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Comment by OJFord | Hacker News Reader

> they are drinking a high-calorie product because it is marketed as being good for you

Are they, and is it?

I tried it once and didn't like it, but I've always bucketed it with hot chocolate. I've certainly never had or heard it associated with improving health.

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Absolutely that is how it is marketed. When you visit a sick relative, it often tradition to bring something to them. Often, people will show up with Horlicks or Complan bottles. It is fortified with vitamins so people conflate Horlicks with it being healthy. However, it is mostly carbs and sugar. I know a lot of Indians who insist that their children drink it as part of their breakfast.

Basically the same kind of thing gets marketed here as nutritional drinks, that basically end up being vitamin powders and glucose. While I'm not sold on the notion of something like Soylent as a dietary replacement, at least they're not just mixing sugar and chicory starch and calling it a day.

I have a few cases of Soylent that I keep around for days I have no appetite. The good thing about Soylent is that its CEO actually survives on it, and they really do care a lot about what goes into it. They're constantly improving their formula.

Yeah, I do respect the product for what it is, and while it's not something I'd use 24/7/365, I'd definitely turn to it in a pinch. I also agree with you about the care and the improvements, they seem to be willing to listen to feedback too.

I have reservations about people who think they should survive on it, but if they're going down that road anyway this seems like a safe choice.

The slogan of Horlicks is "Taller, stronger, sharper". Grew up in the Caribbean and every mom swore by it so we drank it.

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