Do you lack time to shop and prepare for your food daily?
Is your work too demanding that you don’t get time to make your meals or even take them?
Well, Soylent may hold the solution to your problems.
Soylent is a meal replacement1 that seeks to provide all the nutritional elements needed in a healthy diet.
It seeks to replace not only an occasional meal but any food.
It claims to result in:
- Increased energy.
- Boosts mental focus.
- Greater physical endurance.
- Better and glowing skin.
Initially, this product was created as a way to save time.
It was further founded upon the fact that the body does not necessarily need food but the nutritional elements that benefit it.
Our team sought to find out more about this meal replacement including what it is, how to use it, its price and its pros and cons.
Read our Soylent review below to see what we found out.
Read more: 3 Best Fat Burners Reviews
What Is Soylent
Soylent is a soy-based replacement meal that claims to provide up to 20 percent of the daily nutritional requirements.
It aims to enable the proper functioning of the body and lowers the risk of diseases.
It comes as a beverage; ready to drink or as a powder for users to make their own smoothies.
Soylent comes in different varieties:
1. Soylent Café
The Soylent Café drink is designed in three flavors to meet your breakfast needs:
- Vanilla
- Mocha
- Chai
This drink has protein, healthy fats and caffeine, making it ideal for breakfast.
It is different from the original drink in that it contains L-carnitine2 and caffeine.
2. Soylent Drink
This pre-mixed drink comes in four varieties
- Original
- Cacao flavors
- Strawberry
- Vanilla
3. Soylent Bridge
It also comes in a chocolate snack form.
4. Soylent Powder
The Soylent powder can be used to make the original drink or as a smoothie base.
This product is manufactured by Rosa Labs, based in the United States.
It was developed by a group of software engineers, who felt that a lot of time was spent cooking instead of working and more often settled for fast foods (junks).
The company claims to design a meal that is healthy for the body and good for the planet.
Through their mission, they claim that their food system is ideal because it emits less carbon dioxide and uses little water.
Additionally, they use recyclable containers and their meal does not need much refrigeration.
Soylent Ingredients
Soylent beverages provide the body with fiber, protein, carbs, micronutrients and fat, amounting to 400 calories in a single drink.
They are vegan and free from lactose and nuts.
Here is a list of the key ingredients:
Soy Protein Isolate
Amount: 20g
This is a plant-based protein.
Soy protein isolate3 contains all the 9 essential amino acids that aid in different body functions:
- Leucine
- Valine
- Histidine
- Lysine
- Isoleucine
- Tryptophan
- Threonine
- Methionine
- Phenylalanine
It is easily digestible.
It also provides phytoestrogens, that have the same effect as estrogens in the body.
This is good in inhibiting menopausal symptoms in women but it may yield negative results for bodybuilders because estrogen inhibits testosterone and may also result in fat storage.
Due to this soy has received much controversy.
Isomaltulose
Amount: 36g
Isomaltulose4 is a carbohydrate that contains fructose and glucose.
It acts as a sweetener.
It’s, however, digested more slowly than table sugar. Thus, controls the blood sugar levels.
High-oleic sunflower oil
Amount: 21 g
High-oleic sunflower oil5 contains high levels of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that is linked to better cardiovascular health.
Canola oil
Amount: 36 g
Canola oil6 contains monounsaturated fatty acids (healthy fats needed by the body).
Maltodextrin
Amount: 3 g
Maltodextrin is used as a thickener to make the shake creamier.
It has a high glycemic index.
Vitamins and minerals
Amount: 20 percent of the Recommended Daily Value (RDI).
The Soylent drink contains essential vitamins and minerals that are necessary for the body.
Note: Soylent powder contains all the above elements apart from sunflower oil. Additionally, the powder contains a higher amount of fiber than the drink: 5 grams.
How Does Soylent Work?
Soylent drinks work through providing the body with the nutrients it needs.
It has fewer calories than a normal breakfast would provide thus, it ensures the body only gets the required amount.
To understand this, we sought to go a little deeper.
Normally, our body energy is measured in the amount of calories we take.
Different foods contain different calories.
If we consume more calories than we burn, the body stores the excess as fat.
If this becomes a vicious cycle, then you are likely to gain weight.
Consequently, eliminating excess fat will require the body to create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories.
Thus, consuming Soylent meal replacement will provide the body with fewer calories and the right nutrients forcing the body to burn the excess fat as well as maintain a healthy physique.
How To Use It?
A single serving equals one bottle which has a capacity of 414 ml.
Soylent should be taken every time you are about to miss a meal or whenever you feel the need to snack between meals.
