@alfonson: Do you know if Huel would be suitable for a low FODMAP diet? I’m looking to start that soon to hopefully help with IBS and being able to replace some meals with Huel would make things a lot easier!
I’m a long term IBS sufferer, Huel is the best low FODMAP solution I’ve ever found. I use it in conjunction with a fitbit so I can increase calorie intake on days when I exercise vigorously (I paddleboard, play Hooverball etc).Planning to live on Huel for the forseeable at the moment. The only additives I use are occasional handfulls of frozen berries or any fruit of my girlfriends that looks like its going to waste.
Only other supplements are peppermint oil which are the standard NHS prescribed ones.
Currently awaiting sigmoidoscopy looking for what I hope is IBS (fear of something else). Vegetarian 33 years and vegan for 9 months. have tried Huel but miss the notion of “real food” so haven’t gone 100% but may try to see if my stomach cramps (my biggest issue at present) go away. This thread has been very illuminating and the interaction with the Huel team very considered and informative. Good to see.
I’ve been vegan for 8 years and suffered with IBS from long before that. I’ve been using Huel for the fasting days on the 5:2 diet. I’ve lost 15lbs so far and my IBS has improved dramatically. I’m very worried now that the carrier had been changed to xylitol that I will no longer be able to use Huel once I run out of the old version as it is well known to cause problems for IBS sufferers. Do you have any information on this? Does anyone know if the expiry date is just a best before? I have a friend who got carried away buying Huel and no longer uses it but it expires in Jan 2017 and want to know how long I could get away using it for!
@JamesCollier and @Julian , I too am curious about what Nicky_Riley has asked.
I suffer from IBS for a long time now and I was recently told about your product. I’ve shown the nutritional values to two nutritionist friends, and both said mostly it should not impact my IBS and could actually improve it since it’s such a low-FODMAP “diet”.
However both said, like Nicky_Riley, that the “xylitol” can and usually is quite a bomb and could potentially wreak havoc inside my bowels which would lead to more cramps and pains.
Could you give us more information on this? What quantity is and why xylitol was added to it? And if there’s any plans to release a version without it in a near future?
I’m looking forward to an answer as I’m very curious about trying it!
The xyltiol amount is minute - less than 0.1% of Huel is xyltiol - it’s merely as a carrier for some vitamins. Xylitol is a problem at over 10% (or slightly less in some sensitive people).
We actually added xyltiol as a carrier recently, because some people were against using maltodextrin so we switched to xylitol instead (there is still some maltodextrin in, but the amount is also minute).
@JamesCollier , correct me if I’m wrong, but even if the amount is low, it’s still in the system and still affects IBS suffering people. And that means I can’t replace nearly all my means with it, because the more I intake (huel), the more Xylitol I’m adding to my system. Piece by piece, it will eventually come to the point where it’s bad for me.
With polyols, the dose is very much dose related and will not affect IBS sufferers. You’d have to be having a serious amount of Huel for the Xylitol intake to be anywhere near a problem.
There is actually no legal requirement for us to even declare it as the amount is so low and we’re using it as a carrier. I wonder how many other minute polyol-containing products people might be consuming that do not declare them.
Great, thanks for that information. Fingers crossed I won’t notice a change with the new version. It’s def worth trying Ted as it has made a massive difference to me. More so than the year and a half of full time fodmap a few years ago. I rarely need to take any meds now. Thanks Huel
I have IBS and seem to have to follow a low FODMAP diet to be able to maintain a healthy distance from the toilet for any lengthy period of time.
I started with Huel following a particularly bad period which basically deterred me from eating any food, to the point I could only face eating once a day.
Realising that this was not a long term solution I started looking around to see what options I had.
so far, I have been living on huel around 80% for meals for the last 6 months, outside of that I snack on peanuts and popcorn, and am maintaining a much happier digestive system.
Just a word of caution from my experience. Huel made my IBS way worse. Far too much fibre in the product for me to handle even at the starter portions. I get that some IBS you need to add fibre and some remove. I was hoping that this product would be a good balance but unfortunately not for my body.
Hi @robgib I have bowel problems, the first time I tried huel I got quite windy lol But it wore off very quickly, I think it was the sudden change to high fibre. I’m on the diarrhoea side of bowel problems and if anything and without TMI Huel makes my movements quite magnificent! and over time I’ve had to cut down on the amount of immodium I take else I found I would start to swing the other way. Hope that helps and apologies for the TMI! I would also recommend building up slowly how much you drink in a day.
and over time I’ve had to cut down on the amount of immodium I take else I found I would start to swing the other way. Hope that helps and apologies for the TMI! I would also recommend building up slowly how much you drink in a day.