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Soylent 1.4: a quick review

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Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#71

Post by DanBC »

yazaddaruvala wrote: post #50
DanBC wrote: 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?

One product cost $4 to $5 per kg in 2008; treatment lasts 6 to 8 weeks with children eating about 11 kg total: http://irinnews.org/report/83124/malawi-cheaper-recipe-for-t...

High energy biscuits are 12 cents per 100g; micronutrient sprinkles are $3 per hundred sachets; plumpyDoz ration is 20 cents; http://wfp.org/nutrition/special-nutritional-products

This PDF lists the range of products but doesn't have prices: http://documents.wfp.org/stellent/groups/public/documents/co...

This website talks about what the different products are http://wfp.org/nutrition/how-wfp-fights-malnutrition

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#72

Post by [deleted] »

yazaddaruvala wrote: post #50
DanBC wrote: 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?

[deleted]

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#73

Post by Vraxx »

Someone1234 wrote: post #58
dyeje wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where are you eating out for $6 a meal?

I could name local places but they won't mean anything to you. However even Burger King's combo meals are around $6/meal [0] as are KFC [1] and McDonalds [2] (all within $1 of $6, some less). Local places are even better value. However I get the sense this "question" wasn't asked because you legitimately wanted an answer. You just wanted to raise doubt that $6/meal is a thing. As I've shown, it is. [0] http://www.fas…

Can we also at least agree that enough is known about nutrition to determine that soylent is nutritionally better than the $6 options you provided? So as long as we're comparing alternatives to soylent in price, let's also compare them on the qualities of nutrition that we do know.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#74

Post by brathouz »

rjurney wrote: post #56
[deleted] wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[deleted]

The one thing we know for sure is that we haven't discovered most of what about fruits and vegetables causes ppl who eat the to live longer. Cutting the two food groups that actually extend life from your diet is the dumbest thin you can do.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. For example, just because Indian food exists doesn't mean you can't include Chinese or Mexican food in your diet. Similarly, just because people consume Soylent doesn't mean they've cut out all other forms of food. A lot of people simply use Soylent for one or two meals (such as breakfast and lunch, Monday through Friday).

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#75

Post by craigmccaskill »

rjurney wrote: post #45
WizzleKake wrote: post #41

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…

You're suggesting that X is required for healthy living and that you get X from kale.

Surely the important thing is if you get X from Soylent? Which you completely ignore.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#76

Post by stevebot »

I like the idea of Soylent, but everything I have read lately on nutrition seems to suggest that gettings vitamins and minerals from real food should be a priority and is against multivitamins. I wonder what is people's view on Soylent as a replacement for fruits/vegetables? Is the nutritional makeup somehow different from a multi-vitamin? If it isn't, then it just seems like an overpriced protein powder alternative. I can't seem to find any info on their site.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#77

Post by stevebot »

vhost- wrote: 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.

How comfortable do you feel giving up raw fruits/vegetables in favor of Soylent? I feel like that is my main question about the product, and I would be curious to hear from a vegan what the experience is like.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#78

Post by rosser »

stevebot wrote: post #77
vhost- wrote: 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.

How comfortable do you feel giving up raw fruits/vegetables in favor of Soylent? I feel like that is my main question about the product, and I would be curious to hear from a vegan what the experience is like.

Not the GP, but I think anyone who'd give up real food like that for this glop is being idiotic.

People who supplement their diet with Soylent, or use it to meet their dietary needs in the face of busy schedules, or whatever, are one thing. People who replace a diet involving actual plants (or even animals, if you enjoy eating things that had faces) deserve everything they're going to get.

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#79

Post by Someone1234 »

Vraxx wrote: post #66
Someone1234 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> 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".

Many people don't spend $6 or even $4 on three meals a day. They buy lunch and dinner, both costing around $6 if they eat out or around $3 if they make a packed lunch (more for dinner).

There might be someone somewhere who buys a premium breakfast for $4 a day and then spends $4-6 at lunch and dinner, but those people are a rare exception.

Most people are going to compare it to the meals they actually have now and what they spend. It doesn't become cheaper just because they recommend you have it for breakfast too. Breakfast is dead for the vast majority of the adult population (unless coffee counts?).

> 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

That's irrelevant because the issue is getting people into the product who think it is too expensive. Suggesting they spend $300 as a buy in is not only unhelpful but also makes them much less likely to want to try it.

Also that's only $1.50 cheaper per day than the base price. Hardly a saving. Still costs above $10/day. Adding breakfast doesn't save any money, it is just a way to make it seem cheaper than it actually is...

Re: Soylent 1.4: a quick review

#80

Post by zzalpha »

dyeje wrote: post #39
Someone1234 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Where are you eating out for $6 a meal?

Where do you live?

The US has remarkably cheap fast food, far cheaper than anywhere else I've been. As an example, compared to Canada the prices are easily 25-30% cheaper (around here finding a decent meal at lunch for less than $8 is nearly impossible, and closer to $10 is typical).

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