Huel version 2.0 is now live!

Huel updates
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Hi everyone,

I’m delighted to announce that Huel version 2.0 is now ready! Anybody that ordered after 2pm today will have Huel version 2.0 of Huel delivered to them. This is the same for all subscription orders that are created after 2pm today.

To describe the changes between v1.2 and 2.0, James Collier BSc (Hons), RNutr has kindly written out this section for us:

Huel Version 2.0 - the principal changes

In June 2015 we launched Huel v1.0 and, over the following 2-3 months we tweaked the formula very slightly and produced Huel v1.2 which has been sold for over 10 months. Huel v1.2 was a great formula, but we felt there were a few changes we could make to improve the formula even more. Some of these changes were following suggestions following feedback from Huelers, others were due to our own innovation.

The main ingredients in Huel are unchanged, ie they’re still oats, flaxseeds, pea protein, brown rice protein, MCT from coconut and sunflower oil. However, the amounts of the ingredients have been tweaked and the following are the main improvements and why we’ve made the changes:

1) Addition of Lutein and Zeaxanthin

These two phytonutrients are antioxidants that occur naturally in nature. Although they are not essential per se, as in not consuming them will not give rise to clinical deficiency, they have both been shown that they may have a role in eye health by slowing down the process of macular degeneration in the elderly (1,2,3). We felt that as many people are choosing to consume Huel as a bulk of their diet long term, lutein and zeaxanthin should be included for optimal health.

2) Addition of Lycopene

Lycopene is a naturally occurring carotenoid phytonutrient. Lycopene is especially high in tomatoes and is partly responsible for their red colour (meaning that Huel may have some small slight red flecks). Lycopene is a potent antioxidant with a range of benefits (2). Antioxidants are required to quash free radicals, and can slow the aging process, reduce cardiovascular disease risk and reduce the risk of some cancers. There is particularly good evidenced that the long term use of lycopene reduces the risk of prostate cancer (4,5,6,7). We’ve added lycopene to Huel v2.0 as we feel its inclusion is of significant benefit to health.

3) More vitamins and minerals from natural food sources

We’ve been able to reduce the amounts of some of the added vitamins and minerals in our vitamin and mineral blend. This is because we now have more accurate data from our food ingredients, where previously we were cautious. Also, we’ve altered the amounts and ratios of our six main ingredients to enable us to do this.

4) Replaced Folic Acid with L-methylfolate Calcium (1,000 times more expensive than folic acid)

For our source of folate, we’re now using L-methylfolate calcium, the biologically active form of folate instead of synthetic folic acid (8). L-methylfolate calcium is over 1,000 times more expensive than folic acid, but we felt it an important improvement.

5) Changed our Vitamin B12 Source to Methylcobalamin

For the source of vitamin B12, we’ve swapped to methylcobalamin from cyanocobalamin. In the body, cyanocobalamin is converted into the biologically active form methylcobalamin, so using methylcobalamin in Huel removes a step in metabolism and it’s more bioavailable (9). Although it’s very uncommon, some individuals do have an allergic response to cyanocobalamin, but this is even rarer with methylcobalamin.

6) Optimised the Ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 Polyunsaturates

We’ve tweaked the ratio of omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturates to an optimum ratio for cardiovascular health. Both omega-6s and omega-3s are essential; for more information read our article Good Fats & Bad Fats.

7) Xylitol is now the Principal Carrier for our Vitamin and Mineral Blend

Huel’s bespoke vitamin and mineral blend requires a carrier; previously the principal carrier was maltodextrin, but in v2.0, we’ve replaced this with xylitol a natural ingredient.

8) Addition of Finely Ground Sea Salt

We’ve added a tiny amount of finely ground sea salt to help maintain adequate sodium intake.

As well as the above changes, we’ve decided to be more accurate in respect of supplying information to our customers in regards to the macronutrient energy split. Most people think that only carbohydrates, fats and proteins supply energy and only these should be counted in macronutrient energy split; however, in reality, there are a number other constituents of foods that also supply energy (to be discussed in more detail in a future article), the most important one being fibre. The ratio of the macronutrients in Huel v1.2 was 40 : 30 : 30 - carbohydrate : fat : protein; i.e. 40% of total energy comes from carbohydrate, 30% from fat and 30% from protein. These three macronutrients most people think of as supplying energy with each gram of carbohydrate and protein each supplying 4 calories and each gram of fat supplying 9 calories. As fibre contributes about 2 calories per gram, and is such a significant component of Huel - and indeed any healthy diet - we feel this needs to be included in any macronutrient energy calculations. Therefore Huel v2.0 is 37 : 30 : 30 : 3 - carbohydrate : fat : protein : fibre split as its macronutrient profile.

