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.