Friday, July 31, 2015

Is Plexus natural? Are the claims true?

I'm rather shocked to see Plexus Slim being touted in the "natural, whole food" circles. I constantly see people--who practically wouldn't touch a processed food if their lives depended on it--gleefully peddling Plexus Slim as some kind of "natural" weight loss help. It's almost as though they think Plexus takes plants, dries them up, and crushes them with a mortar and pestle in order to make their "pink drink" powder.

Oh, don't mind me, I'm just whipping up some Plexus Slim!
Plexus Slim is made in a factory, just like every other processed food. It is a pink powder. It is obviously a processed food, let's just make that clear from the get go. It is not "natural" by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps you think it's "natural" because it contains "natural" products (beet root & grape skin extract! Stevia extract! Lo Han extract!). Well, you could say the same thing about a Twinkie (whole eggs!). That doesn't make it natural.

Aside from that, let's take a look at the claims on the bag:
  • Safe and effective weight control*
  • Helps maintain healthy blood sugars*
  • Helps maintain healthy blood pressure*
  • Helps maintain healthy cholesterol and lipid levels*
  • Proven ingredients--including Alpha Lipoic Acid, Chlorogenic Acid, and Garcinia Cambogia--that address all areas of weight loss*
And, of course, that little asterisk (*) means that these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. You may be one of those people who doesn't trust the government, but even if you are, why would you trust a company who relies on you to believe their claims in order to make money? Thanks to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA), if Plexus sells itself as a "supplement," they can pretty much say whatever they want, and as long as they include that little blurb about the statements not being evaluated by the FDA, they won't get in trouble for it. Except that in 2014, the FDA actually DID warn Plexus about some of the statements they were making, since they got a little too close to making claims that the products work like a drug, which means they would have to be evaluated by the FDA. 

Diet Pills Watchdog takes a look at the ingredients, the entirety of which have not been published, because it's a "proprietary blend," and makes the conclusion to reject it. Natural Health Advisory Institute expresses caution. Some of the ingredients, when tested on their own, have shown mixed results--like alpha-lipoic acid to lower blood sugar (when taking 800mg per day--certainly not anywhere near the amount in Slim, not to mention the documented drug interactions for common medications, like levothyroxine for thyroid conditions, something Plexus doesn't warn about), Garcinia Cambogia (which didn't show any significant weight loss effects when rigorous standards were applied to randomized controlled trials), and chlorogenic acid (a study which had a very small sample size, and in which the subjects had doses of 700mg or more, almost certainly not the amount in Slim, though we can't know for sure, since Plexus won't publish the amount contained therein). But we have no idea if these ingredients in the amount Plexus adds them together in Slim would have any significant effect (which is why a clinical study would be a great idea) -- common sense would suggest skepticism here.

Clinical studies are very important; it's how we know a product is safe and effective. It is a HUGE red flag that Plexus itself says that they do not want to do any clinical studies for their products. The 2008 "study" they cite on their website, which has not been published nor peer-reviewed, is simply not good science, though it might sound impressive to those who aren't familiar with how clinical studies work, and what constitutes quality research.

If you want a "natural" way to lose weight, then eat a healthy, balanced diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits, and not too many calories. Drink water instead of juice or soda. Don't go with an untested product like Plexus.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Start Here - What Do I Have Against Plexus?



So, who am I, and what do I have against Plexus?

I'm a relatively science-minded, thirty-something stay at home mom who just really dislikes the MLM (multi-level marketing) business model. Despite people claiming emphatically that MLMs are NOT pyramid schemes, they are. Many of my friends have joined an MLM as their "business on the side" to earn a little extra cash, and there's not much I despise more than predatory marketing disguised as a way to help moms make money for their families. 99% of MLM recruits will lose money, with only a tiny percentage of people at the very top making money--all on the backs of everyone in their "pyramid." It's despicable. And I want to do something to try and stop it. Enter: this blog.

I'll be totally honest, there are lots of MLMs that I dislike, but the ones most vile to me are those that make ridiculous health claims. Therefore, my focus is on Plexus, because the kinds of things I see my friends post about it are absolutely ridiculous. Ridiculous enough that I wanted to create a blog specifically to debunk it, without anyone being able to claim, "Look deeper! She's selling you something." But the same kind of things could be said for Nerium, Young Living, DoTerra, Advocare, Arbonne, and others, and maybe, at some point in time, I'll also include some debunking of those companies and their products.

Let me be absolutely clear: I AM NOT SELLING ANYTHING. I'm not trying to make Plexus "look bad" so I can sell you my fancy new fad diet plan. Nope. I have absolutely nothing to gain here, except the satisfaction of preventing someone from wasting their hard-earned money on a scam. I just really, really dislike lies and misinformation masquerading as truth.

What's my goal? Simply stated, it's to show inquiring minds that the Plexus "pink drink" is nothing more than glorified--and very expensive--Crystal Light. And no, I have no ties to Crystal Light. Go ahead and buy the Great Value generic version, or any other brand of sugar free drink mixes that you like. The only difference with Plexus is that it's made with stevia, and Crystal Light is made with aspartame. I understand a lot of people hate aspartame and think it will kill you (which, by the way, isn't true) ... and I know some people don't like it because it gives them a headache, or tastes gross to them, (etc.).  I'm all for people being able to have a choice in the matter. You can type something like "sugar free drink mix with stevia" on Google or Amazon, you'll get some results. Much, much cheaper results than Plexus.

If you want to spend $90+ per month on a glorified Crystal Light, be my guest. It's a free country.

However, as I get the time (I am a busy stay at home mom, after all, and my kids do need attention from me), I'm going to publish posts that show why the Plexus products are not worth it, and why the Plexus Slim "pink drink" is not some kind of miracle weight loss drink. Or even "natural," as they claim. And why it's a big red flag that they won't do any clinical studies to back up their ridiculous claims.

You will not lose weight drinking Plexus, assuming you are already eating a pretty healthy, balanced diet in which you do not eat too many calories. The only way you would lose weight drinking Plexus is if you used it to replace your habit of drinking soda, or juice, or coffee with creamer, etc. But guess what? The same thing would happen if you replaced those things with a diet soda. Or...WATER. No need to spend $90+ per month on something that can be replaced with good ol' dihydrogen monoxide, a.k.a. H20, a.k.a. water (unless, as I mentioned above, you want to. Free country and all that).

I honest-to-goodness care about people, and I don't want them wasting their money or falling for a scam. People rave about Plexus because they have something to gain--your money, and possibly your partnership, which would earn them more money. And they're not necessarily bad people. They're your friends, they probably aren't actively trying to scam you, they've just fallen for the scam themselves. I rail against Plexus because I recognize the truth about it, not because I have anything to gain.