6 weeks of chronic low-grade diarrhea

Experiences
#1

I’ve been a Huel Black user for six weeks and have experienced chronic, low-grade diarrhea the entire time. I stopped using it two weeks ago and my symptoms cleared up in about five days and I’ve been “normal” ever since.

A bit more detail: the diarrhea wasn’t explosive, run to the bathroom, flowing out of me like lava type stuff. Instead it was more like what you might call “loose stool,” and included going poop two or three times in a single morning. I was also gassy at night (stinky farts).

I was having 3 scoops of Huel Black (vanilla) for lunch every day, made with 24 oz of water. I really love everything about Huel so this has been really disappointing. I’ve seen on this forum the suggestion that people try digestive enzymes so my next step is to give that a shot. I don’t know if the issue is the fiber content, the probiotics, or some other ingredient that I don’t tolerate well. I wonder whether I could try isolating the probiotics as a factor by baking the Huel somehow- would that kill any probiotics that are included in the formula?

Anyway, I’m writing mostly to share and solicit feedback if anyone has advice. I’ll update this thread as I try different things!

#2

Would microwaving it accomplish the same thing as baking?

#3

I had the same issue when consuming more than 100g of Huel per day. I just settled on only being able to use Huel for one meal per day instead of two. I did notice that adding a little something, like a frozen banana, or some blueberries did decrease the likelyhood of having these symptoms. Also, I’ve recently tried Huel hot & savory, and found so far that I can tolerate Huel hot & savory + 100g huel powder without additions and not have these symptoms.

#4

Checking in with an update: I made Huel muffins this week. They didn’t quite work as muffins (I am not much of a baker) but they accomplished my goal of getting the Huel hot enough to kill off the probiotics. And… same problems. So it’s not the probiotics. I guess the next thing I’ll try is digestive enzymes, although it does make me wonder why I’m eating something my body can’t digest without special enzymes.

#5

Hey @Alex1 , so sorry to hear about this! Have you tried one or two scoops rather than three? And if so, do you have the same experience? And how long does it normally take you to consume your Huel?

#6

I have tried two scoops and it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Huel is my lunch at work so if I cut it down too much it kind of defeats the purpose. Usually I drink it pretty quickly- like over the course of 15 or 20 minutes or so I think. Do you think sipping more slowly would help?

#7

I would try to sip it slower over the course of 30-35 minutes, if possible, and see if that helps. Let me know how it goes!

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#8

I agree, consuming anything too quickly can upset your stomach; especially something as fiber packed as Huel.

#9

Checking back in with an update. I tried reintroducing Huel to my diet very carefully. I am consuming 400 calories (2 scoops) at a time, only every other day (max 3x per week). I’ve also been eating something solid with the Huel (like a banana or an apple) and have been very scrupulous about slowing down my intake, forcing myself to spend 45 minutes to an hour drinking it. These measures have certainly reduced the intensity of my symptoms (not surprising, since I’m drinking way less Huel than I was before) but they haven’t eliminated them.

Next thing I’m going to try is the digestive enzymes.

#10

I’ve heard enzymes help. Others in the forum such as @Deron have discussed certain products they recommend should you wish to go this route.