I’ve used Huel in the past but for last couple of months I came off it as I missed ‘normal’ food, however I have really noticed my energy levels drop. What I am worried about after reading a couple of other posts about the high amount of fat in Huel, is how this would affest my cholesterol. I went for a health check last week and my cholesterol is at 6.84 which I have been told is quite a high risk, and I need to book in to see doctors about going on medication to try and bring it down, along with a sensible diet. I was intending on getting back on Huel, but wondered whether this is a good idea based on the fat content, or even if it may have contributed to the rise in my cholesterol levels (I do have a sweet tooth though and have not been eating well in the last month). Basically I’m after advice about whether starting back on Huel is a good idea based on my hight cholesterol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
I’m no expert, but the best way to see how Huel specifically affects your cholesterol might be to replace a single meal with it, keeping the rest of your diet the same, and get your levels checked again in a few weeks/a month. You might get a better idea of how it affects your body specifically.
The only source of dietary cholesterol comes from animal products. Being that Huel is vegan, I highly doubt that Huel is what caused your high cholesterol. In fact, going on a vegan diet is generally a great way to reduce dietary intake of cholesterol (again, because no cholesterol if there are no animal products). This assumes you are not mixing Huel with dairy milk.
Saturated and trans fats from your diet (especially hydrogenated oils) can also effect your cholesterol levels. You won’t find any fats like these (the ones that contribute to high cholesterol or other cardiovascular disease) in Huel. You can read up on the fats section on the nutrition page to find more about the health benefits of the specific fats in Huel.
I would look at what normal food you are eating. Like you said, if you have a sweet tooth, it’s very possible you were unknowingly consuming high levels of hydrogenated oils or cholesterol from animal products.
The fat profile of Huel is advantageous to lipid profile. The sat fats are significantly from MCTs which are not treated by the body in the same way as ‘normal’ sat fats. Plus it’s high in omega3s