I can’t find any specific allergen information.
Given this is everything the body needs and nothing it doesn’t my assumption is that Huel is both gluten and lactose free. Can you confirm please?
It’s vegan, so of course it’s lactose free. There will be some gluten in the oat flour, but unless you’re celiac, that won’t be an issue.
I am coeliac so it will be an issue. Any plans to use gluten free oats? I am reliably informed that the human body was not designed to tolerate gluten, hence the reason upwards of 10% of people report some form of gluten intolerance.
The “gluten intolerance” thing is highly debatable, and it seems there’s very little scientific consensus about whether or not non-celiac gluten sensitivity is an actual thing. Some research I’ve heard of (but not read myself) seems to suggest that a lot of so-called gluten-sensitivities are more due to problems with other components of wheat.
I’m personally not a fan of any argument that says we’re not “designed” for something or other. Designed when? By whom? What does it mean? If you mean that we didn’t evolve that way, we’re not Designed to eat tomatoes either, but we’re fine with them (They were first cultivated in 700 AD or thereabouts and only grew natively in the Andes).
For as long as we’ve been eating rye, wheat and oats, we’ve been consuming gluten. We’ve been cultivating wheat for 12000 years! I would imagine we’ve had an opportunity to develop a gut that can handle it, just like we’ve developed to handle dairy products from other animals as part of our diet. I’m a vegetarian and have recently started eating gluten-based protein components. Basically, it’s ENTIRELY made of gluten (plus some seasoning). I thought “well, I’ll find out now if there’s a problem with that…” but there was no issue at all. It’s now a staple of my diet.
A lot of things that are good for most people can harm others. Peanuts, for example. I have problems digesting soy, personally, though I seem to be fine with the soy protein that constitutes a third of the protein in my post-workout shakes. My girlfriend is fine eating low-gluten breads made with a lot of rye and spelt and such, but struggles with high levels of gluten in the same way I struggle with soy. It’s not debilitating, just a bit gassy and uncomfortable.
What’s my point? Oh right. Gluten isn’t the Devil it’s made out to be by market forces that want to sell people the Gluten Free Lifestyle. Even so, the amount of gluten that is in oats is negligible, and those who are not celiac will not even notice it. I agree that they should look into using gluten-free oats if they’re not doing that already, though, as they are marketing themselves as good for people with various intolerances and allergies.
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You are clearly well read and highly opinionated (per the rules of the forum, this is simply an observation).
However, I am still coeliac. Does somebody from Huel have a view please?
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Huel uses standard oat (not gluten free oats) which are officially iclassed as an allergen.
This is the same for all products that contain oats apart from the ones which are specified as gluten free. There are not other allergens in Huel - as laid out by the https://www.food.gov.uk/science/allergy-intolerance/label/labelling-changes
Having said that we also add the warning that Huel is made in environment that also handles nuts, peanuts and eggs.
I hope that answers your question.
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On the lactose issue above I found on Huel’s blind test review on the website. …
’’…The ingredients listed suggest this product would be suitable for vegetarians, vegans and those with lactose intolerance’’
Please could you confirm officially that it is suitable for lactose intolerant people ?
I’ve been taking Huel to replace one meal a day and from my experience so far I am feeling more energetic and have had no issues digestion wise (I have IBS and lactose intolerant)
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