Fibre in Huel Blending

Nutrition
1

Hi all,
I consume two meals of Huel a day with extra oat bran powder. One meal is blended with a Nutribullet and one is just mixed in a shaker. I was recently having a discussion about fibre nutrition with a friend who posed the following questions:

  1. Since Huel is a powder, does the powdering process not cut the long fibre molecules and turn it into carbs?
  2. If you are blending said powder into a smoothy, does this not cut the fibre as above?
    I am aware that this is probably not an issue for soluble fibre, but can someone offer some (evidence based) advice on how this affects insoluble fibre (which I believe are the long fibre molecules my friend was talking about)? I have tried internet stuff and predictably have got lots of conflicting opinions and little science.
    Thanks!
2

A molecule is far too tiny and far too strong to be physically cut by the powdering process. No cutting or grinding tool exists that could do it. Molecules are only changed by chemical reactions.

It is possible that the processing causes molecular changes due to heat, but this is always accounted for and often intended.

Keep in mind that long-chain molecules are still only nanometres in length. Much smaller than a piece of Huel powder.

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3

Tell your friend that Huel is the same consistency as every other food once you chew that food (as long as you chew properly).

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4

Thanks for this - so why do I find lots of articles talking about how blending destroys insoluble fibre? are they just wrong?

5

Blending does not destroy anything - merely changes its state slightly. You are not applying enough energy to cause a significant change. Blending may affect fibre activity in the body as it can reduce its ability to hold water, but that’s about it. This would have to be a very powerful blender that has completely liquefied everything however.

I think many people confuse this with juicing which clearly does reduce or remove much of the fibre content.

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