This diet review is an opinion piece that reviews the claims for a product against the latest science and basic physiology.
I never thought I’d be doing another review on Isagenix, but here we are.
This time, I’m reviewing the Isagenix 30-Day Cleanse, which the company claims is a ‘long-term, flexible program for for individuals who want to lose weight’.
I guess the ‘long-term, flexible’ option would be initially attractive to people because hey – nobody wants to lose weight just for a few weeks, and we all want options, right? But wait: what does this program actually entail?
It’s definitely time for an Isagenix update post, so let’s do this!
Isagenix’s Claims
Isagenix claims that the $378.50 USD 30-Day Cleanse “kick-starts weight loss, promotes cleansing and fat burning, and is a groundbreaking path to healthy weight loss…also designed to help support the body’s natural detoxification systems.” With this system, they claim that you’ll:
- Experience consistent weight loss
- Satisfy cravings for unhealthy food
- Improve muscle tone
On the Isagenix 30-Day Cleanse, there are ‘shake days’, and ‘cleanse days’. According to Isagenix, “Shake day is about replacing unhealthy high calorie foods with IsaLean shakes”. How about replacing unhealthy food with, you know, HEALTHY FOOD? But I digress.
On shake days, you’ll use IsaLean meal replacement shakes for two meals a day, and then eat a third meal of around 500 calories, which you make yourself. Shakes are between 240 and 280 calories, approximately half of what I’d call an actual meal. If you get hungry, which you most likely will, you can treat yourself with an Isagenix snack like 100-calorie Slim Cakes, which look like little turds. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Yum yum!
On shake days, you’ll take:
Ionix Supreme for mental clarity and focus! Ionix Supreme appears to contain herbs and adaptogens in unknown amounts, many of which have little to no research behind them. And even if some of the adaptogens in this product are beneficial, the ‘proprietary blend’ doesn’t allow us to know if the amounts of them in Ionix Supreme are even effective.
And, your Natural Accelerator ‘with any meal’ to ‘support your metabolism’!
Oh no, it’s the same old ‘fat burning’ claim. Natural Accelerator throws all of the usual suspects together for the typical ‘metabolism raising’ supplement: cocoa, green tea, apple cider vinegar, cayenne, cinnamon, chromium, and of course, ionic alfalfa! Isagenix seems to be quite fond of ionic alfalfa, even though it has basically zero evidence behind it. Maybe the ‘ionic’ part makes it sound all science-y and effective, even though it probably isn’t.
Long story short? No supplement, drink, or food burns fat or increases your metabolism high enough or long enough where you’ll see any perceptible weight loss. Move on.
And of course, IsaFlush at bedtime to support a balanced digestive system!
The name. Seriously?
IsaFlush clearly is a laxative, although Isagenix claims that it ‘safely improves digestion’. The main ingredient is magnesium, which has a laxative effect. The other ingredients are a clay and a herb, both of which have insufficient evidence behind them for anything. Clay does tend to constipate, though.
And the Essentials multivitamins for key nutrients and herbs, twice a day!
I’m not even going to go there except to say that the vast majority of people don’t need any multivitamins if they’re eating a balanced diet. Oh wait! Isagenix isn’t a balanced diet! How messed up is it that they want to sell you back the nutrients you’re missing from actual food while you’re on their program? Think about it.
Every 2-5 days, you’ll have a ‘cleanse’ day, which Isagenix claims is “a unique system to minimize calories and maximize overall wellness”.
The cleanse days consist of:
4 servings of Cleanse for Life – morning, midday, late afternoon, and evening. Isagenix calls Cleanse for Life “a synergistic blend of natural cleansing herbs and antioxidant botanicals to help support the body’s own detoxification processes.”
- Helps eliminate stubborn fat and supports metabolism
- Nourishes the body’s own detoxification systems
- Powerful antioxidants nourish and protect your body
Cleanse for Life contains a bunch of herbs, including….tadaaaaaa! Ionic alfalfa! Why the heck is this stuff in everything? Don’t goats eat alfalfa?
Nothing about this product nourishes, detoxifies, or cleanses you. Your kidneys, liver, and lungs do that, and trust me here: those thing do not need to be ‘nourished’ by Cleanse for Life. Eating a balanced diet nourishes them just fine.
