We all have that absolute wasp of a person constantly posting bullshit on their Facebook or Instagram page about how they are involved in this ‘magical and fantastic’ product. We’re constantly exposed to their bothersome behaviour about how they can help you lose weight (despite most not having a single fitness qualification or nutrition background of any sort. Scarily some are fitness professionals selling these products too, this is just a way for them to make a quick buck as explained below, very rarely do they care about your results.) If a personal trainer needs to sell these products, they should not be a personal trainer.
They’ll use hashtags like #dreamteam #districtmanager #entrepreneur
Quite simply they are buyers and sellers, not self employed successful entrepreneurs. They did not start that business, they do not manage that business, they do not run that business, they buy supplements from that business and other recruit other to sell it to vulnerable people in their office. Do not be fooled.
The companies recruiting these scallywags call themselves Multilevel Marketing (MLM) companies – every person involved earns money off the people below them in the company structure, which is shaped like a pyramid, but they are adamant they are not a pyramid scheme. Herbalife, probably the biggest and worst have been taken to court and forced to change the company’s way of working but basically Herbalife and most other sales reps make money on sign-ups and very little on selling actual product. Their prerogative is to sign up as many people as possible to get the best for themselves. Why put your health in the hands of someone only in the game to profit themselves? Absolutely not all Herbalife distributors are malicious, but all have been lured in to the cult by well-practiced sign up pitches and social media sales content.
The ‘only sign up 5 people and get them to sign up 5 people and so on’ carefree easy attitude they put out there also has one major flaw – you can only do this fourteen times then you run out of people available…on the planet! With the amount of ‘distributors’ and ‘district managers’ out there it makes little sense as to why everyone in the world hasn’t signed up; this is because it’s estimated that 1 person drops out every 15 seconds, so distributors are on a constant sign-up mission to maintain their own place in the pyramid and not fall out and lose their money (an estimated >90% of sign ups do not earn commission).
Regarding the products themselves, multiple independent reviews list side effects including:
- Swollen legs
- Dry and blackened tongue and mouth
- Vomiting/nausea
- Flatulence
- Headaches/light headedness
- Irregular heartbeat
- Increased blood pressure
- Interaction with prescription medications
To relieve these, they suggest reducing product intake and eating real food – or, a method they won’t suggest; save your money and just eat real food (the scientifically proven method of weight loss and health benefits)
They can’t claim any health benefits as there is no solid evidence for any of the products. They recommend drinking 2 litres of water a day and leading an active lifestyle along with the products – these two factors on their own will aid with health issues and are completely unrelated to Herbalife.
Shakes and liquid diets discourage your organs from working properly. Peristalsis is the squeezing movement of your digestive system that moves food along it. If there is no bulk present in the digestive tract the movement slows and worst case stops occurring. Your body can slowly be ‘trained’ back to normal – but should a healthy diet cause your body to stop functioning normally?
Detox is done by (and can only be done by) your body. Thanks to your kidneys and liver your body will rid itself of toxins through your breath, your urine and your stools. Therefore these claims of detoxing diets do not make sense. You can help out your body by drinking enough water to assist your liver and kidneys and by having a good intake of fibre to aid in stool formation. In addition to a healthy relationship with food and exercise you can minimise your exposure to toxins ie avoid smoking, traffic pollution, chemical cleaning products etc.
Ingredient Breakdown
Common ingredients found in shakes include:
Carrageenan used as an emulsifier or thickener/gelling agent. Alkaline solvents are used to extract it from seaweed (cue natural claims). It has been linked with immune suppression and digestive disorders.
Soy ingredients have been under scrutiny for a while for various health reasons. The concerns include (in an unexhaustive list) soy containing enzyme inhibitors which reduce the ability to digest protein; having a source of phytic acid which blocks mineral absorption of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc; containing goitrogens which supress thyroid function; contains trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinin which inhibit growth.
Soy Protein Isolate is produced by putting the beans through an alkaline solution (to remove the fibre), acid wash (to precipitation/separation), alkaline solution again to neutralise and high temperature spray drying, or high pressure extrusion procedure. The resulting product has been stripped of fibre and now has aluminium and nitrates. Yum.
Sucralose: artificial sweetener (not to be confused with sucrose which is standard table sugar) studies have shown it to reduce good gut bacteria, raise intestinal pH, and affect P-glycoprotein which results in some medications not being absorbed by the body.
Artificial colours/flavours: the cheap artificial alternative of the real, natural source they could use.
Hydrogenated oils: oils are forced solid with high pressure hydrogen – cheaper for the company to buy and takes longer to rancid. Within the body it acts as saturated fat does.
Caesin: the protein obtained from milk by either heat or acid treatment. Long term, high intakes may cause kidney damage and irritate the respiratory system. It’s other common use is in glue manufacture…
As a product, it’s just low calorie meal replacements and will make you hungry by not providing enough calories or protein for the meal it’s replacing; they don’t teach you how to eat, live and be happy. If you can cope with a tiny calorie intake, and all its side effects (low energy, headaches, grumpy, etc..) and somehow resist eating the calories elsewhere, then yes you will lose weight with this; it’s a challenge they are hoping you are willing to take on and pay for, again and again and again whilst learning nothing along the way and winding up the same weight, shape, size as before with a feeling of failure stronger than it was in the first place.
Bottom line: if it worked doctors, nutritionists, dieticians, qualified exercise professionals, etc would encourage it. They don’t.
We will NEVER give in to this.
For around 9 years we have been approached almost weekly by these vultures to sell these products to our members, we’ve spoke to a lot of MLM’ers who tell us we could make upwards of £3000 per month from selling it. We’ve also spoke to a lot of MLM’ers who have told us openly the products suck and they just want to make a few quid. We have no interest in the financial gains and poor products on the market, we are a successful business who do not need to lower our standards, we have a solid reputation to maintain and there is no money in the world that we would jeopardise that for. We care about our clients and potential clients and the results speak for themselves, we want to educate customers and have fun with fitness, not ram our way of the world down your throat and poison you with this nonsense. We want our members to eat real food, enjoy life and focus on their health and fitness.
