Why You Should Eat (Not Drink) Your Food
The meal replacement industry has fooled you.
Our society is becoming more and more comfortable with drinking food. First, it started with carb-rich soft drinks. Now, it’s the era of protein shakes and “keto” (fat) coffees. Is it then so surprising that we’re consuming more calories than ever before?
Being satiated and successfully losing weight with today’s hyper-palatable, ultra-processed foods is not an easy task. Perhaps it’s time to stop buying into these multi-billion-dollar marketing campaigns and start eating the way our ancestors did.
The problems with liquid food
With the rise of various liquid meal-replacement products, people are starting to question their satiety. While the data appears mixed, apple juice is not even close to being as filling as eating whole apples. The biggest problem with liquidizing meals seems to be the removal of fiber.
Juicing fruits is a great way to preserve them as well as most of their nutrients. The main downside is the inevitable elimination of fiber. Apart from having numerous health benefits, dietary fiber is associated with improved satiety and reduced food intake (1, 2). Its glucose-lowering effect is significant since sugar consumption has skyrocketed in recent (3). That said, not all forms of cooking reduce the fiber content.
Although juices have little to no fiber, pureed vegetables and fruits don’t lose practically any of them (4). Hence, not all preparation methods should be vilified, and some can even enhance digestibility and the absorption of key nutrients. With that in mind, let’s not liquidize everything and throw it into a protein shaker.
A semi-solution to the lack of fiber in liquid foods is to add it back. Albeit that may sound backward and convoluted, there is research to suggest that a portion of the benefits can be restored this way (5, 6). Per today’s remedies being mostly placebo-based, re-adding fiber to modern foods does not sound too out of place.
A huge issue with the recent trend of processed, soft food is its effect on our teeth and face in general. When we don’t have to chew, we risk tooth decay and tooth enamel erosion (7). Additionally, a big reason why modern humans have much smaller mouths, which lead to poor breathing, is because of these dietary changes (8, 9). The fact that we enjoy drinking sugar isn’t helping the situation either.
Lastly, your eating/drinking rate matters. It takes time for satiety hormones to kick in, and liquid foods tend to be consumed much more quickly (10, 11). While that may seem like an advantage to a busy person, convenience can be detrimental when you want to lose weight. Although it may be fairly difficult to chew and drink slowly in our 24/7 society, it should help with fullness and weight control.
All in all, if most of your food is in solid form and you don’t overconsume sugar, you’re doing just fine. Just remember that our ancestors did not drink Soylent; therefore, maybe you shouldn’t too.
Deceitful marketing campaigns
It’s one thing to say that liquid foods are just as satiating; it’s another to claim that they’re more satiating than solids. While various meal replacement shakes can suppress hunger, their calories are not holier-than-thou. A recent popular craze, the Bulletproof coffee, can contain up to 500 calories. Wouldn’t you be more surprised if it didn’t reduce hunger?
Unsurprisingly, meal replacement companies don’t shy away from false advertising. The idea that separating macronutrients will somehow help you lose weight is speculative at best. We’re already aware that Coca-Cola is unhealthy, then how come adding protein or fat will make it any better?
The global meal replacement products market has reached 20 billion dollars, yet our health has only declined. Despite the growing interest in dieting and fitness, we’ve gotten fatter and fatter. Perhaps it’s time to stop worshipping these ginormous corporations and their magical supplements.
In conclusion, read the label!
Takeaway
There aren’t many reasons to choose liquid foods over solid. The reduced eating time is not worth the lack of satiety, tooth decay, and a contribution to a shady business.
The current dietary trends are not doing us a favor when it comes to the obesity and despair epidemic that we’re in. Let’s stop drinking, and let’s start eating our food.
