So I have been using Huel for the past 3 months or so and I love the convenience, like the taste (2 scoops unflavoured and 1 scoop vanilla per 500ml) however it has always given me bowel problems
I have gradually increased my Huel intake from 1 shake to 3 per day plus my normal 3 meals (circa 3.5k calories a day). What attracted me to Huel was the convenience of not having to cook so much but I think I’m going to stop taking it as it gives me terrible gas, bloating etc coupled with fairly frequent yet unsatisfactory bowel movements.
I was hoping this would pass as the weeks went by as my stomach and digestive system became used to it. This has not been the case however as the symptoms have remained constant. I have ordered some digestive enzymes on the off chance they will have a positive impact but failing that I will stop consuming Huel which is a shame.
I’m not even sure it is worth me trying some competitor versions as the good ones seem to contain basically the same ingredients?
Has anyone else had to stop consuming Huel for similar reasons?
I was also going to give up on it, but then I discovered that adding a very small amount of oil (I used a level teaspoon of coconut oil, sometimes less, per shake) solved all my bloating and gas issues. I’m fairly nutrition savvy, but I have absolutely no idea why this worked.
Ooh that’t interesting Essemmgee; as you say, I wonder why that works for you? I believe coconut oil is a natural anti inflammatory although it can also cause looser bowel movements… Maybe it is just the added fat content? I will try it and report back
To you put in melted/liquid coconut oil? I’ve got a jar but its solid?
Yes, I’ve tried Huel a few times but the gas was just too smelly so had to stop! Have you tried just the unflavoured on its own? I was only having the vanilla.
I tried Whole Fuel from My Protein and didn’t have any gas problems - although I only had one shake a day. I’m not sure how healthy / nutirtionally complete Whole Fuel is compard to Huel though? The main ingredients seem the same which is strange
I always experience terrible gas whenever I have had a break from Huel and go back to it but it usually sorts itself out by the middle of the second week of having it.
I haven’t tried coconut oil yet as I don’t have any but I will be sure to buy some. Did you heat it up before or just put it in as a solid?
I may try Whole Fuel although on the top of my head it wasn’t as healthy as Huel; doesn’t it contain more artificial sweeteners? I’m sure this has been brought up on this forum before so I’ll search around
@AllAboutTheVeg.
I added it for a different reason; I was experimenting with the nutritional values and trying to lower the carb ratio to see if I could get better weight loss results.
@Pezerinno.
I don’t think it has to be coconut oil, I found olive oil is just as effective and is a lot easier to measure in smaller doses and to blend.
I too am having some stomach issues with Huel lately…ever since starting my cut actually. I’ve introduced other supplementation into my diet like CLA and some of the XLS Medical fat binders from Holland and Barrett just to help give me a bit of a boost. I have been to the bathroom a lot lately to say the least!
My main concern is that the fat binder is messing with Huel in my stomach? I’ve read an XLS Medical review that said the side effects can be diarrhoea, but that they’re vary rare… which makes me think I may have built an intolerance to Huel? It 100% cannot be the CLA because I’ve used Huel and CLA together before without issue.
If you are consuming extra oil, then you will need to consume less Huel than you would otherwise, since that oil has a huge amount of energy.
Perhaps the reason the oil helped, is that the amount of fibre and other things in Huel which can cause gassiness problems, are consumed in lower amounts when also fortifying the shake with pure oil.
I occasionally add a dose of olive oil to my Huel, but just because I like to vary things up a bit, not for gas/bloating problems.
I doubt that MyProtein competitor will be any better than Huel. If you do switch to another one, you may want to avoid ones which contain milk based proteins, as they can often contain significant amounts of lactose which could make your gas/bloating problems worse. In theory they could use good quality milk proteins, but in my experience that is not the case. I guess they use whatever is cheapest
I’ve just made a Huel with 100g of Huel and 500ml of water and level tablespoon of olive oil.
I’ll have it for lunch and try it for a few days and see how I get on. Fingers crossed!
For me it was. I had the Whole Fuel for a week and didn’t experience any problems. A few days, week, and nearly a month of Huel and its terrible from the outset and throughout. Probably worth a try if you’re looking for a vegan meal replacement?
I’ll avoid any meal replacements with whey as I would like to stay vegan if pos.
I had two shakes before bed last night with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil in. Too early to tell whether it has had a positive effect yet. I’m not fussed about the extra calories as I need as many as I can get to be honest
Ok so I’m wary of posting quite so soon as it is very early days however I have had 6 shakes now with a couple of teaspoons of olive oil in and have substantially reduced bloating, wind and general bowel discomfort. I’ll keep you posted but thanks Essemmgee for highlighting the oil trick.
My experience with Huel and digestive issues have been basically that it always depends on what I eat beyond Huel during the day. When I first started consuming Huel, which is over a year ago now, I naturally had digestive issues since my stomach overall got shocked of a different diet, but I wouldn’t say this lasted for long, a month tops.
However, I am fairly certain that these digestive issues I was experiencing (smelly gas, poo mainly) was due to what I was eating beyond Huel since I didn’t and still haven’t gone 100% Huel. This was during the summer so a lot of unhealthy food, mainly junk food. A visit to McDonalds would mean that the entire house would smell awful for hours.
Basically, whatever food my stomach didn’t like pre Huel, have gotten worse after starting with Huel, hence the reason I stopped eating them. Dairy products are a major culprit for me too, I think at least, considering I don’t drink any milk anymore and digestive issues for me today are very rare and basically only occur if I eat a lot of processed meat or specifically, McDonalds.
