The pursuit of weight loss has led to a surge in various programs and products claiming to offer effective solutions. Among these, Amari weight loss programs have garnered attention, with a focus on the Amare Happy Juice pack. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Amari weight loss, examining customer reviews, program components, and the science behind its key product, Happy Juice.
Testimonials and Program Overview
Many people who have used weight loss programs through Northern Michigan Weight Loss, have lost weight in less than 2 months, and have also noticed less pain in their feet and lower back.Some people have more energy throughout the entire day, which allows them to be a better mom and a better wife because when their kids get home, they don’t feel agitated or tired or depressed or in a funk, and they feel like they can be more present.Some people feel more active and have experienced so much success in both their career and love life because of the weight loss program.One person who has been on the Secret for Weight Loss program for almost two months, has lost weight, their old clothes are feeling better, their energy levels are high and it’s easy to follow.One person who was tired of feeling sluggish and carrying excess weight, decided to take action and booked a consultation and investing in their health was totally the best decision ever. Not only did they lose weight but they gained energy and got their positive mindset back.
Amare Global offers a variety of products and programs specifically aimed at optimizing mental wellness. These products claim to promote mental wellness by enhancing mental fitness, physical performance, stress resilience, confidence, and more. There are many offerings through Amare Global that can absolutely get behind. They have a variety of mindfulness programs, exercise examples, and even some nutrition plans that are straight forward and will likely have positive impacts on health.
The Appeal of Functional Foods and Beverages
Expectations for food and drink have shifted, especially in the United States. Many people want their food to do more than just nourish and want to choose foods that benefit their health beyond nutrition. This has led to a rapid growth in functional foods. Functional foods are foods that contain nutrients or compounds that can have health benefits beyond nutrition. Most foods are “functional” and impact our body and health in more ways than simply providing calories. Protein provides amino acid building blocks for immunity and muscle. Food provides us with vitamins and minerals which can impact eye health, brain health, and more. Berries provide us with antioxidants, compounds that can lower your risk for disease. Despite the fact that food itself functions as more than just calories, the products specifically marketed as “functional foods” continue to gain interest. Interest in functional products continues to grow, including functional beverages.
Amare Happy Juice: A Closer Look
Happy Juice, marketed by Amare Global, is a powdered drink mix designed to be mixed with water. It's a combination of two different individually packaged powdered drink mixes: MentaBiotics and Amare EDGE+. The Happy Juice Pack is a combination of two different products: Amare EDGE+ and MentaBiotics.
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Ingredients and Claims
MentaBiotics
MentaBiotics focuses on promoting mental health by supporting gut health. It contains a blend of probiotics, prebiotics, phytobiotics, and "digestive performance ingredients" that it claims will support mental wellness through the gut-brain axis. MentaBiotics is available in a raspberry hibiscus flavor or an unflavored option.Here is what you can find on the label of the original Mentabiotics:
- Proprietary probiotic blend: The probiotics contained are specific strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. It is claims that these three probiotic strains can result in a positive mood, stress resilience, and promote gut health.
- Proprietary prebiotic blend: A blend of prebiotics like iso-malto oligosaccharides, galactic-oligo-saccharides, and galactomannan fibre. Prebiotics feed gut bacteria and this proprietary blend is designed to complement the proprietary probiotic blend also in this product. This prebiotic blend also contains a patented form of L-theanine.
- Amare GBX+ Proprietary Blend: a combination of phytobiotics, or plant-based compounds that support health.
- Digestive performance ingredients: Including L-Glutamine and different plant extracts like those from Ginger and Artichoke leaf.
The specific strains in this probiotic seem to be intentionally chosen. Specifically, Lactobacillus helveticus R0052 and Bifidobacterium longum R0175 are two probiotic strains that have been researched and found to specifically improve mood and lower anxiety levels.
Amare EDGE+
Amare EDGE+ is the newer version of the original Amare Edge, is a complementary product that has many claims surrounding mental health and motivation through its inclusion of plant derived “nootropics.” This product is offered in a variety of flavors and one of the three flavors is a caffeine source as well. There’s three different flavors available for this supplement: mango, watermelon, and grape. The watermelon and grape flavor contain no caffeine. The mango flavor provides 100 mg of natural caffeine.These products contain mango leaf extract, lychee fruit extract, and a palm fruit bioactive complex. They each also contain a “mind and body” proprietary blend with lions mane, citicholine, and then the mango flavor has a natural caffeine source. It also contains citicoline, a precursor to neurotransmitters.
- Neuron Regeneration Proprietary Blend: this proprietary blend is a combination of the powerful nootropic lion’s mane and citicoline. Citicoline is another natural nootropic.
The Gut-Brain Axis Connection
MentaBiotics claims rely heavily on the gut-brain axis, which is the two-way communication network between your gut and brain. The gut-brain axis links the central nervous system and the enteric nervous system in the digestive tract. This connection can influence overall mood, cognition, digestion, immune system, hormones and overall health.
Concerns and Criticisms
Proprietary Blends and Dosages
Happy Juice Packs are mainly formulated with proprietary blends. Proprietary blends don’t disclose the exact amount of each ingredient, which makes it impossible to know if you’re getting an effective dose. Just because an ingredient is included doesn’t mean there’s enough of it to actually work. It’s like adding a pinch of coffee grounds to a giant pot of water-you won’t get a strong cup of coffee, just flavored water.
