Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

was supposed to drink four cans daily, for a total of

900 calories.

Metrecal itself was a rebranded food product orig-

inally designed for hospital patients or other invalids

unable to digest solid foods. Named Sustagen, the

liquid meal substitute consisted of a mixture of

skimmed-milk powder, corn oil, and soybean flour,

supplemented with vitamins and minerals. When

Mead Johnson found that patients reported feeling

comfortably full on Sustagen and were satisfied with

it as the equivalent of a meal, the company decided to

rename their product Metrecal and market it as a diet

food in 1960. In the mid-1960s the company intro-

duced Metrecal cookies, nine of which made a meal,

as an alternative to the liquid formula.

Metrecal lost much of its market in the 1980s as a

result of competition from Slim-Fast, which cost much

less and was aggressively promoted in the mass media.

In addition to lower price, the original Slim-Fast prod-

ucts tasted much better to most consumers than

Metrecal, which had a noticeably chalky taste—so

much so, in fact, that one team of researchers in Phil-

adelphia used Metrecal to test its effects on the con-

centration of gastric acid in patients diagnosed with

peptic ulcer. In addition to a more pleasing taste, the

original Slim-Fast formula came in a wider variety of

flavors and included breakfast and lunch meal bars as

well as the canned shakes and a powdered formula

that the dieter could mix with skimmed milk at home.

In the early 2000s, Slim-Fast lost some of its pop-

ularity due to widespread interest in theAtkins diet.

The company replaced the sugar in its original liquid

formula with Splenda, an artificial sweetener, and

added an additional gram of fat to the formula in

order to help dieters feel fuller longer. Another mod-

ification to the earlier formula was increasing the pro-

portion of nonsoluble dietary fiber, which also

increases the dieter’s feeling of satiety. The new line

of Slim-Fast LMRs is called Slim-Fast Optima Hun-

ger Control Shakes. In addition, the company has

added several lines of specialized diet products for

dieters with lactose intolerance, dieters interested in a

low-carbohydrate weight-control plan, and dieters

who prefer ahigh-protein diet. As of 2007, there are

five separate lines of Slim-Fast diet products:

Original Slim-Fast formula: available in ready-to-

drink shakes, smoothies, meal bars, and powder.

Slim-Fast Optima: available in shakes, meal bars,

snack bars, and powder. Cookies, a new product,

were added to this line in early 2007. Each serving of

one of these products supplies about 8 grams or 14%

of an average adult’s daily protein requirements. The

products come in a range of vanilla, chocolate, peanut

butter, coffee, caramel, and strawberry flavors, as well

as various combinations of these.

Slim-Fast High Protein: available in shakes and meal

bars. These products contain almost twice as much

protein (15 grams per serving) as the Optima products.

Slim-Fast Easy-to-Digest: available only in shakes,

this formula is lactose- and gluten-free, for people

who cannot digest products containing wheat or milk.

Products for a Lower-Carb Diet: available as shakes

or snack bars.

Description

The Slim-Fast Optima diet plan is available in a

44-page booklet that can be downloaded from the

Slim-Fast website. The booklet explains that the

Slim-Fast plan is based on the dieter’s present weight

level rather than a one-size-fits-all calorie level or rigid

menu. The dieter is instructed to substitute Slim-Fast

products for two meals per day, use them for a

between-meals snack if desired, drink plenty of

Slim-Fast®

Slim-Fast® Calories per Protein Carbohydrates Fat Cholesterol Sodium Potassium Fiber

product serving (g) (g) (g) (mg) (mg) (mg) (g)

Original shake 220 10 40 2.5–3 5 220 600 5

Easy to digest shake 180 10 24–26 5 5 200 500–600 3

Low-carb shake 180–190 20 4–6 9 15 220–260 550 2–4

High-protein shake 190 15 23–24 5 10 220 550–600 5

Optima shake 180–190 10 23–25 5–6 5 200 550–600 5

Original nutrition bar 140–150 5 19–20 5–6 5 65–80 115–160 2

Low-carb nutrition bar 120 1–6 14–21 4.5–5 5 70–80 n/a 1–2

High-protein nutrition bar 190–200 15 20–21 6–7 0–5 200 270–300 2

Amounts vary with product flavors

(Illustration by GGS Information Services/Thomson Gale.)

Slim-Fast