A few days ago I sent this video to HUEL for comment. No reply yet. It’s the first serious criticism I’ve seen of HUEL.
Give them a few more days. They are probably on holiday or in the pub…or maybe they just hate pensioners.
I think there could be some reasonable criticisms of huel, but this video is half pseudoscience and fear mongering. “Processed food” doesn’t mean anything. When you buy whole vegetables and grains, bring them home and chop/cook them, they become processed. I do think it’s generally better to consume whole foods, but “processing” as a catchall category is essentially meaningless.
Perhaps isolated starches and proteins are unhealthy - Huel does contain a lot of fiber still though, which should mitigate those issues. Stating that protein powder is “not food” is also a little ridiculous - is TVP, tofu, or seitan “not food”? The seed oil fear mongering is also pretty overblown - there’s no good epidemiological research I know of showing negative health outcomes with seed oils. I don’t think the Omega-6 inflammation link is well established, and as far as I’m aware, the little evidence that exists points towards the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 being relevant, not Omega-6 alone - and Huel has a lot of Omega-3 with flaxseed and the naturally occuring Omega-3 in rapeseed/sunflower seed oil.
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He does refer to studies though / where’s the pseudoscience?
You don’t have to provide studies when you make a true statement - you are paying for water when you buy the ready to drink version instead of the powder.
10 years old and still going round in these circles.
Huel has never claimed to be a replacement for a balanced whole food fruit vegetable home cooked style diet. If that’s what you eat then great crack on.
Huel has always positioned itself as a better heathier alternative to people who don’t eat the above diet and would otherwise eat frozen stuff out of a packet or general junk food.
There’s enough evidence now of people, some of which are on this forum, who have lived off Huel powder for 100% of their calories for years. Huel products have made up roughly 50% of my calories for years give or take 9 years. We’re doing ok. If that isn’t enough for you then 
I also think the thread title should be edited. There is no controversy here. Just someone on YouTube posting a video.
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It was the weekend 
Spooky, you say that. I was actually at a 92nd birthday party, so that statement is not correct 
Where did you send this, just so I can make sure we’re getting back to you and not doubling up on responses. If this is the first criticism of us we must be doing something right.
Want to hop in before it spirals? Everyone is always going to have their opinion on Huel and our ingredients. So his video “Are they really Healthy?” Well yes, they are! We did a study, the study is actually called “Is Huel Healthy?” You can find it here.
I want to set the record straight and address the video. Who better to do that than a member of our nutrition team, right? I’ve asked someone to take a look at this.
You’ve just posted a video, but do you personally have any concerns that you’d like addressed?
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The picture on the video is also dumb.
RTD is 400kcal per bottle and is not designed or intended for 100% nutrition, as clearly obvious by the fat content. It’s designed as a healthy alternative if you would otherwise eat a packaged sandwich crisps and a chocolate bar.
So according to the picture, he’s drank/drinking 4000kcal in a day of something not designed for 100% nutrition, and then criticising it.
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Actually, it wasn’t a statement, it was actually a callback to the OP who once posted a video on YouTube alluding to the fact that Huel was possibly anti-OAP cos they wouldn’t give him free Huel. NOTHING gets past me.
Happy 92nd by the way, you wear it well, or are shark years like dog years and you are actually 13 in human years*
*Yeah I know it wasn’t your birthday.
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Have you got dodgy dossiers on everyone here?
Only the troublemakers.
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Sent on 16 July to:support@huel.com
Given that at least one person who has responded to the YouTube video says they’re quitting Huel, it might be an idea if someone from Huel responded there too.
I see I’ve been labelled a troublemaker. I wonder why some find the asking of questions unsettling.
OK concerns:
a. The YouTube poster is a Doctor so (presumably he knows what he’s talking about and he does quote studies to support his case).
b. Huel (RTD) has erythritol in - this MAY raise stroke risk
c. Pea Protein - lose the fibre, just leaves dust
d. Tapioca and oat flour lead to blood sugar spike - not good for diabetics
e. Rapeseed oil - high Omega 6, can cause inflammation (he quotes a study)
f. Sucralose negative impact on gut bacteria
g. Starch + sweetener + seed oil + synthetic food = nutritious meal?
