Chocolate powders like Bournvita Vs Protinex are convenient and a tasty way to improve nutrition intake. They are easy to mix, preferably with milk, and are equally delicious. However, these powdered drinks also contain added sugar which is unhealthy if taken excessively. If you wonder which will be the better choice, let’s see what to know about the drinks here.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- Do Children Need Nutrition Drink
- What are Bournvita and Protinex
- What are the Variants of Bournvita and Protinex
- How to Prepare Bournvita and Protinex Drinks
- What are the Ingredients of Bournvita and Protinex
- What are the Nutrition Facts of Bournvita and Protinex
- What are the Benefits of Bournvita and Protinex
- What is the Concern with Bournvita and Protinex
- Bournvita Vs Protinex
Nutrition Drink for Children
Children love sweet things, and we as parents have to monitor their intake because sugars are a real threat to their overall health. There are many drinks to choose from, but we need to consider the good and bad of each product. A balanced diet should be adequate for healthy children, but some parents need to add nutritious drinks to improve their nutrition intake. Our kids sometimes don’t like to eat and prefer to snack instead. The nutrition drink may be helpful to supply adequate protein, vitamins, and minerals.
Protein plays a vital role in our bodies, both for adults and children. Protein drinks are very popular because they are convenient and affordable. Sometimes adults and kids can be picky or dislike protein-rich foods, so using a protein drink is an excellent way to improve the intake. If your kids are very active but picky about what they want to eat, protein drinks or shake is a portable method to give them energy. But, do consider that too much protein can be harmful as well.
Protein drinks can be a good food complement for children with protein deficiency, but this condition is rare, depending on where you live and the parent’s situation. For most healthy children, protein drinks are not necessary, and in the United States, it is uncommon because most children with a well-balanced diet will get enough daily protein. But, protein drinks are not necessarily harmful either because the excess energy will be stored as fat or used later when the body needs it.
About Bournvita and Protinex
The most convenient protein source in modern days is dairy products like milk. Parents give milk to their children starting from day one until the kid is not interested in drinking it anymore. Even adults love milk with their cereal, so it is a staple in many households. But, the taste of plain milk may not be to your kid’s liking. Plain milk doesn’t have any distinct flavor, so parents combine chocolate powder or nutritious drinks to improve the taste and make it more delicious.
A serving of whole milk with 3.4% fat will provide 8 grams of protein and 12 grams of carbs with a calorie only slightly above 100. Few servings of it should be adequate for healthy children and adults who eat a balanced diet and not so much considering the daily protein requirement of children is 1-1.5 grams for every two pounds of their weight. It means children weighing 40 lbs. will need to eat 18 grams of protein which can be nothing or a lot depending on the typical diet.
If parents think the typical diet is not adequate for their kid’s activity, nutrition drinks such as Bournvita and Protinex can be a good alternative. These are powdered chocolate drinks mixed with water or milk to improve the taste. Making the milk tastier, they also add more protein, minerals, vitamins, and calories into the drink. Because they taste great, children will most likely always look forward to their milk every day. What parents may want to be cautious about is their sugar content.
The sugar content also separates Bournvita and Protinex because one is a malted drink while the latter is a milk powder. Protinex is a better choice if the parent’s goal is to improve the kid’s protein intake because it doesn’t contain added sugar. Skimmed milk is rich in protein, but taste-wise, it may not be as tasty, especially if your children love sweet beverages. Read also: Ovaltine Vs Nesquik here.
Bournvita and Protinex Variants
Bournvita is a malt chocolate drink that is currently very popular in India, Nepal, and Nigeria, but it used to be available in the UK. The brand only has two variants of flavored drinks; chocolate and 5 Star Magic, which add caramel flavoring to improve the taste. There is also Bournvita for women, focusing on improving bone health by supplying iron. The powdered drink usually comes in a plastic canister or pouch. We also find Bournvita in biscuits for energy on the go.
Protinex, on the other hand, is more like a regular milk powder. You will realize it is not just milk when checking the ingredients list. The brand is currently available in chocolate, vanilla, original, and lite. There is also Protinex Mama for pregnant and nursing mothers. Both the chocolate and vanilla variants contain zero added sugar, while the original and lite contain sugar. There seems to be Protinex Junior and ready-to-drink Protinex soy milk available in some countries.
