Monthly Archives: June 2017

Live more, be more, experience more, THRIVE for more …

This is one of the first things that caught my eye when doing research for my Thrive Protein Shake reviews.

You’ll see why in a minute.

First, a little background …

Thrive, in case you don’t know, is a self-described “premium lifestyle brand” owned by a company called Le-Vel.

As a fellow small business owner that also sells a protein powder, I admire their product design and branding.

However …

I don’t admire some of the stuff they put in their Thrive Mix protein shakes.

In this review, I’ll share some ingredients I found while analyzing the nutrition facts you might want to take a second look at if you care about your health.

Check it out …

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What Is Thrive?

According to its website,

The THRIVE Experience is a combination of our THRIVE Premium Lifestyle Capsules, THRIVE Ultra Micronized Lifestyle Shake Mix, and our Premium Lifestyle DFT (Derma Fusion Technology). Our premium naturopathic and synergistic formula of Vitamins, Minerals, Plant Extracts, Anti-Oxidants, Enzymes, Pro-Biotics, and Amino Acids is like nothing your body has ever experienced! It’s Ultra Premium at its finest. What’s even better is that the experience is gender specific for Men & Women.

Le Vel Thrive Mix Protein Shake Reviews

So as you’ve seen, Thrive sells several different supplement products …

My analysis will only focus on their protein supplements called Le-Vel Thrive Lifestyle Mix Protein Powders.

They’re available in four different flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, and Apple Pie.

Here’s how all my reviews work:

First I’ll show you the nutrition facts labels and ingredients for each Thrive Mix flavor. In the images below I’ve noted some “red flags”. I’ll explain what each of these means and why it should concern you further down the page.

If you want to read more Level Thrive reviews and see how their other supplements are rated, there’s a site called SiteJabber that grabs contains hundreds of consumers reviews. Here’s their conclusion:

LeVel has a consumer rating of 2.82 stars from 325 reviews indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Consumers complaining about LeVel most frequently mention customer service, auto ship and credit card problems.

Here’s what’s in each of Thrive’s protein shakes …

Le Vel Thrive Mix Nutrition Facts and Ingredients Analysis

Chocolate

Vanilla

Strawberry

Apple Pie

Lots of red flags here! Here’s why I flagged each:

1. Protein sources: All Thrive protein shakes use three sources: whey, soy, and pea. This is an interesting combination, I must admit. Whey and soy protein work for some people. For others (such as those with dairy sensitivities), they can lead to inflammation or worse.
2. Maltodextrin / Corn Starch: Maltodextrin and corn starch are thickeners used in all types of processed foods. They’re a complete junk ingredient that can spike your blood sugar, suppress the growth of probiotics, cause allergic reactions, and negatively affect several of your body’s organs and systems. I recommend avoiding any product that has this crap.
3. Cellulose: Cellulose is powdered wood pulp. It has zero nutritional value. Its long-term effects on your microbiome and overall health have not been studied.
4. Gums/Thickeners: Gums are food additives that are commonly used as stabilizers, thickeners, or emulsifiers. Le Vel uses several different types of gums in its Thrive Mixes, many of which can be disruptive to gut health. For example, xanthan gum has been shown to cause gas, bloating, and diarrhea.
5. Sucralose: Sucralose is a popular artificial sweetener (you may recognize it as “Splenda”). According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, sucralose has been shown to cause leukemia and related blood cancers in animal studies and negatively impacts the gut by changing your microbiome and enzymes.
6. Magnasweet: Magnasweet is a sweetener made from licorice root; however, don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s “natural.” According to Magnasweet’s website: “The Magnasweet® product line consists of the base products as well as compounded flavors consisting of the base products compounded with other artificial and/or natural flavors.” While we’re on the topic of “natural” flavors …
7. Natural Flavors: Natural flavors are now the 4th most common ingredient on food labels. But they’re definitely not natural. David Andrews, Senior Scientist at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), had this to say about natural flavors:
   

   [Natural flavors] will often have some solvent and preservatives—and that makes up 80 to 90 percent of the volume. In the end product, it’s a small amount, but it still has artificial ingredients.

Thrive Mix Shakes Nutrition Facts Summary

Bottom Line: Is Thrive Protein Powder Good for You?

Thrive says this on its website:

The saying “not all shakes are created equal” is proven true by our ultra micronized Premium Lifestyle Mix, which is in a category all by itself.

Actually, it’s in a category that’s quite familiar in the protein powder industry: corn-based fillers, gums, thickeners, and artificial sweeteners.

In my humble opinion, Le-Vel Thrive Protein Shakes are simply just another protein powder filled with the same old junk everybody else uses. 

