Anyone use huel black meal replacement here

[Danielj1]

Just started on this over the past month - replaces one meal a day - looking to support a lower weight.

Seems to be well made and.l not cheap - anyone with longer term experience and compatibility for hypo etc

Thanks

[Wired123]

Keen to hear thoughts, I try to avoid these things because they are processed and often include crap. However sometimes they are a better option than a sandwich or other fast food/takeaway when in a rush.

I certainly wouldn’t aim to make this a long term sustainable part of my diet.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Danielj1

Why would you want to use a meal replacement that gives you just 400 calories?

Low calorie diets can cause high reverse T3.

They contain potassium iodide and that is iodine and we hypos should not take iodine.

[Danielj1 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Crikey that is a very good spot - did not think they would want to be adding such a full set of minerals thank you for responding

[Danielj1 in reply to Danielj1]

Had a further look - their original standard powder has 100 iodine so bad , but latest black version I bought has zero iodine so in fact I am ok on that criteria

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Danielj1]

The black contains 32.0 micrograms of iodine per 90 gram "serving".

uk.huel.com/products/huel-b...

Goodness knows why they impose a little window to make it difficult to get a proper view of the nutritional information. Actually, I do know - they really don't want you to see it all, clearly.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to Danielj1]

Danielj1

but latest black version I bought has zero iodine so in fact I am ok on that criteria

Taken from their website

uk.huel.com/products/huel-b...

Click on INGREDIENTS INFORMATION

Ingredients

Cookies & Cream v1.1

Ingredients: Pea Protein, Ground Flaxseed, Brown Rice Protein, Tapioca Flour, Sunflower Oil Powder, Cocoa Powder, Natural Flavourings, Coconut Sugar, Micronutrient Blend*, Medium-Chain Triglyceride Powder (from Coconut), Stabiliser: Xanthan Gum, Sweetener: Steviol Glycosides, Green Tea Extract Powder, Kombucha Powder, Bacillus Coagulans.

*Potassium Citrate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Corn Starch, Vitamin C (as L-Ascorbic Acid), Lutein, Lycopene, Vitamin K2 (as Menaquinone-7), Vitamin A (as Retinyl Acetate), Niacin (as Niacinamide), Vitamin B12 (as Cyanocobalamin), Pantothenic Acid (as Calcium-D-Pantothenate), Plant-Derived Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol), Potassium Iodide, Zeaxanthin, Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Riboflavin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Calcium-L-Methylfolate.

Same for all flavours listed plus the Unflavoured & Unsweetened v1.1

Is your version not listed in that link?

[Hidden]

I have been using Huel bottles for a few months as when my health is really bad and I am not able to prepare a meal I will drink one of these. I don’t use them that often but recently was extremely fatigued waiting for a pacemaker replacement that I did use up to 5 a week. I find if it’s an option between them and not eating properly I’ll have one as at least I’m getting some nutrition. The ones I have don’t contain iodine.

I found a BBC podcast about Huel and it researched the facts. It was interesting and said if it was a choice between having Huel and for instance eating a chocolate bar or unhealthy snack much better to have Huel. It would be possible, though not advisable, to live on them.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

The ones I have don’t contain iodine.

Could you let us know which ones do NOT contain iodine?

They keep claiming:

Complete nutrition

Protein, essential fats, carbs, fibre, plus 26 essential vitamins & minerals.

If that is true, their products simply must contain iodine. They cannot be complete without iodine.

[Hidden in reply to helvella]

This is the one I use. Please tell me if I’m mistaken about the iodine. Thanks

Black text on white background

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Hidden]

Well - it does say "Potassium Iodide" on that screenshot!

An early reply I made pointed out one of their products says it contains 32.0 micrograms of iodine per 90 grams serving - and I doubt it would vary that much.

[DippyDame]

Do you have any recent labs results?

Full thyroid test =

TSH, FT4, FT3, vit D, vit B12, folate, ferritin andvthyroid antibodies

Weight gain is a typical hypo symptom

Are you being medicated for hypo?

If so what is the dose?

Before turning to alternatives to aid weight loss I'd first want my thyroid treatment to,be optimal

I'd hazard a guess that you are wrongly diagnosed and/or wrongly medicated

If so, diets of whatever kind are unlikely to have much impact on thyroid weight gain.

Optimal medication and a healthy well balanced diet will save you money and avoid unnecessary " hidden" and not so hidden potentially harmful ingredients.

Just my opinion!!

[SecondAngel]

I use Huel on and off and have had no adverse effects as far as I can tell.

I wasn't using it to lose weight (just an easy breakfast) and wasn't watching what I was eating the rest of the day, so no weight loss.

[Danielj1]

Huel is a meal replacement powder that you mix with water or oat milk to substitute for certain meals - it is expensive but high quality

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

bluepettals2

Besides having very low calorie content (less than 231 in the Active Shape powder), XLS powder contains things we hypos shouldn't take:

Sodium iodide which is a source of iodine

Soy protein

Soy lecithin

Soy oil

Soy is said to interfere with the body's absorption of thyroid medication see

btf-thyroid.org/thyroid-and...

Soya

Soya interferes with thyroxine absorption, therefore if you are taking thyroxine you should try to avoid soya. If you wish to take soya, there should be as long a time interval as possible between eating the soya and taking the thyroxine.

There is evidence of certain brands of soya milk being withdrawn from sale by authorities in countries such as Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Japan because they contained excessive amounts of iodine or being highly enriched with seaweed products that naturally contain iodine.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to SeasideSusie]

It also supplies vitamin A as beta-carotene. (Which is often fine - and extremely inexpensive.) But those who are hypothyroid tend to be less able to convert beta-carotene to active (as an ingredient, often called preformed) vitamin A.

[SeasideSusie Remembering in reply to helvella]

Plus the wrong forms of B12 and selenium, probably the wrong form of Vit K, zinc oxide and 74.6mcg iodine per portion.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

so what can i us ethen as a meal replacment?

It's not something I would use and I expect these powder meal replacements are much of a muchness.

I know that I will have lazy days when I don't want to bother cooking so I batch cook and freeze then on a lazy day just get one out of the freezer and defrost, curry is very successful so then just put some rice with it. Laziest is microwave rice - half a standard packet for two, then use I use the rest up with liver (quick and easy if cut into thin strips) or frozen salmon cooked in the oven, ready in half an hour and put with rest of rice and some peas.