Preparing Bournvita and Protinex
While Bournvita and Protinex are different in formulation, their serving method is the same. Bournvita contains milk but only a tiny portion of the ingredients, so it is not a mil substitute. To prepare the drink, you will need to add a serving or 20 grams of the powder into warm or hot milk to dissolve it. Many seem to add sugar, too, but we do not recommend it. You can mix Bournvita with water alone, but the taste won’t be as rich and good.
Protinex contains milk, but the serving recommendation calls for cold or lukewarm milk. It is the same as Bournvita, but one serving is 35 grams of powder. Depending on taste, we can add sugar to sweeten it, and if preferred, we can mix it with regular water. Bournvita and Protinex’s taste won’t be as good if mixed with water, so you still need milk.
Bournvita and Protinex Ingredients
For the most important part, let’s see what the Bournvita and Protinex are formulated with. Starting with Bournvita, this drink is made with malt extract, sugar, cocoa solids, milk solids, raising agent, minerals, and salt. Protinex is more complicated, but the top ingredients are skimmed milk, malt extract, soy protein isolate, cocoa powder, minerals, and vitamins. The chocolate flavor doesn’t have sugar, but it contains flavoring and artificial sweeteners. If you choose the Original variant, the protein is from peanut, and sugar is its second ingredient.
Bournvita and Protinex Nutrition Facts
The total calorie and nutrients will vary depending on what you will mix Bournvita and Protinex with. Each serving of 35 grams of Protinex contains 131 calories and 12 grams of protein. It doesn’t contain sugar, but the total carbs are 19 grams. On the other hand, each serving of Bournvita or 20 grams gives you 77 calories and 1.4 grams of protein with 17.1 grams of carbohydrate, mostly from sugar. They also contain vitamins and minerals, especially calcium, at 20 mg and 424 mg per serving.
Bournvita and Protinex Benefits
Protein is probably the main reason parents give Bournvita and Protinex to their children, and it is a necessary nutrient in the diet. Daily protein intake is essential to help the cells and should be in the health maintenance plan. Protein is an amino acid known as a building block because they are attached to a long chain. It is a macro-nutrient, meaning our body needs it in a relatively large amount to stay healthy. The protein will be used to build a block of bones, muscles, cartilage, and skin.
It repairs the body tissue and oxygenates it because red blood cells contain a protein compound that carries oxygen throughout the body. Another reason why powdered drinks like Bournvita and Protinex are popular is that they contain calcium. It is the key to string bones, including the teeth. Our heart also needs calcium to function properly, and when combined with Vitamin D, which is also present in both drinks, they can protect our body from cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Bournvita and Protinex Concerns
Lastly, we want to talk about the possible concerns about Bournvita and Protinex as nutrition drinks, primarily to enrich protein intake. Both drinks are safe to consume for healthy children and adults, but Protinex is a healthier choice if you give it to children. Young kids usually love sweets, and Bournvita chocolate is both sweet and tasty but contains added sugar. It is only 14.4 grams of sugar, but the kids may eat or enjoy other sweetened foods and beverages throughout the day that can easily surpass the recommended daily intake.
Bournvita Vs Protinex
Both Bournvita and Protinex are beneficial, especially for the protein and calcium content. The main difference between Bournvita and Protinex is that Protinex contains more milk and provides more protein and calories per serving. It gives much higher calcium to support bone health, and if you don’t want to increase sugar intake, they also offer chocolate and vanilla variants without added sugar. Taste-wise, Bournvita is sweeter, but they are equally tasty when prepared with milk.
| Bournvita | Protinex |
|---|---|
| - Chocolate malt drink | - Made with skimmed milk |
| - Contains sugar | - No added sugar (chocolate/vanilla) |
| - Sweeter | - Not sweet |
| - Less calorie | - Higher calorie |
| - Less protein & calcium | - Higher protein & calcium |
Conclusion
The decision is all yours, but we recommend Protinex, especially the non-added sugar variants, because it is safer to monitor the daily sugar intake. It also gives your kids more protein and calcium in each serving because it contains more milk.