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We don’t know if any of the ‘active’ ingredients (I use the word ‘active’ lightly) are in sufficient amounts to even have an effect.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Amare Global is a direct-sales company that uses multi-level marketing to promote their products. MLM companies can often experience blurred lines between honest and not so honest marketing. It’s something to consider before you purchase. Sometimes the beauty and allure of MLM’s marketing tactics can be much more effective than the actual product they are selling.Many of the individuals who end up selling the products for commission do not disclose the commission relationship sufficiently and tend to fall short on supporting their claims with science or doing their own research on the products.
Cost
A 30-day supply of Amare’s Happy Juice Pack will cost you a significant amount of money if you opt into their “subscribe and save” option and even more if you choose to not subscribe, for the 30 day supply. In my opinion, this product is overpriced for what it is.
Lack of Third-Party Testing
The supplement industry is not regulated in the same way that the food industry is. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate or approve of any dietary supplements, their labeling, or health claims.It’s not uncommon to find supplements on the market that don’t actually have what they’re advertising inside their supplements. Unfortunately, it seems like Amare products are tested in house rather than by an unbiased third party lab such as NSF. They do have the BSBG Drug-Free Certification, however, this seems to just screen for substances that are usually banned in sports.
Scientific Evidence
While it’s clear that there is absolutely a connection between the two, what's still being studied is the best way optimize this connection. The gut brain axis refers to the communication between different systems in your body and it’s a communication that researchers are focusing in on. The brain impacts your gut and everything that stems from your gut while your gut feeds back to your brain and impacts mood, signals, and more.Previously written reviews had access to the cited studies. It's weird to see but a MASSIVE red flag, especially from a “wellness” company. If you make robust health claims on your products, you better have research to back it up and that research should be very easy to find and access.
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Alternative Options
If you feel your health could benefit from the ingredients in this product, you could find them for a much lower price tag from other brands.
Potential Benefits and Drawbacks
Pros
- Convenient: A simple drink mix designed to easily blend into your water, this product is incredibly convenient to take and comes in a variety of flavors.
- Could introduce nutrients you may be missing: These products to offer health promoting nutrients like probiotics, prebiotics, phytonutrients, and more. While I think there are better ways to get these nutrients in the diet (like food), this could be a simple starting point.
- More Fiber: Most Americans fall short on getting adequate fiber into their daily diet. This may offer an easy way to get 3 grams of fiber into your diet.
- Evidence Based:
- Research is emerging: One take away that you should have from this review is that this is very much an emerging area of research. I think the Happy Juice health claims are far exceeding research to support them, but this area of research WILL continue to grow.
- YOU MAY LOVE IT!: I don’t see anything inherently risky with any of the ingredients, I just don’t think the product itself matches the health claims. If you love the flavors of these drinks, then that’s great! Consult your doctor to make sure there are no potential medication interactions.
Cons
- Proprietary blend: This is certainly not uncommon in the supplement industry, many companies don’t want to disclose their exact formulas. While they do show us…
- Possibly Inadequate Dosages: Given the use of proprietary blends, we have no idea how much of each ingredient is actually in this supplement. For example, we know that many of the ingredients in this supplement can help with various symptoms, but are these ingredients included in amounts that can actually make a difference?
- No General Third Party Testing:
- Multi-Level Marketing:
- Potential Digestive Upset: Increasing your dietary fiber and probiotic intake may lead to digestive discomfort or upset for some people.
- Cost:
- Note, these studies would be done on the ingredients themselves, they have no studies on the PRODUCTS themselves: This is another important point to consider. While food commodities have made health claims or we may be able to draw a connection between probiotics and gut health, there are no clinical studies on Amare Global Happy Juice drink powder and consumer mental health.
Alternatives to Amare Happy Juice
- Mood+ Probiotic: This probiotic option contains all 3 of the same probiotics that are available in MentaBiotics. It doesn’t contain L-theanine like MentaBiotics, which is a calming compound. Instead, it contains ashwagandha, which is a powerful adaptogen that can help your body respond more efficiently to stress.
- Mood Probiotic: This probiotic contains a mixture of the Lactobacillus helveticus + Bifidobacterium longum combo, which has been researched for its ability to improve mood and lower anxiety.
- Prebiotics: a prebiotic supplement when you can (and should be) easily getting these from a healthy diet. ½ cup of oats will give you dietary fiber with some being prebiotic fiber - about the same amount of prebiotic fiber in MentaBiotics.I don’t find the Amare EDGE+ supplement to be worth it at all. If you’re interested in the potential benefits of nootropics, exploring those types of supplements in more therapeutic doses may be worthwhile. Of course, the cons of purchasing these types of supplement alternatives is that you’d need to sacrifice the convenience of a powder for capsules (or gummies in some cases).
Recommendations
If you’re considering trying any dietary supplement, it’s extremely important to speak with your medical doctor or healthcare provider before starting anything new. People view supplements as benign because they’re often considered natural. However, there can be side effects or medication interactions.
Diet, exercise, stress management techniques, sleep health, and professional support like counseling are going to be significantly more effective in managing mood than a drink mix will be.