There are several ingredients in MealSquares that are not whole foods; here we provide a breakdown of these and why we have chosen to include them.
Salt with iodine: unless we included a massive dose of seaweed, it would be extremely difficult to get to ideal levels of sodium and iodine. In the wild, animals seek out pure sodium deposits to lick, maybe the only known case of animals “supplementing.”
Potassium: a small amount (1/6th of a teaspoon) of potassium salt is added to our recipe to bring us in line with the DRI for potassium. In the future, we might be able to use dried bananas or another whole foods source, but for now we have no ready access to such a product that we can trust. Most such processed foods are treated chemically and have reduced nutrient profiles. We investigated the bioavailability of potassium salt and found it to be well absorbed, much like sodium salt.
Vitamin C powder: MealSquares include over 100% of the vitamin C DRI without any added supplementation. However, vitamin C is the most chemically fragile vitamin, being degraded by exposure to heat, light, or basic mediums. To be on the safe side, we've added a little extra.
Vitamin D3+K2: No whole food source is rich enough in vitamin D and K to reach ideal levels in the diet. Of course, the best source of vitamin D is the sun, but not everyone has the luxury of optimizing their sun exposure. Most animal products are vitamin K depleted due to the fact that livestock do not eat enough vitamin K1 rich foods. While our base recipe includes adequate amounts of these vitamins, we feel the evidence is strong that this addition is necessary. We get our D3+K2 liquid from brands that perform independent laboratory analysis of their products.
Whey powder: has the highest bioavailability of any protein source. It also has a complete profile of all essential amino acids. In addition, whey has shown numerous health benefits. It is the next best protein source after the whole food sources eggs, milk, and fish.
Vegetable Glycerin: Extracted from coconuts, this is used to retain moisture. Unbound water in the system decreases shelf life and hurts texture. It is the safest and most natural substance to perform this role we could find.
Xylitol: Extracted from corncobs, xylitol is highly beneficial to dental health. Regular use has been found to reduce dental cavities to a third their normal rate. We include xylitol because so many parents expressed interest in MealSquares as a component of school lunches. Children often have poor dental hygiene habits, so every little bit helps. The amount of Xylitol needed to show benefits is small. A MealSquare contains around 2g of Xylitol. Xylitol is extremely safe, with hundreds of times the beneficial dose having been consumed for long periods with no ill effects.
Lactase: The lactase enzyme is produced by the human gut to digest milk, but for most of the earth’s population ability to process large amounts of milk decreases with age. A whole day's supply of MealSquares contains less than a cup of milk, but to be on the safe side, added lactase ensures that the milk will be well absorbed and not cause indigestion for most lactose intolerant individuals.
Calcium folinate: The vast majority of folate in MealSquares comes from whole food sources. However, as much as 50% of the population has poor absorption rates for folate. Many foods supplement with folic acid, but this has been found to potentially increase the incidence of certain cancers and neurological disorders. A small amount of calcium folinate, in addition to the folate from whole foods, ensures meeting 100% of the requirements for all populations.
A note on superdosing: Dietary supplements often include many times the DRI of various nutrients on the theory that even if absorption is poor, at least you're getting 16,000%! With MealSquares, you are getting your nutrients from whole foods, meaning nutrient bioavailability is high. We have been careful to keep all nutrients well below tolerable upper intakes. Even if you ate 4000 calories' worth of MealSquares, you wouldn't exceed the safe upper limit for any nutrient.