I am actually a MANA long-term user for over 2 years.
Huel had only tried it once in a while but was not enthusiastic about the miscibility.
Recently I have read more negative opinions about maltodextrin and found Huel again.
Just from the numbers MANA has a greater variety of protein, fats and fiber.
Do you think there’s a lot of marketing involved, I haven’t seen oat oil anywhere, for example :D? So that Huel has a higher quality despite less variety?
Regarding maltodextrin, is the effect really no different than with sugar on the body, which you read everywhere?
Because the GI of MANA and Huel is very identical, although MANA contains more sugar.
Maybe someone can comment neutrally, I know that I am here in the Huel Forum
I follow closely MANA and Jimmy Joy and other brands, but they use Maltodextrine and Soy protein and that is a no-go for me. Huel is the one that fits me best, I like the product, the company, I have contacted some of its employees and it inspires me reliability.
That been said as this kind of food choice is a 40-60% of my diet, a change in the formula or the price can make a big difference, and I am open to other brands.
For me right now, there is no doubt, Huel is the best in the market, despite its flavour or the mixability are clearly not the best.
Maltodextrine is not that bad, is a very quick release that can be helpful in some situations, but as a daily food I don’t want that in my body. Is quite cheap and has no other micronutrients, so its just “energy”.
Obviously I’m not neutral but here’s my two cents.
Variety is only important for protein to ensure you’re getting all the amino acids. Huel does this mainly with two protein sources, pea and brown rice, although oats and flaxseed provide minor amounts of protein. Increasing the number of protein sources without increasing the amount of protein offers no benefits.
The same is true for fats.
In regards to fibre, the fibre in Huel comes from the whole ingredients oats and flaxseed. Whereas Mana add the fibre as isolated ingredients. There’s no problem with either option but more variety e.g. adding carrot fibre, again is not adding any extra benefits.
The effects are very similar. As Adrián has said maltodextrin can provide a quick source of energy and is helpful for providing a smooth texture and easy processing, but not much else beyond that.
Both Huel and Mana have a low GI (below 55) but Huel v3.0 has a GI of 16 and Mana a GI of 29.
You’ve got it Adrián there are several different fatty acids. A variety of fats is important to an extent, but there are only really 2 essential fatty acids, linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
The body can use these, along with other organic components to make the other fatty acids the body needs.
