by your doctor to rule everything out.
hey i’m a 35 yo epileptic and had a vegus nerve stimulator ‘installed’ about two years ago. i have been on anticonvulsants for nearly twenty years. at 5’10” i have always been slim but the past few years i started losing weight and my appetite has gone to nothing. i’m in my first week of ensure and i am soo tired, more than usual anyway. the ensure is the only thing i’ve added to my diet. is this normal?
Patty, Ive never heard that HMB was linked to hair loss. Ive never seen a study that said it caused hair loss either. I did a quick search online for you and didn’t find anything. Where did you hear this?
Someone warned me that beta hydroxy betamethyl buterate causes hair loss. Is that possible?