[Retric]

There are a many meal replacements out there that are meant to supplement a diet. Ensure for example is easy to find, but it's not designed to be the only thing you eat.

There are some medical products that fit the goal, but I don't know of any that are marketed to the general public. Though, if you actually have a better alternative in mind I think a lot of people here would be interested.

[DanBC]

> Ensure for example is easy to find, but it's not designed to be the only thing you eat.

Untrue. Ensure has many different products, and many of them are complete meal replacements.

[Retric]

Link?

From there site: https://ensure.com/nutrition-facts-questions-answers

"Can Ensure products be used as a meal replacement or a snack? Yes, Ensure ready-to-drink shakes and drinks can be used as a snack and as an occasional meal replacement."

[DanBC]

The fact they don't market themselves to the general public as a complete meal replacement just means they're a) aware that they're operating in a litigious market segment and b) not fucking arseholes who recognise that they have a duty of care to people who use their products.

It's telling that Soylent kickstarted with a bunch of bullshit medical claims, and that while they've dropped those claims they continue to make borderline dishonest claims.

Ensure is used as a total meal replacement for people with severe illness and for people being fed through a naso-gastric tube (sometimes against their will).

But if you're a doctor you probably one of the other Abbott brands, which have licencing and testing to support them.

http://abbottnutrition.com/brands/abbott-brands

EG: http://abbottnutrition.com/brands/products/ensure-plus-thera...

> For interim sole-source nutrition.

[Retric]

Jevity one of the abbot brands you mention is clearly designed for long term use as 'sole-source nutrition'. And, I am sure someone has lived off of Ensure, but just because they also sell total nutrition products does not mean Ensure was designed for that role.

Design goals matter, Jevity/Oxepa/etc being designed for feeding tube use has little focus on taste.

Another example, Osmolite is sole-source nutrition but it's low-residue which is not good for healthy people who need more fiber.

PS: You can look through there brands, but there is a reason they sell so many different kinds as they each have different trade offs.

ED: I have had significant digestive issues in the past so I have done some research into this. And, talk to a nutritionist before going on any unusual diet, it's easy to mess things up long term.