Review of Herbalife Complaints and Side Effects - Is it Safe? Is it a Scam?
Herbalife is a company that has been selling health products and supplements since 1980, and its products are distributed via multilevel marketing. The company offers a variety of weight loss products, including ShapeWorks (protein-based weight loss shakes and pills), Snack Defense (appetite control), Total Control (metabolism booster), and Cell-U-Loss (cellulite reducer).
Herbalife has experienced some major health-realated complaints: The original formula was manufactured with the herbs Ma Huang and Sida cordifolia, which contain ephedrine. Some people taking the supplements experienced adverse reactions and Herbalife's insurance premiums were rising, so the company stopped putting ephedrine in its products. In 2004, the FDA banned any supplements that contained ephedra.
Despite the formula change, there have been more recent complaints related to Herbalife: In 2007, doctors in Israel did scientific studies on Herbalife, which resulted in a link between Herbalife consumption and hepatitis. The Spanish Ministry of Health put out an alert as a result of this, cautioning citizens to be careful if taking Herbalife supplements.
A laboratory test by The Fraud Discovery Institute found higher lead levels in Herbalife products than is legal in the company's home state of California, but other commissioned lab tests did not find the same results. Additionally, in May of 2008 a woman who developed lead-related liver problems filed a suit against Herbalife, claiming their products caused her health problems.
In 1996 the Food and Drug Administration evaluated Herbalife and stated that the products were safe at that time, but it's important to note that none of the Herbalife products are actually approved by the FDA, which monitors the safety and effectiveness of products. Some sites that sell Herbalife, such as AmazingDiet.com, say "Since these products are nutritional food supplements they are safe." That is not true; the nutritional food supplement industry is mostly unregulated, and there is no guarantee they are safe unless they are FDA approved - which Herbalife's website explicitly says the products are not. Alli is the only over-the-counter weight loss product that has been approved by the FDA, meaning it is the only one that is guaranteed safe.
The Herbalife company itself has had some problems, with a 2004 settlement to resolve a class action law suit. Almost 9,000 former Herbalife distributors claimed the company is running a pyramid scheme. Oddly, Herbalife is also the company that has put out the oft-aired Crazy Fox commercials, with a vague invitation to go to a website for a home-based business opportunity.
So is Herbalife safe? The company says yes, that all their products exceed Good Manufacturing Practices and are made with the highest ingredients. Meanwhile, some studies show that it may cause dangerous health problems. Because it is not FDA-approved, it's not quite clear. Use your best judgment here, and perhaps consider a weight loss program that does not involve unapproved supplements.