Huel Version 2.1

Huel Version 2.1 - the principal changes

In June 2015 we launched Huel which shortly incorporated a couple of formula tweaks and  Huel v1.2 was successfully sold for over 9 months.  Always innovating, we felt there were changes we could make to further improve Huel.  In August 2016 we launched v2.0 and you can read these changes here.

Now we’ve launched Huel v2.1 which features some further improvements which follow both feedback from regular Hueligans as well as our own research.

As before, the main ingredients in Huel are unchanged: Huel remains primarily oats, pea protein, flaxseeds, brown rice protein, MCT from coconut and sunflower lecithin. And don’t forget the great changes we made on introducing v2.0 including the addition of lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene and replacing folic acid with the more biologically active L-methylfolate calcium.  These remain integral parts of the Huel 2.1 formula as well as:

1) Removal of Sodium Fluoride

Fluoride is an essential nutrient and is crucial for dental health and, as we felt that Huel should contain everything the body needs, we included it in the formula, especially as not everyone has access to a fluoridated water supply. However, the inclusion of fluoride in Huel was unpopular so we felt we should listen to our consumers and remove it.  Huel v2.1 contains no sodium fluoride.  Instead we recommend that, if your water supply doesn’t contain fluoride, that you brush your teeth twice a day with a fluoridated toothpaste.

2) Addition of Vitamin K2

Vitamin K is an essential vitamin. In Huel v1.2 and v2.0, the requirements for vitamin K were met from the vitamin K1 naturally occurring in Huel’s core ingredients, plus additional K1 in the vitamin & mineral blend.  However, additional advantages from consuming vitamin K2 have been demonstrated.  Vitamin K2 is naturally produced from bacteria and refers to several variants of the vitamin. MK-7 is the most biologically effective form (due to it’s stability¹) and is the form we’ve used in Huel v2.1. Vitamin K2 performs the same functions as vitamin K1 by assisting in blood clotting and vessel integrity. However, it has also has been shown to help as an anti-inflammatory agent, with consequential cardiovascular benefits^2,3, as well as improved bone health^4,5,6,7. It may also help reduce the risk of prostate cancer ⁸. We chose not to reduce the amount of K1 in Huel, but to add K2 as extra. This means that the Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) is met by K1 alone with additional K2 for the health benefits stated above.

3) Change in B12 source 

Since the launch of v2.0, we also made two other changes to the formula: Firstly, on launching v2.0, we used methycobalamin rather than cyanocobalamin as our vitamin B12 source.  However, we were unsure that its bioavailability was as efficient so, within two weeks, we switched back to cyanocobalamin and we have continued to use this as our B12 source in v2.1.

4) Reduction of Salt/Sodium

We added sea salt to v2.0 to increase what we then felt was an inadequate sodium amount in Huel.  This addition proved unpopular, so we removed sea salt and v2.1 continues to have a salt level of 3.3g (1,279 mg of sodium) per 2,000 calories.

References

1. Sato T, Schurgers LJ & Uenishi K. Comparison of menaquinone-4 and menaquinone-7 bioavailability in healthy women. Nutr J. 2012;(12);11:93.
2. Geleijnse JM, et al. Dietary intake of menaquinone is associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: the Rotterdam Study. J Nutr. 2004;134(11):3100-5.
3. Beulens JW, et al. High dietary menaquinone intake is associated with reduced coronary calcification. Atherosclerosis. 2009;203(2):489-93.
4. Purwosunu Y, et al. Vitamin K2 treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis in Indonesia. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2006;32(2):230-4.
5. Knapen MH, Schurgers LJ & Vermeer C. Vitamin K2 supplementation improves hip bone geometry and bone strength indices in postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2007;18(7):963-72.
6. Vermeer C & Theuwissen E. Vitamin K, osteoporosis and degenerative diseases of ageing. Menopause Int. 2011;17(1):19-23.
7. Knapen MH, et al. Three-year low-dose menaquinone-7 supplementation helps decrease bone loss in healthy postmenopausal women. Osteoporos Int. 2013;24(9):2499-507.
8. Samykutty A, et al. Vitamin K2, a naturally occurring menaquinone, exerts therapeutic effects on both hormone-dependent and hormone-independent prostate cancer cells. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:287358
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_controversy#Medical_consensus.