Hey all, Is it particularly unhealthy to snack on powdered drink mix? The kind that’s just garbage chemicals and artificial flavors. I drink TONS of water every day because I take a lot of medication so I have always drank a lot of water. I pee like 10x a day and it’s very clear so I know I’m getting plenty. That being divulged, we have this powdered drink mix and I like touching the pouch opening to my tongue and sucking on the powder a little bit at a time. It’s tasty and no calories to speak of. I know it’s junk but it keeps me from snacking on junk food. I just wonder if it’s particularly unhealthy to do.

  • jet@hackertalks.com
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    5 days ago

    It’s tasty and no calories to speak of

    It means for the serving size, they can round down to zero, but if you eat more then one serving there are actually calories.

    Zero calorie ticktacks are a good example of this in the wild. almost pure sugar, but zero calories per serving.

    • kadup@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      That’s a loophole that can be used indeed, but keep in mind zero calorie products actually do exist. As in, they have zero calories at all.

      Frequently these artificial juice packets are truly zero calories because they can be made with a simple acid, some food coloring and an artificial sweetener that can’t be absorbed or digested by your body.

      Such a product does have calories in the physical sense (you could combust them) but they have zero calories from a physiological sense.

  • lurch (he/him)@sh.itjust.works
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    5 days ago

    it could be bad for the teeth, if the particular powder contains lots of acid (eg. citric acid). usually that acid would be diluted in the water, so it would be weaker and less of it will touch your teeth. But when you eat the powder directly, it’s concentrated and depending on how much of it touches your teeth, it can become a problem.

  • actionjbone@sh.itjust.works
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    6 days ago

    It’s no more unhealthy than if you were to use it to mix a drink.

    That said, check out Soylent and Huel. they make powdered meals that are actually healthy and nutritious. Would be healthier than sugary drink powder.

      • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Soylent and Huel are both disgusting.

        I don’t know. I’d say Soylent Green varies from person to person.

          • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
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            5 days ago

            It was too good a line not to use here!

            The whole Slurm factory episode has to be one of the finest pieces of comedy writing in history.

            • AndrewZabar@lemmy.worldOP
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              5 days ago

              I don’t know what episode of what show you’re referring to, but Soylent Green is a film from 1973, wherein it turns out it’s made from people. Whatever comedy thing you’re referencing must have been riffing off that.

              • akwd169@sh.itjust.works
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                5 days ago

                Futurama, in which Leela is a character, so both users were on the same page before your comment

                No contention, just saying

              • Apepollo11@lemmy.world
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                5 days ago

                It’s Futurama, from the episode “Fry and the Slurm Factory”, which itself is a huge riff on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

                Futurama riffs and nods to old Sci-Fi all the time, and this was just a nice throwaway for those of us old enough to know the source material.

                Here’s the exchange in full:

                What if the secret ingredient is people? No, there's already a soda like that - Soylent Cola. Oh how is it? It varies from person to person.

      • commie@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 days ago

        Soylent just tastes like a slightly cereal flavored milk to me. I honestly prefer it among all the meal replacements, and I’ve had about all of them. I’m going to finish my last few bags of jimmy joy and go back to it.

    • AndrewZabar@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 days ago

      Ok so just curious when you say it’s no more unhealthy than drinking it, what credentials are you basing that assessment upon? I’m not trying to be dickish, this is all to put my wife’s mind at ease.

  • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
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    5 days ago

    It’s unhealthy to drink tons of water. Water poisoning is real. When you drink too much water you purge minerals and other useful substances out of your body.

    • AndrewZabar@lemmy.worldOP
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      5 days ago

      Yes learned about that a long time ago. But it woukd have to be like three gallons a day mayne even more. I don’t drink quite that much. And it’s not called water poisoning, it’s called water toxicity.

      • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
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        4 days ago

        Sorry, litteral translation. English isn’t my mother tongue.

        It’s about two gallons to get acute symptoms but just drinking loads of water for a long time can get your sodium levels dangerously low. Anyway, just take care. Too much of anything is… too much.