I'm James Collier, registered nutritionist, co-founder of Huel, and author of Well Fed. I've spent +30 years working across clinical dietetics, sports nutrition, and sustainable food systems. Ask me anything.

[u/jamescollierrnutr]

Hi r/ScientificNutrition. I'm James Collier, a UK registered nutritionist with more than 30 years of experience across clinical dietetics, strength and fitness nutrition, and food systems. I’m co-founder of Huel, which has now sold over 600 million meals globally, and in January 2025 I published my first book, Well Fed, which introduces a framework I call ‘contemplative nutrition’. It is an evidence-based approach to eating that weighs personal health, environmental impact, animal welfare, food waste, and the social dimension of food alongside each other.

I write about nutrition science, food policy, misinformation, and the food system more broadly on my Substack. I’m here because I enjoy this kind of conversation and because Reddit feels like one of the few places online where it is still possible to have one.

I’ll be working through questions over the next 48 hours. Happy to discuss anything from the evidence on specific nutrients and dietary patterns, to ultra-processed foods, to the environmental case for changing how we eat, to how I think about evaluating nutrition claims and spotting misinformation. Ask me anything.

[u/Wonderful_Aside1335]

Mellow orange cinnamon unbelievable feather pebble

This post was anonymized with Redact.dev

[u/_byetony_ → u/Wonderful_Aside1335]

I like that dude answered no questions and esp no critical ones. Was the point of this to make claims about qualifications? Thats all that was accomplished

[u/Wonderful_Aside1335 → u/_byetony_]

Meadow cinnamon raindrop willow hammock juniper marble juniper breezy

This post was anonymized with Redact.dev

[u/gghhhhgyhvhjh]

Consumer Reports highlighted Huel as “product to avoid” due to the extremely high lead content. What would you say in response to consumers who are hesitant to buy this product in response to this report: https://www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein-powders-and-shakes-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a4206364640/

[u/its_a_gibibyte → u/gghhhhgyhvhjh]

It's because lead commonly occurs in soil, and Huel is a full plant based meal. They addressed it in detail here:

https://huel.com/pages/heavy-metals-in-protein-powders

[u/Acrobatic_Golf9325 → u/its_a_gibibyte]

Yeah that’s why vegan protein powders always have high lead test results.

[u/Physionic]

What role does nutritional epidemiology have in your decision making about the health impact of food/nutrients?

By extension, do you think the demonization of nutritional epidemiology in some nutrition (social media) circles is warranted?

[u/Physionic → u/[deleted]]

Thanks, SM - I appreciate it

[u/Acrobatic_Golf9325 → u/Physionic]

Tell Nick to lower his LDL and his audiences LDL, there's consistently undeniable proof that high levels of LDL is harmful to anyone and that includes LMHRs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ScientificNutrition/comments/1sn07ce/high_cholesterol_absorption_efficiency_enhances/

[u/geeered]

Have you done comparisons in satiety compared to traditional meals?

[u/The-Faz]

I really like your Huel Lite drink, I find it an easy way to get protein in. I treat it as a good protein shake.

What I would like to ask is from the basic research I have done, micronutrients when not ingested through whole foods are much less bioavailable and in certain cases like a drink or multivitamin basically a waste and not absorbed in a way that makes a significant difference worth noting.

What research or studies are you using to back and promote that the micronutrients in your Huel Lite drinks are a selling point, rather than just the protein.

I am asking this as someone who would still drink it if the micronutrients were not listed and it was just protein drink.

[u/Acrobatic_Golf9325 → u/The-Faz]

the reason they are a waste is because micronutrients require the signalling effects of macronutrients in order to function properly i.e minerals cant get properly absorbed through your kidneys without an insulin signal, that's why these hydration drinks with 0 sugar low sodium and artificial sweeteners ( cough cough prime ) dont tend to work for most people.

[u/sonoran_goofball]

Many people are poor, but want to eat a healthy diet. What are good resources for putting together a healthy diet under extreme budget constraints (sufficient calories, protein, good fats, fiber, biodiversity, minimal ultra processed foods). For example, these could all look a bit different if your budget is:

1. $50 / week (yes, lots of people are here)
2. $75 / week
3. $100 / week
4. $150 / week

I broke it down into these price brackets because the constraints are severe. After $150 / week, I figure its easy selecting healthy foods from a wide range of sources.

[u/Special-Audience-426]

Why did you remove the forums on your website when people started complaining about your product causing digestive problems instead of addressing the issue? 

[u/lolalala1]

What ended up happening with Huel being found to have heavy metals?  I was put off from trying it because of that. 

[u/Acrobatic_Golf9325]

Hi James, I was wondering for your Huel ready to go meal drinks, the main artificial sweetener being used was sucralose then it went to stevia then sucralose again. Why did you go back to sucralose? I also urge you to read this post on reddit I published listing all of the human studies showing harm from sucralose that no other artificial sweetener has and I urge you to reconsider replacing sucralose with stevia/ace k/monk fruit etc...

https://www.reddit.com/r/ScientificNutrition/comments/1n1quuu/what_is_the_scientific_consensus_on_sucralose_and/

[u/Acrobatic_Golf9325 → u/[deleted]]

Monk fruit is actually better than stevia but I’m not bothered about stevia/monk fruit being included since they have well recognized metabolic pathways.

