Huel FODMAPs content claims misleading? Please clarify

Nutrition
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A quote from Huel’s website says: “I was comfortable and can vouch for this practically, in addition to noting there are no FODMAPs on the ingredients list.”

OK, cool, I though, because I’m currently following the low fodmap diet and I’ve got 5 kg of Huel left :wink:

Well, from the beginning, this claim cannot be 100 percent true as it most probably is low fodmap, not NO fodmap, but that’s fine.

A quick look at the ingredients, however, made me wonder if this claim about being low fodmap is actually true.

The main ingredient of the classic shake is oats. According to Monash, oats are low fodmap when serving size is 60 grams. They are high in GOS when serving size is 100 grams. I’m assuming they are moderate in GOS for serving sizes in between those two values. (btw not only GOS but also fructans, but let’s focus on GOS).

I’m assuming there is around 50 grams of oats per 100g grams of huel.

Another ingredients is flax seeds. Monash says its moderate GOS for servings larger than 15 grams. It’s high in GOS when 30 grams are consumed.

Based on the omega 3 content in huel it most probably is between 11 and 16 grams.

So for a serving of a 100 grams we already have 2 ingredients that individually are probably low fodmap, specifically GOS, but together almost certainly are at least moderate fodmap. The reason I’m assuming this is because both of the ingredients are at their upper limits when it comes to being low in HOS

The phenomenon is called, AFAIR, fodmaps stacking and is also described by Monash, so I haven’t come up with it myself.

I might be wrong in my calculations so I would be very grateful if you could explain this to me.

Kind regards

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Hi @mihal277 - thanks for raising this.

I take your point on the ‘no’ vs ‘low’; I take it you got this from the article. We’ll look to amend this.

I’ve not looked at Monash before, but we have had Huel Powder (v2.3 - but the oats were higher in than in v3.0) tested for GOS and the level was below the level of detection.

I have not come across the acronym ‘AFAIR’ before and a Google search revealed nothing. Can you please link me to more info on this?

This hasn’t come up before, but I do think it’s worth us reviewing our wording, so thanks for raising.

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Hi, thank you for your answer :slight_smile:
I have mentioned Monash because I think their research and app is widely considered as the source of truth in case of FODMAPs. I franky didn’t have idea it is common to test foods for FODMAPs otherwise.

It sounds good that the levels of GOS were low. Still, it’s a little bit confusing that the results are so much different than the ones obtained by Monash. I do understand that it might be becase of differences in samples (i.e. the sample of oats or flax seeds tested by Monash might have been different). On the other hand such a huge difference is strange. Could you share how you tested?

When it comes to AFAIR: sorry for a confusing wording. I meant As Far As I Recall. So it actually should have been: As far as i recall, the phenomenon is called fodmaps stacking. https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/fodmap-stacking-can-i-overeat-green/

Again, thank you very much for the answer. Would be cool if you could share the method or testing or some other details :slight_smile:

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A better known initialism would be AFAIK (as far as I know)

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Or IIRC (if I remember correctly).

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My guts say : above 100g, Huel v.3 act as if there were a significant amount of FODMAPs. My guts don’t lie :sweat_smile:

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Hi! Nice to see you engaging with the community here.

Quick random thought, it looks like the Monash University does a certification process for low-FODMAP foods. I’m pretty new to navigating IBS, but so far it seems like the Monash app is a pretty ubiquitous tool used in a lot of the community. If there ever were interest, applying to register Huel in their database would do a lot to help IBS sufferers better understand it as a tool to manage their symptoms, as I’m currently experimenting with now, and would provide some exposure for the product as well.

https://www.monashfodmap.com/product-and-recipe-certification-program/

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There is also the FODMAP friendly program:

https://fodmapfriendly.com/fodmap-friendly-program-application-form/

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Late to the topic, I know.

But getting an official Monash certification would benefit the huel company and some consumers. Are there any updates on this? :slight_smile:

PS: my personal experience is: Did 2 1/2 days only gluten free powder 3.0 which lead to digestive issues on the last day (However this could also be due to the fact that that they were fodmaps in my digestive system just waiting to hit the critical section to be fermented…)

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