So I have been using Huel for several months now. For a while I was doing 100% Huel and I was absolutely loving it - to the point where I kept thinking “this is too good to be true!”
Well… I developed a rash on the back of my neck which then spread to my arms, back, and legs. It started as little red dots but then increased in size - I went to the doctor and she said it was psoriasis and gave me some cream. I considered what had changed in my lifestyle as I had never had this issue before, and realized it must be the Huel. So I stopped using it and almost immediately the rash or hives or whatever they may have been went away.
I still want to use Huel as it is amazing for my lifestyle and helps me to get better nutrition (I am nearly vegan but I tend to eat unhealthy and/or the same thing over and over again). I read some other posts on here about this and it appears it may be the vitamin B that is used.
Has anyone else had experience with a similar rash or hive situation? Any idea of consuming less Huel would be ok? I have a ton of hot and savory and several bags of the powder still, and I would very much like to consume it all! Also, if it is the vitamin B, is there any sort of solution to prevent it from affecting me this way?
(I have been using huel white and hot and savory - variety of flavors)
Sorry to hear about this, but glad to hear the rash is better! I know you mentioned the rash is now gone - was this after using the cream too? If so, it would likely be the use of the cream that helped to remedy the rash moreso than eliminating Huel.
In addition, there are a bunch of reasons why psoriasis may flare up. I am not a doctor so I cannot comment a bunch here other than to say more generally that it seems other factors like recent illness or stress may play more of a role here than diet.
If it’s alright with you, I’d also like to learn a bit more (feel free to also DM me, if you prefer).
Did your doctor give any insights into what may have been the cause of this flare?
How long had you been consuming Huel when this started?
So I used the cream to spot test in areas, but I did not apply the cream to all rash areas - the cream helped in the spot tests, but the surrounding areas still had the rash. When I stopped the Huel everything cleared within a few days.
I started Huel around January 14th (the shipment of my first order). Initially doing 1 a day, but ramped up to 100% fairly quickly when I realized how good the shakes/hot and savory flavors were.
My doctor did not give any insight, other than stress and anxiety is a factor. I suffer from anxiety/depression so it isn’t too farfetched to think that had a significant impact.
The neck rash started within a couple weeks, but the rash spreading and the red dots all over didn’t start until early to mid march. I only had a few red dots at first and thought they were bug bites, but then it began to spread and they were all over. I wish I had taken a picture but for whatever reason I did not.
At this point I had been on 100% Huel for about a month. I did order new flavors before the red spots started - banana, peanut butter, coffee, chocolate - but I am not aware of having any allergies or sensitivities to any of these foods otherwise. I started with vanilla and berry for shakes and tomato, yellow curry, and mac for the hot and savory flavors.
I have been eating/drinking Huel sparingly since and I haven’t experienced anything significant.
I would not be able to say exactly what caused it as I am not a doctor and there can be a bunch of factors at play. It would be best to check in with your doc to get their insight and expertise on psoriasis and see if they can help to narrow down what may have caused the flare (as well as if diet played a role here) so you know for the future!
Happy to hear that it’s been better - might be good to continue having Huel a bit less frequently and see how that goes as well as see if you can get a bit more insight into potential causes before increasing any further.
