Hey everybody 
This might be a bit long, so if you get to the end of this and you haven’t lost the will to live or fallen asleep, congratulations! For anyone that’s potentially in the same boat, this dissertation is for you. I thought I’d share my experiences with Huel over the last two months. Let me start with a bit of background on me…
I’ve suffered with alopecia for the best part of 15 years and I’ve spent thousands at private dermatologists to try and get to the bottom of the issue, to no avail. I was fed the old line of “it’s stress related, here’s some ointment that’ll help kickstart the follicles” and charged through the nose for the privilege. It flared up again near Christmas (it tends to go through cycles of 3-4 months) and through sheer exasperation (and fluke) I stumbled over an article which detailed studies linking alopecia to gluten (would you f*ckn believe it?!).
I’ve also really struggled to maintain a consistent weight for that same prolonged period. I’ve always been the type of person that bloats at the sight of white bread or lager, so following the post Christmas struggle of trying to find pants that don’t cry when taking them out of the wardrobe, I decided I’d take a punt.
Here we are, 2 months and 4 bags of Huel v3.0 Gluten Free Powder later - I’ve never felt better! I’ve never been as consistently lean in my entire adult life. I’ve continued to drop weight week on week. My mood is totally different. I feel sharper and much more energetic. But get this…
My hair has grown back.
Now, let me be clear - I don’t have Alopecia Totalis, which is a complete loss of hair. I have Alopecia Areata, which develops in patches. On multiple occasions over the last couple of years, I’ve looked like a leopard because I’ve had that many patches appear on my head. I’ve even had to go full Peaky Blinder style haircut at one point just to try and mask the areas. Those pictures have been permanently deleted…
Let me also be clear, that I don’t think Huel is a miracle worker and will solve all of your problems. I’m the type of person that if I say I’m going to commit to something, I’m all in. Since 4th January, I’ve been completely gluten free and making that change is the only possible explanation for the changes I’m experiencing. I’ve been extremely strict with my diet because I wanted to use this period as a test - boy am I glad I did.
Therefore, using my degree provided by the University of Google, I believe I have a gluten problem. I’ve been referred to a gastroenterologist to see if we can get someone with real medical knowledge to confirm this, which would provide answers to lots of, what I now believe are, interlinked problems.
Not only has my hair grown back, but in general, my hair feels different - thicker and healthier. Albeit, still going grey…
I can’t speak highly enough of Huel and even if formal results come back with something that makes all of the above a complete lie, I can’t see me stopping using it. I have it twice a day - breakfast and lunch, everyday. I have a busy job and I don’t have the time to create a quick, healthy meal. Add gluten free into the mix and I’ve got a headache just thinking about what I could make that ticks those boxes.
My sweet spot is usually 100ml of almond milk and 300ml cold water, with a lot of ice. Add in your Huel - I’ve got Salted Caramel and Vanilla (which I add peanut butter to). BLEND IT. Don’t bother just shaking, I promise, blending will make the texture a bit like a McDonalds milkshake. Both flavours are genuinely really nice and I’m not just blowing smoke because this is a Huel forum. I’ve just had a delivery of Cinnamon Swirl today so I’m looking forward to tomorrow! Before Huel, I was constantly hungry and I can only assume that’s because I wasn’t eating the right things that contained the right nutrients. That’s now a thing of the past - I’m genuinely never hungry on Huel. Two servings will easily see me through to the evening meal, calorie controlled and filled with the nutrition the body needs.
As others have said on this forum - go easy at first. I didn’t - see a few paragraphs up about going “all in”. Definitely not advisable in the early days. I went straight in at two a day and oh my lord - THE GAS. I’m a bloke, farting is still hilarious and I’m 32 years old. But holy hell, that would clear out a funeral home. I’m pretty sure my eyebrows melted from my face on day two because they were that bad. I’m not sure how, but by some divine miracle, I’m still married…
Stomach cramps were ever present for the first couple of weeks and headaches galore, so make sure you drink enough water to counteract it. A couple of weeks will pass and it all settles down into the new norm.
Reading this back, it sounds like a bullsh*t story & a sponsored post. I’m an average guy with patchy hair so we all know that I’m no influencer candidate!
In all seriousness, the reason for this post is that I hope it reaches someone that has some of the same unanswered questions that I had. I’m still searching for my answers but I hope this might save someone 15 years of confusion & frustration.
I’m officially a hueligan and I’m here to stay.
Si