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The Register puts Soylent to the test

theregister.co.uk

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Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#31

Post by raldi »

ctdonath wrote: post #24
raldi wrote: post #19

How is this different / better than any other shake-based diet powder? Edt: As my wife just put it, "It sounds like guys are too insecure to drink Slim-Fast, so the idea is being re-branded to be more manly. Like the Axe of diet shakes."

It's not a cheap diet-oriented meal replacement (little more than protein, sugar, and vitamin mix) intended to provide satiating filler with minimal meaningful content but still requiring "a sensible meal". It's a serious attempt at providing EVERYTHING a body needs, including hard-to-manage micronutrients.

In that case, how is it different from the stuff hospitals feed old people with no teeth? For example:

http://ensure.com/products/ensure-complete-shakes

or

http://www.amazon.com/Nutrament-Energy-Fitness-Drink-Banana/...

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#33

Post by sp332 »

calinet6 wrote: post #17
bestdayever wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If eating is half the joy in your life you live a miserable life I wouldn't wish on my worst enemies.

Hogwash. If you have the good grace to eat food that makes up half the joy in your life, then you have a good life indeed. In my experience, good food is everything that joy intends: gardening, growing food from nothing, spending time outdoors, connectedness with the land, creativity, quality process, science, creation, enjoyment, collaboration with others, socialization (especially when combined with good booze of m…

Doing that when you want to, and to the extent that you want to, is enjoyable. But subsistence farming is not. There's a middle ground, you know? It's nice not to be forced to think about your next meal several times every single day. You can relax and focus on a few meals a week that you actually care about instead of being stressed about food all the time.

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#34

Post by calinet6 »

sp332 wrote: post #33
calinet6 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hogwash. If you have the good grace to eat food that makes up half the joy in your life, then you have a good life indeed. In my experience, good food is everything that joy intends: gardening, growing food from nothing, spending time outdoors, connectedness with the land, creativity, quality process, science, creation, enjoyment, collaboration with others, socialization (especially when combined with good booze of m…

Doing that when you want to, and to the extent that you want to, is enjoyable. But subsistence farming is not. There's a middle ground, you know? It's nice not to be forced to think about your next meal several times every single day. You can relax and focus on a few meals a week that you actually care about instead of being stressed about food all the time.

True, that's a luxury too. There is balance in all pursuits.

All I know is that my favorite memories and the most joyful times in my life were camping in Yosemite, where the only concern of the day is where we were hiking to, and what we'd eat when we got there, and when we'd hike back, and what we'd eat for dinner.

That's about half of the concern dedicated to the food of the day. And it was joyous.

I find that lack of concern for food is generally caused by a lack of joy, or a lack of freedom; and in cyclic turn also results in it.

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#36

Post by TeMPOraL »

Swizec wrote: post #26
sheri wrote: post #23

I think Michael Pollan described it well when he said food in America was undergoing a process of 'nutrification', i.e., breaking it down into its nutrients, and trying to create supplements with those nutrients. The studies in the book, though, say that we haven't yet cracked the code. I.e., taking the equivalent of one apple's nutrients isn't the same as eating an apple. The reasons weren't quite known yet. I read…

I read that in the case of C vitamin, for instance, the body simply doesn't recognise it as C vitamin when it doesn't come directly from fruit. Just ignores it and passes it onto urine. A nootropicist friend I have suggested that C vitamin only works in combination with Magnesium supplements ... etc. It gets pretty complicated. I'd rather just eat a stupid piece of fruit. It's tasty, efficient, and awesome. Why compl…

Same reason as always, when we study nature. If we can understand and reproduce it, we can do better.

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#37

Post by Nursie »

gadders wrote: post #30
danielbarla wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I'm slightly surprised that it's proving to be so popular. Making and eating awesome food is a great joy in life; why would you try to work around that? Interesting concept, nevertheless.

Not every meal is a gourmet experience that you savour with friends. Sometimes, you just need to refuel your body. Soylent could be perfect for that.

What if every meal is an experience to savour with friends and/or family? (well ok, every evening meal)

I like to live that way.

But then I also couldn't eat the same thing for lunch every day. Stuff that has actual flavour and texture gets boring fast. This would be boring before I'd finished the glass.

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#38

Post by ctdonath »

raldi wrote: post #31
ctdonath wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a cheap diet-oriented meal replacement (little more than protein, sugar, and vitamin mix) intended to provide satiating filler with minimal meaningful content but still requiring "a sensible meal". It's a serious attempt at providing EVERYTHING a body needs, including hard-to-manage micronutrients.

In that case, how is it different from the stuff hospitals feed old people with no teeth? For example: http://ensure.com/products/ensure-complete-shakes or http://www.amazon.com/Nutrament-Energy-Fitness-Drink-Banana/...

Ensure Complete describes itself as "Provides balanced amounts of macronutrients and essential vitamins and minerals." Lacks the micronutrients needed. Strikes me as intended for "we really don't have any other options at this point" and consequential symptoms will be treated as illness.

Nutrament describes itself as "This nutritional drink is ideal as a snack, an occasional meal replacement, or a perfect post-workout drink." Note the "occasional"; it's filler augmenting an otherwise sensible natural diet.

Soylent is intended as "you can live on this stuff full time", which its creator does. He's suffered some pretty painful & weird symptoms of not getting everything right (like inadequate micronutrient supply causing bizarre cravings), and felt profoundly satiated when he did get it right.

Anecdote: I once worked on a portable IV pump intended to "feed" people lacking most of their GI tract, injecting nutritionally complete "meals" directly into the bloodstream. Each "meal" cost about $300.

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#39

Post by TeMPOraL »

gadders wrote: post #30
danielbarla wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I'm slightly surprised that it's proving to be so popular. Making and eating awesome food is a great joy in life; why would you try to work around that? Interesting concept, nevertheless.

Not every meal is a gourmet experience that you savour with friends. Sometimes, you just need to refuel your body. Soylent could be perfect for that.

Exactly. There are times when you want to enjoy the experience, but there are also times (I dare say this is the majority of cases) when food is just a time-wasting distraction from the things you want to do at the moment.

Re: The Register puts Soylent to the test

#40

Post by Anderkent »

raldi wrote: post #31
ctdonath wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a cheap diet-oriented meal replacement (little more than protein, sugar, and vitamin mix) intended to provide satiating filler with minimal meaningful content but still requiring "a sensible meal". It's a serious attempt at providing EVERYTHING a body needs, including hard-to-manage micronutrients.

In that case, how is it different from the stuff hospitals feed old people with no teeth? For example: http://ensure.com/products/ensure-complete-shakes or http://www.amazon.com/Nutrament-Energy-Fitness-Drink-Banana/...

Not that different, other than the recipe being public and the ability to make it yourself. The purpose is mostly the same, though Soylent aims to be sustainable, while most of these meal-replacement concoctions warn against prolonged usage. That might just be playing it safe though.
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