It can also be taken entirely as the only meal.
Soylent Side Effects
Soylent meal replacement is claimed to be safe and well tolerated.
However, some users complained about various issues on Amazon.
For instance, some complained about how they had stomach upsets and bloating.
This was backed up by Gilbert Camacho who had this to say:
Made me feel sick with upset stomach after drinking.
Meagan added:
I give this one star because of the taste and the way it made me feel […] the amount of soy that was contained in it upset my stomach very bad and I was in bed the rest of the day with a stomach ache.
Others expressed their concerns on frequent headaches, as witnessed from RToz:
I don’t know what it is about this but it gave me really bad headaches. My friend thought at first it might just be the calorie deficiency so I tried using the intake. The headaches start after I have drank it regardless of how hungry or full I feel. I don’t know what might be going on but maybe I’m allergic to something in it.
Soylent Reviews & Complaints
Soylent has received several online reviews, both favorable and unfavorable.
On Amazon, this product has 3427 customer reviews, with an overall rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.
Many customers seemed to like the product; here are their positive reviews
Harley found this meal replacement great while on chemotherapy.
Here is what he had to say on Amazon:
These drinks saved my life while I was on chemo and all I could tolerate was liquids. This helped me not need to get a feeding tube. It tastes great too!
Rach juggled between work, university and parenting and never had time to prepare meals.
She often ate junkies from a gas station. Was overweight and not happy about herself.
As she describes in her review on Amazon everything changed after she heard about Soylent from her coworker.
I am on a significant weight loss journey, with a total goal of 78 pounds to lose! I’m currently at 66 to go, and couldn’t be happier to have discovered Soylent […] I am SO happy that I gave it a shot! For less than the cost of a drink plus a couple of breakfast tacos, I have 20 g of protein in a great tasting drink. The taste reminds me of chocolate milk without the in-your-face sweetness, and the aftertaste is similar to other meal replacement drinks.
How about the negative reviews?
SiwajFam expressed his concerns over the use of sucralose, plastics and the high price.
Here is what he wrote on Amazon.
BUT, They care about being vegan, yet waste a bunch of plastic. They care about being healthy, yet use Sucralose. They care about the future and serving to the masses, yet charge at a premium cost. My suggestion is, use 20% real sugar. If more sugar is needed, use organic stevia leaves. Lower the cost. Significantly lower the cost of the powder version. Sell multi serving bottles so less plastic is used. Only use recycled plastic […]
Soylent: Packages, Prices & Where To Buy It
Soylent is available on the official website: soylent.com.
To save 5% on each product, you can join their Subscription Program.
Once you’ve setup your subscription you will begin to receive your order once a month – we read at the official website.
You can pause (1 to 8 weeks) or cancel this subscription any time you like.
See below how the official site looks like.
Money Back Guarantee and Refund Policy
The company offers a 30-day refund policy, less shipping and handling fee.
Soylent Pros & Cons
Soylent Review: Final Verdict
Soylent is a great product that seems to satisfy the daily calorie requirement of an individual.
However, the presence of sucralose and soy may yield different effects among individuals.
This meal replacement is a convenient way to ensure you take all the required nutrients in the body and may even help to lose extra pounds especially if you have a busy schedule.
Nevertheless, it may be difficult to use this meal for a long time particularly if you love to chew up different meals and cook up varieties.
We laid out the facts, will you buy Soylent? Comment below and tell us what you think!
Read next: Yoli Yes Protein Shakes Review: Does It Really Work?
References
- Anderson, James W., et al. “Soy compared to casein meal replacement shakes with energy-restricted diets for obese women: randomized controlled trial.” Metabolism 56.2 (2007): 280-288. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0026049506003738
- Gülçin, İlhami. “Antioxidant and antiradical activities of L-carnitine.” Life sciences 78.8 (2006): 803-811. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024320505009483
- Friedman, Mendel, and David L. Brandon. “Nutritional and health benefits of soy proteins.” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 49.3 (2001): 1069-1086. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf0009246
- Lina, B. A. R., D. Jonker, and G. Kozianowski. “Isomaltulose (Palatinose®): a review of biological and toxicological studies.” Food and Chemical Toxicology 40.10 (2002): 1375-1381. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691502001059
- Ahn, Jang-Hyuk, et al. “Antioxidant effect of natural plant extracts on the microencapsulated high oleic sunflower oil.” Journal of Food Engineering 84.2 (2008): 327-334. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0260877407003159
- Lin, Lin, et al. “Evidence of health benefits of canola oil.” Nutrition reviews 71.6 (2013): 370-385. https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/71/6/370/1882361