Huel Makes Me Really Sleepy

I’ve been taking a nap after breakfast and early lunch Huel. I’ve just had my breakfast and want to go back to bed. What would be the reason for this?

I took two days off and ate normal food, all organic natural no bad stuff, and was fine.

It’s driving me mad I literally can’t keep my eyes open.

Sounds like you might have a food intolerance to one of the ingredients in Huel. Is there anything listed in the ingredients that you don’t normally eat?

I’ve been trying to be vegetarian /vegan since January and eating a ‘clean’ all organic diet before Huel so basically covering a good amount of what’s in Huel anyway.

I mentioned in another post my dad was celiac and I may have a gluten intolerance is the only thing I can think of so will try gluten free next as I’m nearly finished my last bag.

Would gluten cause it. Since writing this morning I fell asleep for 2 hours from 930am.yeah I don’t sleep great and my toddler woke me up at 530 but that’s been like that way before I started Huelling. I’ve been exercising rigorously too but again I don’t think that would cause bouts of “I need to go to sleep right now”.

If it’s not better with gf huel then I’m afraid I’ll have to stop or cut down to one shake it day. And I don’t want to do that.

I’m going away for a week and am not using Huel so will see the effects of that.

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One comment on this article says they fall asleep after every meal containing gluten. Also, the symptoms listed here include fatigue.

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I have this as well. It’s worse when it’s a lunch or dinner. I eat regular food along with my Huel and that seems to work a lot better.

My mum can’t eat oats … if she has porridge for breakfast she has to go back to sleep …

Thanks both, so do we reckon it’s gluten then? I’m off to the doctors on Friday morning about it. Fatigue is part of a gluten sensitivity and I don’t sleep well or for long, but this is madness.

I havent had Huel since I wrote this as I went on holiday and havent bought the GF Huel yet.

Sorry to hear about the problems with your lethargy. Does this happen with any other foods containing gluten? Let us know what the verdict is as I would be interested to see.

Just to double check (I’m sure this isn’t the case though), since using Huel are you definitely consuming the correct amount of calories for your size and activity level? Huel is filling and it is possible to under-consume. It sounds like you have a really hectic lifestyle too, so maybe an increase in calories could help too, if nothing comes back from the Doctor.

Let us know.

I find that I get really tired directly after drinking Huel too (it’s the same “mid-afternoon” feeling as after eating a large lunch). But don’t think it’s a gluten thing, as the levels of gluten in regular sweetened/unsweetened are so low.

It may just be that some people digest Huel better than others? I.e. for some it takes more energy to process?

Hi @TimOfficeHuel

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Please don’t think I’m having a jab at Huel, not in the slightest, I just wanted to know if anyone else had similar effects. I’m 99% it’s gluten sensitivity and 100% certain the doctor isn’t going to do anything other than say stay away from it. I have an inkling that I might be lactose intolerant too, but only have a tiny bit of milk in my coffee (although when I was 100% Huel I was just putting a shot of coffee into it).

Yes, it will be lifestyle/sleeping related too, I fell asleep last night after having a gluten free pizza (real cheese, though…?) Like I said I’ve been off Huel since before I went on holiday. I don’t feel good inside, whereas I did with Huel, but I have calmed the exercise down as well. I seem to be able to be awake for longer but without feeling good. I wasn’t as strong or could last as long on my bike on ‘normal’ food - my wife has a ‘clean eating’ diet and therefore I’ve been on that for two weeks.

Either way, I’ll report back from doctors. I’m just waiting for wages and then I’ll get GF Huel and give that a whirl. Do you think I need to slowly reintroduce it. I’m probably going to GFHuel all day apart from evening meal as I always tended to miss a warm meal after work.

I was having 5-6 3x scoop shakes (whatever that works out as) 14st7 (was 15st2) and 6ft2 and doing rigorous exercise (I’d have a Huel after a workout and it’s awesome for recovery I found compared to what I’d normally be like). I literally just ate/drank Huel as and when I was starting to feel hungry. It worked quite well that way.

