Even if you aren't familiar with Herbalife, you've quite possibly seen it in your community. They are often named "X Nutrition" and referred to as "shake clubs" or something similar. The products are often marketed as good for nutrition, weight loss, or energy.
I'm not going to examine those claims, but the truth of any product is always in its ingredients (and their sourcing), so let's take a closer look at the ingredients in Herbalife's flagship product – the Formula 1 Healthy Meal Nutritional Shake.
Analyzing Herbalife's Formula 1 Nutritional Shake
I'm not going to go into every single ingredient because there are a lot of them. Instead, I'm going to give you an overview of what I immediately notice as a certified natural health professional who coaches people on toxin reduction.
I always look at the top three ingredients a bit closer because they are what the product mostly consists of – ingredients are listed in order by weight, so there is more of the first ingredient than any other on the list. Therefore, I consider them the most important.
Soy protein isolate: The first step of production of soy protein isolate involves using a solvent (usually hexane, a toxic petroleum-based solvent also used for degreasing engines). Additional steps remove the carbohydrates, minerals, sugars, and moisture, leaving a powder. In general, separating nutrients from each other leaves them less bioavailable to our bodies. This is a highly processed form of soy and something I would never consider healthy. Soy is also a highly sprayed GMO crop, and I can find no evidence that Herbalife uses organic or non-GMO soy. In fact, the very bottom line under the ingredients says, "Contains bioengineered food ingredients," which almost certainly refers to the soy.
Fructose: Similar to granulated sugar but with the glucose removed, leaving only fructose. Glucose is the part your body uses for energy. Fructose contributes to visceral fat, fatty liver disease, and insulin resistance. This is not a healthy sweetener.
Oat Fiber: Also somewhat processed (though not as much as the soy), it's main role is for insoluble fiber and as a filler. Again, I would be concerned about the herbicide and pesticide residue, but apart from that, this is a fairly neutral ingredient.
After those first three, I generally skim through, looking for ingredients I recognize. Here's what I pick up on this list:
Sugar: I actually don't mind seeing this so much as it is far better than most other sweeteners out there. However, we do already have another sweetener on the list, so is this excessive?
Canola Oil: Huge concern! Canola oil is extremely processed in multiple steps that include extraction (again, with hexane), deodorizing it because it's rancid, bleaching it to remove unappealing color. It is one of the worst seed oils and highly inflammatory.
Natural and Artificial Cream Flavor: The artificial flavor is the bigger concern here. It is an ingredient I choose to avoid completely.
Whey Protein Concentrate: Unlike soy, whey is mostly processed through filtering and evaporation, so this one doesn't concern me.
Soy Lecithin: This does not undergo the extreme processing of soy protein isolate, so my only concern here is GMO soybeans and chemical residues.
Natural and Artificial Cookie Dough Flavor: Again, artificial flavor is something I do not accept in healthy foods.
Carrageenan: This one has been linked to gut inflammation and disrupts gut bacteria.
DL-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate: A "DL-" prefix indicates a synthetic, lab-made "nutrient," in this case vitamin E. You want nutrients to have a "D-" prefix, which indicates a natural form of the nutrient. Natural forms are more recognizable and usable in your body.
Sucralose: Another highly processed sweetener. The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health found that it breaks DNA apart.
Ginger Root Powder: This is a beneficial ingredient, made by dehydrating ginger root and grinding it into powder. Ginger is good for digestion and calming inflammation.
Blueberry Fruit Powder: Another ingredient I put in the "good" column. Blueberries contain excellent antioxidants.
Papaya Fruit Powder: Another good, natural fruit.
Pomegranate Fruit Powder: Pomegranates, like blueberries, contain antioxidants.
Bromelain: This is a beneficial enzyme found in pineapple. However, it may be extracted using toxic solvents like acetone or ethanol. I would have to know how it is processed for this product.
Cyanocobalamin: Synthetic, lab-made version of vitamin B12.
Folic Acid: This is the synthetic version of vitamin B9 and is toxic to the estimated 40-60% of the population who have an MTHFR gene mutation since their bodies have a reduced ability to process folic acid.
Is Herbalife
Formula 1 Shake Healthy?
Formula 1 Shake Healthy?Here is another copy of the list with the ingredients I've mentioned highlighted. Red is for ingredients I would avoid. Yellow is for those that are more neutral. Green is for those that are healthy.
Downsides:
- Highly processed ingredients
- Too many sweeteners (and two of them unhealthy)
- Fillers
- Seed oil
- Artificial flavors
- Synthetic nutrients
- GMO ingredients
Upsides:
- Good antioxidant fruits
- No food dyes
Given the ingredients and the amounts of the healthy ones compared to the unhealthy, I would not consider this a healthy or nutritious food.
I haven't personally tasted this shake, but if it tastes good, I would consider it an occasional treat at most.
Note on Reading Ingredient Labels
I'd like to point out that when analyzing this list of ingredients, I didn't automatically know all of them, and I didn't research all of them either. I first skim the list, looking for what I recognize and balancing the good with the bad. Then, I look deeper into the first several ingredients on the list.
I point this out to show you that you can analyze labels and make decisions without a chemistry degree or researching every single item.
I've been on this journey for quite a while, so I do have a fairly good vocabulary of ingredients I know. But use what knowledge you have so far, and go with that!
Does Herbalife Help with Weight Loss?
If using it as instructed, it's quite possible that Herbalife's Formula 1 Nutritional Shake can produce weight loss. The reason is it's less than 200 calories and, therefore, creates a calorie deficit. You could also replace 1-2 meals a day with 200 calories of ice cream or pizza and have the same deficit.
I would not consider it a healthy way to lose weight for two reasons. First, it does not contain enough real nutrition to satisfy your body's needs. Second, as soon as you stop replacing your meals with these shakes, you would be on track to gaining the weight right back. And given the lack of nutrition, I couldn't recommend staying on this protocol long-term.
It is a temporary fix that is likely to leave you deficient in nutrients and prone to binging.
Alternate Options
Shakeology is my favorite shake. Tropical strawberry is my preferred flavor.
Power Meal is another another with good ingredients. I just don't enjoy the flavor as much as Shakeology. (You can use code SHAREYL for a discount if you order.)
Truvani has very minimal, clean ingredients, but I have not personally tried it, so I can't vouch for the taste.
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