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Ask HN: Are Soylent-like meal replacement shakes safe?

3 points by darkxanthos ↗ HN
The recent discussions around Soylent and meal replacement shakes in general has me intrigued and excited. I bought a canister of Ultimate Meal to give this a shot for a few days.

My girlfriend, in her typical skeptical fashion, brought up that since meal replacement shakes aren't typically FDA regulated what guarantees do I have that what the company says is in it is actually in it? It's a damn good question.

It's hard to find studies on any of this that is t solely about weight loss. Any suggestions?

Edit: typo

8 comments

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fasteo
safe as in "you are not going to die tomorrow", probably yes. safe as in "healthy for your long-term health", definitively no.

We already made this mistake in the past. After the discovery of the macros (protein, carbs and fats) some people thought that those were enough to keep you alive and healthy. They then produced some infant formulas and some kids died.

Now we also know the existence of some micro nutrients (vits, minerals, etc) and we are stupid enough to think the same.

Is coffee just caffeine ? A coffee bean contains more than one thousand active compounds.

Soylent is to real food what caffeine is to coffee

edit:typo

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jason_slack
Can you clarify why you are doing this meal replacement?

Are you trying to lose weight, therefore using the replacement shake so you dont consume more food than you should?

Do you just not have time to make a lunch, so this is easier?

Does going out or food in general not taste how you think it should anymore?

I ask because over the last few years I struggled with weight. I was up to 230, then down to 196, then back to 216 and now to 200. For me, I just love food.

I have been juice fasting for breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack and eating a sensible dinner and this has made all the difference. It was hard to start doing this. It is very hard to do a complete juice fast as we are groomed to eat.

There is a good documentary: "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" by Joe Cross. Netflix has it. It is funny and informative.

I know this may not be what you are looking for, just trying to offer another prospective from my own experience.

ksherlock
Dietary supplements are not regulated by the FDA as drugs but they are still subject to food labeling requirements.

What guarantees do you have that your ground beef isn't actually horse?

gamblor956
Random audits and inspections of the meat sold in grocery stores or at various points in the supply chain by multiple auditing/inspecting entities, tort law remedies for fraudulent misrepresentation, and FTC sanctions for the same.
gamblor956
Soylent-like meal replacements are safe but they aren't necessarily healthy. Safe has a specific meaning in the food/drug world in that it means the product will not kill or harm you if used as directed.

Meal-replacement shakes can also be also effective if used properly for specific purposes (i.e, weight loss, muscle gain, etc.).

You are probably trying to see if they are healthy. Food is too complex to be reduced to a simple shake. But for some people, like those with diabetes or Cronin's disease, meal replacement shakes can be healthier than the alternatives.