I’ve done several reviews of different proteins and meal replacement shakes and each time, my bias is called into question. Let me make this clear. I have no vested interest in the outcome of whether or not you purchase Beachbody, or any other protein supplement. With the exception of the fact that I think it’s environmentally and sustainably irresponsible to support a company that uses GMOs in their products, not to mention that they do a number to human health.
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of meal replacement shakes. There is no meal replacement shake that can take the place of real, unprocessed, organic food. I know that many companies have their distributors convinced that we can’t obtain all of our nutrients from food and that we are so toxic that meal replacement shakes are necessary. This is only true to an extent, and this is where marketing genius really makes these companies a shit ton of money.
Let me clarify for you, because I’m calling bullshit on that.
Is our food as nutrient dense as it once was? No. There’s soil depletion. It travels thousands of miles if it’s not local. It’s unlikely that anyone can eat 100% organic and local 100% of the time.
But does a protein or meal replacement shake make up for this?
No. Not even close. This is why I supplement with high quality fish oils, probiotics, an antioxidant supplement and a food-based multivitamin (particularly for people who have a history of poor diet, health issues or pregnancy). I also take steps to detox regularly. So while our food isn’t as nutrient dense and while we do experience high exposure to toxins – meal replacement shakes in no way rectify these issues.
Now, Beachbody does sell an omega-3 fish oil blend. Here was the response I got from customer service when I asked if it’s from wild fish, if it’s tested for toxins and how it’s processed. I also asked whether the multivitamin was food-based or not.
(Click to enlarge. I blacked out the customer service agent’s name because I don’t want to be the reason he gets fired for having no idea what he’s talking about.)
After his complete lack of knowledge surrounding the products, I’m not sure I even believe that the omega-3 fish oil supplement is sourced from wild fish or that it’s “guaranteed” (but not tested?) for heavy metals and PCBs. Fish oil need to be cold pressed or delicately extracted due to the fact that the delicate omega-3s are extremely susceptible to oxidation. I find it very sketchy that they either wouldn’t or couldn’t tell me how it’s processed. Now compare that with the only brand of fish oil I recommend, the company is literally is so transparent about their amazing fish oil that they put up a video of just how it’s extracted, which you can watch here.
Now let’s examine the ingredients in some of their products.
The BB Meal Replacement Shake, found here.
The ingredients in the meal replacement shake:
INGREDIENTS: Protein blend (soy protein isolate and whey protein concentrate), fructose, maltodextrin, microcrystalline cellulose, natural and artificial flavors, colloid gum, soybean oil, tribasic calcium phosphate, gum colloid, guar gum, potassium citrate, magnesium oxide, dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, sodium ascorbate, soy fiber, sucralose, chromium aspartate, boron citrate, ferrous fumarate, kelp, calcium-d- pantothenate, biotin, copper citrate, niacinamide, zinc oxide, pyridoxine HCI, phytonadione, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, manganese sulfate, cyanocobalamin, vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, cholecalciferol, and sodium molybdate.
Ingredients in the P90X Results and Recovery Formula:
Soy Protein Isolate
What’s wrong with soy protein? For starters: everything. Soy protein is what results after extracting all of the oil to make soybean oil (which is highly toxic, we’ll touch on the later). Anyway, soy undergoes an extreme amount of processing including high heat, bleaching, it’s even extracted with hexane – a neurotoxin. Then what’s leftover is this disgusting soy, which is then marketed to the public as a healthy alternative to animal products. Marketing genius at its finest.
Dr. Mercola describes the process to make soy protein isolate (SPI) pretty well,
SPI is not something you can make in your own kitchen. Production takes place in industrial factories where a slurry of soy beans is first mixed with an alkaline solution to remove fiber, then precipitated and separated using an acid wash and, finally, neutralized in an alkaline solution.
Acid washing in aluminum tanks leaches high levels of aluminum into the final product. The resultant curds are spray- dried at high temperatures to produce a high-protein powder.
Whey Protein Concentrate
I love whey protein, when it’s isolate and form grass-fed cows and extracted properly. In these products, it’s none of these things. It’s from cows in CAFOs being fed genetically modified corn and soy. Then you eat it. Yum.
