# What benefits would it take for you to eat pills instead of real food? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561 "2019-10-27T21:24:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/21 "2019-10-28T12:40:40Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > How would you go on a date without going out to eat? You’ll be too busy making out with your Monroe Bot. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/22 "2019-10-28T12:57:33Z")
I’d do it in a heartbeat. Heck, I don’t know how many times I’ve wished out loud for that very thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/23 "2019-10-28T13:17:21Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > I’d love it. Preparing food is one of the most annoying things I do every day. Every day, three times a day. I’m so sick of it. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I’d do it in a heartbeat. Heck, I don’t know how many times I’ve wished out loud for that very thing. Both of these. > [@dalej42](#): > > How would you go on a date without going out to eat? Perhaps you could spend more time eating out? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/24 "2019-10-28T13:21:05Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > How would you go on a date without going out to eat? Are you serious? I don’t mean that to be snarky, I just can’t tell if you’re making a joke and it’s gone over the top of my pointy head:confused: ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/25 "2019-10-28T13:40:11Z")
If I could wash them down with a cup of hot, sweet, creamy coffee, I’d go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/26 "2019-10-28T13:58:01Z")
Preparing and enjoying food is one of the top two pleasures in life. Which of those is number one is probably age dependent 🙂 This pill idea would create Hell on earth. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/27 "2019-10-28T14:37:05Z")
I’d do it in a heartbeat! I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I avoid so much food - too many calories, too much sugar, too much salt, too spicy, too greasy. With gastroparesis (super slow digestion) and GERD most food makes me sick, food-related gatherings aren’t fun but are anxiety-inducing. I go to the grocery store and can spend however much I want on whatever I want, and I walk out with nothing. I get absolutely no joy from eating, and it’s sad. I’d be happy to just be over it. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/28 "2019-10-28T14:46:49Z")
Does it have to be an all-or-nothing choice? I’d do it for breakfast and weekday lunches. In fact, I already do to some extent - I often grab a bottle of Soylent to save time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/29 "2019-10-28T14:55:46Z")
I wish they’d make something like this so we can watch the people who say they want it can try it out and shortly return to eating like the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/30 "2019-10-28T14:59:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I wish they’d make something like this so we can watch the people who say they want it can try it out and shortly return to eating like the rest of us. we have Soylent, and it seems most popular amongst a certain personality type. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/31 "2019-10-28T15:05:36Z")
Never. They’d make packing a bug-out bag a lot easier, but as a regular thing? They’d have to grant immortality to even get me to consider it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/32 "2019-10-28T15:24:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I wish they’d make something like this so we can watch the people who say they want it can try it out and shortly return to eating like the rest of us. Because you somehow know people better than they know themselves?:dubious: I’ll grant that the OP didn’t specify if it is an all or nothing proposition. I wouldn’t like to _never_ have another morsel of food for the rest of my life because, ya know, pizza, but I could easily forgo eating, with only two or three meals a month and the rest just pop a pill. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/33 "2019-10-28T15:27:08Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Right, but let’s assume that the pills make your body work healthily and perfectly fine. I don’t see how that’s possible. Your body needs not only nutrients, but also fiber: bulk going through to keep the system working. In order to get enough of that in pills, you’d need to swallow such a quantity and size of pills that it would be just like eating a lot of tasteless, hard to swallow meals. Why do that, when you could eat something that tastes good and goes down easily? Plus which, food is a major social hook for humans – and not only for dating purposes. This is built into us through very many generations of evolution. And even people who very often eat alone get strong desires for particular foods, which aren’t going to be satisfied by swallowing pills. For emergency use, and/or for people whose systems are already so badly destroyed that they can’t eat normally, pills that provide all essential nutrients might be worth developing, even though they’d lack the fiber – presuming, of course, that we can figure out what all those nutrients are, and what the right proportions of them are for various people living under various circumstances. As a routine diet for the bulk of the population: no way. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/34 "2019-10-28T15:27:31Z")
Food does more than just provide nutrition to the body. Many foods stimulate hormones responsible for our emotional well being as well. I don’t think this should be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/35 "2019-10-28T15:31:20Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > I’d keep a supply around for backpacking or as meal replacements but all the time? Never. Not ever ever gonna happen. I like food–I like to shop for it, prepare it AND eat it so yeah, no thanks. Yep, useful for emergencies, but on a daily basis, I would rather they made pills that meant I could comfortably and safely eat ten meals a day ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/36 "2019-10-28T17:01:38Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Not a chance. A huge part of my enjoyment of life is food. Ditto. And preparing food is also what I do to destress and be creative for a bit. I told my wife if I ever stop enjoying cooking, then something is deeply wrong with me psychologically. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/37 "2019-10-28T17:14:39Z")
If they don’t expire, they’d be great to have on hand for apocalypse prep, as well as space missions, wilderness excursions, long road trips through the desert, and other times when food security might be an issue or when carrying enough food for everyone is unwieldy. I’d expect the government to stockpile them in case of war or famine, and probably offer them free or very cheap to the poor or anyone else who wants them. Personally, I can’t see taking them myself outside of emergencies or the occasional novelty. I actually enjoy cooking and eating, a lot. But tiny, nonperishable pills that supply all nutrients and calories necessary for survival and optimum health would undoubtedly be a huge boon to society. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/38 "2019-10-28T18:11:43Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Are you serious? I don’t mean that to be snarky, I just can’t tell if you’re making a joke and it’s gone over the top of my pointy head:confused: Not joking at all. Maybe it’s just me, but a restaurant has always been my first choice for a date to get to know someone. Oh, I prefer movie and a dinner, since once you’ve seen the film, that gives you something to talk about over dinner. Then, if things are going well, you can have cocktails at a bar later. If things are going well, after a few dates then it’s time to have a big where you get together and cook dinner at one of your respective apartments. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/39 "2019-10-28T18:51:07Z")
Not on your life. I enjoy eating too much (in both senses) and I also enjoy cooking although my wife does it better. I even don’t mind cleaning up. It’s funny how sharply the Dopers divide on this. Should have been a poll with clearly defined responses. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2019, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561/40 "2019-10-28T18:55:03Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Not on your life. I enjoy eating too much (in both senses) and I also enjoy cooking although my wife does it better. I even don’t mind cleaning up. It’s funny how sharply the Dopers divide on this. Should have been a poll with clearly defined responses. I enjoy eating different foods and trying new things. I also enjoy cooking and trying new recipes and such. But that’s because, since I HAVE to eat every day, I might as well find a way to enjoy it. Futurama quote: “Nobody enjoys killing penguins, but if you have to kill penguins you might as well enjoy it” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-benefits-would-it-take-for-you-to-eat-pills-instead-of-real-food/842561.md?page=3)