The facts are Thrive a) is not organic; b) contains an artificial sweetener that has been shown to cause cancer in animal studies; and c) contains other additives, fillers, and emulsifiers.

My $0.10: Stick with a protein powder that has all-natural, organic ingredients instead.

The Optifast Program, according to their website, is:

A medically supervised weight management program that closely monitors and assesses progress towards better health and emotional well-being. The program, which usually lasts 26 weeks, utilizes a full meal replacement plan that transitions to self-prepared ‘everyday’ meals, in conjunction with comprehensive patient education and support.

The program includes medical supervision, counseling, personalized support, and of course various Optifast meal replacement shakes.

Optifast’s parent company, the infamous candy bar maker Nestle, commissioned a study that found using the Optifast Program before weight loss surgery can help patients lose enough weight to significantly reduce health risks associated with various procedures.

I could’ve saved the Nestle team several million dollars by sharing this well-known fact in nutrition science:

Any program that creates a calorie deficit and offers medical supervision and support is going to result in weight loss.

So if weight loss is your key goal (not necessarily fat loss), and you don’t care about the ingredients and sugar content in the products you buy, then Optifast may work just fine for you.

However …

If you want to lose fat … or if you’re looking for a nutritious, all-natural protein powder / meal replacement, then Optifast is not your best bet.

In my Optifast reviews, I’ll analyze all their meal replacement shakes and protein powders by looking at two objective pieces of information:

1. The Ingredients
2. The Nutrition Facts Label

Let’s dig in …

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Optifast Reviews

Optifast sells 5 types of protein powders and meal replacement shakes:

1. Optifast 800 Ready to Drink
2. Optifast 800 Shake Mix
3. Optifast HP Shake Mix
4. Optisource Very High Protein Drink
5. BeneProtein Instant Protein Powder

Let’s look at the nutrition facts information labels and ingredients for each …

Optifast 800 Ready to Drink 

Optifast 800 Shake Mix 

Optifast HP Shake Mix

Optisource Very High Protein Drink

BeneProtein Instant Protein Powder

Ok, that’s a lot of information to digest. Let’s sum up the highlights and lowlights … I flagged the things that concern me in red and will further explain each below.

Summary of Optifast Shakes Nutrition Facts and Ingredients

Lots of red flags here, you guys!

Here are the biggest ones …

1. Protein sources: Most Optifast meal replacement shakes contain milk protein concentrate or soy protein. Dairy-based protein powders are associated with many negative health effects. Whey can certainly work if you can tolerate it and you’re trying to build lean body mass (there’s plenty of evidence to support it in that regard). However, if you any type of gut sensitivities, you should avoid whey because it can promote inflammation. Same goes for soy.
2. Sugar: As you can see, Optifast “nutritional” shakes contain anywhere from 4 to 12 grams of sugar, depending on the product. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a mountain of evidence that shows eating sugar that doesn’t come from fruit makes you fat and is correlated with a wide range of other health issues.
3. Natural flavors: Like nearly all protein powders and shakes, Optifast uses the innocuous-sounding “natural” flavors. The Environmental Working Group, in an article titled “The FDA Failed Us,” had this to say about natural flavors:  The term “natural flavor” finds its way into more than a quarter of EWG’s roster of 80,000 foods in the Food Scores database, with only salt, water and sugar mentioned more frequently on food labels. “Artificial flavors” are also very common food additives, appearing on one of every seven labels. What do these terms really mean? Good question. The truth is that when you see the word “flavor” on a food label, you have almost no clue what chemicals may have been added to the food under the umbrella of this vague term. For people who have uncommon food allergies or are on restricted diets, this can be a serious concern. In addition to the flavor-adding chemicals themselves, flavor mixtures often contain natural or artificial emulsifiers, solvents and preservatives that are called “incidental additives,” which means the manufacturer does not have to disclose their presence on food labels. Flavoring mixtures added to food are complex and can contain more than 100 distinct substances. The non-flavor chemicals that have other functional properties often make up 80 to 90 percent of the mixture.
4. Corn- and soy-based fillers, additives, and gums: All Optifast products contain a lot of additives and gums, many of which can be disruptive to gut health. Maltodextrin, a corn-based thickener/filler, is the second or third ingredient for most of their shakes. While research published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism shows maltodextrin to be safe for healthy young athletes who use it for post-exercise glycogen resynthesis, other studies show it causes insulin spikes, may suppress the growth of probiotics, can cause allergic reactions and side effects, and is almost always made from pesticide-ridden, GMO corn.
5. Organic: There are zero organic ingredients in Optifast’s meal replacement drinks and protein powders. This means you’re getting a healthy dose of pesticides and herbicides with that protein shake.