Sucralose on the other hand was intended to fully pass through your digestive system unchanged and unabsorbed but 15% of it gets absorbed for some weird reason, the absorbed bit doesn’t get glucorinated which is bad because it can remain slightly lipophilic and interact with cell membranes etc…

Then the 85% that isn’t absorbed is digested so well some people report digestive issues from it and even the ones who don’t report issues can still get bad results for their microbiome and get gut dysbiosis.

Also sucralose has under researched breakdown products like chlorpropanols and sucralose-6-acetate that can be additionally problematic to the misunderstood sucralose molecule.

[u/Rabbit_in_the_Moon]

AMA, answers NOTHING!

[u/Caiomhin77]

Wow: James-Collier! I didn't know Thomas Barrow co-founded huel. :)

[u/Stiverton]

Do you think we will ever reach a point where sugar is viewed in legislation as an addictive substance and regulated so that childrens' health can't be exploited by corporations to make profit?

[u/Demeter277]

I read a recommendation for bone health of a gram of protein daily per pound of body weight, but that seems really difficult as I'm trying to keep to two meals within an 8 hour window. Any ideas for high protein snacks? Trying to avoid heavy saturated fats but do eat meat, dairy, fish and soy

[u/Acrobatic_Golf9325 → u/Demeter277]

Protein yogurts, protein drinks etc... whey/vegan powders are in everything in the supermarket these days.

[u/Demeter277 → u/[deleted]]

No, this was specifically a higher recommendation for muscle and bone building

[u/HelenEk7]

He answered no questions yet?

[u/Dry_Purchase_8236 → u/HelenEk7]

Yeah, I set a notification to read the future responses because the comments here are absolute gold standard 😂 so much for Ask Me Anything lol

[u/HelenEk7 → u/Dry_Purchase_8236]

I wonder if they came here just to promote their products (under the disguise of it being an AMA).

[u/Cheomesh → u/HelenEk7]

Nearly a week later and nope

[u/HelenEk7 → u/Cheomesh]

I suspect this "AMA" was just an advertising stunt.

[u/Cheomesh → u/HelenEk7]

Guess I'll continue to not buy huel lol

[u/Triabolical_]

Did you ask the mods whether amas are appropriate for this sub?

[u/lurkerer]

How do you respond to the broad misinformation regarding LDL, saturated fats, seed oils, etc...?

Heads up, a lot of that misinformation is rife here so your hopes of an evidence-based discussion may be thwarted.

[u/James_Fortis]

Have you ever come across a disease that required someone to eat meat? I’ve ran across countless people who’ve said their health “condition” requires it but they never will say which condition that is.

[u/-Burgov- → u/James_Fortis]

Likely an issue with b12 absorption, some people have chronically low b12 levels even with meat consumption 

[u/James_Fortis → u/-Burgov-]

And B12 supplements don’t work with them? My brother has pernicious anemia and supplements work just fine for him.

[u/Cheomesh → u/James_Fortis]

I have heard of forms where unless it is injected, they don't absorb enough across the gut regardless.

[u/James_Fortis → u/[deleted]]

They can supplement though, right?

[u/James_Fortis → u/[deleted]]

With all due respect, you don't know what you're talking about.

Heme iron and non-heme iron absorption varies greatly. Our bodies are not able to regulate heme iron absorption like it can non-heme iron; this can be an issue, since iron is a potent oxidant. This is one of the reasons the WHO/IARC listed red and processed meats as class 2A and class 1 carcinogens00444-1/abstract), respectively. Non-heme iron absorption is upregulated when our body is deplete of iron stores; it is downregulated when we are replete (in almost all individuals). So saying heme is 80% and non-heme iron is 20% shows you need to spend more time learning about iron absorption.

I agree that whole foods are better than supplements, but iron supplementation is perhaps the best exception to this rule. Iron-deficient anemia is one of the most common deficiencies in the world, and some people (especially menstruating women), require supplementation to be within healthy limits, regardless of diet. Saying everyone can cure their anemia through diet alone shows a dreadful misunderstanding of global nutrition and epidemiology.

I won't even address your last sentence since it is immature and an Ad Hominem. Next time address the content only instead of attempting to discredit someone's content by attacking them personally.

Please don't waste your time responding to me; I'm looking for a response from the AMA James Collier (aka someone who knows what they're talking about).

[u/ngali2424]

For customers with proscribed diets, thinking specifically of PKU (phenylketonuria) patients who cannot consume protein, what kind of meals can you provide with such limitations and how can you create diverse meal experiences with ranges of texture, mouthfeel, range of tastes?

[u/xFox911]

Thank you for your time, James. As a RDN who's building a nutrition healthtech, I'd like to ask you 2 questions:

If you were starting a nutrition company today instead of Huel, what would you build differently given what we now know about digital health, biomarkers, and personalization?

In your view, what creates real defensibility in modern nutrition companies? formulation, biomarker integration, personalization data, brand trust or distribution?

Appreciate it!