Soylent (food substitute)

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A homemade batch of Soylent, immediately after preparation

Soylent is a food substitute intended to supply all of a human body's daily nutritional needs, made from powdered starch, rice protein, olive oil, and raw chemical powders.[1][2]

Soylent was designed by software engineer Rob Rhinehart as a way to get all the nutrients needed by the body without the time, money, and effort that usually goes into preparing food.[3] Lacking background in chemistry or nutrition, Rhinehart developed the formula by reading web sites, textbooks, and papers in scientific journals, and by self-experimentation.[4][5] He named it after a fictional food from the novel Make Room! Make Room![6]

Soylent is currently undergoing on-going testing and modification. As of October 2013, a crowdfunding campaign has provided roughly US$1,500,000, and venture capitalists (Andreessen Horowitz) provided another US$1,500,000, to produce and market a commercial version of Soylent. The funding paid for additional research and modification of the formula,[7][8] which delayed Soylent's launch date.[9] Rosa Labs, the company that owns Soylent, estimates January 2014 for the first shipment of U.S.-based orders, and mid-2014 for international orders.[10]

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients used initially in the manufacture of Soylent after 30 days of experimentation.[11] Many are not readily available and must be ordered from laboratory supply stores.[3]

Extras not considered essential:

After three months changes were made to the ingredients. Half the maltodextrin was replaced with oat flour, and creatine, coenzyme Q10, and 2 g of sulfur from methylsulfonylmethane were added. The oat flour provides 40 g of fiber, and serves to provide energy after the initial "kick" from the maltodextrin. Because oat flour is not a raw chemical, adjustments were made to the amounts of other ingredients to compensate. Ethyl vanillin is added to make the drink more palatable.[12]

Development process and health concerns

As of May 2013, Soylent has been tested by Rhinehart himself and by a handful of volunteers as well as individuals recreating the substance independently at home.[5][13] Modifications to the ingredient list have occurred in response to results incurred in testing, for example: the first version of the formula omitted iron, which caused Rhineheart to report his heart had begun to race.[8] In other early experiments, intentionally induced overdoses of potassium and magnesium gave Rhinehart cardiac arrhythmia and burning sensations.[8] After the early recipe had stabilized, Rhinehart found himself suffering from joint pain due to a sulfur deficiency. Methylsulfonylmethane was added to address this problem.[8][12]

Soylent in its present form may lack some nutrients essential for normal body functioning and/or may fail to provide nutrients in appropriate proportions, potentially causing medical problems if used long-term.[4] The fundamental basis of the assumptions made by Soylent are disputed; with focus on the fact that, because digestion is a complex phenomenon and there is not a simple linear relationship between nutrient ingestion and nutrient absorption, many factors contribute to nutrient absorption in the human body.[14]

With respect to the suitability of the product for general consumption, homemade Soylent is made without the kinds of regulatory safeguards and fine-tunings followed when making accepted artificial diets such as medical food.[1]

Cost

In September 2013, Rhinehart said he would like to get Soylent down to a cost of US$5 per day.[15] As of April 2013, Rhinehart stated he was spending US$154.62 per month on Soylent, yielding a diet of 2,629 kilocalories (11,000 kJ) per day[2] while a medical food such as Jevity would cost US$456 per month to get 2,000 kilocalories (8,400 kJ)[1] and a family of four in the United States can purchase food for approximately US$584 per month (avoiding eating out).[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Matthews, Dylan (March 14, 2013). "Rob Rhinehart has a crazy plan to let you go without food forever. It just might work.". Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-05-14. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pomeroy, Ross (April 1, 2013). "'Soylent': Can Man Survive on Goop Alone?". Real Clear Science. Retrieved 2013-05-27. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lallanilla, Marc (March 14, 2013). "Who Needs Food When You Have Soylent?". LiveScience. Retrieved 2013-05-13. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Finley, Klint (May 3, 2013). "Silicon Valley And The Reinvention Of Food". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2013-05-13. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Storr, Will (May 6, 2013). "The man who lives without food". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-05-13. 
  6. ↑ Varughese, Ansa (March 15, 2013). "Rob Rhinehart, 24, Creates Soylent: Why You Never Have To Eat Food Again". Medical Daily. Retrieved 2013-05-13. 
  7. ↑ "Funding Announcement". Retrieved October 26, 2013. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Gruel today, gruel tomorrow". The Economist. Retrieved 27 May 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Soylent Manufacturing & Ship Date". Retrieved July 23, 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Manufacturing Update". Retrieved October 26, 2013. 
  11. ↑ Rhinehart, Rob. "What's In Soylent". Mostly Harmless. Retrieved 2013-05-14. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Rhinehart, Rob (April 25, 2013). "Soylent Month Three". Mostly Harmless. Retrieved 2013-05-27. 
  13. ↑ Davis, Lauren (June 2, 2013). "Could Soylent really replace all of the food in your diet?". io9. Retrieved 2013-06-02. 
  14. ↑ Campbell, T. Colin. Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition. BenBella Books Inc, 2013.
  15. ↑ Ars does Soylent, the finale: Soylent dreams for people | Ars Technica

External links

Basic types
Religious diets
Vegan diets
Non-solid diets
Specific restrictions
Other diets
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