"Come join Me on this 90 day journey!"
"We're fighting obesity one challenge at a time"
"Want to be challenged? Join me with Body by Vi!"I've heard them all. Over the past few week I have been bombarded with many friend's attempts at getting me to join a new program called Body by Vi. Let me start out by saying that this blog post is not to attack or single anyone out by any means. I'm not hating or jealous. I'm actually proud you have a great outlook on life now. I have at least 10 friends participating in this " 90 day journey to a healthier Ifestyle" or the " Vi-Life" and their approaches are all the same... Promote promote promote! But at what cost? Losing friends? Losing your money? If you know nothing about "Body by Vi" then here is a little background.
Background
A company called Visalus has introduced this new line of weight loss and health improvement supplements that are deemed revolutionary and unattainable anywhere else. The creator Ryan Blair has a very touching rags to riches story about how he started the company and his view of his life. He is a millionaire and lives in a cozy mansion probably somewhere in Detroit. So since he made millions of dollars selling this product we can too right? False! He makes his money (and all the other high end promotors)from the corporation's income based off of advertising and gross income of the company. That means he's reaping the benefits from the gullible people who pay to be distributors while they go in the hole. The products are suppose to promote and help you achieve a healthier lifestyle, when in fact they a loaded, LOADED, with preservatives and gunk that will actually make it impossible for you to keep the weight off unless you stay on the product. I did some research to back all of my facts up and this is what I found.
Facts
The White Pages section of the Visalus website contains all the scientific papers to prove that the body by vi shakes and supplements work. But there is one problem...they are never tested. These papers are written to confuse consumers. Never once in the papers do they refer to testing the products on subjects or results after a time period...no study groups. That was the first red flag that this junk is crap. Second, the "doctor" who is the leading researcher on these papers is Michael Seidman. He was also the doctor associated with another pyramid scheme a few years back and came out saying that "we don't know how it works...it just does." He then went onto say that there is a certain "psychological element to it." Basically it works and feeds off of the placebo effect. If you think you are going to lose weight and you are working out and swapping meals for a low nutrition drink then yes you will...and in turn you "feel better" so you keep doing it. It's a cycle. But here's the scoop of vi ( pun intended) the main ingredient is soy. Soy has been tested and proven to cause hormonal imbalances espescially among men. It should also not be consumed in large quantities. And there is an artificial sweetener in the shake called sucralose. This is so that the shakes are diabetic friendly. Sucralose is not broken down by the body so has no caloric effect. It is also used so that the powder can stay on the shelf longer (preserving flavor). If sucralose is not broken down by your body why would you want to put it in there?
Marketing
So this works on a pyramid technique. You join then you get 3 people to join, then they get 3 people to join so on and so forth. The more people you get to join then you get your products free for a while and then have the option of joining on as a distributor. This costs $499 a month but you are told you can make thousands. Somewhere along the line you are offered a free BMW...but there's a catch they don't tell you. The BMW lease is put in your name and the lease is 600 dollars a month. Visalus will pay the lease each month as long as you maintain the quota your given....the thing is, it's going to be hard to convince people that they need to keep buying this product each month at 40 bucks, 200 bucks, even 500 bucks a month. Your sales will fall and you have to pay your own lease which you won't be able to because your sales are down...therefore you lose it maybe even more. I'm not hating or jealous of my friends at all that are doing this. This blog post is meant to open their eyes and let them do the research for themselves. The truth about Visalus is that it is a hoax...meant to make some false prophets money. They prey on young people who want to make it rich in this world but money is not everything. If you invest in this company you will lose everything.
What if you believe in a product that is not actually healthy? What if millions of people join on the Body by Vi band wagon and then a few years later all suffer liver failue? It could happen to you!!!! Do not get sucked into this hoax. Not only will it lead you to financial ruin but the product you are selling is not, NOT as healthy as "they" tell you. In fact shakes bought at Wal-mart or Earthfare may have more nutritional value and less preservatives. Let me explain.
I obtained an ingredients list from the shakes that are sold. At first this ingredients list was very easily obtained on the website, but now that page is not found...interesting.
Soy- a very controversial ingredient of a lot of health foods. The research on soy can be all over the place, however, there is one conclusion that it should not be a staple in your diet. Soy beans have oxalate in them which cannot be metabolized by the body so it is excreted by the kidneys. However the oxalate binds to calcium and causes kidney stones. Also large consumptions of soy can lead to hormone imbalances in both men and women, especially women causing infertility and reproductive development.
www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/estrogenic-effects-of-soy
www.sciencedaily.com/release/2001/08/010829083130.htm
Whey- "makes up 20% of the protein found in milk" If you are physically active then Whey is a good thing for you to ingest...but sedantary lifestyles will cause a severe weight gain. Its a mixture of globular proteins isolated from whey the cheese by product. People who are lactose intolerant should use caution when ingesting whey because similar enzymes used to break down lactose are needed to break down whey and may not be present in your body.
