I’ve only just started using Huel but I love it. Any quick and easy way that I can eat gluten free, vegan, nutrient rich food on the go is an absolute god send for me. As someone who tries to follow an 80/10/10 diet can the formula be tweaked to produce a lower fat/protein version while adding carbs? I can’t help but think if you could produce some different ratio formulas you would massively widen your customer base. I’m sure there are people out there who’d love a high protein version to have after exercise as well as what I’m suggesting maybe before exercise.
Out of curiosity, why do you think carb/fat/protein breakdown of 80/10/10 would be superior to Huel’s 40/30/30?
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I would rather consume less fat in my diet and I’ve read a little about an 80/10/10 diet that makes more sense to me. I know our bodies require a certain amount of fat to maintain health but I think 30% is too much. I’m not asking for a change to the current Huel formula just a new one if it’s possible.
I think it is possibly something you can do yourself if you so wish. I expect adding oat flour would help you achieve this. I will be honest, we haven’t received much interest in an extremely high carbohydrate Huel. Many ask for a lower carbohydrate Huel but very few a high carbohydrate Huel.
Your best option would be to take your Huel and play with the ratios with high carbohydrate alternatives.
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Again out of curiosity, what makes you think 30% of calories coming from fat is too much?
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I believe high fat diets are responsible for diabetes and other serious health problems and I think the small amounts we get from plant based food is enough to do the healthy things that our bodies need it for. I drive a lorry for a living and while I exercise frequently I’m still conscious of my fat intake and prefer to keep it to a minimum. If you’re eating 2500 calories a day I think 700-800 from fat is high. I don’t believe everything I’m told by the powers that be when it comes to diet. It’s just my personal opinion.
A lot of research has shown that diabetes in the US went up when low-fat, high-carb diet started being recommended by doctors and the institute of health. However, I won’t dwell on that, as it is a matter of debate and you have likely seen other data that has led to your conclusion.
Onto the feasibility of an 80/10/10 -lent product: the issue here is that near enough any form of carb that isn’t just a sugar will come with vitamins and minerals.
For example, Huel gets a lot of its carbs from oat flour, which is great due to its low GI. However, oats contain manganese, and despite there never being a case of manganese toxicity from food sources alone, an upper tolerable limit (UTL) of 11g has been recommended. Even at 40% carbs from oats alone, manganese levels approach reasonably close to this 11g limit, and at 80%, it would certainly be surpassed. Other carb sources have a similar story. It would look bad for a -lent company to go above the UTL, so they wouldn’t be able to use grains to achieve this.
Now, you also have a maltodextrin, isomaltulose and stuff like dextrose or sugar. Maltodextrin, dextrose and sugar will lead to pretty extreme blood sugar spikes, especially if they make up 80% of Calories. Isomaltulose, despite being very low GI (and hence not having the health issues of most other sugars), has to be labelled as a sugar on nutritional labels as it is a simple molecule, and -lent companies want to avoid a high sugar content on nutritional labels as it puts off consumers. A problem with all of these options, as well, is that they add to the sweetness of the product, which can also be off-putting.
Due to the above, my advice to you would be to look into making your own mix with grains (e.g. oats) as your carb source. While you’ll surpass the manganese UTL, it almost certainly won’t be harmful, and you’ll also find it cheaper than any commercial option.
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I don’t think any experts are in favour of an 80/10/10 ratio are there? The only people I’ve heard of recommending that, are whack jobs on YouTube.
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Give this a read
Thanks for the advice IcyElemental. I appreciate you taking the time to respond and I’ll look into that. I’m not a 100% Huel-er and so far I’m using it 2-3 times a day with another couple of meals made up of mainly fruit or veg with potatoes, rice, and pasta. I’d like to state for the record that I don’t think the formula for Huel is terrible at all but was just enquiring about a ratio that I think might suit me more if I was to consider going for a 100% Huel diet at particularly busy times in my life.
I also believe that there are so many bogus claims made by so called experts because that’s what they are paid to say. Unfortunately people will blindly believe almost anything if ‘Expert’ pops up on the screen before they speak and on top of that results of studies mysteriously seem to differ depending on who pays for it in the first place.
Thanks for the link. I’ve read a little, but admittedly not a lot, about this type of diet before but I don’t think it’s for me. I do a lot of cycling and I can promise you I wouldn’t be able to cycle 100 miles plus at my normal pace without carbs. It seems like a diet for people who don’t exercise very much or at a very low intensity. I’m sure it works for some and each to there own of course. I lost 2 stone once by calorie restriction and there’s no doubt it was effective. But I was at my happiest when stood on the scales. I believe we’re meant to be active and that carbs help you reach peak performance in high intensity activity. Fat is something I think we relied on when food was scarce which in the western world just doesn’t happen.
Just because someone claims to be an expert, that does not make it so. I’m not aware of any real experts recommending a 80/10/10 ratio diet for normal folk.
You seem to have answered the question though. You feel you need more carbs because of your cycling.
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Champion ultra runners who run 100 miles and win are on keto diets, and it reverses type 2 diabetes.
I didnt post something for you to read pointlessly.
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Are the best ultra runners on a keto diet? Or is it just some of them?
And do you know if there are any successful “normal” marathon runners on a keto diet? I’m assuming not, but I’m not really sure.
I dont know as I dont follow ultra runners, but I know at least one champion ultra runner is on keto as are world champion fighters and a few weightlifters.
I would imagine if its good for weightlifting, MMA and good for ultra runners it’ll be good for all sporting activities, add to that the general health benefits too.
If you want to know more look here https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/wiki/keto_in_a_nutshell
I only mentioned it because that other guy mentioned how he thought high fat diets are responsible for diabetes, and he didn’t read it anyway.
Keto isn’t something I do.
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I do keto. Essentially, if you cycle a lot, you’ll struggle until you’re fully fat adapted which takes about a month. After that your performance will improve, and very possibly become higher than on carbs.
‘The wall’ that marathon runners encounter around miles 16-20 is due to their glycogen being fully depleted and having to switch to fat as a fuel source. If you’re already fat adapted, you don’t get it. I don’t follow the sport though, so can’t name specific people.
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Related to several of the themes discussed here (diabetes, keto vs cabs & adaptation, protein & muscle, increased athletic performance): https://discuss.huel.com/t/breakfast-skipper-does-it-matter/4663/7. The video is definitely worth watching (especially to those who are new to this set of topics (or those who still live in the past 
) )
Hi Stevec,
You have been wrongly informed about high fat diets. All around the globe, people that have always had high fat diets (very high fat diets) are very healthy and don’t have a high incidence of heart problems or diabetes anywhere in their population. (Inuits in remote places are one prime example). I think you would really benefit by doing some internet research. Back in the 80’s and 90’s doctors and nutritional scientists made a massive error when they thought that animal fats clog your arteries and give you heart attacks. Now they know the opposite is true. Hi carb low fats was the big craze for 2 decades till they realised it give you diabetes. I’ve just done 3 courses, 2 on diabetes and one on nutrition, and all 3 were MOOCs from well known Universities around the world.
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Which sector of the meat and dairy industry do you work for? Lol
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You’ll find that there are plenty of vegans around on these forums. Hence your question makes little sense 