This is something that actually pisses me off. Beachbody has more that enough money at their disposal to use grass-fed, local whey in their products. They could support small (when compared to CAFOs) farmers, raising animals properly in accordance with the land. Instead, they choose to support CAFOs, GMOs and the torture of cows. Because that’s what happens in CAFOs, those animals are tortured. It’s disgusting and quite frankly, reprehensible.
Sucralose
Sucralose (otherwise known as Splenda) is an artificial sweetener. It is made in a lab by adding three chlorine molecules to a sugar molecule. Sounds totally safe and healthy, right?
In my Herbalife article, I wrote that sucralose alters the beneficial gut flora in the GI tract. When tested on mice, consumption of this artificial sweetener resulted in a significant reduction of beneficial gut flora. Considering that our gut flora helps protect us from everything ranging from the flu to cancer to depression, this is significant.
Fructose
Yes, fructose is found in fruit. But let’s consider that a safe fructose intake is around 25 grams per day, and around 15 grams if a metabolic disorder is present. Fructose is processed by the liver, an excess of fructose is not only toxic to the liver, but forms free radicals and triglycerides. Regular and high fructose consumption is so toxic to the liver, that it can even lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). From Emory University School of Medicine,
Substantial links have been demonstrated between increased fructose consumption and obesity, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. Growing evidence suggests that fructose contributes to the development and severity of NAFLD. In human studies, fructose is associated with increasing hepatic fat, inflammation, and possibly fibrosis…Sufficient evidence exists to support clinical recommendations that fructose intake be limited through decreasing foods and drinks high in added (fructose-containing) sugars.
Obtaining a small, natural amount of fructose in unprocessed foods is fine. Obtaining isolated fructose from a processed protein drink…not so much.
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrin is a processed food additive that is usually derived from corn.
Soybean Oil
Some effects of soy include decreased libido, mood swings, depression, anxiety, erectile dysfunction, protein malabsorption, endometriosis, depressed thyroid function, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and several others.
This study from Harvard found that men consuming the equivalent of one cup of soy milk per day had 50% lower sperm count than men who did not consume soy (even accounting for other factors like age, caffeine and alcohol intake, etc.).
From the study,
There was an inverse association between soy food intake and sperm concentration that remained significant after accounting for age, abstinence time, body mass index, caffeine and alcohol intake and smoking. In the multivariate-adjusted analyses, men in the highest category of soy food intake had 41 million sperm/ml less than men who did not consume soy foods.
Guar Gum
Guar gum can cause painful gas, especially for those with sensitive GI tracts.
Folic Acid
Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate. Folate is great, particularly for pregnant women. Folic acid, however has been shown to be extremely problematic and even lead to cancer. From Chris Kresser,
While the incidence of NTDs in the United States been significantly reduced since folic acid fortification began, there has been concern about the safety of chronic intake of high levels of folic acid from fortified foods, beverages and dietary supplements. (5) One of the major risks associated with excessive intake of folic acid is the development of cancer. (6) In patients with ischemic heart disease in Norway, where there is no folic acid fortification of foods, treatment with folic acid plus vitamin B12 was associated with increased cancer outcomes and all-cause mortality. In the United States, Canada, and Chile, the institution of a folic acid supplementation program was associated with an increased prevalence of colon cancer. (7, 8) A randomized control trial found that that daily supplementation with 1 mg of folic acid was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. (9) Source
Dextrose
Derived from corn and high on the glycemic index.
Carrageenan
Carrageenan is a harmful additive that all but guarantees it’s going to f*ck you up. From The College of Medicine at University of Iowa,
Although the International Agency for Research on Cancer in 1982 identified sufficient evidence for the carcinogenicity of degraded carrageenan in animals to regard it as posing a carcinogenic risk to humans, carrageenan is still used widely as a thickener, stabilizer, and texturizer in a variety of processed foods prevalent in the Western diet…Review of these data demonstrated that exposure to undegraded as well as to degraded carrageenan was associated with the occurrence of intestinal ulcerations and neoplasms…Because of the acknowledged carcinogenic properties of degraded carrageenan in animal models and the cancer-promoting effects of undegraded carrageenan in experimental models, the widespread use of carrageenan in the Western diet should be reconsidered.
