Going 100% - why not?

Hi there,

So in this post, Tim says that, although Huel is 100% nutritionally complete, Huel’s team of qualified nutritionists still don’t support going 100% Huel.

I hear this a lot when I read reviews of Huel or discuss it on forums. But why is that? If it’s 100% nutritionally complete, then what’s the problem?

The reasons I usually hear from others are:

  1. It’s processed (they’re not clear on why this is a problem - processed foods are normally fatty and salty, which Huel isn’t)

  2. Some of the nutrients are artificial (they’re not clear on why this is a problem)

  3. You are not likely to stick to it in the long run (perhaps, but this isn’t really relevant to its nutritional value)

Thanks in advance.

There is no problem, aside from Huel being advised by their lawyers to never say “We are recommending that you eat Huel for 100% of your calories”.

Always pay close attention to the language. “100% Huel diets are not something they support” does not mean they are against it, it just means it is not something they work with.

I’ve been eating Huel (and a few times tried other complete foods to see if I could switch to another brand if something goes wrong with Huel) for 100% of my calories for many years. No issues here. You can do it too, if your body handles it well.

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Hey Timmy, from my perspective it’s more so that we don’t actively encourage it, rather than we don’t support it, full stop.
Yes, it is nutritionally complete, at 2000 calories. Huel is a food that contains protein, fat, carbs, and the 26 (UK) essential vitamins and minerals as well as additional benefits, such as phytonutrients. There are many reasons why someone may choose to include Huel in their daily intake (for example: nutrition, health, access, affordability, time, etc) and in these situations, Huel can be a great option. However, we also encourage the social and fun aspect of food, such as cooking a meal with family/ friends in the evening. I personally have Huel for breakfast and lunch and enjoy my evenings cooking new recipes with the music going in the background (much to my boyfriend’s displeasure, my singing voice is a solid 2/10).

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Thanks Jess. I’m sure your voice is amazing.

So, to be clear: from a nutritional standpoint, there’s nothing wrong with going 100% Huel? It’s just the social aspect etc?

I wouldn’t bet on it! :sweat_smile:

Yes, you can consume Huel as 100% of your intake (with the caveat of no underlying health conditions/deficiencies).

If you’re interested, we also recently conducted a trial where participants consumed Huel v3 Powder as 100% of their intake for 4 weeks to assess various markers of health-Is Huel healthy? We Did a Study to Find Out

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Thanks Jess - very interesting

I agree with the other comments here that the answer to ‘why not 100%’ is largely non-nutritional. However, I do think the first reason in your post deserves attention. In the last year or two, the consideration of ‘processed’ food has led to the the new terminology of ‘processed’ and ‘ultra-processed’ where the latter are the more indicative of health issues. The definition of ‘ultra- processed’ is still a bit vague but includes additives for preserving, colouring, and improving mouth feel. The advice is to avoid foods with many such additives. Is Huel an ultra-processed food? Probably not, but I do have concerns about gums and Sucralose and have shifted to U+U recently.

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We have another Forum post here I think you’d be interested in reading, Andrew- https://discuss.huel.com/t/ultra-processed-foods-huel-revisited

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I have been 100% Huel only for 8 months now. Not a sip of almond milk, not a bit of rice, not a pint of beer. 100% Huel.

I feel fantastic. Is that proof you should be doing it? Absolutely not. Don’t do it. It will rob you of your sanity. You are probably going to live a very long life on 100% Huel, but humans are social, and social events with food and drinks are important. If you don’t care about that, sure. (not a nutritionist, just another consumer).

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:+1: sanity is overrated anyway, plus ‘I feel fantastic’ is about as good as it gets.

What does “going 100%” mean for you? Standard or Black edition, also RTD or other Huel products that are considered by most to be closer to “normal food”?

Is it still 100% if you also have other drinks than water? Does ist matter whether they are calorie free or not? What about supplements? If I take them, is it still 100% Huel? Because in either of those cases, some macro-or micronutrients come from other sources - although these sources would not be called “food” by most people.

What I want to say is: When we talk about “100%”, do we really always mean the same thing?

Huel’s own 100% diet study comprised only of Huel Powder with fluid intake consisting of plain water, herbal / black tea or coffee – so all the calories/nutrition coming from the product itself. I guess people may have their own interpretations of it.

100% (+/-)