Sucralose issues aka Sweetened vs Unsweetened

Just wanted to provide some feedback. I’ve had issues with sucralose in the past as in I tried replacing sugar in my tea with splenda and I ended up with bad heartburn after several days, switching back to sugar got rid of it and going back to splenda caused it to flare up.

When I first tried Huel (flavoured/sweetened version) I noticed some similar effects, but not as bad as I’d had it before and it seemed to calm down when I started adding cocoa powder. Anyway I finished my 2 packs of sweetened Huel and ordered some of the unsweetened, the unsweetened was, as expected, awful without anything added for flavour but fantastic with some of the strawberry flavouring.

With the unsweetened version there was no sign of the heartburn and the bitter aftertaste which sometimes lingers for me with the flavoured version, I actually upped my intake of Huel whilst on the unsweetened with strawberry flavour mix choosing to mostly just eat breakfast and then Huel for the rest of the day. However I went through the strawberry mix very quickly, having to use 10g per 100g of Huel and so ordered some more along with some flavoured Huel as the extra cost of the flavouring was pushing up the price.

Anyway my unsweetened batch of Huel ran out yesterday morning and I switched back to the vanilla without giving it any more thought. As I was going to bed last night I suddenly felt heartburn creeping back and slowly realised it must be the switch back to sucralose, sure enough as I’ve been continuing to drink the vanilla I mixed yesterday I’ve had mild heartburn all of today.

So I’m going to go back to mixing in cocoa powder with this flavoured batch and hopefully it will get rid of the heartburn again, then I think I’ll stick to the unsweetened version from now on.

One final thought on sweetened versus unsweetened. I’ve noticed that with the sweetened version clumps of huel stick to my blender blades meaning that I need to put it through a cleaning cycle (add water + washing up liquid and blend for a few secs) whereas with the unsweetened, the blades are always clear of lumps etc and a quick rinse under the tap is fine.

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Wow 10g per 100g you must have a very sweet tooth.

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Unsweetened also stopped my heartburn. Not sure what’s in the vanilla version that causes it for me.

Sucralose, E number E955, Cas no.56038-13-2, artificial sweetener manufacturing process via chemical synthesis, from sugar. Function: contains no calories, reduce sugar or calorie intake for weight and health purposes. The sweet of Sucralose is twice than Saccharin, three times than Aspartame. Sucralose Uses: in Beverages and Beverage Mixes, Carbonated beverages, Baked Goods and Baking Mixes, Hard and Soft Candy, Jams and Jellies, Chewable candy and tablet, Coffee and Tea, Table-top sweeteners, Chewing gum.

It is 600 times sweet than sugar

Personally, I would have loved to use the sucralose without any complaints as taste-wise, I do like it alot. However, I have side effects from drinking the Vanilla version of Huel which are skin bumps appearing around my nose area. I obviously did not go 100% the first weeks as I had slowly implemented the Huel into my diet as recommended. One meal of Huel everyday for two weeks actually, before trying out 100%. By the time I started using it 100%, the side effects just got worse (more skin bumps and more ridiculous looking ones too). I almost thought I had to go to the doctor thinking it was something else other than the Huel that was causing these issues. I do not know the real reason behind this, but when I switched to the unsweetened version, those skin bumps disappeared, as if they had never existed. Is it sucralose? Might be, as using the Stevia flavour pouches with the unsweetened Huel bags have been giving me super clear complexion as of late.