Advocare, a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, has gained significant attention in the health and wellness industry, particularly for its weight loss programs and supplements. This article aims to provide a comprehensive and unbiased review of Advocare, examining its products, ingredients, potential side effects, and the validity of its weight loss claims. By analyzing the available information and scientific evidence, this article seeks to empower readers to make informed decisions about Advocare and its offerings.
The Advocare Phenomenon: A Closer Look
Advocare is a company that utilizes a multi-level marketing (MLM) system. The only way for each person to get a cut is if the prices are ridiculously high to begin with. Over 95% of people who become Advocare distributors lose money. The company boasts a large network of distributors who promote and sell its products, often through personal testimonials and success stories. While Advocare claims to offer cutting-edge nutritional solutions, it is crucial to critically evaluate the scientific basis and potential risks associated with its products.
Advocare's Weight Loss Programs: Promises vs. Reality
One of Advocare's most popular offerings is the 24-Day Challenge, a weight-loss program that claims to help individuals "get skinny" in just 24 days. The program consists of a 10-day "cleanse" phase followed by a 14-day "Max" phase.
The "Cleanse" Phase: Glorified Laxatives?
Advocare advertisements claim that the supplements taken during the "cleanse" phase will rid your body of toxins and prepare your body to better absorb nutrients. However, some experts argue that the supplements included in the "cleanse" phase are quite simply glorified laxatives. While this may reduce overall body weight due to water loss, it is not a sustainable or healthy approach to weight management.
The "Max" Phase: A Critical Examination
The "Max" phase consists of a "metabolic nutrition system," which claims to increase metabolism, control your appetite, and support core nutrition when the user consumes meal-replacement drinks and more energy drinks. While the emphasis on lean protein, complex carbs, and non-starchy vegetables is positive, the meal plan's lack of dairy and fruit falls far below the number of daily servings recommended by most nutrition professionals.
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Decoding Advocare's Key Ingredients: Benefits and Risks
Advocare products contain a variety of ingredients, some of which have been scrutinized for their potential health effects. Let's take a closer look at some key ingredients found in Advocare's top-selling products:
Spark: An Energy Drink Under Scrutiny
Spark, Advocare's top-selling product, is an energy drink that contains a combination of ingredients, including:
- Sucralose: Spark’s ingredients list claims a variety of vitamins. While the Advocare salesman I spoke to says sucralose is a slow burning sugar that is good for the body, sucralose is actually an artificial sweetener made by combining chlorine and table sugar to make a chemical your body does not know how to digest. You do not get calories from it, but you still absorb it into your tissues and it can cause health problems. A human’s digestive system has about 75 trillion healthy bacteria living in it; these healthy bacteria digest nutrients, strengthen the immune system, and are, therefore, required for life. Recent studies indicate sucralose kills these bacteria. Sucralose was banned in the US until FDA approval in 1998. It has only been on the market for a very short time, making it impossible to know all the long term effects of sucralose. Reported adverse health effects related to sucralose ingestion range from gastrointestinal problems, seizures, dizziness, migraines, blurred vision, weight gain, and blood sugar elevation to allergic reactions. Just like Trans fats are currently being banned, I guarantee sucralose will be banned from the market in my lifetime.
- Synthetic Vitamins: Another common sales pitch is “our soils are depleted and you just do not get enough nutrients from food”. Even if this is true, you should not replace whole food vitamins with synthetic vitamins, because they are not the same. While vitamins that come from food are very healthy, synthetic vitamins are made from chemicals in a lab, are very unhealthy, and should be avoided. One example is cyanocobalamin, which is a chemically made vitamin B12 that does not exist in any animal or plant on the planet. If you ever see this ingredient on a label, you should avoid it. You can get much more of the exact same vitamins found in Spark by buying the cheapest multivitamin Walmart or K-Mart sells. When it comes to food, nature is never wrong; your vitamins need to come from nature. A good vitamin will be made from whole foods and be in the exact same structure as it is found in food.
- Caffeine: Each serving of Spark has 120mg of caffeine. To have a point of comparison, a shot of espresso is 40-75mg of caffeine. 120mg is a lot of caffeine! If you want a caffeine rush, you can save a lot of money by buying a bottle of 100 caffeine pills for under $5 at a gas station. If anyone ever recommends you give Spark to a child, be assured you are talking to a buffoon. Would you ever give a child a double espresso?
- Amino Acids and Choline: Another selling tactic used to sell Spark is that it contains amino acids and choline. Amino acids chained together form proteins. Every food you eat has amino acids and protein in it. Eating an egg, nuts, or meat provides more amino acids than you’ll get from Spark. So in a nut shell, Spark provides: artificial sweetener, caffeine, synthetic vitamins, and a couple amino acids. You can get the exact same feeling by washing down a caffeine and Centrum pill with a glass of sugar-free Kool-aid…for a fraction of the cost.
Omegaplex: A Questionable Fish Oil Supplement
Advocare's Omegaplex fish oil supplement has also come under scrutiny:
- Ethyl Ester Form: Advocare Omegaplex has EPA and DHA only, and they are in an ethyl ester form. Ethyl ester omega-3s do not exist in any food source on the planet. It is biosynthetic oil that is much cheaper to produce than the natural form. When you read studies about fish oil supplements not having any health benefits it is because they are using the ethyl ester fish oil in their study. Advocare Omegaplex is the same quality as the cheap fish oil you can get at Sam’s Club or Walgreens. Advocare experts will say differently, but all you have to do is read a label to know the truth.
Trim: A Weight Loss Program with Concerning Ingredients
Advocare’s weight loss program, Trim, is a Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS). The program features three main products, each targeting a different area: appetite suppression, optimum nutrition, and energy. Trim products also contain crystalline fructose, green coffee extract, and sucralose-all ingredients that seem counterintuitive for weight loss.
- Crystalline Fructose: Young said that crystalline fructose is an added sugar that contributes calories, and in excess, can even cause weight gain.
- Sucralose: Sucralose, a zero-calorie sweetener often marketed as being good for weight loss, doesn’t seem to have any major effects on weight, according to Young, and “It also may not be good for health. So why risk it?”
- Green coffee extract: On green coffee extract, Young said, “Potential side effects I've read about are-insomnia, nervousness, upset stomach, nausea, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, headaches, anxiety.”
Potential Side Effects and Health Risks
Numerous reports are popping up online in different forums warning other consumers about the safety of these supplements. People are reporting severe health complications such as gastric pains that require hospitalizations, organ failure, and adverse medication interactions. One of my own corporate wellness clients experienced a very serious medical scare while participating in the 24-Day Challenge. Not only did her blood pressure spike significantly during the program, but she also experienced kidney failure despite having no previous risk factors or pre-existing medical problems.
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The Multi-Level Marketing Model: A Cause for Concern
Advocare operates as a multi-level marketing (MLM) company, which means that distributors earn income not only from selling products but also from recruiting new distributors. This model has been criticized for its pyramid-like structure, where a small percentage of individuals at the top earn the most money, while the majority of distributors struggle to make a profit.
Alternative Approaches to Healthy Weight Loss
Healthy weight loss does not come from taking any MLM product. Weight loss or improved health is not about adding a powder or pill. It comes from finding a powerful reason for changing your life and then committing to a change in lifestyle. This change must be maintained forever.
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