Why Herbalife Doesn't Work - Active Ingredient?

Introduction | Work from Home page 1 2 3 | Small Business | Trying Anything to Sell page 1 2 | Universal Distributor Saturation | Active Ingredient? | Summary

The Herbalife Diet Products

Along with hundreds of success stories regarding the ability to profit from sales of Herbalife, there are also a bountiful supply of weight-loss success stories online. 

I don't have any solid information about the product's effectiveness.  On herbalife websites, the experienced weight loss is anecdotal, and often subtitled with a "results not typical" tagline. All diet products, from Jenny Craig to Slim Fast and Subway Sandwiches seem to have this disclaimer.

Herbalife weight-loss claims are probably largely attributable to the use of ephedrine in their "Thermajetic" green formulas.  I've seen first hand evidence of the weight loss possible through the use of amphetamines, and because ephedrine is so closely related to amphetamines, I'll bet it works in a similar way.

Effective but Dangerous

Ephedrine is a powerful stimulant.  It was used in the 80s and 90s by athletes & truck drivers to give their energy a boost & stave off hunger. 

The FDA began collecting data on ill-effects from ephedrine in 1994 or 1995. 

A report in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2000 said that at least 54 deaths and about 1,000 reports of complications have been linked to the popular bodybuilding supplement since the mid-1990s. The FDA has since said about 80 deaths have been associated with Ephedrine.

The NFL banned its use among their athletes in September of 2001, joining the NCAA and International Olympic Committee.

Due to these health and safety concerns, Herbalife reformulated their Green formula without Ephedrine, although the original formula is still available as "Original Green" outside of Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Ohio, Michigan, Hawaii and Texas. 

I applaud Herbalife's reformulation of perhaps their oldest product, but anyone thinking of buying or selling herbalife should know that the product has changed.  Herbalife weight-loss claims may be attributable to the old Ephedrine-rich formula.  How can someone tell if the Herbalife weight-loss claims are from the old formula, or the new one?

• "Original Green" Product #0114 contains Ephedra, or ephedrine or Ma Huang
• "Refresh Green" Product #0108 (also called "Green") contains Ephedra or Ma Huang
• "Ephedra Free" Product #0070 is ephedrine-free, but has it helped anyone lose weight?