Huel food. Any good?
Discussion
Mr Pointy said:
So said:
Stuff
You can buy an unsweetened version:https://uk.huel.com/pages/the-huel-powder-formula-...
huel said:
"Unflavoured & Unsweetened Huel Powder isn’t for everyone. The taste is very earthy, and most people prefer the taste of our flavoured versions. Vanilla is the best choice if you would like a neutral flavour to add your own flavours to."
So they are steering people towards products with artificial sweeteners in, right?Is there much difference between Hurl and other "nutrition in a tub" products? On the face of it, it doesn't appear so. But I stand to be corrected.
Mr Pointy said:
So said:
Stuff
You can buy an unsweetened version:https://uk.huel.com/pages/the-huel-powder-formula-...
So said:
Potentially yes. But is eating artificial sweeteners going to help them?
You get the gut you feed and all that.
Why is that observation a 'potentially' but the stuff about artificial sweeteners worth an essay? Particularly when the evidence about obesity and gut bacterial has mostly been studied in people, but with artificial sweeteners it is mostly in mice and in the studies with people the results are less consistent.You get the gut you feed and all that.
Again, pick you battles. If Huel helps someone get down to a healthy weight then good for them.
gregs656 said:
Why is that observation a 'potentially' but the stuff about artificial sweeteners worth an essay? Particularly when the evidence about obesity and gut bacterial has mostly been studied in people, but with artificial sweeteners it is mostly in mice and in the studies with people the results are less consistent.
Again, pick you battles. If Huel helps someone get down to a healthy weight then good for them.
I don't agree, if it is at the expense of long-term health. In the same way that I don't agree with diets. Again, pick you battles. If Huel helps someone get down to a healthy weight then good for them.
Overweight people are better off attaining a healthy weight eating natural, unprocessed foods than they are with artificial sweeteners.
So said:
Mr Pointy said:
So said:
Stuff
You can buy an unsweetened version:https://uk.huel.com/pages/the-huel-powder-formula-...
huel said:
"Unflavoured & Unsweetened Huel Powder isn’t for everyone. The taste is very earthy, and most people prefer the taste of our flavoured versions. Vanilla is the best choice if you would like a neutral flavour to add your own flavours to."
So they are steering people towards products with artificial sweeteners in, right?Is there much difference between Hurl and other "nutrition in a tub" products? On the face of it, it doesn't appear so. But I stand to be corrected.
hed about it having artificial sweetners, I pointed out you could buy it with out & you're still bhing away.If you'd bothered to read the thread you'd see several posters are using it instead of picking up a sandwich or burger at lunchtime & having good results doing so. It's working well for them as in general it's an improvement in diet. Some people can't be arsed or know how to make food from scratch & Huel is better than eating rubbish.
Get off your high horse.
Mr Pointy said:
FFS you bhed about it having artificial sweetners, I pointed out you could buy it with out & you're still bhing away.
If you'd bothered to read the thread you'd see several posters are using it instead of picking up a sandwich or burger at lunchtime & having good results doing so. It's working well for them as in general it's an improvement in diet. Some people can't be arsed or know how to make food from scratch & Huel is better than eating rubbish.
Get off your high horse.
the bit in bold summarises my reason for using Huel. I'm not obese in any sense, but was lazy re. lunches whilst in the office at work and just cramming rubbish food down my face. So I figure my gut wasn't in an optimal state anyway. That each Huel 'meal' is ~£1.40 is an added money-saving-bonus. hed about it having artificial sweetners, I pointed out you could buy it with out & you're still bhing away.If you'd bothered to read the thread you'd see several posters are using it instead of picking up a sandwich or burger at lunchtime & having good results doing so. It's working well for them as in general it's an improvement in diet. Some people can't be arsed or know how to make food from scratch & Huel is better than eating rubbish.
Get off your high horse.
Using Huel for breakfast and lunch 4 days a week I've lost a stone of middle-age-spread-fat-tyre-gut and kept it off, despite being out of regular exercise due to injury for about 4 months. And I'm happy with that (will be happier when I'm exercising regularly again)
So said:
I don't agree, if it is at the expense of long-term health. In the same way that I don't agree with diets.
Overweight people are better off attaining a healthy weight eating natural, unprocessed foods than they are with artificial sweeteners.
It is not at the expense of long term health though, is it? You don't agree with diets and then go on to suggest a diet. Superb.Overweight people are better off attaining a healthy weight eating natural, unprocessed foods than they are with artificial sweeteners.
I am sure if you posted your own diet, height, weight etc then people could easily poke holes in your choices.
gregs656 said:
So said:
I don't agree, if it is at the expense of long-term health. In the same way that I don't agree with diets.
Overweight people are better off attaining a healthy weight eating natural, unprocessed foods than they are with artificial sweeteners.
It is not at the expense of long term health though, is it? You don't agree with diets and then go on to suggest a diet. Superb.Overweight people are better off attaining a healthy weight eating natural, unprocessed foods than they are with artificial sweeteners.