Isagenix likes to say that this 30-Day Cleanse is like intermittent fasting, but it actually isn’t. The shake days are too low in calories, and intermittent fasting usually lasts at least 6 weeks and more frequently, longer. IF also doesn’t dictate that you consume this many supplements and laxatives, either. So no, this is not intermittent anything except for maybe common sense.
The worst part? Isagenix says that Cleanse for Life is safe for people ages 12+. If anyone reading this is giving this product to their kids (or for that matter, consuming it and/or other diet products in front of their kids), please STOP NOW. Kids do NOT need to be on a diet, a cleanse, or any fucked up supplement regimen when they’re KIDS. I’m sorry for the language, but I have seen more than my share of adults with messed up relationships with food because their parents convinced them that they needed to diet when they were younger. Kids should never hear the words ‘diet’, ‘skinny’, ‘detox’, ‘cleanse’, or any weight-related jargon. Never.
With the Isagenix 30 Day Cleanse, you’ll also take:
Up to 6 Isagenix snacks a day, like the Whey Thins that look like cardboard. I’m sure they’re really tasty though.
1-2 IsaFlush capsules before bed.
That’s basically it for the cleanse portion. Nothing too exciting.
The sales pitch
One of the most unsettling things about Isagenix, along with some other high-profile diet programs, is the use of random unqualified people to sell the product. I suppose that’s the nature of MLM, but a colleague of mine managed to flip me some extremely crazy screenshots of one Isagenix salesperson’s posts on Facebook, and they were completely outrageous.
I knew you’d be dying to see what she wrote, so here are the posts. I marked them up, of course, my comments are in red:
I have trouble believing that a company supports someone who makes these claims all over social media, and I know she’s not the only Isagenix salesperson doing it. It’s concerning and shady that messaging like this is being fed to unsuspecting people, but I guess that’s why I write these diet reviews. You’re welcome!
In short:
I have to say that I’m pretty amazed that people are still falling for the ‘cleanse’ thing. Maybe it’s just me, but haven’t we learned by now that cleanses are useless? What is the point of doing this 30 day diet/cleanse, anyhow? Losing weight that’s mostly water and will come right back when you start eating normally? ‘Resetting your metabolism’, which really doesn’t work that way and in fact, may reset the wrong way, slowing down from lack of nourishment? Is it the handfuls of supplements that you couldn’t possibly take – or afford, for that matter – for the rest of your life, but are also unproven and likely do nothing? Or, the replacement of meals with a shake – reminiscent of Slim Fast, and we all know how that works – but not learning how to really prepare, savor, portion, and enjoy food? I know that you know all of what I’m saying here, so please don’t let emotion overtake intellect when you’re considering Isagenix or any other diet program.
The claims that Isagenix makes about its 30-Day Cleanse are nonsensical:
Consistent weight loss happens not in 30 days, but with long-term, healthy changes to your diet. Expensive supplements and meal replacements aren’t sustainable or required to achieve a healthy weight, so please don’t be convinced otherwise.
Cleansing doesn’t ‘satisfy cravings for unhealthy food’; rather, it can make you crave it because you’re starving yourself. Don’t get on that downward spiral.
Nothing improves muscle tone except for exercise. Not supplements, diets, or cleansing.
Cleansing doesn’t support metabolism. Isagenix likes to say that their 30-Day Cleanse is just like intermittent fasting, but in fact it’s not.
Cleansing to ‘kick-start’ weight loss is like getting a base tan before your holiday to Mexico. It’s a useless waste of time. In the end, the weight you lose from extreme dieting and cleansing is mostly water, which will return as soon as you resume eating a normal diet. It’s just basic physiology. I know the promise of ‘transformation’ in just 30 days is tempting, but it’s also close to impossible. Again, please don’t let emotion dictate your choices here.
This is a low-calorie diet that lasts 30 days, makes untruthful claims, uses unproven ingredients, has no research behind it, and is a huge waste of money. The salespeople are clearly not supervised in how they promote the product, and to be honest, I’m not sure how Isagenix gets away with this entire racket – the products, claims, and the sales pitches. And marketing to kids under 18? What are they thinking? I guess they want to hook people for life…do you really want to give this company your money?
Hard pass.
