Huel: The Future of Food ..

Psycho Sonny · 23 Jan 2017 at 16:34

wasn't there a documentary on the american version of this? I think i saw it on youtube or the new viceland channel.

Basically some dude started up a company where he was making this horrible tasting drink which had everything you needed to survive.

the guy who went on it lost weight and even found mould in one of his containers. they recorded where it was made and it was in a dirty old building where they had used plastic sheeting to create a "clean room". there was rats droppings and the likes outside, etc. guy was ordering all the ingredients off amazon then labeling how much of each went into a tub with a scoop inside them.

basically he saw it as the only sustainable food source for the future. it however tasted horrible and the conditions it was made in were shocking. it wasn't very healthy either as humans aren't used to this type of diet. it would take many generations of having such a food source before our bodies adapted to it. science states roughly 30 generations before we adapt.

tom_e · 23 Jan 2017 at 16:39

Psycho Sonny said:
wasn't there a documentary on the american version of this? I think i saw it on youtube or the new viceland channel.

Basically some dude started up a company where he was making this horrible tasting drink which had everything you needed to survive.

the guy who went on it lost weight and even found mould in one of his containers. they recorded where it was made and it was in a dirty old building where they had used plastic sheeting to create a "clean room". there was rats droppings and the likes outside, etc. guy was ordering all the ingredients off amazon then labeling how much of each went into a tub with a scoop inside them.

basically he saw it as the only sustainable food source for the future. it however tasted horrible and the conditions it was made in were shocking. it wasn't very healthy either as humans aren't used to this type of diet. it would take many generations of having such a food source before our bodies adapted to it. science states roughly 30 generations before we adapt.

Soylent?

That was the first mass marketed try at this sort of thing IIRC.

Warbie · 23 Jan 2017 at 16:48

Yeah - Soylent was big in the states. Never made it over here.

corkhead · 23 Jan 2017 at 16:53

Warbie said:
Yeah - Soylent was big in the states. Never made it over here.

Yep, I bought a load of stuff called Joylent. Quite a few different flavours available like chocolate, strawberry, banana and vanilla. But I can't remember where it came from... it was somewhere in continental Europe as I paid in euros.

Psycho Sonny · 23 Jan 2017 at 16:54

yeah soylent.

the conditions it was made in and the source of ingredients was dubious. you could have just copied the guys idea and bought the ingredients yourself off amazon and mixed them up.

also how much of this stuff does the body actually absorb nutrient wise in powdered form. majority of it ends up in wastage the body cannot absorb it all in that form as it's not used to it?

tom_e · 23 Jan 2017 at 16:58

I don't really buy the whole "The body can't properly utilise powdered food" argument to be honest, in the case of Huel at least it's all from normal whole foods just powdered which is pretty much the exact state it would be in if you chewed up the non powdered equivalent by the time it go to your digestive track.

madindehead · 23 Jan 2017 at 17:00

Soylent is still big in the States. I assume it has much better controls now on where it is made however!

Interesting article with the Soylent story here: https://pando.com/2013/11/12/vice-investigates-soylent-finds-rats-and-mold/

Freefaller · 23 Jan 2017 at 21:49

Warbie said:
Is it that clear cut? I'd class bulking on peanut butter and porridge as dirty bulking. It's easy to get the calories, but if given the choice i'd rather they had some goodness.

Proper peanut butter (with no added salt, sugar or any palm oil) is perfectly healthy, as are oats.

Not dirty bulking in the slightest.

Dirty bulking is, pizza, bread, burgers, chips and just lots of random calories. Basically foods with high fat, high sugar ratio compared to complex carbs and protein.

You can bulk cleanly, good quality meats, rice, sweet potato, oats, nuts, eggs, etc...

It's easy to get goodness on bulk, don't misunderstand huel as part of a diet is a good addition, but you can bulk without it being "dirty" or without goodness.

Even though now I am not at my peak in terms of training/fitness, I put away 3000 cals and not a burger or chips in sight! (except for maybe the weekend where I allow myself a treat!). Avocados, nuts, eggs, oats, meats, rice. sweet potatoes, 85% chocolate (actually pretty good for you), oily fish, and your selection of veg and fruits make it REALLY easy to get the calories in.

Now of course this costs money, and takes time. But To get 800 or so calories in 1 meal that requires 2 500ml shakes of 4 scoops of huel, which is fine, but also a) boring b) hard to stomach c) it may be nutritionally complete but there is a physiological and psychological trigger that occurs when you chew and eat food that just makes it that little bit more effective.