Bottom Line: Are Optifast Shakes and Powders Good for You?

The facts are Optifast shakes a) are not organic; b) have a lot of sugar; c) contain lots on corn- and soy-based additives, fillers, and other junk ingredients.

I recommend sticking with a product with plant-based, all-natural, organic ingredients instead.

Click here to get instant access to my FREE Google spreadsheet comparing 20+ protein powders by ingredients, nutrition, cost, and more.

Isagenix is a MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) company just like Beachbody (the manufacturer of Shakeology) and Herbalife.

This means the way they sell stuff is to hire independent reps that sell their products for them.

The reason we bring this up is not to knock on MLM companies (there are plenty of fine ones out there) but to point out that most Isagenix reviews you see online are from websites that have a vested interest in selling Isagenix products (aka, they get commission!).

While we do sell a plant protein powder, this review of Isagenix protein powders are as unbiased as possible. We evaluated their products based on two objective criteria: 1.) Ingredients and 2.) Nutrition.

Here’s what our analysis revealed …

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Isagenix Reviews: Methodology

Similar to our other plant-based protein powder reviews, we’re analyzing Isagenix protein powders based on health and nutrition … NOT taste. If you want to read reviews about how it tastes, check their website and Amazon.

Let’s get started …

Isagenix sells three types of protein powder:

1. IsaPro (90 calories, 1 gram of sugar, and 18 grams of protein per serving)
2. IsaLean Shake (240 calories, 6-7 grams of sugar, and 24 grams of protein per serving)
3. IsaLean Pro Shake (280 calories, 9 grams of sugar, and 36 grams of protein per serving)

IsaPro is marketed toward people trying to lose weight. The latter two target more active people who are looking for more calories and protein per serving.

Next, let’s review what’s in them.

Here are complete nutrition facts information labels and ingredient list analyses for each product and flavor …

Isagenix Ingredients and Nutrition Facts Reviews

IsaPro Chocolate Protein Shake

IsaPro Vanilla Protein Shake

IsaLean Chocolate Protein Powder (Whey)

IsaLean Vanilla Protein Powder (Whey)

IsaLean Strawberry Protein Powder (Whey)

IsaLean Cookies & Cream Protein Powder (Whey)

IsaLean Whole Blend Plant-Based Shake Chocolate

IsaLean Whole Blend Plant-Based Shake Vanilla

IsaLean Whole Blend Plant-Based Shake Strawberry

IsaLean Pro Natural Vanilla

IsaLean Pro Natural Chocolate

6 Reasons I Don’t Love Isagenix Protein Powders

1. Protein sources: Most of Isagenix’s products contain whey protein concentrate or milk protein. Dairy-based protein powders has been shown to have negative side effects for many people. If you have a sensitive gut, you may want to avoid whey because of its inflammatory properties. Opt for their plant-based option, Plant Based Whole Blend IsaLean Shake, instead.
2. Sugar: Sugar is one of the most common ingredients in Isagenix shakes. While IsaPro and IsaLean Plant Based only have 1 gram of sugar, IsaLean Shake and IsaLean Pro Shakes have 9 and 11 grams of sugar, respectively (from fructose). That’s just way too much added sugar for a protein shake–over 1/3 of the recommended daily intake for women!
3. Natural flavors: Like most flavored protein powders, Isagenix uses “natural” flavors. Despite their innocent-sounding name, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says natural flavors “may trigger an acute, allergic reaction, intolerance, or other problems.” I personally avoid products that have them, because you really have no idea what’s in them (and food companies aren’t required to tell you).
4. Gums/Thickeners: Isagenix uses several different types of gums, some of which may be disruptive to gut health. For example, xanthan gum may lead to GI bloating, gas, and diarrhea.
5. Organic: Isagenix’s products are not organic, which means their ingredients could be exposed to chemical pesticides and herbicides.
6. Cost: At $.07-.08/gram, Isagenix is expensive compared to similar powders. (Note: I use cost per gram to account for different serving sizes).

Bottom Line: Are Isagenix IsaLean and IsaPro Protein Shakes and Powders Good for You?

In my personal opinion, the only Isagenix shakes I recommend are the Plant Based Whole Blend IsaLean Shake because they’re low in sugar (1 gram) and have a solid blend of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and probiotics.

All other Isagenix protein products I reviewed contain added sugar, gums, and flavors, which I do not recommend.

There are definitely worse protein powders you can buy, but based on my reviews of all Isagenix products and ingredient / nutrition analysis, I recommend sticking with a product with 100% real food, organic ingredients instead.