B-Epic Review: Should You B-Excited About This ‘Transformative’ Product?
A ton of people have asked me to write a B-Epic review, so here it is!
B-Epic is a nutrition MLM that has a pretty limited product line (compared to other nutrition MLMs), and claims to sell โadvanced health supplementation.โ
You know, just in case you thought that the company was selling the same old MLM thing.
I instantly know that a product is sold by MLM when I go to the website and thereโs an โopportunityโ tab. Except that MLMs are not an opportunity for most people, unless theyโre the ones at the top of the pyramid.
The other 95% of people selling by MLM will either lose money, or break even.
(Read my post: Here Are The Biggest Dangers of Arbonne and Other Nutrition MLMs)
Thatโs not what Iโd call an โopportunity,โ but as youโll read, B-Epic (and most MLMs) have issues with definitions. Youโll see what I mean.
B-Epic claims that with their products, you can โtransform your lifeโ in just 60 days, which sounds like a lot of promise for such a short time.
โTransform your life.โ Like what? Is it going to make me rich and famous, with a closetful of nice shoes?
One of the nutrition MLM calling cards is โsynergisticโ ingredients, which supposedly work together in mysterious ways to help you lose weight, sleep better, and overall be healthier.
B-Epic ACCELER8
B-Epic claims that the โsynergistic,โ โadvanced health supplementsโ in the Acceler8 pack helps you โmanage weightโ and โdetoxify your bodyโ while promoting sleep.
What Acceler8 really is, is a laxative that also contains prebiotic fibre and a low-dose probiotic (Acceler8 Restore), and a herbal sleep aid (Acceler8 sleep).
In other words, if youโre not in the bathroom all night from their laxative product, you should be sleeping.
B-Epic says this about its Acceler8 Restore: Acceler8 Restore has a gentle detoxing effect that naturally cleanses the body, so it is better empowered to restore itself to an optimal balance. It is also packed with high quality, beneficial bacteria that help replenish the gut microbiome, which is vital for overall health and strong digestive and immune systems.
I feel like there are a lot of nutrition MLM companies that somehow manage to confuse the words โlaxativeโ with โdetox.โ
Itโs a pretty easy concept to understand, and if youโre selling a product to unsuspecting consumers, you should probably get your facts straight: laxatives donโt โdetoxโ anything.
Yes, pooping is one of the ways the body gets rid of toxins. But there is no value in laxation over and above the natural stooling process.
In other words, more isnโt better. In fact, it can mess up your gut bacteria and cause dehydration. And it goes without saying (but Iโll say it again): detoxing is NOT A THING.
There is absolutely nothing in either of these products that โmanages weight.โ Giving someone a laxative doesnโt manage weight. You might feel and weigh lighter once you s*it your brains out, but thatโs not actual fat weight. Once you have a meal, youโll put it all back on.
The weight loss is just an illusion.
As far as the Acceler8 Sleep sleep aid goes, I donโt really care about that. Iโm a dietitian, not a sleep doctor. Sure, the product contains a herbal sleep aid. And yes, you can buy the exact same thing at the drugstore – probably for cheaper.
There is nothing โsynergisticโ about the ingredients in these two supplements, but that doesnโt appear to matter to B-Epic and all of the nutrition MLMs that Iโve seen using that term to convince potential buyers that theyโre getting something special.
B-Epic B-SLIM
B-Slim is B-Epicโs signature weight-loss supplement. Most nutrition MLMs have one.
Marketed on the B-Epic site with a photo of a slim woman with big boobs in a bikini, this product claims to โreduce cravings with every sip!โ
OMG. Tacky AF. Also: what is this magical elixir?
Oh, just some drink with African mango extract. Nothing to see here, people. Move along.
B-Epic says, โAfrican Mango (Irvingia gabonensis) seed extract has long been used to provide effective weight management support. It has also been found to be effective at helping reduce hunger and body fat. B-SLIM contains a patented, clinically proven Irvingia seed extract for weight management support. The ingredient has substantiated claims for appetite control, satiety (feeling of fullness), weight management, and metabolic wellness.โ
Well, thatโs a freaking mouthfulโฆand, a lot of claims in one little paragraph.
Sounds great, right? I mean, weight loss, reduced hunger and body fat, satiety, metabolic wellnessโฆis B-Slim the holy grail?
And it sounds like this irvingia gabonensis ingredient has some legit research behind it!
Exceptโฆnot so fast.
B-Epic (not surprisingly) doesnโt offer up that research for our scrutiny, so I had to go looking for it. No problem! Thatโs my job!
The first study I found was done in 2005 in Cameroon, and published in Lipids in Health and Disease.
Each participant got a total of 3.15 grams of irvingia a day.
For your information, each tablet of B-Slim contains 300mg of irvingia. Weโre assuming that the B-Slim product has the same formulation of the active ingredient as used in the study above, although this may not be the case, because the B-Slim product is a โproprietary blendโ – another nutrition MLM calling card.
