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This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

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Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#211

Post by papsosouid »

saidajigumi wrote: post #75

> a 24-year-old software engineer > ... > Soylent contains all of the nutritive components of a balanced diet What utter bollocks. We're (as in, scientists studying nutrition and how utterly wrong food industry has gotten that in the 20th and early 21st century) finally starting to get our collective heads around the benefits of whole foods vs. highly processed foods, and just how badly our bodies deal with the latte…

>We're (as in, scientists studying nutrition and how utterly wrong food industry has gotten that in the 20th and early 21st century)

What does the food industry have to do with anything? They aren't trying to get nutrition "right", they are trying to sell their products. This is the same reason people who don't know anything about nutritional science claim that "science doesn't really know anything about nutrition, one day fat is good, the next day it is bad". Science never said fat was good or bad, marketing weasels for food companies deliberately misrepresent research to support unsubstantiated claims.

>finally starting to get our collective heads around the benefits of whole foods vs. highly processed foods

Except, there is no evidence to support that claim at all.

>It may be theoretically possible to create some processed food that's on par with the nutrition of whole foods

Not just theoretically, but practically too. What exactly do you think they are feeding people on feeding tubes? It isn't salads. http://abbottnutrition.com/Adult/Adult-Tube-Feeding-Products...

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#212

Post by gerad »

criley wrote: post #124
baak wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you read his blog? He's claiming it cured his skin disease, gave him mental superpowers, has him in the best shape of his life, it gives him more energy, it tastes great, and costs $150 a month. Reads like a sleazy wonderpill ad.

In my personal experience, optimal nutrition creates what I would, in jest, refer to as "superpowers". When I compare my mental and physical state under optimal conditions to under poor conditions, there is a dramatic difference in me. This, to me, is also why for many athletes, their performance doesn't begin on the field but rather it begins with their food intake. I don't trust the data he provided because it isn'…

Disagree. Many elite athletes are not super scientific about their food choices [1]. Instead they eat what they crave. The human body is pretty good at figuring out what it needs nutritionally.

That being said, there is a lot that is important off of the field (e.g. sleep, stretching, etc). Just nutrition is fairly low on that list.

[1] http://www.active.com/triathlon/ironman/Articles/Nutrition-T...

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#213

Post by brohee »

Not innovative at all... Plenty of product like that already, e.g. http://nestlehealthscience.us/products/Pages/RESOURCE%C2%AE-... usually consumed in a medical setting.

No one will take that for long unless unable to do otherwise thought. Not that the taste is unbearable, but eating is more that nutrition, it's also fulfilling desire... Not even speaking of the social aspect...

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#214

Post by irahul »

pilgrim689 wrote: post #147
JPKab wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. You said it all. One fair point (in defense of the Scrawny Pale Guy Diet he is advocating) is that the food industry in general devotes a large majority of its funding to making foods that TASTE really really good. If that gets in the way of nutrition, taste wins every time. But you are correct in the fact that this is crazy. Hell, I drank and smoked a lot when I was 24, and still looked healthier than this g…

> still looked healthier than this guy What makes you think he's unhealthy? Because he has whiter complexion and he isn't bulky?

I am wondering the same thing. For all I know, the guy might have bones of adamantium, or bones so weak that they barely support his weight; a resting heart rate of 35, or 95...The only thing I can tell from the color of his neck and arms is he is an indoor person. His build looks fine to me.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#215

Post by evan_ »

dxbydt wrote: post #104
zanny wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you took it to production you could just distribute a mixer that has compartments for independent ingredients, maybe even go so far as to standardize cartage sizes of them to use as a fixed insert, have them delivered regularly, and plug them in to make your nutrient sludge once a day. Then just go a step further, have it delivered by automated transport, brew itself, and you just go grab a cup of juice to keep yo…

>standardize cartage sizes...have them delivered regularly When I first arrived in the USA in 1995 as a CS student, I was surprised to see these identical Walmarts. They were all the same - same aisles, same items in those aisles, same prices, same senior citizens manning the checkout counters.. So I asked the gent at the checkout counter - Sir, instead of me coming to your Walmart every weekend to buy groceries, why…

Ignoring the fact that this never happened there are plenty of stores that deliver, just not Wal*Mart.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#216

Post by acgourley »

criley wrote: post #172
saidajigumi wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You sound like an industry-insider explaining why a new startup will fail. I certainly don't want to rain on some new visionary's parade, but I spend a lot of time tracking folks who I consider to be the real visionaries in this field. As in we are currently in the midst of the greatest revolution in human health of our lives, and this guy is running in the wrong direction. We're seeing astonishing results with die…

> "Extraordinary claims, extraordinary proof, or GTFO." > "I see this guy's protocol as nothing but poisonous in the long run." You place a burden of evidence on him that you yourself in this very post violated on a number of occasions. You CANNOT call his diet poisonous simply because you disagree with it. You admitted it yourself: > "Current research is showing that we are only just beginning to gain understanding…

The burden of evidence should be on the person claiming to have a miracle drink. The burdon of evidence should be even greater when it's a non-natural source, as Nassim Taleb argues in Antifragile, "The "non-natural" has to prove its harmlessness." If you don't take this viewpoint, you end up with cigarettes, transfat and radium jewelry.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#217

Post by pc86 »

grecy wrote: post #146
mathteacher1729 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For anyone that doesn't understand that statement, I recommend taking a few years off work, where you spend your time getting up early every day, doing something all day (hiking, walking, gardening, building, whatever) and go to bed late in the evening (i.e. Full days of activities you want to be doing). I spent 2 years doing this [...] How did you afford this, financially? What was the before/during/after story of…

I saved for ~18 months, then spent two years driving from Alaska to Argentina, because I wanted to. I blogged the whole time at http://theroadchoseme.com All the financial details are at http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-adventure You'll be interested to note I only spent $1200/mo on the road, which is almost exactly what I was spending month-to-month to go to work every day. I'm currently back working as a Soft…

Are you a full time employee?

I'd be interested in knowing what your current employer thinks about you have a scheduled departure date that far in the future.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#219

Post by papsosouid »

Shorel wrote: post #170
unix-dude wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Though I dont share quite the same level of negativity towards the idea (Personally, I think it'd be amazing to be able to give up food for something that is nutritious and safe), I definitely share your concerns. It is possible that the nutrient powder (and similar) industry hasn't given much thought to this idea because its radical and potentially risky, especially as a business venture where legal liability might…

> It is possible that the nutrient powder (and similar) industry hasn't given much thought to this idea because its radical and potentially risky, especially as a business venture where legal liability might be very, very high. The stuff bodybuilders consume is not as well controlled as anything called 'food'. In fact, bodybuilding forums are full of 'I bought brand X and it was mostly filler, better stick to brand Y…

That's simply not true. They have to list the nutrition info the same as any other food. Protein powders that are "mostly filler" are actually ~20% filler, not mostly. And the label makes that quite clear as it both lists the ingredients so you even know what they are using as filler, but also the nutrition info. If 30g of powder is only giving you 20g of protein, obviously there's 10g of something other than protein there.

Re: This Man Thinks He Never Has to Eat Again

#220

Post by Uncompetative »

nickheer wrote: post #137

I (half-Swiss) like efficiency as much as the next HN reader, but at a certain point, efficiency must be weighed against enjoyability. I can't imagine not eating a delicious roasted vegetable strudel with a balsamic vinegar reduction, or potatoes with crème fraîche and chives in puff pastry. I delight in the delicacy required to prepare these items, and enjoy eating them even more. Cooking is (obviously) an activity…

More vegetarian recipe ideas, please... those sound great!
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