There are various products and supplements available in the market that are consumed by users to fulfill the deficiencies in the diet. However, every product is designed with a different aim to complete various nutritional gaps.
The true most common diet supplements available in the market are Soylent and Ensure.
Key Takeaways
- Soylent is a meal replacement drink that provides complete nutrition, while Ensure is a nutritional supplement primarily designed for seniors and medical patients.
- Soylent offers more protein, fiber, and calories per serving than Ensure, making it a more filling and balanced meal option.
- “Ensure” provides essential vitamins and minerals to support overall health, while “Soylent” aims to replace full meals with a balanced nutrient profile.
Soylent vs Ensure
Soylent is a nutritionally complete drink that contains 20 essential vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients to provide balanced nutrition. It has no added sugar or artificial flavors and colors. Ensure has more calories than Soylent. Also, it has added sugar which makes it taste sweeter than soylent.
The design of Soylent was for consumers to replace their current usual and regular food patterns of daily meals with the meal supplement which provides all the basic food ingredients that are required by the body. The product is manufactured by Soylent Nutrition Inc.
The first launch of the product in the market was in the year 2014.
On the other hand, the design of the product Ensure was mainly for consumers who wanted to gain mass and effectively maintain their Body Mass Index or BMI. The product is manufactured by Abbott Laboratories.
The first launch of the product in the market was in the year 1973.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Soylent | Ensure |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber content | It provides 27 grams of fiber | It provides 9 grams of fiber |
| Sugar content | It provides six grams of sugar in every serving | It provides 15 grams of sugar in every serving |
| Nutritional value | The product is rich in potassium, sodium, and fibers while having a low content of sugar and carbohydrates | The product is rich in carbohydrates while has a low content of fiber |
| Ingredients | It is completely vegan and contains soy proteins | It is not completely vegan and contains soy extracts as well as dairy products |
| Purpose | To replace daily meal | To suffice the nutritional deficiency by an addition to the daily meal |
What is Soylent?
Soylent is a meal replacement of an American brand called Soylent nutrition Inc. The private company develops and manufactures all the products.
The introduction of the products was first done in the year 2014 after the company had a crowdfunding campaign. The place of origin of the product is in the United States.
The product was first invented in the year 2013.
The region or state of the meal replacement is in Los Angeles, California. The product was developed and created by Rob Rhinehart.
The American engineer made the meal supplement by an experiment which gathered attention mainly on Hacker News. The serving temperature of Soylent can be at room temperature as well as refrigerated.
The food energy which is obtained from every serving of the meal replacement is around 400 kcal.
The main ingredients that are used in the production of silent are maltodextrin, rice starch, water, soy protein isolate, canola oil, high oleic algal oil, oat fiber, and isomaltulose. The naming of the product as silent has been after a science fiction novel by Harry Harrison called “Make room! Make room!” which was published in the year 1966.
Soylent claims that the nutrients used in the production are essential for leading a healthy lifestyle. However, there is a lot of criticism about the same product which elaborates on the expense of the pleasure which is derived from eating and sharing food.
Some users also face gastrointestinal problems like flatulence from the consumption of the product.
What is Ensure?
Ensure is a dietary supplement that is manufactured and produced by an American brand called Abbott Laboratories. A usual bottle of Ensure has a capacity of 237 mL and contains about six grams of fat, 220 calories, nine grams of protein, and around 15 grams of sugar in the bottle.
The detention camps of Guantanamo Bay of United States had used Ensure extensively in the force-feeding of hunger-striking prisoners.
The launch of the product in sure was done by Harry C. Moores and Stanley M. Ross. The dietary supplement was launched in the year 1973 as a drink.
The marketing was done by Ross laboratories which had later merged with Abbott Laboratories. In the year 1966, 80% of the sales of total protein supplements were accounted for by Ensure.
The main ingredients that are used in the production of Ensure are corn maltodextrin, soy protein isolate, water, canola oil, sugar, and concentrate of milk protein. The product also has added flavors and ingredients like soy extracts and dairy which can be a problem for users who have allergies to the specific ingredient.
However, there is various criticism around the product like the Center for Science in the Public Interest announced that the product was “the most misleading food ad of the year 1995”. The manufacturing company had settled charges of falsely marketing the product from the Federal Trade Commission in the year 1997.
Main Differences Between Soylent and Ensure
- Soylent is rich in fibers while Ensure lacks fiber in the product.
- Soylent lacks vitamins while Ensure is rich in carbohydrates and vitamins.
- Soylent serves comparatively fewer calories per serving while Ensure serves high calories per serving of the supplement.
- Soylent is ideal for consumers who are on a tight budget while ensure is ideal for consumers who are ready to splurge some extra bucks
- Soylent can replace daily meals and usual food while Ensure is used as an addition to the daily meal and regular food.
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1866029.1866078?casa_token=8yapjr_1lWUAAAAA:DPuTicJmI3gjgSCL8PwOb0uUiukrwlxxzIcFnAriPSYENzqDgas5x_qgIDvA92RsW3e6FbxtNWU92A
- https://www.academia.edu/download/38099805/Soylent_prez_final.pdf
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