The Huel Instant Meal Formula Explained

Huel Instant Meals are delicious nutritionally complete meals that are high in protein, fiber, and essential fats and contain a balanced macro split of 38:30:25:7 (net carbohydrate, fat, protein, fiber), phytonutrients, and all 27 essential vitamins and minerals.

Additionally, they contain no lactose or any animal products, and no GMO.

Huel Instant Meals meet the HHS and USDA's Dietary Guidelines and Daily Value (DV) requirements for all macro- and micronutrients^[1] and are a sustained source of energy with a wealth of other nutritious benefits.

Continue reading to find out more about Huel Instant Meals.

The Huel Instant Meals Formula Explained

Huel Instant Meals are 38:30:25:7 Macro Split
Carbohydrate in Huel Instant Meals
Fat in Huel Instant Meals: Flaxseed, Sunflower, and Coconut
Huel Instant Meals are High-protein
Huel Instant Meals are High-fiber
Vitamins and Minerals in Huel Instant Meals
Phytonutrients in Huel Instant Meals
Additional Nutrition Notes

Nutrition information and Ingredients

List of Ingredients (Pasta & Noodle flavors)
List of Ingredients (Grain flavors)
Full Nutritional Profile of Huel Instant Meals
Huel Instant Meals Cautions and Allergen Advice

Huel Instant Meals are 38:30:25:7 Macro Split

The principle macronutrients that we obtain energy from food are carbohydrate, fat, protein, and fiber, and in Huel Instant Meals, they’re at the ratio of 38:30:25:7 respectively; i.e. 38% of the energy comes from carbohydrates, 30% from fats, 25% from proteins, and 7% from fiber.

Amino acids are the simplest units of protein, and several amino acids are essential for life, with others being crucial for good health, so any diet has to contain a significant amount of protein.

Some fatty acids that are required for life and good health, so including sources of essential fat, are crucial too.

Carbohydrates, whilst not essential per se, have significant benefits and help maintain energy levels.

These ratios in Huel Instant Meals are within the parameters of the healthy eating guidelines and provide optimum, sustained energy release whilst covering macronutritional requirements for disease prevention.

Carbohydrate in Huel Instant Meals

The carbs in Huel Instant Meals are mainly provided by the brown rice, quinoa, and corn starch. However, a number of the other ingredients also contribute to the carb content, and this differs between the varieties. We’ve chosen brown rice and quinoa as they’re ideal grains for a tasty meal and, in combination with the other ingredients, allow for a slow release of energy^[2]. Plus, as rice and quinoa are wholefoods, they provide so much more than just carbohydrates: many vitamins and minerals too.

Fat in Huel Instant Meals: Flaxseed, Sunflower, and Coconut

The fats in Huel Instant Meals provide 30% of the total energy and are principally provided by flaxseeds and sunflower oil to ensure that essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are in optimum amounts. We’ve included medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) from coconut. MCTs are treated much like carbs, i.e. they provide an energy-rich, sustained fuel and are perfect for those of us with busy lifestyles^[3]. But MCTs have another invaluable quality: they are not susceptible to oxidation and rancidity, meaning that they do not contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques which increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In short, MCTs from coconut are a healthy and efficient source of energy.

There are two completely essential fatty acids (EFAs) that humans require: linoleic acid (LA – an omega-6 fatty acid) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA – an omega-3)^[4]. Using our blend of flaxseeds and sunflower oil powder, we’ve ensured that Huel Instant Meals contain sufficient amounts of both of these EFAs as well as other omega-3 and -6 fatty acids. Moreover, these natural seed powders provide antioxidants and other vitamins and minerals. Free radicals may be involved in the pathology of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and aging, so it’s desirable to keep their formation to a minimum, and this is the role of antioxidants^[5].

