Ingredients Description?

I’m examining the ingredients on the label and I’m blown away by how much of it are chemicals. Is there a breakdown of why all of these -nate chemical and what exactly is Menaquinone-7? I subscribed to Huel because of its health benefits, but I’m a bit nervous about all these unpronounceable ingredients. Any explanation for why they are needed?

If a response to this type of query has been posted elsewhere, I apologize… like looking for a needle in a haystack.

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No need to worry James!

Not being able to pronounce the ingredients isn’t reason to reject them. Every foodstuff has a chemical name. Water, the root of most fruits and vegetables, is known is dihydrogen monoxide. For example a kiwi fruit is made from - protein, fat, fibre, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, chloride, carotene, vit B1, B2, nicotinamide, vit C, sucrose, glucose, fructose, malic acid, oxalic acid traces, salicylic acid.

Menaquinone-7 is the chemical name for vitamin K2. Pretty much all the chemically sounding names on the back of pack are the vitamins and minerals, you can find out more here.

I hope that clears everything up.

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One thing to add to @Dan_Huel’s response:

Nutrients are often divided in macronutrients and micronutrients.

As the name suggests Macronutrients are nutrients that are needed in higher quantities and often provide calories (energy). These include fats, carbs, fibers and protein.

Micronutrients, on the other hand, are needed in smaller amounts few grams to micrograms (1 g = 1,000,000microgram) and have little to no input towards energy. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. By definition (it is more complex than this), minerals are chemical compounds; e.g. Iron (Ferrum); Selenium; Calcium.
Vitamins are chemical compounds (organic) found on foods that are essential in minuscule amounts for proper body functioning (simplifying here). Vitamins are often not single molecules but groups (have a look at wiki); thus they can have slightly different names and forms.

Macronutrients (while they have chemical names) are often very large and complex. They are also “easier” to achieve from food.Therefore, you will not see their chemical names; since companies will use food sources. E.g. Oats as carbohydrate source (but they also provide fats and protein and vitamins and minerals).

Micronutrients are present at lower levels and not one food would be enough to give you all the daily recommended. Thus companies often use synthetic vitamin/mineral mixes. This allows them to provide you with the pure compound and all the daily recommended in an easy and affordable way. While we could go into debating what is optimal and not; it is generally consider safe and healthy practice.

I feel like I entangled some of my ideas; but the basic premise is that vitamins and minerals are “hard to come by” in food; therefore many companies use synthetic vitamin/mineral mixes to provide you your daily needs. Thus, in the labels they appear in their “pure” form or chemical name (even though all products could be broken down to chemical names).

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Thank you for the response and the link.

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