Switching to Jake - some questions

[ryanhellyer]

I recently announced on the Huel forum that I was switching to one of their competitors (Jake). My reasons were that I prefer the taste and viscosity of Jake and the convenient single use packets. Huel is a thick viscous goop which doesn't taste good, I can't just pick it up and take it with me on the move and requires more shakes to get the same number of calories as you can't mix it with just a little bit of water like Jake.

I do still have some concerns though. In particular I'm wondering how much maltodextrin is present in Jake. Can you share the quantity you are adding to the mix?

And is there any chance you can reduce the amount of sugar? With Huel I consumed almost zero sugar at all, but it makes up a decent chunk of Jake. It's below the recommended maximum intake, but that's a maximum, not a recommendation. Most nutritional experts seem to recommend almost no sugar at all, and since Jake has sucralose I don't really see any point in adding more of it for taste.

[Mat_Phillips]

Are you differentiating at all between "sugar" and "sugars"? If you consume no sugars at all, I'm pretty sure you'll die. Quickly.

I have tried Huel and found it to taste very sweet, leading me to suspect lots of artificial sweetner, could be worse than real sweetener perhaps? But I'm speculating and I try not to.

Science aside, I've consumed mostly Jake for over two years, weekends sometime see restaurants or comfort convenience food for fun, otherwise it's all Jake all the time. My health is fine and weight is stable. Blood pressure seems fine but untested, no noticeable negative affects at all.

If there's "too much" sugar in Jake, then ok, but "too much" should come with negative effects, and I see none.

[ryanhellyer]

I didn't say "no sugar", I said "almost no sugar" I don't think you would die very quickly on a zero sugar diet, but you'd have a very unpleasant time until you did. But I also assume the death would be caused by the type of foods you'd need to eat, not the lack of sugar directly. AFAIK all vegetables contain significant amounts of sugar and living on no-vegetables would be interesting to say the least.

I haven't seen any evidence that consuming large amounts of sugar is a good thing, in fact quite the opposite.

leading me to suspect lots of artificial sweetner,

Nothing to suspect. It definitely contains lots of artificial sweetener. I haven't seen any evidence to indicate this is a problem, unlike sugar.

[Mat_Phillips]

Fair points.
From what I can determine, and I've had this debate with friends ad nauseam without resolution, all things being equal- the body does not really care what you feed it.

If we concede that a 2000calorie diet is about right, and you consume 2000 calories of pure sugar, supplemented with all the macro nutrients needed to keep the brain firing, then you'll be ok. Your stomach on the other hand will not thank you. nor will your plumber.

It's a fine balance between what is 'needed' and what is 'good'. People say that to lose weight, you must not consume any fats. Relating fats in foods with fat in... you. I disagree, but I don't expect to change anyones mind.

What I can tell you, is that I once lost 40 pounds while dieting. And the diet consisted of a strict 1300 calorie per day regime, created from a carefully measured balance of pizza and red wine. And a multi vitamin. Not "healthy" but not fat free either, and it worked.

Anyway, I digress. IMHO the level of sugar in Jake is nothing to worry about. But if you are concerned, there are plenty of alternatives out there. I chose Jake after evaluating many other products for taste/consistency/availability/price/convenience and it won. Soylent is not available in my country but I tried it for 2 weeks and at the time it would have won, but it lost points due to the whole not being able to actually buy it thing.

Take the ingredients list to your physician and ask their opinion, although when I tried this after being on it for 3 months and asking them to take a full spectrum blood test, they basically told me I was crazy, and what's wrong with a carrot anyway. So your mileage may vary.

[Thom]

I don't think you'll be okay eating 2000 kcal of sugar supplemented with macronutrients.

1. You need plenty of protein and fats
   There are essential fatty acids and essential amino acids that your body needs to survive. They sum up to at least 80 grams of protein per day which will account for 240 kcal and then there's the fat you'll need.

2. You need micronutrients
   Vitamins and minerals are essential. If you're eating pure sugar, supplemented with protein and fat, you're not getting any at all. You'll have some serious issues caused by the vitamin deficiencies within a month and you'll very likely die within the year. Just think of scurvy or rabies.

3. You need fiber
   Or your sugar will flush down your system like ... well you get it. Stomach issues are not just a thing by itself, there's a reason your body doesn't like it. It tells you that it doesn't cope with it. Whenever you feel off, don't ignore it, you have to change something.

4. Sugar will cause your teeth to rot and give you diabetes
   And many other things. Please don't try to sustain on 2000 kcal of sugar per day. I'm not saying you should trust the internet, but just google if it's healthy to eat 2000/4=500 grams of sugar per day. I don't expect you'll find a single source that tells you it's a good idea.

Your body cares what you feed it. Thank god that Jake was created.