References

Semba RD, Dagneilie G. Are lutein and zeaxanthin conditionally essential nutrients for eye health? Med Hypotheses. 2003;61(4):465-72.
Linus Pauling Institute. α-Carotene, β-Carotene, β-Cryptoxanthin, Lycopene, Lutein, and Zeaxanthin. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/carotenoids
Richer et al. Double-masked, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of lutein and antioxidant supplementation in the intervention of atrophic age-related macular degeneration: the Veterans LAST study (Lutein Antioxidant Supplementation Trial). Optometry. 2004;75(4): 216–30.
Giovannucci E. A review of epidemiologic studies of tomatoes, lycopene, and prostate cancer. Exp Biol Med. 2002;227(10):852-859.
Gann PH, et al. Lower prostate cancer risk in men with elevated plasma lycopene levels: results of a prospective analysis. Cancer Res. 1999;59(6):1225-1230.
Etminan M, et al. The role of tomato products and lycopene in the prevention of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2004;13(3):340-345.
Kirsh VA, et al. A prospective study of lycopene and tomato product intake and risk of prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006;15(1):92-98.
Pietrzik K, et al. Folic Acid and L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate Comparison of Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics. Clinical Pharmacokinetics. 2010;49(8): 535–548.
Methylcobalamin Info. http://www.methylcobalamininfo.com/methylcobalamin-vs-cyanocobalamin/

Let us know your feedback on the changes, and happy Hueling everyone!

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I am happy to see Huel is investigating what is best for a human and constantly striving to improve, congratulations.

I have some comments and questions about Huel 2.0.

  1. Is there anything to keep in mind when transitioning from a diet of 100% Huel 1.2 to 100% Huel 2.0? Will it be a smooth transition?

  2. There is a typo on the label for Huel 2.0 Unsweetened & Unflavored - it says “Fluoride (as Sodium Flride)”. The spelling of Sodium Fluoride is wrong.

  3. The list of ingredients no longer mentions sources of Molybdenum and Selenium. Does this mean Huel 2.0 no longer adds Sodium Molybdate and Sodium Selenate, and instead gets these essential micronutrients from the other ingredients?

  4. I worry a little about the salt content of Huel 2.0. The recommended upper limit of 6g/day (EU Reference Intake) is the maximum, not a target value. What is the reasoning for making it 6.4g/day, which is even higher than the maximum EU Reference Intake?

  5. Is it something to worry about that the only source of vitamin B12 in Huel 2.0 is methylcobalamin? Here is copy from Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylcobalamin ):

“Methylcobalamin is not sufficient as a singular source of vitamin B12. Hydroxocobalamin and cyanocobalamin can both be split by the body into methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin. Methylcobalamin on the other hand is not converted into adenosylcobalamin. Deficiency of adenosylcobalamin disturbs carbohydrate, fat and amino-acid metabolism, and hence interferes with the formation of myelin.[3] Thereby it is important to treat vitamin B12 deficiency with hydroxocobalamin or cyanocobalamin or a combination of adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin.[3]”

The source for this statement is:

Is it something to worry about that the only source of B12 in Huel 2.0 is methylcobalamin?

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One question:
What is the reason for Sodium Fluoride being included?

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Will the folic acid change cause a price increase?

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Pretty dissapointed with the change in form of B12.

From http://veganhealth.org/b12/noncyanob12

“Requirements for these forms have not been fully elucidated and common recommendations are for 1,000 µg/day.”

This has kind of made me lose faith in the product - the fact that you’re using a form that hasn’t been studied enough of such an important nutrient makes me doubt that you’ve taken care with sourcing the forms of your other nutrients.

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Does adding Fluoride imply we don’t have clean teeth when drinking huel? :slight_smile:
I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but Fluoride’s safety and benefits are very controversial and I’d prefer not to be drinking it everyday.

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I live in an area where they fluoridate the water, does that mean I am going to be getting double dosed? I’d rather avoid that.

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What if it has, but your sources are just not as up to date as Huels?

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That’s definitely a possibility - I’ll wait for their reply to see.

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Not saying you couldn’t be right, but one thing is to question it, another is the complain about it, before we know the reality of it.

