Superfoods make humans say goodbye to three meals a day

From a technical perspective of nutritional supply, it is now possible, but it is neither possible nor necessary for all mankind to completely abandon the three-meal habit that has lasted for thousands of years.

First of all, let’s make it clear that we are not talking about the single “Internet celebrity ingredients” such as kale and chia seeds that are marketed to the sky, but what the industry calls complete nutritional formula foods – which meet the requirements of the national standard GB29922 and accurately match all 7 major categories of nutrients and more than 40 essential trace elements needed by the human body. If eaten in sufficient quantities, they can completely cover the daily nutritional needs of ordinary people and will not cause any nutrient deficiencies. Last year, I helped a domestic outdoor expedition team make a nutrition plan for their journey through no-man’s land. Their weight was limited and they couldn’t bring fresh food. During the 32-day trip, they relied on three 120g full-nutrient energy blocks plus electrolyte water every day. When they came back for the physical test, no matter what Whether it was hemoglobin, vitamin levels or muscle mass, the differences from before departure were all within the normal fluctuation range. Even the constipation caused by insufficient dietary fiber that I was worried about did not appear - the fructooligosaccharides and resistant dextrins specially added to the formula were sufficient. I also know an algorithm engineer from Byte. During the three months of project iteration last year, he basically relied on two bottles of fully nutritious milkshake and a protein bar every day to solve the problem of eating during the workday. Calculated, he saved at least an hour and a half every day waiting for takeout and eating. Finally, the project went online and won a grand prize. He still maintains the habit of drinking milkshakes during workdays. He said, "Instead of spending half an hour eating takeout that I don't know if it is clean, it is better to drink this to save worry, and the time saved can be used for fishing." Not to mention that enteral nutrition has been used clinically for decades. It is essentially a medical-grade super food. Many cancer patients and patients with digestive dysfunction who cannot eat normally after surgery have relied on it to maintain their nutritional supply for more than half a year. They have not touched ordinary meals at all, and all indicators are normal.

But if you say that all mankind will say goodbye to three meals a day from now on, I will be the first to disagree. When I was testing a new recipe, I ate all-nutritious superfoods for seven days. On the fifth day after get off work, I passed by a kebab stall at the entrance of my community. I smelled the aroma of cumin mixed with roasted butter. My footsteps were fixed on the spot. I bought 20 skewers on the spot and stood on the roadside to finish them. All the precise ratios and nutritional structures were forgotten. Humans are not machines that live only on nutrients, right?

When you come home during the Chinese New Year, the ribs your mother has stewed all afternoon are served to the table. You take out an energy bar and say, "Mom, I won't eat it. I have enough nutrition." See if your mother will throw the bar directly to you in the trash can. When you are on a date with your partner, she puts on makeup for two hours and wants to have a candlelight dinner with you. You say, "Let's not go to the restaurant. Let's drink a bottle of milkshake and we'll be done in two minutes." It's amazing that this kind of relationship can last. Today, three meals a day are no longer simply a way of providing nutrients. They are the link between people and the most tangible comfort in a tiring life. These attributes cannot be replaced by high-end super foods.

The nutrition community has been arguing about this matter for almost ten years now, but there is still no conclusion. Most of those who support complete replacement are researchers of nutritional reductionism. They believe that what the human body needs are the more than 40 clear essential nutrients. Whether they are extracted from natural foods or artificially synthesized, as long as the structure is the same and the intake is sufficient, there will be no difference. But scholars who oppose it also have solid evidence. Researchers who believe in food holism believe that there are thousands of phytochemicals in natural foods whose functions we have not yet understood, such as sulforaphane in broccoli and proanthocyanidins in blueberries. The synergistic effects of these substances cannot be simulated by a single supplement. There are no potential health risks in long-term consumption of formulated superfoods. There is currently no large sample tracking data for more than 10 years, so no one can be sure.

In fact, there is really no need to quarrel. Superfoods have not been here to "eliminate" meals since their birth. They just give us one more choice. If you are busy with projects and can’t find time to eat, if you don’t have the conditions to bring food outdoors, or if you have a poor appetite after surgery and can’t eat, it can help you secure your nutritional bottom line, so you don’t have to go hungry or worry about lack of food. ； If you have time to get together with friends, want to try your mother's cooking, or check out a newly opened creative restaurant, then just sit down and eat your three meals. No one will force you to take out a nutrition bar.

Last time I saw someone arguing online about "whether superfoods are IQ taxes" and "should we say goodbye to three meals a day completely?" I thought it was quite ridiculous. To put it bluntly, it is just a tool. It can be used as convenient as it is. There is no black and white standard answer.