And from the Department of Medicine at University of Illinois at Chicago,
This is the first report of the impact of carrageenan on glucose tolerance and indicates that carrageenan impairs glucose tolerance, increases insulin resistance and inhibits insulin signalling in vivo in mouse liver and human HepG2 cells. These effects may result from carrageenan-induced inflammation. The results demonstrate extra-colonic manifestations of ingested carrageenan and suggest that carrageenan in the human diet may contribute to the development of diabetes.
I think the people taking these products are doing so to lose weight and ya know, avoid diabetes.
Wondering if the whey in Beachbody products is grass-fed? Let me help you out. It’s not.
And as for the genetic modification of Beachbody ingredients – the jury is still out. They say that they don’t use GM ingredients, but they’re not verified. This is definite cause for concern. Consider that even GMO-free certified products have been known to still contain GMOs, it’s even more likely that GMOs are in a product that isn’t even certified. My conversation with customer service:
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that they definitely contain GMOs. And I truly do appreciate that they’re trying to obtain GMO-free certification. I’m just wary as to why they have not done so yet when the process isn’t that hard considering the money the company has and that they’re already apparently GM-free.
I think the most hilarious part of the Beachbody products is the 21 Day Reset which is $230 (for less than a month’s worth of products) and you know what’s in them? Well, for starters, the “Mineralize” supplement is salt. Straight up SALT. YOU HAVE BEEN DUPED, BEACHBODY-ERS.
Don’t get me wrong, salt is great. I use Himalayan and sea salt at home…for $6 a pound. To be fair, it also comes with a probiotic, an alkalizing supplement (which is just some veggies – you know you could drink a green juice for a fraction of the price and get way more benefits right?), an optimize blend for metabolic function (unnecessary and overpriced), a detox blend (good ingredients, but not for the price) and a “soothe” which is a supplement for inflammation. In reality, it’s 100 mg of curcumin – the active ingredient in turmeric. You can get 1200 mg of curcumin and 120 days worth for $25! Oh, but “soothe” also contain 225 mg of aloe – you can get 100 days worth of a 5000mg aloe supplement for a whopping $9 bucks.
Before it’s asked, this is the protein I use and recommend. I couldn’t find one good enough on the market, so I made my own. Grass-fed collagen with six organic superfoods: kale, spirulina, wheatgrass, broccoli, spinach and turmeric. I drink it in my daily smoothies and it gives me LIFE. Aka a healthy gut, glowing skin, strong digestion and energy for DAYS.
If you want to learn about real, lasting health and weight loss – check out my programs.
There is no magic pill, powder or meal replacement shake that will make you healthy and make you lose weight. Beachbody helps people lose weight, but it’s not healthy. It’s not lasting. True health comes form real, organic, unprocessed foods combined with exercise and the right supplements. It’s something you need to work for. We’ve become a nation of consumers that want to take a pill or a shake to make everything better. That’s not how it works.
Sources:
http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/11/2584.full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23390127
http://chriskresser.com/folate-vs-folic-acid
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11675262
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22011715
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24219506
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24219506
20 Comments
Dani, to what do you attribute the testimonials of individuals using Advocare or Isagenix or xxx (you name the meal replacement or supplement system) who indicate they have lost weight, feel better than ever, etc.? From your reviews that I have read, I am generally in agreement with you that there is no replacing a good, organic meal. But seeing the testimonials of the people who are believers in this stuff, how do you explain their “good” results?
Anyone that goes from eating an unhealthy, nutrient-poor diet is going to experience good results when switching to a slightly healthier but still overall crappy diet.
I don’t recommend meal replacement shakes of any kind. Using them to supplement a diet, like after a workout is fine. But not for meal replacement.
Why do you think mark sisson left beachbody to start his own site? I’m guessing it’s because he wanted to truely help people, and he is. Thanks for uncovering this information.
Thank you for your extensive research, and for explaining chemical terms/ingredient lists to people like me who are just beginning to break the surface into learning more about nutrition and a healthier life(style).
I recently stumbled on to your blog (literally…minutes ago) and have had so much valuable information to process in the two articles I’ve read so far that I am pleasantly overwhelmed.