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True, though as rikefrejut noted, the article from wiki (which is generally up to date) says “Methylcobalamin is not sufficient as a singular source of vitamin B12”

So I find it hard to believe that they are aware of some studies that say the opposite - however, I’ll admit that I’m wrong if they reply and produce the requested evidence :slight_smile:

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I already ordered Huel 2.0 for the next month. Was SO CLOSE to purchasing Bertrand instead, because I was uncertain that the previous Huel was sufficient for a 100% Huel user in the long run. Something just felt…not optimal.
Now it seems like they went through all the ingredients again, in order to optimize it (especially for people using it 100%), so I would be surprised if they missed out on this.
I’ll follow this thread to see if I have to use B12 supplements with Huel 2.0 :frowning: And yeah, that also makes me question what could be missing.

Let’s wait and see what they say :slight_smile:

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What I find surprising is the amount of B12 they include in Huel as well. They quote http://www.methylcobalamininfo.com/ as their source for claiming that methylcobalamin is better than cyanocobalamin (though it hardly looks like an unbiased source…), but if you go to the website, they recommend a supplement that has 5000 ug in every tablet! Huel 2.0, on the other hand will only give you 2.5 ug of B12 per day.

Given how cheap cyanocobalamin is, if I were you, I would keep supplementing with B12 while on Huel.

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This is what I’m thinking too.

Although I use a toothpaste and mouthwash with fluoride, I spit them out. Swallowing it every day as part of Huel is a different thing, though. It seems like a rather fundamental mistake to make.

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Hi folks. Thanks for the feeback so far on V2.0; I’ll respond to the points above tomorrow.

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Marcus, alexbraidwood - remember that the dose makes the poison.

If you have a day’s worth of Huel, you’ll have had less than 1mg of fluoride. The lethal dose is over 5000 times as high!

Keep in mind that fluoride is added to tap water, and that at those doses it’s a safe and effective way to significantly improve oral health. And among the scientific community, there isn’t any controversy about it.

So this really isn’t anything to worry about. Not drinking Huel because of its fluoride content would be akin to not eating apples because of their cyanide content, or not eating pears because of their formaldehyde content!

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Thanks for the feedback; we’ve implemented these changes as positive steps listening to feedback from Huelers as well as looking at optimising the Huel formula.

@rikefrejut

  1. There should be no issues

  2. Yes – thanks for pointing that out; we’ll get it changed

  3. Correct. We have better data and we’ve changed the main ingredient ratios; requirements are met naturally.

  4. As you may know, salt intake is based on sodium content and we have to list the levels as ‘salt’. We felt the sodium level needed boosting as previously it was below the EU amount. This level of ‘salt’ reflects the inclusion of sea salt, sodium naturally occurring from the main ingredients and inclusion from the vitamin & mineral blend

  5. We changed the source of vitamin B12 due to methylcobalamine being much preferred to cyanocobalamine. The study you reference is looking at treating deficiency; what sort of B12 deficiency? There’s also no reference as to how they came to the conclusion.

Re sodium fluoride – we felt that for Huel to be ‘nutritionally complete’, it should contain fluoride. Comments noted on the controversy about fluoride, though: we are already aware of these discussions.

@Atkobo
Not at all; despite the cost, the inclusion level is low.

@Lupacante
Sorry that you’re disappointed with this change; I actually felt this would be one of the improvements people would be most pleased about. Thanks also for your link. However, comments there are mainly anecdotal and the references cited refer only in part to forms of B12 and are referring to pernicious anaemia. Nevertheless, I do wish to read them fully and come back to you more thoroughly on this point; so please would you guys bear with me on this? It’s good to be questioned, although knowing I’m under scrutiny means I want to cover everything.

I can assure you all, though, in the meantime, that requirements are met at amounts included in Huel V2.0.

Thanks, guys for now. While I’m coming back on the B12 issues, in the meantime, are there any other queries on other aspects of Huel 2.0?

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Thanks for the detailed response!

My disappointment wasn’t with the fact that you’re using methylcobalamin per se, but that you’re using it at such a low dose - the evidence that this is enough just isn’t there. Given the importance of B12, this strikes me as a bit imprudent.

"However, comments there are mainly anecdotal"
Exactly - methylcobalamin just hasn’t been studied as well as cyanocobalamin, and this is what I find a bit worrying.

However, I realise that, as humans, we are far more likely to criticise than to praise. I haven’t tasted this new version, but as far as I can tell, the rest of the changes look amazing!