The Huel Essential Formula Explained

Huel Essential is a nutritionally complete powdered food that is high in protein and fibre and low in sugar and supplies phytonutrients and all 26 essential vitamins and minerals.

Additionally, it contains no animal-derived ingredients and is non-GMO.

Huel Essential meets the UK and EU Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI), Reference Intake (RI) and Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) for macro- and all micronutrients [1,2,3].

Continue reading to find out more about Huel Essential Powder.

Huel Essential is 56:20:20:4 Macro Split

The principle macronutrients that we obtain energy from food are carbohydrate, fat, protein and fibre, and in Huel Essential, we’ve set them at the ratio of 56:20:20:4 respectively, i.e., 56% of the energy comes from carbohydrates, 20% from fats, 20% from protein, and 4% from fibre.

Amino acids are the most basic units of protein, and several amino acids are essential for life, with others being crucial for good health, so any diet should include a significant amount of protein.

There are also fatty acids that are essential for life and good health, so including sources of fat is crucial too.

Carbohydrates, although not essential per se, have significant benefits to ensuring sustained and consistent energy levels. They are also significantly cheaper than protein, helping to make Huel Essential even more affordable.

We’ve designed Huel Essential at these ratios, as they are not only within the parameters of the healthy eating guidelines, but are also levels designed for a sustained energy release whilst covering macro-nutritional requirements for disease prevention.

Carbohydrate in Huel Essential

The carbohydrate content of Huel Essential Powder is 56%, higher than that of regular Huel Powder to ensure a cost-effective difference between the two powders, whilst still maintaining a well-balanced macro split.

There are two main sources of carbohydrates in Huel Essential: ultra-fine powdered oats and tapioca. Oats have a low glycaemic index (GI) [4]. GI refers to the rate after which we ingest a carbohydrate source to the resulting rise in blood sugar and, hence, energy [5]. The oats in Huel Essential mix easily and help sustain energy levels until your next meal. Oats also provide many vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Tapioca is a starch extracted from cassava, a root vegetable similar to sweet potato. Its inclusion in Huel Essential provides additional carbohydrates and aids texture.

Fat in Huel Essential

The fats in Huel Essential provide 20% of the total energy and are made up from both flaxseed and sunflower seeds to ensure an optimum inclusion level of the essential fatty acids.

Essential nutrients can not be made by the body so must be obtained from the diet. 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 fatty acid) [6]. Using a blend of flaxseed and sunflower oil powder, we’ve ensured Huel Essential contains sufficient amounts of both of these EFAs as well as other omega-3 and -6 fatty acids.

Huel Essential is High in Protein

The RI for protein is 50g per day, but this only covers our very basic needs and prevents protein deficiency [1,2,3]. The Western diet typically provides more [7], and Huel Essential does too. All essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) are included in adequate amounts from two vegan protein sources: pea and brown rice protein. A reference intake of 2,000 calories would supply 100g of protein. This is an adequate amount for good health as well as building and maintaining muscle mass. Furthermore, protein is more satiating (filling) than other macronutrients [7].

Amino Acid Profile of Huel Essential Powder

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 for genetically and are subsequently involved in primary protein synthesis in animals. Of these 20, nine are essential as they cannot be synthesised from other amino acids.

The nine essential amino acids are:

• Histidine

• Isoleucine

• Leucine

• Lysine

• Methionine

• Phenylalanine

• Threonine

• Tryptophan

• Valine

The other 11 are:

• Alanine

• Arginine

• Asparagine

• Aspartic acid

• Cysteine

• Glutamine

• Glutamic acid

• Glycine

• Proline

• Serine

• Tyrosine

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 are complete. Indeed, some proteins derived from plant foods are often complete as well; examples include quinoa, buckwheat and soya. Many plant foods have insufficient amounts or one or more of the essential amino acids.

Rice protein 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 Essential plant-based. Plus there’s additional protein from the oats and flaxseed.

Huel Essential Powder is High in Fibre

A serving of Huel Essential contains 22-26% of the recommended daily amount of fibre. The fibre in Huel Essential is a mixture of soluble and insoluble forms and is naturally supplied by the food ingredients, primarily oats and flaxseed. The high fibre content helps to ensure the formation of normal, solid stools, keeping everything running smoothly in healthy individuals [9].

Fibre acts like a sponge, so it’s important to consume adequate water when using Huel Essential [10]. The formula has been designed to support a healthy digestive system.

Vitamins and Minerals in Huel Essential Powder

A bulk of the vitamins and minerals – also known as micronutrients – in Huel Essential are from natural ingredients. There have been numerous studies in the past 20 years demonstrating that, for many micronutrients, levels higher than the daily reference intakes (RIs) 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 [11,12,13], so we've reflected this in the Huel Essential formula. Benefits of consuming more vitamin C include a healthy immune system, healthy skin and antioxidant properties [12,13,14].

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 Essential are a rich source.

Choline is a conditionally essential B vitamin, and although, strictly speaking, it can be synthesised in our bodies, it’s more efficient to obtain it from our diets [15]. It’s of particular importance post menopause [16,17]. As Huel Essential is all about optimum health, the inclusion of choline was felt to be fundamental.

