When you think of meal replacements, you may think of low-calorie, bland-tasting supplements that leave you wanting more. But is there a better option? Huel has emerged as a popular meal replacement option, with claims of providing complete nutrition in a convenient and affordable way. This article delves into Huel, particularly its Black Edition, examining its potential for weight loss, nutritional profile, taste, convenience, and overall value.
What is Huel?
Huel, short for "Human Fuel," is a brand of nutritionally complete food products designed to be convenient and affordable. Founded on the principle of stripping food back to the basics of nutrition, Huel offers a range of products, including powdered meal replacements, ready-to-drink smoothies, premade meals, and snack bars. Huel offers complete nutrition supplements that include carbs, healthy fats, protein, and an abundance of vitamins and minerals. The company prioritizes convenience, affordability, and sustainability to support busy, active individuals and the environment.
Huel Products and Nutritional Information
Huel products are designed to provide all the nutrients your body needs. Detailed nutrition information and full lists of ingredients are available for each item on their menu.
For example, the Huel Ready-to-Drink chocolate shake contains the following nutrients (1):
- Calories: 400
- Protein: 20 grams
- Fat: 19 grams
- Carbs: 41 grams
- Fiber: 8 grams
- Vitamin C: 67% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin B12: 33% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 28% of the DV
- Iron: 28% of the DV
- Vitamin D: 25% of the DV
- Thiamin: 25% of the DV
Huel shakes are also rich in various other vitamins and minerals, including calcium, vitamin A, vitamin E, phosphorus, zinc, and B vitamins. Huel powders contain a similar set of nutrients as the ready-to-drink shakes, with 400 calories and 29-31 grams of protein per serving. Their prepared meals also contain 400 calories each, along with 23-25 grams of plant-based protein. Meanwhile, the Huel nutrition bars, which are designed to be enjoyed between meals as a filling snack, contain around 200 calories and 12 grams of protein.
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Huel Black Edition: A Closer Look
Huel Black is more than just a protein powder; it’s a complete meal replacement supplement formulated with ingredients that support muscle function, immune health, digestion, heart health, and energy production. Huel Black is the next-level version of Huel Powder, offering less carbs, more protein, and a gluten-free formula. Each two-scoop serving delivers an impressive 40 grams of plant-based protein and 400 calories.
Huel Complete Protein Powder Black Edition is a nutritionally complete meal replacement shake powder, containing 400 calories per serving along with 40 grams of protein in all of the nine flavors. Fat, carb, and fiber content varies by 1 to 3 grams across flavors, but you can expect to find a healthy serving of unsaturated fats, complex carbohydrates, and fiber in each shake. Plus, each shake contains all essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids with no artificial sweeteners or gluten.
Huel and Weight Loss
Although Huel is not a weight loss product, it may help with weight loss when combined with a balanced diet and regular exercise. Huel offers calorie-controlled meal replacements that may support weight loss. All Huel products include in-depth nutritional information, which you can use to adjust your daily calorie intake to support weight loss (2).
Huel meal replacements are also high in protein, with around 20-30 grams in each serving. Their products are also rich in dietary fiber, a natural plant compound that passes slowly through your digestive tract (4). Some studies suggest that eating high fiber foods may enhance feelings of fullness and increase weight loss (5, 6). Furthermore, one review of 23 studies found that weight loss programs that used meal replacements led to significantly greater weight loss after 1 year than programs that did not incorporate meal replacements (7).
However, all meal replacements have similar limitations compared to whole foods. No food or drink can specifically target fat loss in a particular body area.
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How to Incorporate Huel into Your Diet
Huel can be incorporated into your diet in various ways, such as:
- During busy workdays, when lunch options are limited to high-calorie takeaways.
- When you’re too tired to cook but still need balanced nutrition.
- During travel, when access to fresh food is limited.
- As a breakfast solution, if you typically skip morning meals.
- For shift workers who struggle with irregular eating patterns.
Huel recommends starting with one Huel meal per day and increasing your intake slowly over several days. It’s not recommended to replace nutritious meals with Huel Black or any meal replacement supplement on a daily basis.
Potential Benefits of Huel
Besides potential weight loss support, Huel meal replacements may offer other benefits, too.
- Convenient: Huel products require little to no preparation and can be enjoyed in minutes, which may be appealing for people who are short on time.