Huel Instant Meals are High-protein

The RI for protein is 50g per day, but this only covers our very basic needs and prevents protein deficiency^[1]. The Western diet typically provides more^[6], and Huel Instant Meals do too. All essential amino acids are included in adequate amounts from vegan protein sources. Most of the protein is supplied by pea protein and the pulses, with a significant amount provided by the brown rice, quinoa, and flaxseeds and smaller amounts coming from several of the other ingredients depending on the variety. Based on an average 2,000-calorie intake, you’ll be consuming 117-120g protein per day (varies depending on the variety) from Huel Instant Meals. This provides ample for optimal health as well as building and maintaining a healthy body. Furthermore, protein is more satiating (appetite suppressing) than other macronutrients^[7], and we've designed Huel Instant Meals to stop unwanted hunger pangs.

Amino Acid Profile of Huel Instant Meals

Protein is made up of amino acids. There are over 500 amino acids in nature, 20 of which are known as the standard amino acids as these are the ones that are coded genetically and are subsequently involved in primary protein synthesis in animals. Of these 20, nine are essential as they cannot be synthesized from other amino acids.

The nine essential amino acids are:

Histidine
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine

The other eleven are:

Alanine
Arginine
Asparagine
Aspartic acid
Cysteine
Glutamine
Glutamic acid
Glycine
Proline
Serine
Tyrosine

Amino Acid Content of Huel Instant Meals (based on Thai Green Curry v1.0 - amounts will differ slightly for other flavors)

Amino Acid (mg)	Per 94g	Per 2000kcal	RDA*	%RDA per 94g
Tryptophan	319	1597	280	114%
Threonine	798	3992	1050	76%
Isoleucine	989	4946	1400	71%
Leucine	1476	7379	2730	54%
Lysine	1255	6276	2100	60%
Methionine	241	1205	1050**	61%
Cysteine	403	2017
Phenylalanine	997	4986	1750***	102%
Tyrosine	783	3915
Valine	925	4624	1820	51%
Histidine	898	4492	700	128%
Arginine	1499	7496
Alanine	1086	5430
Aspartic acid****	2553	12765
Glutamic acid*****	3128	15640
Glycine	925	4625
Proline	893	4467
Serine	1038	5190

*WHO (2007) recommended daily amounts for essential amino acids for 70kg adult

**combined total for methionine + cysteine

***combined total for phenylalanine + tyrosine

****figure includes asparagine

*****figure includes glutamine

All protein sources are not equal: some are classed as ‘complete proteins’ and some are not. A complete protein is one that contains sufficient quantities of all nine essential amino acids.

Generally, proteins derived from animal foods (meats, fish, poultry, milk, and eggs) are complete. Indeed, some proteins derived from plant foods (legumes, seeds, grains, and vegetables) are often complete as well; examples include quinoa, buckwheat, and soy. Many plant foods have insufficient amounts or one or more of the essential amino acids. Some are notably low, such as corn protein, which is low in lysine and isoleucine.

The protein in Huel Instant Meals comes from pea protein (powder and nuggets), pulses (black-eyed beans) brown rice, quinoa, and flaxseeds. This ensures a good range of all amino acids and that there are sufficient amounts of the essential amino acids. The protein from rice is high in the sulphur-containing amino acids cysteine and methionine, plus it contains good amounts of all the others, but is very low in lysine. Pea protein is low in cysteine and methionine but high in lysine. Combining ingredients ensures everything is covered whilst keeping Huel Instant Meals vegan.

Huel Instant Meals are High-fiber

One serving of Huel Instant Meals contains 37-47% (varies between varieties) of the recommended daily amount of fiber. The fiber in Huel Instant Meals is a mixture of soluble and insoluble forms and is naturally supplied from most of the ingredients, including the brown rice, quinoa, pulses, and vegetables) and provides more than most standard meals. The high-fiber content helps to ensure the formation of normal, solid stools in healthy users^[8].

Fiber acts like a sponge, so try to consume more water than you might usually when using Huel Instant Meals^[9]. The Huel Instant Meals formula supports optimum digestive system health.

Vitamins and Minerals in Huel Instant Meals

A bulk of the vitamins and minerals – also known as micronutrients – in Huel Instant Meals are from natural ingredients. However, in order to meet the demands of a Western lifestyle, we've added a unique vitamin and mineral formula to provide, in some cases, more than 100% of the recommended amounts.

There have been numerous studies in the past 20 years demonstrating that, for many micronutrients, levels higher than the RNI may have beneficial effects to health.

