(I have limited understanding of digestion, please forgive me.)
You would think drinking liquid would cause LESS strain on your system than solid food. It would be way easier to break down… right? So why are there so many complaints of stomach pain/bloating/whatever else? I’m just wondering about the scientific aspect of it all.
Also I’m planning on transitioning to maybe two Huel meals a day along with one normal meal on average. Maybe all Huel on some days. How do I start without hurting myself? At what speed do I switch over? Would one drink a day be okay and then maybe a week later drink two from then on? I just want to make sure I don’t disrupt my system too badly.
Also, happy holidays if you celebrate! And if you don’t, I just hope you have a great day regardless!
Easing into a new diet is best. Allowing for adjustments, to determine allergies, and to prevent caustic side effects.
I still have rancid gas after 2 months. Not as prevalent…but i can clear out a building. The benefits outweigh the negative. Ask yourself if this is working for you after a month has passed.
Hey Lexi! Firstly, Happy Holidays and I hope you have been having a great week too
These are some great questions and there are a few different reasons why this can happen, especially when you first start consuming Huel. Though, this is not to say that it happens to every Hueligan (it doesn’t)!!
Fiber is good for our gastrointestinal (GI) tract. But unfortunately, at a baseline, many of us do not get enough daily. Huel is high in fiber, so if you go from a dietary intake that is lower in fiber to one that is high in fiber overnight, this can cause a bit of GI upset due to the change. Similar to what was mentioned above and also in the linked article regarding changes to dietary intake! This is why we say to start out with Huel once a day a few times per week and increase or decrease from there depending on how you feel! This allows for that adjustment to the increase in fiber if you do not normally consume high fiber foods/meals.
In addition, another thing that sometimes can happen is we might consume our Huel too quickly. Some may not tolerate this due to the volume and this can also cause GI upset. This is why to start, you want to try to sip your Huel over the course of 20-30 minutes, if possible, to give your body time to process the volume of food since it can be more fluid than other foods/meals you consume. From there, you can adjust if you feel like you would like to consume it quicker - but again, this is not to say that if you consume your Huel quickly you will have GI upset, it varies from person to person and most are completely fine.
You will find what works best for you in terms of frequency and amount of Huel you have per day. If you would like to have Huel twice per day or more, I would start out as you mentioned and we recommend (once per day a few days a week), and then increase from there. Maybe adding more days first and then the additional serving per day after that. Like I mentioned above, it is not guaranteed that you will have any GI upset at all, even if you went from never having Huel to having it twice per day, and many Hueligans have no GI issues at all from the start. We just like to provide these suggestions as a general guideline as you add Huel into your daily intake!
And I am here and happy to help if you have any additional questions/concerns along the way!