The other article I have read was on your critique on Shakeology, which is another beast in and of itself that I think you tackled quite gracefully. I have very strong negative feelings towards both the company and the shakes, so my reply is likely very biased–but it’s incredibly validating to read your articles because you were able to put in to words (with quite impressive extensive research to accompany) feelings that I have had for a long time, and that I felt was being overlooked by those involved in the Beachbody pyramid scheme. Lets face it, they just didn’t want their extra income to disappear when more people realized what a scam the whole thing is. Their focus is not on proper health, nutrition, and education that we can pass on for generations after us despite their claims to do so. I feel like you’re the only writer that actually looks this stuff up and has sufficient data to back up your arguments. (sigh).
I commend you for your honest UNBIASED review and for staying true to FACTS and SCIENCE. I had previously been a Beachbody coach, and had other coaches/cult followers “break up” with me when I started putting a concerted effort towards researching the products and voicing my displeasure with them. I don’t claim to even have even an ounce of the knowledge you have in the nutrition field, but I’m glad that my reviews were at least on the right track.
(Though this is more appropriate for the Shakeology review, I also have family members who are doctors/pharmacists/nurses who have also said that Shakeology was basically expensive garbage in a pretty bag– not that you need the consolation, your information is solid. But, many trained medical professionals do agree with you).
Your blog is a breath of fresh air (pun intended). This reply doesn’t even need to be published, but I felt an overwhelming urge to thank you for all the wealth of information you’re providing to everyone who takes a second to properly research what the best things are to be putting into and fueling our bodies. This topic that is becoming hugely important to me (sadly it took me 25 years to even have it come on my radar). Again, I have much more to learn– but your blog is inspiring, educational, witty and fun.
THANK YOU.
Thank you for the wonderfully kind comment, Erica!
As a health writer just recently recruited to jump into Beach Body – I can thank you for your review that helped confirm my suspicions. I couldn’t promote this crap to anyone knowing what I know. You helped save me from an bad investment of time, energy, and money. Thanks!!
Happy to help!
Did you list the ingredients of and critique Shakeology?
I’m confused by this review… Are u saying Is hidden soy protein that they don’t provide on the label? I drink shakeology specifically because it doesn’t contain any soy. What items contain soy?
Beachbody and Shakeology are two different lines of products.
Thank You for publishing this.Do they still have lead in some of their products?I think they were sued in California and lost that case.
So what is the best product you have found? Just read two of your reviews the thrive one with honestly found to be true. I have take. Thrive and when I stopped I felt worse then ever and I was actually in shape before thrive . I was looking in to this product but you opened my eyes to this one as well.
I have a feeling you don’t know what the term Unbias means……we already know you feel about them..so……
I have a friend who sells this stuff and am getting ready for the day she pitchs it to me. The part of your review I don’t get is the folic acids part because the label says “folate.” My friend has the MTHFR gene so I was going to point this out to her but the label didn’t match your critism. I’m not eating anything soy based or GMO so I have enough to fend off the sales pitch.
Never mind I found it.
Shakeology and Beachbody have revamped their products and I know that a lot of people complained about the taste changing. I started Shakeology in 2015 so it was right around that time everyone started complaining about taste changes. I am wondering how much the ingredients have changed in the Beachbody products and the shakeology products.
what a load of crap you are spouting.
Yeah science is the worst.
Hello. This article was obviously years ago. Some interesting things I noticed. 1 how can this truly be an unbiased review if in the article itself you are promoting your own business? I notice you let you are a certified nutrition consultant.. not a registered dietitian or certified nutritionist. I see nothing advising where your certification is from. My understanding is a certified nutrition consultant give suggestions not certified in anything particular with mechanics of nutrition as compared to a dietician or certified nutritionist.
I have used many programs , including Beachbody, which does promote healthy eating, as in anything, depending on how diligent the person is to helping you. As much as natural, healthy and organic foods, pantry, body soaps and cleaning supplies are, also not economically possible for most people, which is sad.
Not saying what you wrote is incorrect.. you can not be unbiased review while promoting yourself and your own programs. Just my opinion.