Just an idea but when I started taking iron supplements (for tiredness ironically) I got really sleepy and had to have naps. It’s unusual according to Google but does happen! So maybe your body is responding to iron amounts in huel?

I didn’t think you were having a jab don’t worry. Tone, I find, seems to transcend the internet!

Assuming your scoops are on average 38g (some over, some under may average it out), you are consuming between 2280-2736 kcal which sounds about right for you. I hope you find some better results with GF Huel!

Had my bloods back and I’m not gluten-intolerant (or so says the receptionist) I would like to see the doctor again and get checked again.

It could simply be my lifestyle or the way that life is now, stupidly busy with so much stress and very broken sleep. I am much better eating meals (clean, made from scratch all organic) but I do miss the fact that I was definitely getting every vitamin/mineral and good combination of food groups every day when I was drinking/eating Huel.

I’ll give GF HUEL a go soon.

After numerous trips to the doctors since the summer, although still undiagnosed yet, I have had a course of IBS tablets which made stomach cramping and bloatedness worse. So I have another one which is stomach acid thing (Lanpronazole or something) which has worked a treat. I have stopped falling asleep unless I’ve had a terrible night with the little one.

However, after reading lots about gluten intolerance and IBS, it turns out that drinking coffee (instant, refined, non-organic) can give you similar effects as if you’re gluten intolerant - with my Dad (RIP) having celiac disease, I was worried and had gluten in the forefront of my mind.

So, either drink organic coffee (next on the list to buy) or just give it up completely, which I’d prefer to do as I have a sugar and if no almond milk in the house I’ll have normal milk, which I really don’t want to ever drink again as I’m not a calf.

As I was adding a shot of coffee in my Huel almost every time, I was basically having 8 espressos a day which must have caused a caffeine boost and then a crash combined with not really sleeping great thanks to how life is.

I’ve not had Huel since the summer and am limiting coffee to just twice a day and eating as clean as possible (pizzas are still my downfall, there’s a handmade pizza van that is nearby and is great). Started running but my ankle (last November I had serious tendon damage from a soft play lol) is causing problems again. I’m trying to be gluten free or minimal gluten (bar those pesky pizzas) and feel better for it.

So - I don’t think it was Huel but if I buy it again I’ll get the gluten free one just in case.

Hi there.

I had my first Huel meal today at 13:30 (3 Scoops + 1 Scoop of Whey Protein by My Protein) and the reason I am on this particular thread is because I felt a bit of a food coma come on and had to go lay down. That is very unlike me to lay down. It was nothing unbearable and I didn’t sleep, but I’m trying to motivate myself to go do cardio right now and it’s 10 times harder than normal!

Usually I have breakfast but today the Huel meal was in fact my first meal so I am just wondering whether that had a factor to play or perhaps I should have taken 2 scoops instead of 3? It’s the same sort of tired I get after a heavy meal where you just want to dose, heavy eyes etc.

Tomorrow morning I will assuredly be having a strong cup of coffee with my morning Huel. If I had a machine I would throw in 2 shops of espresso.

I had the same experiance with Huel in the beginning. Switched my order to gluten free and the tiredness was gone.

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Thanks @andreasg that’s really good to know. I haven’t had any Huel since July or whenever it was. I will get some GF.

On a side note, I have been back to the doctors many times in the past few months with suspected IBS as bloating has been horrific. It turns out it’s just bloating and trapped wind, but some Rennie Deflatine and it’s much better. I thought it was all linked to gluten intolerance, but having been tested and found that bloods are fine (I know there are other tests and just getting blood test isn’t good enough).

Eitherway, trying minimal gluten, meat and dairy as I can.

This is an interesting suggestion. Iron is the highest amount in Huel at 496%NRV. @Julian could this be causing my tiredness too?

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@Lewis_Barham I’ve heard of too little iron being a cause of tiredness = http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Thanks Julian. So I will safely assume it’s not the iron levels causing my fatigue. I’ll do some more investigation.