I am sure if you posted your own diet, height, weight etc then people could easily poke holes in your choices.
I believe that people who carry too much fat are better advised towards modifying their nutrition, using unprocessed foods and avoiding refined sugars and sweeteners. It's a belief borne out of quite a lot of experience, not all of it pleasant.
I am 5' 9.25" and 90kg and posting up what I eat won't help you very much, because you don't know my body composition. I've been that height and weight with some quite different body fat measurements. Equally I could post up what I've eaten today and it won't enlighten you very much.
But I do have an axe to grind with regard to "nutrition in a bottle" type products. I've had some really bad gut problems in the past few years which I suspect can be traced back to when I consumed quite a lot of products containing artificial sweeteners. That combined with eating a diet consistent with strength, leanness and performance rather than long-term holistic health.
In the process of addressing my gut problem I've taken a lot of professional advice, all of which has suggested that artificial sweeteners are really bad news So I don't consume them and don't suggest anyone else does.
Getting back to Huel. They use sweeteners in the vast majority of their products, it appears. When they are doing that I don't really think they can promote their products as healthy.
I am not preaching here, by the way. I am only attempting to share my experience and suggest that people look deeper into these products. They aren't a substitute for a decent whole food way of eating.
Take from that what you will.
This time round, I got a bag of Unflavoured and a bag of Vanilla.
Today, for lunch I'm having purely unflavoured, and it's not that bad, really. I imagine it being a bit like drinking cold, smooth, milky porridge.
I'm going to try it with a squeeze of honey in tomorrow, just to see if it improves it.
If not, I'll do 1x plain and 2x vanilla until the plain is used up.
Today, for lunch I'm having purely unflavoured, and it's not that bad, really. I imagine it being a bit like drinking cold, smooth, milky porridge.
I'm going to try it with a squeeze of honey in tomorrow, just to see if it improves it.
If not, I'll do 1x plain and 2x vanilla until the plain is used up.
So said:
I am not preaching here, by the way. I am only attempting to share my experience and suggest that people look deeper into these products. They aren't a substitute for a decent whole food way of eating.
A little late to the party here so apologies. I think you make some very valid points about artificial sweeteners. But I think you're making the invalid assumption that for many people, Huel is an alternative to "a decent whole food way of eating".
That's not the case. We're eating it as an alternative to processed, nutrient free, calorie dense crap, which (I speak for myself here but probably others as well) we would otherwise be guzzling by the kilogram for lunch.
We're not going to make ourselves chicken, brown rice and broccoli for lunch every day or we'd all be lean as Italian monuments already.
In this context, I personally believe that, whilst Huel may not be perfect, it's the lesser of two evils if you like. Like nicotine gum for a smoker.
YMMV of course.
Usget said:
A little late to the party here so apologies. I think you make some very valid points about artificial sweeteners.
But I think you're making the invalid assumption that for many people, Huel is an alternative to "a decent whole food way of eating".
That's not the case. We're eating it as an alternative to processed, nutrient free, calorie dense crap, which (I speak for myself here but probably others as well) we would otherwise be guzzling by the kilogram for lunch.
We're not going to make ourselves chicken, brown rice and broccoli for lunch every day or we'd all be lean as Italian monuments already.
In this context, I personally believe that, whilst Huel may not be perfect, it's the lesser of two evils if you like. Like nicotine gum for a smoker.
YMMV of course.
Pretty much this. Our works canteen do a meal day every day. It's normally something like fish fingers in a bun, chips, beans and a huge slab of sponge pudding with custard. This can be had for £2.10 as it's subsidised. But I think you're making the invalid assumption that for many people, Huel is an alternative to "a decent whole food way of eating".
That's not the case. We're eating it as an alternative to processed, nutrient free, calorie dense crap, which (I speak for myself here but probably others as well) we would otherwise be guzzling by the kilogram for lunch.
We're not going to make ourselves chicken, brown rice and broccoli for lunch every day or we'd all be lean as Italian monuments already.
In this context, I personally believe that, whilst Huel may not be perfect, it's the lesser of two evils if you like. Like nicotine gum for a smoker.
YMMV of course.
I use Huel as a lunch replacement. Fairly normal breakfast (beans, poached eggs, grilled sausage) but having this for lunch means that I'm not consuming about 1600 calories in one meal! I've added a few changes such as no bread or takeaways and I've cut down on beer and chocolate too. I have a normal evening meal but just make sure I'm a bit more thoughtful (replacing chips with sweet potato fries, etc.) I'm snacking more with apples and ham instead of 3 packet of jaffa cakes.
It's not a diet at all, just part of a few lifestyle changes that help regulate my calorie intake and ensure I'm getting some nutrients in my diet. I've lost a good few pounds over the last 3 weeks. Nothing staggering but I'm also not exercising but I have noticed I can wear my polo t-shirts without looking like I'm hiding potatoes in my top.
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