Veggie Blog

Herbalife weight loss products: what to know before you try them

Genetics plays a real role in obesity, but your habits matter a great deal too. Your genes can make you more likely to gain weight, but they do not decide your weight on their own.

For most of us, genes set a range for our weight, and our food choices and activity decide where we end up within it.

Nonetheless, most of us tend to put on weight as we age. And if there is one thing we cannot prevent, it is aging. But we can avoid eating more and exercising less as we get older. Above all, you need strategies for controlling what you eat, strategies that work.

Some people turn to weight loss products. These include products sold as diet pills, but also products described as herbal or nutritional. One well-known brand is Herbalife.

What Herbalife products are

Herbalife’s best-known weight loss products are meal replacement shakes, along with teas and supplements. They are not a breakthrough in herbal medicine; the shakes are mainly protein powders with added vitamins and minerals.

Popular products include the Herbalife Formula 1 shakes in flavours such as strawberry, tropical fruit and vanilla.

Users often say that the shakes taste good and are easy to use. Prices vary, and over months the cost can add up compared with ordinary healthy food.

The claims, checked

Here is a look at the advantages that are often claimed for these products.

1. Claim: you lose inches as well as pounds, and the products tone and shape the body and stop fat from coming back. No product tones the body; only exercise builds muscle. And like any diet, weight lost with shakes often returns when people go back to their old eating habits.

2. Claim: the products help you lose weight and give your cells the nutrients they need every day. A shake can replace a meal with fewer calories while providing vitamins and minerals, but it does not give everything a varied diet does, such as plenty of fibre.

3. Claim: the products taste good, which is why so many people are satisfied. Taste is a matter of preference and says nothing about whether a product works.

4. Claim: you can eat more of the foods you love without worrying about gaining weight. This is not true. You still need to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose weight, unlike what is promised for some diet pills or weight loss patches.

5. Claim: the products help you cut calories, so losing weight works better. This is the part that holds up: studies show that meal replacements can help people lose weight when they are used as part of a calorie-controlled diet.

Some products are also said to curb your appetite while you lose weight. Protein and fibre can help you feel full, but there is no magic effect. Be aware too that case reports have linked some Herbalife products to liver problems, so talk to your doctor before trying them, especially if you have a health condition, take medicine, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.

The bottom line is that preventing weight gain means eating fewer calories when you are not active enough to burn them off. If you want to try these products, use them as one part of a balanced diet and an active lifestyle, which is the real key to losing weight and keeping it off.

In the end, healthy habits are what will help you reach the weight you want.

Herbalife Weight Loss Product: How to Weigh in With Lower Fat

Losing weight? Go herbal

These days there is a lot of interest in losing weight. Being lighter can lead to a healthier lifestyle and makes everyday movement easier. The choices are huge: exercise programs, machines, supplements, diet drinks, pills and even soaps that claim to help you lose weight while you bathe.

One alternative that many people consider is to go herbal. Herbal products are often seen as a gentler, more natural way to lose weight. Their effects tend to be subtler, so results, if any, come slowly. Natural does not automatically mean safe or effective, though, so here is what to know.

Are herbal weight loss products safe?

Many of them are sold as dietary supplements, and in the United States supplements do not need approval before they are sold. You can find a lot of herbal pills and teas on the Internet and in shops. Some claim to be safe because they are herbal, but some have side effects, and many have not been studied properly. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements concludes that the evidence that weight loss supplements work is inconclusive and unconvincing. Here are some ingredients to be careful with.

Senna is an herbal laxative found in many slimming teas. It works by stimulating the colon, and the downside is that it can cause cramps, diarrhea and dehydration. A laxative makes you lose water and stool, not body fat, and regular use may make some people dependent on it. See our post on the dangers of using laxatives for weight loss.

Chromium picolinate is a form of chromium, a mineral that helps regulate blood sugar. Studies of chromium for weight loss found only a minimal effect on body weight and body fat. Side effects can include headache, watery stools and nausea.

St. John’s wort is a herb used for low mood, not a weight loss herb. It can interact with many medicines, including birth control pills, blood thinners and antidepressants, and it can make skin more sensitive to sunlight, so never take it without checking with a doctor or pharmacist.

Does organic food help you lose weight?

Organic food is grown without most synthetic pesticides, and many people buy it for that reason or for the environment. There is no good evidence that organic food in itself makes you lose weight. An organic cookie has about as many calories as any other cookie. What helps is eating more vegetables, fruit and whole foods, whether they are organic or not.

What about green tea and caffeine?

Green tea is the best-studied herbal option. Clinical trials suggest that it may have a modest effect on body weight, and as a drink it has not raised safety concerns, although it contains caffeine. Green tea extracts are another matter: they have been linked to stomach upset, higher blood pressure and, in some people, liver damage. Claims that green tea speeds up fat burning by 40 percent or makes you lose two to three times more weight do not hold up.

Caffeine does give a small boost. In one study, a 100 mg dose, about a cup of coffee, increased energy expenditure by about 9 calories an hour for three hours. That is a very small amount and no substitute for exercise.

Are other herbs worth trying?

Gynostemma pentaphyllum, known as jiaogulan or “immortality herb”, is a traditional Chinese herbal tea. It has been promoted for many things, but I found no strong evidence that it helps with weight loss.

Apple cider vinegar is another popular choice. One 12-week study in Japan found that obese adults who took one or two tablespoons of vinegar a day lost a small amount of weight, a few pounds, more than people who took a placebo. That is a modest result from a single study. Vinegar should always be diluted, because drinking it undiluted can harm tooth enamel and irritate the throat, and it is not a proven treatment for any disease.

What is the best approach?

There is no herbal shortcut. Look into the ingredients and the evidence before you buy anything. Ask a doctor or pharmacist whether a product is safe for you, especially if you take medicines or have a health condition. To see what the labels of diet products really mean, read our posts on what is in a weight loss diet pill and what to know about diet pills. For lasting results, our weight loss tips and our post on natural weight loss explain how to make steady progress with food and movement.