Table of contents
1 What is liquid nutrition?
2 Liquid food and the daily diet
3 Advantages and disadvantages of liquid nutrition
4 Where you can buy liquid nutrition
5 Liquid food as a real alternative
6 The most important information at a glance

What you should know about liquid food

The rise of wholesome meals in liquid form can no longer be ignored. To bring more clarity to this opaque (and viscous) matter, we at Saturo created this article. It answers all the burning questions about liquid nutrition.

What is liquid nutrition?

Liquid food is any food that is consumed in liquid form. This includes soups, smoothies, drinks and shakes.

As long as it contains important ingredients for the body, it can be described as "food". How healthy or unhealthy it is for your body will be explained shortly.

However, when we talk about liquid food in this article, we are referring to complete drinkable meals that can replace a solid meal. These are offered either as a ready-to-drink shake or in powder form for self-mixing. However, if you have to replace all meals due to illness, you should use medical drinkable meals, but only after consulting your doctor. This includes Saturo explicitly not.

Liquid food usually consists of all the important nutrients (proteins, healthy fats and carbohydrates) and vitamins that the human body needs. The ingredients of the food must always be indicated on the packaging.

Of course, every manufacturer of liquid meals has its own secret recipe, so the exact distribution of ingredients remains a mystery. With Saturo for example, we use soy as a source of protein and isomaltulose instead of conventional sugar.

By the way: not every liquid meal is vegan, gluten-free or lactose-free.

It all depends on the manufacturer's recipe - although most already have several products in their range so that there is the right one for every requirement. If a purely plant-based diet is important to you, you should take a close look at the ingredients table.

Liquid food and the daily diet

How well does liquid nutrition actually fit into everyday life?

Perhaps this sounds familiar to you: In the morning, you'd rather stay in bed a few minutes longer than have a hearty breakfast. During your lunch break at work, you don't have enough time to eat something "sensible". In the evening, you want to go to the gym, but your hunger prevents you from doing so.

In situations like this, a liquid diet comes in handy. It takes no time and still fills you up.

But a few questions remain.

Can you only eat a liquid diet?

However, nutritionists point out that liquid food is best consumed as part of a balanced diet[1]. We do not recommend eating liquid food alone.

The advantage of eating liquid food is that you get all the essential nutrients and feel full. If you eat a liquid diet, you won't be tempted to eat too much unhealthy food. At the same time, a balanced diet with vegetables, nuts and olive oil and little animal fat is recommended.

If you have any queries or questions, please contact us directly. Our support team will be happy to help with any questions.

Advantages and disadvantages of liquid food

We have created the following table so that you have the most relevant advantages and disadvantages of liquid nutrition at a glance:

Vorteil der FlüssignahrungNachteil der Flüssignahrung
Hohe ZeitersparnisKann schlecht für die Zähne sein
Niedrige Kosten pro MahlzeitNicht immer natürlich
Vitamine und Mineralstoffe enthaltenBestimmte Pflanzenstoffe fehlen
Weniger Müdigkeit nach dem EssenGeschmack ist gewöhnungsbedürftig

In addition to the advantages already mentioned above, the low cost of liquid food stands out.

Because if you mix your own shake with powder, you can get by with costs of sometimes less than 2 euros per meal - with powder from Saturo 1.49 per meal.

And you'll still be full! Not even the unhealthy fast food chains can keep up. So much for the advantages.

One point of criticism that is repeatedly mentioned in connection with liquid food is the possible damage to teeth if the liquid food contains too much sugar[3].

In addition, it must be said that - although it is often advertised as containing all the vitamins - a few plant substances are still missing. To be more precise, these are so-called "secondary plant substances" such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. [4]

Although these phytochemicals are not essential for survival, they are certainly beneficial for our digestion and immune system. The German Nutrition Society recommends 5 portions of fruit and/or vegetables per day[5].

At this stage, liquid food cannot yet fully replace these, but it certainly offers a healthier alternative to junk food. If the liquid diet contains too little fiber (less than 30 g per day), this increases the risk of constipation[6].

The last disadvantage of liquid food, which should not be neglected, is that the social factor of "eating together" is lost. Logically, this only applies if you only eat a liquid diet, which we do not recommend, or if you eat your main meals as drinkable food.

Where you can buy liquid food

Not every supermarket offers this modern form of nutrition for sale. We at Saturo are lucky enough to cooperate with large retailers so that our liquid nutrition can already be bought in stationary stores.

You can find out exactly where to find us with our store finder.