- Nutritionally Balanced: All Huel meals and snacks are also nutritionally balanced, providing a good mix of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and essential vitamins and minerals. This can help take the guesswork out of healthy eating and ensure that you’re getting the nutrients your body needs. Enjoying a well-balanced diet may help improve your blood sugar control, reduce food cravings, and protect against conditions like heart disease or obesity (8, 9, 10).
- Sustainable: Huel is committed to sustainability and produces high-quality products with a long shelf life to help minimize food waste. All products are also vegan and thereby free of animal products. Studies have shown that plant-based foods require fewer natural resources, produce less greenhouse gas emissions, and have a smaller carbon footprint than animal-derived foods (11).
Potential Drawbacks of Huel
Although Huel can be a convenient alternative to cooking, there are several drawbacks to consider.
- Monotony: Consuming meal replacement powders and drinks instead of real foods may feel boring, repetitive, and unappetizing over time.
- Social Challenges: It could also be challenging during social situations, such as dining out or eating with family or friends.
- Sustainability: Meal replacement diets can feel repetitive, make social situations more challenging, and be difficult to maintain long term.
Taste and Texture of Huel Black
Huel Black is available for purchase in nine different flavor options. Brittany Combs, GGR’s social media manager, tried the Cookies & Cream flavor and rated the taste a 5 out of 5. However, her favorite way to incorporate the product into her regimen was by adding it to her coffee.
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Reviews are mixed regarding taste. One Amazon customer likes the Banana flavor, but isn’t a fan of the texture, writing, “I love the banana flavor, it is great cold or warm. Finally, this Huel consumer had mixed thoughts and wrote, “The protein profile is great, as are the additional macros, the taste is tolerable.
Cost of Huel
Huel costs a fraction of the price of prepared meal delivery services, with their signature Huel powder starting at just $2.12 per serving. Other Huel products range in price, such as the nutrition bars, which start at $2.08 per serving, or the prepared meals, which cost $3.65 each.
Keep in mind that although it may be a cheaper option than other meal delivery services, it’s expensive compared with many other meal replacement options. SlimFast, for example, offers a variety of meal replacement shakes, smoothie mixes, and snacks, which start at around $0.49 per serving. Similarly, Soylent offers meal replacement powders starting at just $1.82 per serving.
Customer Reviews and Feedback
Huel Black has a 4-out-of-5-star rating on Amazon, based on 1,157 customer reviews. Customers appreciate its balanced macronutrient content, but some dislike the texture.
Customers appreciate its balanced macronutrient content, but some dislike the texture. Reviews are mixed regarding taste. One Amazon customer likes the Banana flavor, but isn’t a fan of the texture, writing, “I love the banana flavor, it is great cold or warm. Finally, this Huel consumer had mixed thoughts and wrote, “The protein profile is great, as are the additional macros, the taste is tolerable.
How to Start Adding Huel Into Your Diet
Expert dietician Helen Gardiner shares her advice on best practice if you want to start 'Huel-ing' it up and shines a light on how to start adding Huel into your diet…
- Check if it’s suitable: Whether Huel is right for you comes down to more than just nutrition, advises Helen. "Substituting meals with a product like Huel on an exclusive basis may lead to social or emotional wellbeing issues and should be discouraged," she notes, adding that food isn’t just 'human fuel' - there are tonnes of advantages in consuming a balanced healthy diet (including a wide range of foods from all the different food groups). It can help with everything from reducing your risk of certain diseases to helping with your sleep cycle. "However, there’s nothing to say that a product like Huel cannot be included within said balanced diet," Helen notes.
- Choose the right product for you: Huel powder v3.0 is composed of a 37:30:30:3 macronutrient split. What that means is that 37% of the energy will come from carbohydrates, 30% from fats, 30% from proteins and 3% from fibre.
- Add some flavour: Huel powders come in a variety of flavours alongside the 'Unflavoured & Unsweetened', including vanilla, banana, salted caramel, coffee, original (a natural, oaty taste), strawberries & cream, coffee caramel, chocolate, mint-chocolate, berry and coffee.
- Be aware of potential side-effects: Online Huel forums contain threads of people complaining about stomach pains, flatulence and heartburn, mixed with positive reviews of clearer skin and even, surprisingly, fewer hangovers.