There has been some concern about phytic acid: a naturally occurring substance in plant foods like flaxseed. Phytic acid can chelate (bind to) some minerals, meaning that they are less bioavailable [18]. As flaxseed is a large contributor to the nutrition of Huel Essential, we've ensured that there are adequate levels of some minerals, like iron and zinc, to accommodate any issues with phytic acid chelation. The high level of vitamin C in Huel Essential further promotes iron absorption [19].

Huel Essential Cautions and Allergen Advice

Huel Essential is suitable for people with most conditions. However, as some conditions require dietary intervention, like with any food, please heed the notes below for the following conditions:

• Diabetes mellitus: For those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, please review the carbohydrate, sugar and other nutrition facts for Huel Essential to see if it is suitable for your needs.

• Inborn errors of metabolism: if you have a glycogen storage disorder (GSD) or other inborn error of metabolism where you require dietary manipulation, you should consult your doctor or specialist clinician before using Huel Essential.

• Phenylketonuria: Huel Essential is not suitable for those who suffer from PKU.

• IBS, IBD and related conditions: Huel Essential is not made with any high-FODMAP ingredients.

• Pregnancy & breastfeeding: Huel Essential can be included during pregnancy and breastfeeding, but should be limited to one serving per day as there are different nutritional requirements during this period.

• Children: Huel Essential is not suitable for children under 4 years of age. However, older children may include Huel Essential as part of a balanced diet that includes a variety of other foods; Huel should not be their sole source of nutrition as they have different nutritional requirements to adults. For more information, see our Children, Adolescents and Huel article.

• Eating disorders: Huel Essential may be consumed by individuals with eating disorders as a useful source of complete nutrition if it is an appropriate fit for their current meal plan. However, we recommend that individuals with eating disorders only use Huel after discussing it with their doctor or relevant clinician.

• Medication: There may be specific drug-nutrient interactions relating to a particular medicine you're using, so we recommend you read the drug information provided with your prescription, and if you have any further concerns, please discuss them with your doctor.

Allergen Advice

All Huel products are vegan. We thoroughly assess our ingredients and the processes we use to make Huel and whenever we identify potential routes of allergen contamination we will first take steps to eliminate the possibility of any contamination of our product. However, where it is not possible to remove the risk we will clearly highlight any allergens that might be present on our product packaging in line with current UK and EU food safety guidelines.

However, we recognise that individuals can have allergies to any protein in any ingredient therefore if you have a specific allergy that is outside of the remit above, please contact us directly and we will do our best to guide you on which products are suitable.

References

1. Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom. Report of the panel on Dietary Reference Values of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy. Report on Health and Social Subjects. 1991; 41:1-210  

2. Europe F. Guidance on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers 2013. Available from: https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/publication/guidance-on-the-provision-of-food-information-to-consumers/.

3. England PH. Government Dietary Recommendations. In: Health Do, editor: England PH. 2016.

4. Tosh, S., & Chu, Y. (2015). Systematic review of the effect of processing of whole-grain oat cereals on glycaemic response. British Journal of Nutrition, 114(8), 1256-1262. doi:10.1017/S0007114515002895

5. Atkinson FS, et al. International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values: 2008. Diabetes Care. 2008; 31:2281 - 3.

6. St-Onge MP, et al. Medium chain triglyceride oil consumption as part of a weight loss diet does not lead to an adverse metabolic profile when compared to olive oil. J Am Coll Nutr. 2008; 27(5):547-52.

7. Institute LP. Oregon State University Essential Fatty Acids. Date Accessed: 21/03/2025. [Available from: https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/other-nutrients/essential-fatty-acids

8. Weigle DS, et al. A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite, ad libitum caloric intake, and body weight despite compensatory changes in diurnal plasma leptin and ghrelin concentrations. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005; 82(1):41-8.

9. D G. ILSI Europe Dietary Fibre. Date Accessed: 21/03/2025. [Available from: https://ilsi.eu/publication/dietary-fibre/]

10. Anderson JW, et al. Health benefits of dietary fiber. Nutr Rev. 2009; 67(4):188-205.

11. Deruelle F, et al. Vitamin C: is supplementation necessary for optimal health? J Altern Complement Med. 2008; 14(10):1291-8.

12. Combs J ea. The Vitamins. Burlington: Elsevier Science. 4th ed.

13. Hathcock JN, et al. Vitamins E and C are safe across a broad range of intakes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005; 81(4):736-45.

14. University ILOS. Vitamin C. Date Accessed: 21/03/2025. [Available from: https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins]

15. Zeisel SH, et al. Choline: an essential nutrient for public health. Nutr Rev. 2009; 67(11):615-23

16. Fischer LM, et al. Dietary choline requirements of women: effects of estrogen and genetic variation. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010; 92(5):1113-9.

17. Fischer LM, et al. Sex and menopausal status influence human dietary requirements for the nutrient choline. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007; 85(5):1275-85.

18. Schlemmer U, et al. Phytate in foods and significance for humans: food sources, intake, processing, bioavailability, protective role and analysis. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2009; 53 Suppl 2:S330-75.

19. Teucher B, et al. Enhancers of iron absorption: ascorbic acid and other organic acids. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2004; 74(6):403-19.