Otherwise there are only 2 ways to order your own ration of drinking food:

Saturo: our own liquid food

Admittedly, we are not entirely unbiased here, as this is our own product.

In the test Saturo offers the drinkable meal as a powder as well as in 330 and 500 ml bottles. With the large bottles, you can choose between three flavors (original, chocolate and coffee), with the small portions there are four flavors.

You can order the 500 ml bottles in packs of six, at a price of 3.49 euros per bottle. The ready-made shakes from Saturo are 100 percent vegan and use soy protein.

  • 500 ml drinkable food

    For: People with a high energy requirement

    Special feature: All nutrients, 500 kcal, 25 g protein

    Learn more 
  • 330 ml drinkable meal

    For: People who want a lot of variety

    Special feature: All nutrients, 330 kcal, 17 g protein

    Learn more 
  • Meal shake

    For: Everyone who wants an individual drink

    Special feature: All nutrients, purely plant-based

    Learn more 
  • Energy bar

    For: Anyone who wants a snack on the go

    Special feature: All nutrients, protein from rice and peas

    Learn more 

Liquid food as a real alternative

Drinking food, whether from Saturo or another provider, has established itself as a real alternative. Not because this form of nutrition can completely replace solid meals. But because the products offer a change from the typical "in-between meals", which usually consist of junk food.

After all, who wants to stand at the stove every evening after work and cook something or prepare for the next working day?

This is exactly where liquid food products come into play and solve this problem for you - at least from time to time. Fortunately, the various companies offer trial packs so that unsure customers can test their way through the range.

The most important information at a glance

  1. Liquid food is generally a complete meal and contains all the important nutrients.
  2. Not all liquid foods are vegan, as some manufacturers use cow's milk as a base.
  3. Liquid food is an excellent and healthy alternative to junk food.

FAQ: Liquid food

How expensive is liquid food?

That depends on the manufacturer. Prices for a 500 ml bottle vary between 3 and 4 euros. It is even cheaper in powder form.

What is all liquid food?

Liquid food includes all foods that can be consumed in liquid form. For example, soups, milk, drinks or shakes.

Is liquid food vegan?

Not necessarily. There are purely plant-based drinkable meals that are based on soy or pea protein. However, some manufacturers use cow's milk as a source of protein.

Is liquid nutrition healthy?

Most meal replacement drinks contain all the essential nutrients and vitamins that the human body needs.

Sbalitelný obsah

Sources

  1. Bayerischer Rundfunk (16.10.2018)Proteins, powdered food: Huel / protein shakes in a self-test | Good to know | BR | Philip tastes it [video file]. Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZINgWIwmI6E&ab_channel=BayerischerRundfunk
  2. Tieken, S.M., Leidy, H.J., Stull, A.J., Mattes, R.D., Schuster, R.A., & Campbell, W.W. (2007) Effects of solid versus liquid meal-replacement products of similar energy content on hunger, satiety, and appetite-regulating hormones in older adults. Horm Metab Res. 39(5):389-394.
  3. Aegis Dental Network (february 25, 2016) Chug, don't sip? The impact of liquid diets on your teeth. Retrieved September 19, 2020 from https://www.aegisdentalnetwork.com/news/2016/02/25/Chug-Dont-Sip-The-Impact-of-Liquid-Diets-on-Your-Teeth
  4. German Nutrition Society: Secondary plant substances and their effect on health - An update based on the 2012 Nutrition Report. DGEinfo (12/2014) p178-186. Retrieved September 19, 2020 from https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/weitere-publikationen/fachinformationen/sekundaere-pflanzenstoffe-und-ihre-wirkung/
  5. German Nutrition Society: 10 rules of the DGE. Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://www.dge.de/fileadmin/public/doc/fm/10-Regeln-der-DGE.pdf
  6. Yang, J., Wang, H.P., Zhou, L., & Xu, C.F. (2012) Effect of dietary fiber on constipation: a meta analysis. World J Gastroenterol. 18(48):7378-7383.
  7. Gelberg, H.A., Kwan, C.L., & Mena, S.J. (2015) Meal replacements as a weight loss tool in a population with severe mental illness. Eat Behav. 19:61-64.
  8. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Avocado, raw. Retrieved September 22, 2020 from https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/786651/nutrients
  9. Mourao, D.M., Bressan, J., Campbell, W.W., & Mattes, R.D. (2007) Effects of food form on appetite and energy intake in lean and obese young adults. Int J Obes (Lond). 31(11):1688-1695.
  10. DiMeglio, D.P., & Mattes, R.D. (2000) Liquid versus solid carbohydrate: effects on food intake and body weight. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 24(6):794-800.