Again, I'm not demonising Huel - I have some, and it is useful as a quick fix for a meal.

Freefaller · 23 Jan 2017 at 21:51

tom_e said:
I don't really buy the whole "The body can't properly utilise powdered food" argument to be honest, in the case of Huel at least it's all from normal whole foods just powdered which is pretty much the exact state it would be in if you chewed up the non powdered equivalent by the time it go to your digestive track.

If anything it can digest it quicker.

But there are enzymes triggered by chewing foods, and ph acidity increases as part of the whole mastication / eating process that aids digestion, and chewing just basically kicks off the whole digestion processes.

Whilst the science behind it is there, could you record/measure tangible differences? I don't know as I haven't read any papers on it - but I can only imagine that drinking a liquid food is never going to affect your body quite the same way.

neoboy · 24 Jan 2017 at 00:05

Started to feel a little bloated yesterday and got worse today, felt quite nauseous after the gym tonight so got a pot of spicy houmous instead of one shake. Feel much better now

reiyushin · 24 Jan 2017 at 08:41

Psycho Sonny said:
also how much of this stuff does the body actually absorb nutrient wise in powdered form. majority of it ends up in wastage the body cannot absorb it all in that form as it's not used to it?

My own experience is it absorbs it all just fine. I kept my calories the same when switching to huel and my weight has remained constant. If I wasn't absorbing it properly I'd imagine I'd be dropping weight.

MoNkeE · 24 Jan 2017 at 08:50

Sonny is implying that that nutrients don't get absorbed, but the calories must. It's called cherry picking your facts

Well I say facts, I'm dying to know where he has this information from.

neoboy · 24 Jan 2017 at 11:45

We don't always have to agree with alternative facts.

wozza2k · 24 Jan 2017 at 11:50

Ok I'm thinking of trying this for a month or two during my busy period. Do you just gulp it down in one go or just sip it throughout the day?

Freefaller · 24 Jan 2017 at 12:06

When I have it, I personally "eat" it over about 10 mins, unless you have a shaker that is more than 500ml, 4 scoops will be very thick so you may have to do 2 sittings. I have a 750ml container which actually is much easier to put 4 scoops into without it being too thick. But it does fill you up because of the fibre and water content so does satiate appetite relatively quickly - that said, you do digest it pretty well too.

McBain · 24 Jan 2017 at 12:16

wozza2k said:
Ok I'm thinking of trying this for a month or two during my busy period. Do you just gulp it down in one go or just sip it throughout the day?

If it's just the Huel I drink it pretty much in one go, but if I mix it with fruit, frozen fruit, veg etc it will be much thicker and i'll then sip it over 15 minutes or so.

Obviously the consistency will be different based on the amount of Huel used, I pretty much always use 3 scoops at a time.

shroomz · 24 Jan 2017 at 13:17

wozza2k said:
Ok I'm thinking of trying this for a month or two during my busy period. Do you just gulp it down in one go or just sip it throughout the day?

Open gullet, down the lot, wash up, minimum time spent in contact. My pint downing technique has improved dramatically since starting.

I've discovered a teaspoon of instant espresso powder makes it actually somewhat palatable so have that in the morning and I can drink it over 10 minutes.

Strawberry nesquik added in though is rank, won't be repeating that experience. I think I'll need to get some flavour drops soon.

wozza2k · 24 Jan 2017 at 14:00

Thanks for the feedback, I think I'll opt for the Vanilla and add PB or Nutella for the flavours.

shroomz · 24 Jan 2017 at 20:18

Chong Warrior said:
Not that I rate this slop but it might save some of you a few quid.

Myprotein have copied Huel and offering a big saving buying in bulk, also there's 25% off everything at the moment!
http://www.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/whole-fuel/11314911.html

This arrived today. First impressions: huel mixes better but this tastes better. This new stuff is a bit like the vanilla flavour you get in rice pudding or smart price custard. I might alternate or even blend the two for a least-worst of both worlds....

McBain · 26 Jan 2017 at 10:46

shroomz said:
This arrived today. First impressions: huel mixes better but this tastes better. This new stuff is a bit like the vanilla flavour you get in rice pudding or smart price custard. I might alternate or even blend the two for a least-worst of both worlds....

Yeah my order rocked up today, I actually thought this mixed better, it seems thinner (i'm using a shaker with one of those metallic ball jobbies)? Definitely tastes better though.