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Soylent 1.4: a quick review

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Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#61
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What things?

Glad you asked. Let's look at Kale: Kale, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 117 kJ (28 kcal) Carbohydrates 5.63 g Sugars 1.25 g Dietary fiber 2 g Fat 0.4 g Protein 1.9 g Vitamins Vitamin A equiv. beta-carotene lutein zeaxanthin (85%) 681 μg (76%) 8173 μg 18246 μg Thiamine (B1) (5%) 0.053 mg Riboflavin (B2) (6%) 0.07 mg Niacin (B3) (3%) 0.5 mg Vitamin B6 (11%) 0.138 mg F…

Why would you wait for him to ask before you provided that information? I wish you had originally formulated this reply, into a reply to the article, as to spare us all of one-liners.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#62
post #7

I'm not going to run-on and on here, but I'm on 1.4 right now (first time Soylent user) and I'm pleasantly surprised. I was very skeptical about it at first and got it just to convince myself I didn't need it. Immediately I felt pretty good and didn't crave the burrito I wanted for lunch. I'm also very excited that it's vegan because that's been my diet for over 8 years.

One thing that's surprisingly not mentioned at all in their FAQ is the actual process of preparing the stuff. Do you have to use a blender or can you get away with just stirring it up with a spoon?

With the previous version it was simply mixing about 1.5L of water with a bag of powder, shaking vigorously, then adding oil and about .5L of water, and finally shaking and cooling. Now the step with the oil is out, and it's a just add water and shake.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#63

Has anyone lost weight on this? I'd also be curious if it lowered your blood pressure [1] if it was high, and if it helped with any other health issues. [1] I'm thinking the high potassium, and low sodium could lower high blood pressure?

Speaking only to weight, my wife and I did lose a planned number of pounds. Soylent was a means of controlling caloric intake, while providing complete nutrition while exercising.

What kind of calorie deficit were you running? How was the hunger level?

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#64
post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Soylent is going to have no problem providing all of those ingredients. You gotta reach for delicate and complex organic molecules that are not well characterized, not stuff so well understood that it is listed in internet nutrition databases.

1) Soylent doesn't include the vast library of known life extending phytonutrients. 2) we haven't discovered most of these compounds, we just know plants have them

Yeah, that's what I meant, your Kale-sporge doesn't mention those, it mentions things that are very well characterized.

I always wonder how many of those phytonutrients can stand up to hydrochloric acid and also get absorbed into the bloodstream.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#66

It still seems very expensive. $12/day? Also I wish I could buy a 1 day sample. I'd hate to be out $85 if I don't like it.

Expensive relative to what? If you're making your own meals ($3/meal), yes, it is expensive. If you eat out then it is much more reasonable. A single eat-out costs ballpark around $6/meal, so assuming you did that twice it would break even. I agree re. sample size. $85 in one go is hard to justify to the +1 when all you're really buying is food. $6 here or there is easy to ignore, but $85 is a weekly grocery shop in…

The price comes down with bulk and subscription (save 20% on sub). you cited "$6/meal per now" and I believe that was a mistake. If a week (7 days) supply is $85, you have $12.14 per day and about $4.05 per meal, which hits your target of "closer to $4/meal". On a separate note if you buy a months supply (don't have to eat it in one month) that is $300 for 28 days (84 meals) it comes to roughly $3.57/meal.

I do agree that the manufacturing delay was easily the worst part of the experience, but other than that I'm loving the product. I hope that many more people trying it will lower the price more because this has done a dent on my daily food bill, and it'd be great to see it come down more through widespread use.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#67
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What things?

Glad you asked. Let's look at Kale: Kale, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 117 kJ (28 kcal) Carbohydrates 5.63 g Sugars 1.25 g Dietary fiber 2 g Fat 0.4 g Protein 1.9 g Vitamins Vitamin A equiv. beta-carotene lutein zeaxanthin (85%) 681 μg (76%) 8173 μg 18246 μg Thiamine (B1) (5%) 0.053 mg Riboflavin (B2) (6%) 0.07 mg Niacin (B3) (3%) 0.5 mg Vitamin B6 (11%) 0.138 mg F…

I've been using kale in smoothies. Do you think all of those beneficial things stay around after the blending process?

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#68
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What things?

Glad you asked. Let's look at Kale: Kale, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) Energy 117 kJ (28 kcal) Carbohydrates 5.63 g Sugars 1.25 g Dietary fiber 2 g Fat 0.4 g Protein 1.9 g Vitamins Vitamin A equiv. beta-carotene lutein zeaxanthin (85%) 681 μg (76%) 8173 μg 18246 μg Thiamine (B1) (5%) 0.053 mg Riboflavin (B2) (6%) 0.07 mg Niacin (B3) (3%) 0.5 mg Vitamin B6 (11%) 0.138 mg F…

So which of those are not in Soylent and have been demonstrated as essential to being healthy? As far as I know, none.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#69
post #37

Things in plants other than basic nutrients are what keep you alive, well and free of cancer. Soylent is an obviously horrible idea for your health.

Agreed that plants are great (I've been vegan for 12 years), but Soylent provides a dependable solution for those who need a quick, nutritious meal (such as breakfast) and has opened up interesting possibilities such as sipping down lunch while taking a walk in a park.

Plus, you can use Soylent as an excellent base for making smoothies that include other fruits, veggies, etc.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#70
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are already better products for humanitarian use and for medical use. The medical products come in a wide variety of styles to suit different medical needs. The humanitarian products are much cheaper than soylent and don't require so much water - which is in short supply in the target regions; and they have a more suitable nutrient profile. It's baffling when people claim soylent could be used for medical or hu…

Out of curiosity, how much do those products cost?

Plumpy'nut is one of them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plumpy%27nut

In 2010, it was $60 for a 2 month supply for a child (~1 course of treatment).

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