Quickly "lie down"?

Nowadays, meal replacements with the characteristics of low calorie, easy satiety and balanced nutrition are very popular among young people

Meal Replacement

Meal replacements, as the name suggests, replace meals

In this issue of "Food", we will explore the food safety of meal replacements through experiments~

Are Meal Replacements Safe?

● Are meal replacement foods safe or not? It is rumored on the Internet that drugs will be illegally added to meal replacement products to achieve the purpose of rapid weight loss.

Experiment 1: Does the meal replacement food illegally add drugs?

There are a total of 3 testing items in this experiment, respectively testing whether the samples contain prohibited ingredients such as fenfluramine, sibutramine and ephedrine

In the laboratory, the inspectors used professional equipment to test the sampled meal replacements:

(Results of illegal drug testing indicators)

It can be seen from the above table that the three indicators of fenfluramine, sibutramine, and ephedrine were not detected in the meal replacement sampled

However, there is currently a lack of national mandatory standards for meal replacement foods, only the "Meal Replacement Food" group standard issued by the Chinese Nutrition Society in 2019

This has also led to the inevitable problems of uneven product quality, excessive marketing, and false publicity in the meal replacement food industry

Can Meal Replacements Really Lose Fat?

● In addition to safety, people are most concerned about the effect

We all know that only if the daily energy intake is lower than the consumption can achieve the effect of fat loss

Are these nutrient content labels accurate? We conducted a second experiment on a sample of purchased meal replacements

Experiment 2: Is the nutritional content on the label of the meal replacement food consistent with the actual one?

There are a total of 5 detection items in this experiment, respectively to detect whether the energy, fat, carbohydrates and other components in the sample are consistent with the label value:

(Comparison of the nutritional composition test results of meal replacement food with the label value)

Remarks: The former data is the actual detection amount, and the latter data is the labeled amount

Since the three liquid meal replacement products B, C, and D contain less insoluble dietary fiber and the product packaging is not marked, no relevant experiments have been carried out

It can be seen from the above table that the nutrient composition test values ​​of the sampled 6 meal replacement foods are roughly the same as the labelled values, all within the standard range

Meal replacements are just a "tool" in the fat loss process, not a simple replacement for meal replacements

After reading the above experiments, you must have other questions about meal replacements

NO.

Meal replacement foods should not be eaten for a long time
.
The use of meal replacement food is for weight control, it is time-based, and it is not suitable for long-term use, but it can be used intermittently
.
Because some products on the market are low in energy, they are not fortified with nutrients, so the content of nutrients is low, which will cause a lack of dietary nutrients
.
It is recommended that when the weight reaches a certain ideal range, you should resume a normal diet, properly control energy and increase exercise, eat more dietary fiber, and achieve energy balance in order to maintain a healthy weight
.

NO.
2 Is everyone suitable for meal replacement and fat loss, and who are not?

Meal replacements are mainly aimed at overweight and obese people.
In fact, there is no need for ordinary fat-reducing people to use meal replacements.
Appropriate control of diet and exercise is the healthiest
.
Meal replacement foods are not recommended for pregnant women, lactating women, infants, children, the sick and the elderly
.
In addition, meal replacement foods are generally high in dietary fiber and should not be used for people with gastrointestinal disorders and insufficiency of digestion
.

NO.
3 How to choose meal replacement food correctly?

Pay attention to choosing big brands, especially the content of food labels.
One is to look at the composition of the formula ingredients, and the other is to look at the nutritional value table.
It is preferred to choose more ingredients and major nutrients such as B vitamins, iron, zinc, calcium, etc.
It is recommended to refer to the Meal Replacement Food Group Standard (T/CNSS 002-2019) issued by the Chinese Nutrition Society
.

Special reminder: If the purchased product is a health food approved by the state and has the function of losing weight with a blue cap, choose to take it according to its product instructions and labels
.
(Editor Li Chuang)