As an aside, you link to an article: Is Huel healthy? We Did a Study to Find Out | Huel US which links to a full study on ‘Page not found’.
Like Newton’s third law of motion… or is it his fourth? Second? … For every study one can find decrying the use of seed oils, there is an equal and opposite peer-reviewed study proving their benefits.
This is a fact cos I said so 
What negative impact on my gut bacteria should I be looking out for? I’ve been having on average 5-6 shakes a week for about 9 years now, mainly powder original flavour but quite a few RTD’s in there as well.
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It was me who said that, pal. Just to avoid any confusion, it was a joke…like 99% of my posts. I don’t actually care either way, so feel free to carry on. 
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To be clear I am merely repeating what was in the video - I’ve been drinking Huel for years - as one of my admirers says, I have made videos about Huel - so I am simply passing on what the video said. I don’t know, for example, whether the pea protein-dust comment is important or not. I’m simply raising it here - and on the comments section for the video itself I have posted a link to the Huel study about the healthiness of the product.
Hey Chris! Completely understand why this sort of video is alarming, and I’m pleased you’ve raised your concerns here so that we can address them. I’ve mirrored your breakdown below:
a. The guy posting is a medical doctor, and while we’re certainly more inclined to trust someone with credentials like this, it’s important to remember that doctors aren’t infallible. A title and study screenshots doesn’t automatically mean everything presented has to be factually true. I’d always encourage you to approach content critically, and that includes from us nutritionists at Huel (not because we’re quacks, but so that you can discern the truth for yourself).
b. We don’t use erythritol in our RTD. It was once in some Daily A-Z flavours, but we’ve largely phased it out - mainly for simplicity, not safety concerns.
The video critiques ingredients in isolation. As Huel is consumed as a whole meal, it’s important to talk about how the ingredients work together. Several examples of this below:
c. Pea protein is just that - the isolated protein from peas. While it’s lower in fibre, it’s a concentrated protein source that also provides key minerals. Fibre and phytonutrients come from other ingredients like oats and flaxseed.
d. Sure, if you consumed oat flour by itself, chances are your blood glucose would increase quite rapidly. However, when consumed as part of a meal with other ingredients and nutrients, it’s a different story. Our meals have been tested for their glycaemic index, and all of them class as low GI.
e. Again, if you were to consume nothing but rapeseed oil, your body’s omega-6 levels would likely go through the roof (and you’d probably be sick). But incorporating rapeseed oil into your diet at normal consumption levels is actually a great way to access essential fatty acids (omega-6 actually being one of these!) as well as fat-soluble vitamins like E & K. Contrary to popular myth, we don’t have any evidence that rapeseed oil causes inflammatory disease.
f. Sucralose gets bit of a bad rap. The study I believe he’s referring to here (although not linked) is one that found high sucralose intake caused changes to the gut microbiome - not necessarily in a harmful way. Any dietary change could also do this.
g. The video really leans on the ‘appeal to nature fallacy’, the notion that ‘natural’ is always good and ‘synthetic’ is always bad. For a bit of a breakdown into why this isn’t always true, this article is quite a good summary. We top up our formula with a bespoke vitamin and mineral blend to fill in the gaps that are missing from the natural ingredients and ensure every serving provides at least 20% of the RI for every micronutrient.
While many people struggle with the concept of Huel being ‘food’ because it doesn’t look traditional, it is - “any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth”.
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Excellent answer. Thank you
Just read BHF advise in favour of rapeseed…
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He claims to be a medical doctor, but he doesn’t understand the difference between starch and protein, doesn’t know what seed oils are, doesn’t understand basic chemistry/biology, doesn’t know that synthetic nutrients are identical to “natural” ones, doesn’t understand the difference between complex and simple carbohydrates, thinks Omega-6 fatty acids are unhealthy, doesn’t understand the difference between fatty acids and fats, doesn’t know what emulsifiers are, doesn’t understand what gut bacteria are, and doesn’t understand what food is. That’s a lot of ignorance for two minutes.
Here’s a real doctor with a similar name:
And explaining seed oils:
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Ah yes, I watch this guy. He’s excellent.