Hi Rob
That’s a real shame. I’m not sure by what mechanism the ingredients could cause a reaction like that. Do you have any other diagnosed pathology?
At what times and how much Huel were you consuming?
@robgib sorry to jump in here but may I ask about the amount of calories you are consuming per day. As soon as I see some describe “fogging my brain and making me drowsy” it make think that the calories maybe too low.
I have mild Aspergers (no treatment) and Glaucoma eye drops, been suggested I need a B12 test, Health Check next week then see GP. Was trying Huel 3 a day 100 to 150g, (to lose some weight the calorie checker gave ~1700 kCal) plus other things target intake 1900 to 2000 kCal (probably more in truth!) I’m sure the effects are a reaction manifesting about an hour after having Huel on empty stomach and from experience I’m quite aware of a reaction. Could it be Flaxseed or Coconut?
Why was it and who suggested that you need the B12 test?
Flaxseed ot coconut should not be giving such a reaction. It may simply be, that you’re not consuming enough calories. How much weight did you lose in the short time you were using Huel?
Hi @robgib may I ask you current weight, height, age, and activity level? Do you exercise, if yes how many times a week and is your job a manual one?
My weight hasn’t changed in a year despite trying to reduce cals, haven’t really gone beyond 50% Huel. Hadn’t realised it was high gluten, tested negative for Coeliac but this seems to prove I’m intolerant. No Huel for a few days IBS back to normal, experimented and 2 lots of 160g brings digestion to a halt, will try 1 a day to finish what I have but doubt I’ll continue beyond that.
@Robgib, I don’t think you can say that Huel is high in gluten. Huel doesn’t any ingredients that actually contain gluten. Oat don’t contain gluten naturally. But because they are often grown in fields near wheat they can be “contaminated” with gluten from the wheat.
In the case of gluten free oats they haven’t had gluten removed. Instead the oats are grown in fields some distance from fields of wheat and processed in factories that don’t handle wheat.
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@robgib : If you tested negative for Celiac, you are not Celiac. Last studies seems to point to “Gluten sensibility” demistifying: it just does not exist a “gluten sensibility” if you are not celiac, and would be psychosomatic: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-balanced-look-at-gluten-sensitivity/#note1
What seems to be a reason is a FODMAP diet: Fermentable Oligo-Di-Monosaccharides and Polyols that could be the reason for intestin problems.
The FODMAPs in the diet are:
- Fructose (fruits, honey, high fructose corn syrup(HFCS), etc)
- Lactose (dairy)
- Fructans(wheat, garlic, onion, inulin etc)
- Galactans (legumes such as beans, lentils, soybeans, etc)
- Polyols (sweeteners containing isomalt, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, stone fruits such as avocado, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, plums, etc)
( https://stanfordhealthcare.org/content/dam/SHC/for-patients-component/programs-services/clinical-nutrition-services/docs/pdf-lowfodmapdiet.pdf )
@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!
My GP told me to avoid high fibre insoluble and fatty foods. Huel is therefore perfect for IBS.
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.
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@Grenville_Bennetts Hi there, hope it’s ok if I quote this on social media for other IBS sufferers - I won’t quote your name of course.
Thanks,
Sophie
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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.
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Thank you @Daysofspeed
You can use Huel to make “real food” too, e.g.
https://www.instagram.com/p/_RckZOO8Da/
See loads more here: https://uk.pinterest.com/gethuel/huel-food/
Also we have a guide here: https://huel.com/pages/cooking-huel
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Jess Nurden Huel Pancakes (Vegan) for breakfast it is!
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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!
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@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!
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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).
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@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.