Plant Chat: James Collier, Registered Nutritionist for Huel

I’m excited to have James Collier, BSc (Hons) on my Plant Chat today. James, who devised the formulas behind Huel products, is a Registered Nutritionist in the UK. He has over 26 years of experience working in nutrition and dietetics, including seven years as a Clinical Dietitian in the National Health Service (NHS), where he worked with patients with a range of medical ailments and food intolerances. James also provides advice to top level bodybuilders and strength athletes, as well as regular gym goers on their nutritional needs for optimum performance. Continue reading to learn more about James’ work and how he thinks Huel can fuel your healthy lifestyle.

What was the inspiration behind creating Huel?

Huel Founder, Julian Hearn, was working on another project where he was reviewing different dietary regimens. He observed the biggest hindrance to compliance was the effort it took to prepare foods, but that when he made a protein drink it was easy. He wondered about putting all nutrients – not just protein – in a powdered form, would make things much easier.

He then looked for an experienced nutritionist to help him create the formula and contacted me.

Tell me about your own personal journey to health and wellness.

When I was 8 years old, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and – unbeknown to me at the time – was told she didn’t have long to live. She was, however, unwilling to accept this so, as well as great medical treatment, changed her dietary choices dramatically. She survived another 11 years through good nutrition and a positive mindset. She was continually reading about nutrition and I was also fed a nutritious diet. Without a doubt, as my mother was often talking about nutrition, health and a positive mindset, this rubbed off on me

As well as this, I have been an avid gym-goer since I was a teenager. As far as exercise goes, as a kid, I hated sports, but I was quite active playing outdoors with friends. I was always very skinny and hated it, and so, a week before my 16th birthday, I joined a gym to build myself up and I still train regularly 30 years later. In my late teens and early 20s, I focused on good nutrition as well as intense exercise to help build myself up.

My mother’s influence and my interest in bodybuilding lead me to focus on nutrition, to regularly exercise and to have a positive mind-set.

What do you think is special and unique about Huel?

Huel is nutritionally complete food based on high quality, ethically-sourced ingredients. Huel provides ideal amounts of all essential nutrients and beneficial levels of other important nutrients for optimum health, energy and performance. All Daily Values (DV) are met at 2,000 calories. There are some nutrients where there may be no legal minimum value, but there are defined values for good health and Huel meets these levels.

Huel contains additional phytonutrients, has added medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), has an ideal omega-3:6 ratio, contains vitamin K2, is rich in vitamins C and D and contains the optimum forms of vitamins for bioavailability and shelf-life. Huel is low in sugar and high in protein and fiber, including soluble fiber like beta-glucans. Huel also contains no animal products.

How can Huel help fuel a healthy lifestyle?

Most of us consume a poor diet and one of the barriers to this is lack of convenient healthy nutrition. Huel is quick and easy to prepare and contains all the nutrition you need with an optimal macronutrient ratio of roughly 40% of energy coming from carbs, 30% from protein and 30% from fat.

What kind of feedback are you getting from Huel fans? What do they like most about the products?

Our Huelers mainly comment on the fact that they love the convenience of Huel and obviously the nutritional profile. However, they also love the taste and texture as well as the versatility of Huel, as you can add fruit and other flavours, as well as bake with it. Also, people love the fact that Huel is suitable for vegans and is sustainable.

What is the mission for the nutritional and ingredients lineup of Huel?

Huel’s mission is to make nutritionally complete, convenient, affordable food with minimal impact on animals and the environment. All ingredients are sourced as optimally as possible with the six main ingredients being oats, flaxseed, pea protein, brown rice protein, sunflower oil powder and MCTs from coconut. This is topped up with a proprietary vitamin, mineral and phytonutrient blend.

Is Huel a good fit for someone interested in eating a wholesome, plant-based diet?

Huel is perfect for vegans and people who consume a mostly plant-based diet as it provides all the nutrients required whilst being high protein and moderate carbohydrate. In plant-based diets, antinutrients such as phytic acid can be an issue as they reduce the bioavailability of some nutrients like iron and zinc; Huel has addressed these and allows for optimal absorption.

How do you like to use Huel in your own healthful lifestyle?

Personally, I typically have three to four Huel servings per day during the working week with a solid meal in the evening prepared by my wife. At weekends, as I’m not as busy, I probably just have one Huel serving per day and more solid food. I have quite a large Huel serving of about 125g. One of these servings is typically about 45 mins before I go to the gym to help energy levels whilst not feeling too full.

Note: Sharon is a nutrition consultant for Huel.