For example, it’s widely considered that the amount of vitamin C we’re recommended to consume is too low^{[10, 11, 12]}, so we've reflected this in the Huel Instant Meals formula. Benefits of consuming more vitamin C include a healthy immune system, healthy skin and antioxidant properties^{[11, 12, 13]}.

With some of the trace elements, the levels are far higher than the recommended amounts. This is because we only need tiny amounts of them, but the natural ingredients in Huel Instant Meals are a rich source.

Choline is a conditionally essential B vitamin, and although, strictly speaking, it can be synthesized in our bodies, it’s more efficient to obtain it from our diets^[14]. It’s of particular importance for post-menopausal women^{[15, 16]}. As Huel Instant Meals are all about optimum health, having a high amount of choline was felt to be fundamental.

Phytonutrients in Huel Instant Meals

Phytonutrients are substances found in plant foods which, whilst not essential, may exhibit some health benefits like disease risk prevention. Junk food diets are often deficient in phytonutrients, and thus consumers miss out on invaluable health benefits and antioxidant effects.

Huel Instant Meals’ fundamental ingredients are plant-based foods, which are already phytonutrient-rich and so the benefits are passed onto anyone consuming Huel Instant Meals. Additionally, we've also included some extra phytonutrients to optimize the Huel Instant Meals formula and to complement the antioxidant nutrients vitamins C and E and selenium.

Polyphenols in Huel Instant Meals have antioxidant activity and could help protect against cardiovascular disease, some cancers and age-related conditions. Huel Instant Meals' beneficial phytonutrients include:

Betalains: antioxidant polyphenols found in quinoa that also help with the function of antioxidant systems in the body^{[17, 18]}.
Ferulic acid: from quinoa and brown rice, a potent antioxidant and antibacterial agent that has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties^{[19, 20]}.
Lutein: from the flaxseed and we've also added additional lutein in our vitamin and mineral blend. Although not essential, there is concern that diets low in lutein may lead to macular degeneration of the eye in the elderly, as lutein is involved in eye pigment development^{[21, 22]}. Lutein is also an antioxidant.
Zeaxanthin: another antioxidant, this has been added as it also has a role in long-term eye health^[22].
Lycopene: added as it's a potent antioxidant and has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers^[23].
Other carotenoids are also present from the quinoa as well as the tomato ingredients in the Tomato & Herb variety.
Several minor polyphenols that are naturally present from the pulses and vegetables.

Summary

As you can see, Huel Instant Meals have far superior nutrition compared to most conventional diets. Say goodbye to expensive and low nutrition meals because convenience is a priority. Huel Instant Meals ensure you’re giving your body what it needs through a warm, easy-to-prepare meal.

Ingredients of Huel Instant Meals (Pasta and Noodle flavors)

Spicy Gochujang Noodles v1.0

Ingredients: Dried Protein Noodles (Wheat Flour, Pea Protein, Salt), Gochujang Seasoning Blend (Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Yeast Extract, Red Bell Pepper, Paprika, Pepper Seasoning (Red Peppers, Vinegar, Salt), Citric Acid, Hot Sauce (Vinegar, Red Pepper, Salt), Potassium Chloride, Soy Sauce Powder, Paprika Extract, Canola Oil, Sunflower Oil, Natural Flavor), Pea and Faba Bean Textured Protein (Pea Protein, Faba Bean Protein, Salt), Corn Starch, Flaxseed Oil Powder, Pea Protein, Sunflower Oil Powder, Dried Red Peppers, Micronutrient Blend*, Wheat Gluten, Dried Spring Onion.

*Micronutrient Blend: Potassium Citrate, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Magnesium Oxide, L-Ascorbic Acid, Menaquinone-7, Lutein, Lycopene, D-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Retinyl Acetate, Niacinamide, Cyanocobalamin, Calcium D-Pantothenate, Ergocalciferol, Plant-Derived Cholecalciferol, Zeaxanthin, Zinc Oxide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Potassium Iodide, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Calcium L-Methylfolate.

Allergy advice: WHEAT, SOY, TREE NUTS (COCONUT).