Last Wednesday, October 12, the food company Soylent—known for their “complete” meals in powder, coffee, or bar form—announced that all of their new meal bars should be destroyed.
That’s because consumers have been reporting severe gastrointestinal disturbances after eating the bars, including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
“I experienced intense vomiting about 3-4 hours after eating a Food Bar. The vomiting lasted several hours. I think it was probably the worst vomiting episode I ever experienced,” one victim wrote on Reddit.
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Soylent company representatives say they don’t yet know what’s causing the GI issues.
In many cases, customers say they had eaten several bars with no problem, only to be struck with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea after consuming another one.
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And that might point to a potential culprit: According to a report from science and technology site Ars Technica, their sources say an intolerance to the soy proteins used in the bar may be to blame.
That’s because the bars contain multiple soy products, which come from different sources. So it’s possible that the soy protein is not getting mixed evenly as the bar is made—meaning someone with an intolerance to one of the soy products might be getting more of the offending ingredient in one bar than in another.
Men’s Health nutrition advisor Mike Roussell, Ph.D., agrees that’s possible. (More likely, it could just be a bad batch, he says.)
In fact, Roussell experienced a similar reaction to another kind of whey/soy protein powder himself—he vomited immediately afterwards.
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A food intolerance is different than a food allergy: It’s a response from your digestive system rather than from your immune system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
With a food intolerance, a component of a specific food irritates your digestive system, causing symptoms like nausea, stomach pain, gas, cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea.
In many cases, people with an intolerance to a certain food can handle it in small amounts without it causing ill effects—while larger quantities pose a problem.
Bottom line: Soylent recall aside, it’s not super rare that eating protein bars could cause you digestive upset—they do contain proteins and fibers you’re not used to eating otherwise, says Roussell.
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You can give it a shot one more time at a later date, says Rousell. If it still bothers your gut, reach for something else.
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“I think the meat based bars like Warrior Bars and Epic bars are a good alternative,” he says. “They don’t have the prebiotic fibers found in many bars, or dairy or soy proteins—all things that could cause GI issues in some people.”
The article Throw Out This Energy Bar—Unless You Want to Vomit Repeatedly originally appeared on Men’s Health
For nearly 10 years, Christa has created health, fitness, nutrition, and wellness content that’s steeped in science but engaging enough that people actually want to read it. She’s tuned in to all the latest research that people with an athletic lifestyle need to know, and prides herself on helping her readers apply it to their everyday lives.
