Horlicks isn’t very good for you (but I still love it)
Like most people I know, I never seem to get enough sleep, so I'm always trying new products to try and help me get some kip. I've tried everything from CBD to sleep teas, all with mixed results.
Recently, I've been loving to drink a mug of Horlicks before bed. I think it's helping me achieve a longer and deeper sleep, but I also just generally like the taste and find it comforting to sip on before bed.
However, as I was sipping my Horlicks the other night, it crossed my mind that I hadn't really considered how healthy it was. I did a little bit of searching online and found an interesting BBC article which stated that in India, Horlicks is given to children in the morning to give them an energy boost for the day, which would suggest that it's packed with calories (more on that in a minute).
I decided to take a close look at Horlicks to see if it's actually good for me, and it turns out it's not exactly the healthiest thing I could drink before bed. But that's not going to stop me from enjoying it every now and then! Here are my findings:
What is Horlicks?
Horlicks is a malted barley drink that you're supposed to drink warm. It comes as a powder that you just mix with either boiled water or warm milk. I typically buy the larger tubs, but you can buy individual sachets also (those are handy if you're travelling).
What are the nutritional stats of Horlicks?
Many people would assume that Horlicks is quite a simple drink - it's really not though. Horlicks is packed with all kinds of ingredients, and consequently has quite a bit to unpack when it comes to the nutritional content of the drink. I previously published a guide comparing Horlicks to Ovaltine, and found that Horlicks was lower in sugar and calories compared to Ovaltine. But let's take a closer look at some of the nutritional stats of Horlicks:
Sugar
As I mentioned, Horlicks is lower in sugar compared to Ovaltine, but it's still pretty high in sugar at 39.3g of sugar per 100g. You only need about 25g of Horlicks to make a drink, which means that if you make a mug of Horlicks with water it'll contain about 9.9g of sugar per drink. But many people will make their Horlicks with warm milk, which really ramps up the sugar content. Say you add 200ml of semi-skimmed milk to your 25g of Horlicks powder, you'll have a drink that contains just over 19g of sugar. That's almost as much sugar as you'll find in Original Coca-Cola, which contains 10.6 of sugar per 100ml.
Calories
Obviously it's a similar story with the calories in Horlicks - if you consume it with milk the calories are much higher. But even if you drink Horlicks with just boiled water, I think the calorie content is still surprisingly high. If you drink 25g of Horlicks with boiled water, you've got a drink that contains over 90 calories. For reference, a can of Original Coca-Cola contains 139 calories.
And with 200ml of semi-skimmed milk, a mug of Horlicks contains 182 calories. Yes, that's more than you get in a can of Coke.
Vitamins and minerals
The real saving grace for Horlicks is the fact that the drink is packed with vitamins and minerals, in substantial amounts too. 25g of Horlicks mixed with 200ml of semi-skimmed milk contains 100% of your daily recommended intake of Calcium, 60% of your RDA of Vitamin D, 60% of your RDA of Vitamin B12, 52% of your RDA of Biotin, and a bunch more vitamins and minerals like Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and Zinc. Many of these vitamins and minerals are what give Horlicks its reputation as a drink that is both healthy and good to drink before you sleep.
Anything else to mention?
Horlicks isn't packed with ingredients that make me feel ill, but I was a bit surprised to see Anti-Caking Agent (E551) listed. It's a common ingredient, but I've seen recent chatter about how this ingredient could be linked to coeliac disease. This research is very early so definitely isn't definitive, but I'll be keeping an eye on this for sure.
Final thoughts
So I'd say that Horlicks definitely isn't the healthiest drink you could have before bed, especially if you make it with milk, purely because it's pretty high in sugar and calories. But there is no denying that the vitamin and mineral content is impressive. I'll still be drinking my Horlicks before bed, and luckily for me, I like it with water!
Finn H
Finn is the editor of You Well and has been writing about travel, health, and more for over 10 years.
One Comment
Michael Gee
I drink Horlicks with coffee,honey and milk for a nice smooth drink.