www.livestrong.com/article/537502-is-whey-protein-good-or-bad/
Medium Chain triglycerides- these are partially man made fats. The name comes from the arrangement of carbon atoms. It is made by processing palm kernel oil and coconut oils in a lab. (oh that sounds healthy). They are usually used as medicines for people who have food absorption disorders. Here's the real fact that brings it home: DIABETICS SHOULD AVOID THEM. This is due to a build up of ketones in the body from the break down of MCTs. This can lead to more complicate health problems associated with diabetes. Also there is not enough research out there about MCTs so pregnant moms and nursing mothers are encouraged to steer clear of them just in case. MCTs are processed by the liver and can cause serious problems if you have liver disease.
this was found at Webmd.com
Maltodextrin- this is an additive that is an easily digestible carbohydrate made from rice, corn or potato. Because Body by Vi claims to be friendly to people with stomach issues, I'm going to assume that they avoid the barley or wheat formation or else they would have a bunch of lawsuits on their hands. It is used as a filler and is inexpensive. Its found in most salad dressings, cereals, preserved fruits etc. It is PROCESSED! Not natural but its not chemically sythesized. It is considered a polysaccharide that breaks down into glucose as it is digested. The side effects are all those that are associated with high sugar consumption and can lead to weight gain (interesting), insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic pathway disorders. It does not cause these directly but just its presence in the body can help lead to these.
www.whatismaltodextrin.com/maltodextrin-side-effects/
www.fitsugar.com/What-Maltodextrin-293287
Casein- This starts from skim milk solids. There are 3 different types; Calcium Casein, Fresh Curd Casein, and Micellar Casein. If I were going to sell this product telling everyone its the healthiest thing out there, I might find out which Casein is used. This is an again PROCESSED ingredient obtained by adding hydrochloric acid to skim milk...yikes that stuff will burn ya! Maybe thats where the weight loss comes in. LOL! If its the Calcium Casein (which I have a suspicion it is) this is the lowest quality and and most well known source of casein. It is first processed by washing and drying the casein in another country. This step is not done here in the US. It is then shipped to the US for the rest of the processing process. The washes make it very acidic which gives it a bad taste. Fresh Curd is not used as supplements so we won't go into that one. The final micellar is actually the best for body building but it is super high dollar and most likely not used in Body by Vi shakes. With this casein it is used in a filtration process which does not denature the proteins like the washing. With the denaturing of the protein in the Calcium Caseinate your body actually loses "potential bioactive peptides".
www.proteinfactory.com/pfblog/caseinates-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly
Xanthan gum- This is a sugar-like compound made by fermentation of aged sugars with bacteria. It is used as a laxative. It also thickens and stabilizes reagents in foods, toothpastes, and medicines. It works like this...It swells in your intestines and stimulates the digestive tract to puch stool out. It is safe when up to 15 grams are taken. Not enough is known about it for pregnant or nursing moms to ingest it.
this was found at webmd.com
Lecithin- this is a phosphatidylcholine (which means its a mix of carbohydrate, fatty acids and phospholipids) that is extracted chemically. It is important in cell structure of all living organisms and in found in beef liver, egg yolk, soybeans etc... The research suggests that it is actually good for you, helping to lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health. It occurs naturally in your body. It is required for carrying the cholesterol from your blood to your liver. My only point on this one is since it occurs naturally in foods we eat all the time that are proven healthy (eggs, liver etc)why not just eat those? Don't OD on this.
www.livestrong.com/article/494681-lecithin-diabetes/
Aminogen- for this one there are just a bunch of biased reviews about this ingredient. This is a patented enzyme and should be reviewed by doctors or researchers that have no affiliation with getting compensated to promote it. Bottom line its a chemically synthesized enzyme being put into your body. Can't be too good for ya.
SUCRALOSE!- this is a chlorinated form of table sugar( why would you want that) It was approved in 1998 by the USFDA for use in food. Its common name is splenda. The body cannot detoxify organochlorinated substances such as this. 11 to 27 percent absorbs into the body and the sucralose and metabolites concentrate in the liver. It has been compared to ingesting pesticides like DDT. More research is being done on the harmful effects of this altenative sweetner but it has been linked to liver and kidney problems and reduced growth rate. ViSalus should have used the natural sweetener STEVIA which is a plant is they really cared about their consumers.
www.downtoearth.org/health/vitamins-supplements/sucralose-dangerous-sugar-substitute
All foods we buy at a grocery store that is packaged is going to contain preservatives and crap.. Junk our body doesn't need. My point for showing these few ingredients is that the ViSalus product you are selling is not any more healthy that me picking up Whey Protein powder and adding Fiber and a multi-vitamin to it. START ASKING QUESTIONS!!! Do not believe everything they are telling you because the fact of the matter is...they want to make money. They are not in it for you. And if you joined on because you truly believe this product is the next healthiest thing...well I just disproved that. If ViSalus cared about its customers as it claims it does then it would be using all natural substances and testing/researching to make sure the product is safe for consumers. There has been a lack of research on their part about their so called "revolutionary product". PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not fall into the mind games of this company!!!!!!
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