Is Otsuka Calorie Mate healthy?

34 comments

1. CONSUME.

2. I lean on the side that they’re not healthy. Like the entire purpose is to be a meal substitute for busy salarymen and university kids. Just filler.

3. They’re horrendously unhealthy. If you want to recreate the experience of eating one at home, swallow a multivitamin tablet with a tablespoon of white flour and two of sugar. They’re like [Scottish shortbread](https://www.walkersshortbread.com/product/shortbread-fingers/?tmsb=6zwj69s&tmrl=6ey2j18&tmsl=new-web-recommendation-carousel&tmty=w&tmcv=55&tmcs=f3puela) made with lies instead of butter

4. Other than the 43g of carbohydrates (which are probably added sugar like you said) there isn’t anything that bad in those. Just don’t make it the only food you eat, cause that sounds like an eating disroder.

5. not to mention it tastes terrible imho

6. They’re basically cookies that are packaged to be easy to carry around. Good for when you’re busy and eating on the run, or when you go hiking. But I certainly wouldn’t recommend relying on them as a source of nutrition.

   Still, easier than carrying a banana around.

7. it taste like filth and really bad for you, mostly bad fat and sugar. unless its for your emergency box I would never touch that

8. They’re not meant for daily consumption. More for emergencies or unusual circumstances when you simply need something to keep on going.

9. Just a funny anecdote: One of my old English students, a ~35 year old salaryman guy, claimed to pretty much exist solely on caloriemate. He said he just didn’t enjoy food in general so never cared about actually getting a variety of different delicious foods or anything, he just ate mostly calorie mate for the calories to survive because he didn’t care about taste and it’s easy.

10. I like it for a quick eat. It’s like a shortbread but certainly not as unhealthy given the amount of fat these typically have..

11. They are literally 50% sugar.

12. Even starving on the top of Fuji-san I couldn’t finish one, just garbage.

13. I eat them for a mid-afternoon snack sometimes. Or the infinitely better tasting Balance Power as a dessert sometimes. I figure it’s no worse than eating a rice ball or cookies or other dessert, and maybe marginally better. I never eat it as an actual meal though…definitely not a good substitute for a meal…

    So I think of it this way…better than other junk food snacks or dessert as its fortified with some vitamins and minerals I think. But not nearly as healthy as a real meal…

14. As they contain shortening/margarine (which is pure trans fat), it makes the product extremely unhealthy imo..

15. I bought them only for emergency preservation. I live near a few rivers.

16. Its not healthy for anybody, as any meal cannot be covered by supplements.

    Now, Ive used it when I had to work long shifts and the only way to go back home a bit earlier is not taking a break. I used to pop one of these and kept going as I needed energy like yesterday, as fast as I could, just to keep going. And thats not healthy neither.

    Now I would just get some frozen fruits and a protein tofu bar, but its way more expensive.

17. Not healthy at all. But they are convenient if you don’t have time to eat. I have a couple in my drawer at work so I can fill up my stomach if it’s too busy and I have to skip lunch break, and a couple at home if I don’t feel like cooking dinner and I don’t have anything else to eat.
    I also bring it with me when I travel in location that may not have restaurants or convenience stores. Saved my life a couple of times because I like to explore the inaka.

18. No, but they’re important to maintain energy when you’re infiltrating Tselinoyarsk.

19. > I would bet that 43 g of carbohydrates is 100% added sugars.

    41g of sugars and 2g of dietary fiber, according to their website.

20. No, it is a big bunch of carbs and uses low quality ingredients.

21. It’s processed food, you should know it’s unhealthy just by knowing that.

22. It’s a brick of carbs.

23. They are praised as a meal substitute, but are unhealthy, small and unfilling.

    The one thing they are is a symbol of human stupidity and the power of marketing.

24. it’s just for calories, it is on the name.
    I do think of it as being used for emergency rations, lightweight food for outdoor activities such as hiking, some snack you can eat between meals or just simply calorie replenishment.

    it doesn’t taste good, but it can help getting through hunger for a while.

25. They are literally half sugar. /I often eat them if I get low blood sugar.

26. It’s like eating sand but I’m addicted to them.

27. It never once claimed to be healthy in the sense that it is a diet meal though.

    It does contain enough nutrition to sustain you for a while which is very handy if you are in a hurry. It also gives you a feeling of fullness so you don’t overeat anything else. But beyond that, it is only as “healthy” as a balanced bento box.

28. They are a bad cookie. Get it once in a while if you want to but try to not rely on it

29. The chocolate flavour ones arent bad imo, but the cheese ones taste like feet. Absolutely horrendous.

30. NOPE

31. Meh, it’s basically just calories. As a IIFYM person, it’s not worse than a bread or rice. It’s not *unhealthy*, it’s just something you need to account for in a healthy diet.

    They also kinda suck, so it’s not like you’re gonna be gorging on them. Like, it’s a dry ass biscuit. I’ll eat it in a pinch, but one’s probably my limit.

32. I think we need more info, OP. What are your health goals? Are you trying to reach a specific bodyweight or build muscles? Like any food, having a Calorie Mate every now and then is unlikely to have a negligible impact on overall health.

    Edit: lots of people here seem to have some strange ideas about food. Something being processed or having trans fats doesn’t make it inherently unhealthy. Plenty of people eat margarine or protein powder in moderation and I don’t think that should be particularly concerning. Dose makes the poison, after all.

33. Jc, what a bunch of weirdos. lol. Everyone talking about Calorie Mate like it’s poison. It’s almost certainly less unhealthy than a cookie. Never had a cookie before? Y’all are probably scarfing down massive bowls of ramen and karaage on the daily but oh noes, don’t eat that Calorie Mate! 😂

34. Not bad on a hike or something