The recommended dose of B-Slim is 1-2 tabs a day, totalling 600mg of irvingia at most. This is significantly less than what was used in the study. If you wanted to duplicate the dose in this study, youโd have to swallow 10 B-Slims a day.
Nonetheless, the study results were unremarkable, although they did qualify as โsignificant.โ
This happens sometimes – but significance isnโt the best indicator that something works. And in this case, it probably doesnโt.
I think itโs important to understand – and this goes for all the nutrition MLM products with โresearchโ behind them – that if a product or ingredient was as effective as a company claims it to be, it would be used widely and regulated by the FDA.
It would be everywhere. A lot of people would be using it. It would be a huge thing. And it wouldnโt be sold by MLM, most definitely.
None of that is happening, and itโs not because nutrition MLMs like B-Epic have found the secret to weight loss and health and are hoarding that secret just for their paying customers. Itโs because these products and ingredients havenโt been shown as effective.
Iโm sure there are other African Mango studies out there, but Iโm not even bothering to look for them. You donโt have to either – examine.com has a great page on African Mango and their conclusion is that the studies on it are total garbage.
Needless to say, B-Slim probably doesnโt do what it says it does.
You canโt just take a pill or drink a drink and magically melt fat or attenuate appetite or lose gobs of weight. Still, nutrition MLMs like B-Epic bank on the fact that people will buy these products. And clearly, itโs working – these companies are constantly popping up in everyoneโs feed.
Also: these products arenโt synergistic in any way. If you wanted to, you could certainly take one or the other, and experience the exact same effects as you would while taking them together.
B-Epic Hydr8tion
This product. Is. Completely. Effed. Up. Period.
B-Epic Hydra8tion is a ‘water alkalizer’ that you’re supposed to add to your water to make it alkaline.
Look at the claims that B-Epic makes about it:
The problem?
All of these claims aren’t at all based in science. None of them. If you can’t tell, I’m super
B-Epic B-KETO
B-Epic also has an exogenous ketone supplement, B-Keto. The B-whatever stuff is getting annoying already.
Exogenous ketones are total trash, and if youโve read my post on them, youโd know that already. B-Epic says, โDrinking sugar-free B-KETO, you can experience many of the benefits from increasing the active ketone levels in your body without cutting carbs from your diet.โ
This is patently untrue, and is not how ketosis works.
You canโt ingest ketones on a regular diet, and suddenly be using the ketones for energy. What will happen is that youโll just be choking down what is usually a drink that tastes like death, and just burning the carbs that youโve eaten, first.
Carbs are your bodyโs preferred energy source, no matter what the keto warriors say. Given the choice of ketones versus carbs, your body will take the carbs every time. The exogenous ketones will just be another, less valuable source of energy for your body.
Hm. Thatโs not how keto is supposed to work.
Youโll see ketones in your urine after drinking exogenous ketones, but this is normal – itโs the way your body clears them out. That does NOT mean youโre in ketosis.
Itโs all a ruse. Donโt fall for it, please.
(Read more about exogenous ketones in my post, “Do Pruvit Exogenous Ketones Replace a Ketogenic Diet?”)
A special mention goes to the GR8Kids supplements, which B-Epic claims is โthe quickest, most delicious way to eat your fruits and veggies.โ
Uh, no. Fruit and vegetable powders arenโt the same as eating whole fruits and vegetables, and letโs not teach our kids that they are.
Also: it disgusts me when nutrition MLMs have a kids line. Itโs like a gross play for brand loyalty from a young age, and it just adds another level of sliminess to the entire company.
Nutrition MLMs and Marketing.
I want to call out B-Epic for something that all nutrition MLMs do, which is their marketing strategy.
These companies tell a great story – they use lots of photos of seemingly healthy, happy people on their websites, and they use tons of buzzwords that stir emotions in potential buyers.
Words like, โnatural,โ โholistic,โ โtransformation,โ โbalance,โ and โlife-changingโ are used to help you envision yourself using the products and suddenly becoming a different person in a different body and different life.
They also love to talk about how their products are โproven,โ developed using โcutting-edge research,โ and โadvanced,โ which is meant to inspire trust in their products and the science behind them.
Itโs very persuasive, and I know that itโs tough not to fall for this sort of thing. But please be aware of it, both with nutrition MLMs and other products.
I literally have never found a nutrition MLM that has solid science to back up their claims about their products. Not one, and Iโve reviewed pretty much all of these companies. Just because thereโs โresearchโ about something, doesnโt mean that that research is compelling or even worth considering.
Often, itโs sponsored by the company, which dramatically increases the risk for bias.
Sometimes, companies post research about ingredients in their products, and not about the products themselves.
Most times, the research is extremely shoddy, with poor methodology. Sometimes, it hasnโt be done in humans – only animals.
All of this should be considered when someone is trying to sell you something based on โresearch.โ
(Read my post, “The Issue with Nutrition MLMs and Their Coaches”)
B-Epic review, In short:
B-Epic seems to make a lot of promises that fall short of the current research and basic physiology.
B-ware. Donโt B-fooled by tacky gimmicks and big claims and promises that nutrition MLMs can’t prove or fulfill.