Won't eating a Huel Bar/Granola each day, be a good way to keep chewing? (for people going only Huel)

Nutrition
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Update: I added Granola to the title as well. I don’t want to give the impression, only Huel bars would work and not Granola. Both are probably as efficient.

Heya.

I am new to Huel, and I have noticed the chewing debate. The benefits of chewing, and some dude said that they are loosing their teeth by not chewing, etc, etc.

We humans, since the beginning of our existence, has always chewed, using our jaws, the muscles, the teeth to break down food, etc etc. Humans, as biological creatures, has had teeth for a very long time. But now, Huel, our future food (since 2014), doesn’t require chewing? That’s a huuuge drastic change in human’s biological nature and behavior. Chewing has been a part of us, at every evolutionary step.

I think Huel is a good step in regards to keep us nutrition healthy and saving global food waste, but I don’t think anyone is advocating that humans should suddenly stop chewing. In my opinion, that sounds insane.

We have only been drinking milk for the last 7500 years, but still only 35% of all humans can digest milk. And 7500 is just a drop in the ocean, for how long we have been chewing.

So, I can totally understand why the lack of chewing is worrisome (even if you don’t do it for few weeks, worries me) and by default I agree that stop chewing entirely would probably be a bad idea. But that’s my opinion.

However…

Huel also offers Huel bars, and as I understand, they are very compact and stiff.

Wouldn’t like eating, at most, a bar per day totally mitigate this chewing debate all together?

I don’t how much many humans need to chew (and I’m not sure anyone on earth knows), but for people who are going full into Huel, should also eat the bars?

I am thinking of getting bars, and eat one a day (1 every 2 days?), just to keep that system up and running. That should be totally enough, just to not worry about the chewing debate, right?

What do you guys think?

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Probably, but so would a carrot, or something - and they’re much cheaper and would barely impact your calories for the day :stuck_out_tongue:

3

Probably, but so would a carrot, or something - and they’re much cheaper and would barely impact your calories for the day

Yes, of course. Or chewing gum (even though its very low resistance with chewing gums, so I would probably take a carrot over gum).

But I meant for someone who is going only Huel (which means excluding carrots :stuck_out_tongue: ), replacing 1 powder serving with a bar, would probably be a really good idea to keep your jaw system functional.

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I do 100% most of the time.
I do chew gums and it seems to work (?)
You could also eat the granola

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Yeah, I’m on Huel for 2 meals a day on 3 total, and I can assure: chewing Granola is enough for a month of chewing :smiley:

I also chew the powder in the shake every sip I drink :stuck_out_tongue:

3 Likes
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well yeah, but with that reasoning, going “100% Huel” seems to be more of an allegiance to a brand rather than a reasonably determined lifestyle choice. And by all means go 100% Huel just for the sake of brand allegiance, but I just don’t see the point of that. If you were on 2000kcal/day and chose to incorporate a carrot into that, you’re talking at about a whopping 2% of your daily intake (assuming 1 carrot =~40 cals). There really needs to be some proven benefit of going 100% Huel products to the complete exclusion of anything else, in order for that to be a reasonable option to exclude outright.

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to be fair though it’s also worth mentioning that the main reason I don’t personally get the bars is because they’re twice the price per calorie.

Don’t get me wrong - they’re not a rip off, that’s not what I’m saying. They’re convenient, and I’m sure they’re tasty, but I’d rather source my snacks more cheaply than that (while also trying to stick to healthier snacks) and stick to regular Huel.

Pay extra because you love the convenience and taste of the bars? Sure
Pay extra just for the sake of being able to chew while also “going 100% Huel”? - again, I just don’t see the point, but that doesn’t mean you’re not free to do it

1 Like
8

well yeah, but with that reasoning, going “100% Huel” seems to be more of an allegiance to a brand rather than a reasonably determined lifestyle choice.

Yes, I am not advocating 100% fanboys here. People should use Huel how little or how much they want, and complement Huel with whatever they want in their life =)

Eating a carrot, or Huel Granola, is most likely at least as effective as eating a bar.

I am just speaking, from a Huel product perspective, I mean in regards what products they offer for their customers. Eating bars should be sufficient enough to keep the musculature system maintained.

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This is why I carry on eating meat. Around 60% of my diet is Huel, but I carry on with meat for the remaining amount because it’s not only nice to chew, but bloody tasty.

I guess a 60% Huel diet is better for the environment that most of the population though.

1 Like
10

No, really though. Is no one qualified to answer this question with certainty so we know?

I tell myself gums work. I take 4-5 at once, as it’s larger and this way it provides good resistance (almost sore after 20 mins in the jaw muscles) taking 1 or 2 isnt at all the same.

To further work my jaw muscles, I eat the granola.

Is this enough? I don’t know, honestly. But I have known a couple of people with anorexia and they lived off nutritional drinks for extended periods of time, always being instructed by their doctors to use chewing gum to maintain healthy muscles and to work the teeth. If this says anytying, it helps, but wether or not it’s enough is unclear.

I can also provide an anecdote. I drank a Swedish version of Slimfast for 4-5 months exclusively a few years ago. I did not chew anything, my teeth did not fall out. I did get other temporary health issues though, namely blood preassure/fainting. No surprise living on 600 kcal a day for nearly 6 months I guess.

My advice based on what I (don’t) know - if you go 100% CHEW GUMS! And if possible, use Granola and/or bars for one of the daily meals. Chew gums before or after Huel shakes for 20-30 minutes. (Use xylitol based gums, not sugar)

Maybe this could be an alternative?

I hope this helps anyone.

11

Lol, yes for the canine part that is in all of us :smiley:

To be honest I don’t think teeth stay up because you chew food. They are ruined because you chew food. I’m not a dentist, so I may be completely wrong, but not taking into account the lack of nutrition that will make your teeth and whole body fail, if you don’t eat at all is better for teeth. Again, I may be wrong, I’m just reasoning out loud.
As a species, of course, takes more than some people eating Huel to loose teeth. But if everyone for many generations would eat Huel, probably evolution would change things. But teeth are useful not only for eating. And my memory goes to the bites given to each other by the children I cared for when I was working in a kindergarten. :joy:

12

We shouldn’t confuse teeth with jaw mastication muscles as well.

You still need to brush your teeth, regardless if you eat Huel or anything else.

I know too little regarding the impact of stopping everyday chewing. Like I said, its something humans has done a very long time consistently, multiple times everyday. The human body is very complicated and from my experience, there are links between different systems all the time.

I don’t know how it ties to speech, swallowing, immune system? Maybe a human is more prone to get tonsillitis if they stop exercise those muscles? It’s probably all linked due to 200,000 years of evolution.

That’s why I want to continue chew solid food, even though I am starting a Huel powder diet =)

13

You’re right, I was referring to other discussions in which the topic was about falling teeths.
Anyway, I’m doing 2/3 Huel, not 100%: apart from concerns about chewing, I think there are other things about eating that need to be taken into account. I will probably go 100% Huel in particular occasions, like in busy days or so on, but still need to eat other food or I will be bored. Even if I love Huel, and it can be changed up to a certain limit adding flavors or fruit or other stuff. I need variety. I love pizza, for instance, but I wouldn’t eat pizza everyday every meal (even if it were healthy, which is obviously not :smiley: ).

That said, I wasn’t joking: Granola is so “hard” to chew (compared to other cereals) that it’s a great training for jaw muscles every morning, more than any other food. :smiley:

1 Like
14

Yeah.
I believe balance is key.
To be safe -> eat once a day.