I’ve been getting a lot of emails about a new Xyngular product called GLP-X. As the company website says, ‘GLP-X is a premium supplement formula crafted from naturally sourced ingredients clinically studied to increase GLP-1 production.* (note asterisk that leads to disclaimer that none of these claims have been evaluated by the FDA) It isn’t just about managing weight—it’s about elevating your results.’
As a registered dietitian, I’m always interested in taking a closer look at these sorts of companies and their supplements, because all too often, I find that they sidestep the truth, and the research, in the interest of making sales.
This GLP-X review examines the claims that Xyngular and its salespeople are making about this product, what GLP-1 is, and if we can really ‘hack’ it with diet and supplements to mimic the action of GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic.
What is GLP-1?
GLP-1, or glucagon-like peptide-1, is a peptide hormone that’s produced in the intestine. Its job is to stimulate insulin (which brings glucose into cells, and is why GLP-1 drugs were initially approved as medications for diabetes), and inhibit glucagon (glucagon increases blood sugar and fatty acids in the blood when food isn’t present).
GLP-1 also slows down gastrointestinal motility, which makes us feel fuller for longer. Hence, weight loss (and likely, side effects like vomiting for some people who are on GLP-1 agonist meds).
How do GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic work?
I wrote about Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists for weight loss here
We all have GLP-1 receptors in our body. GLP-1 agonists are analog versions of our own GLP-1 (similar, but not exactly the same), and they work by binding to and activating our body’s GLP-1 receptors.
When this happens, we see the same effects as the ones I described above: increased insulin and decreased glucagon, and slowed motility with resulting fullness.
GLP-1 agonists have proven to be extremely safe and effective for weight loss, but predictably, there are people and companies wanting to make their own buck by convincing others that ‘Big Pharma’ is the enemy and that ‘natural’ GLP-1 supplements are so much better than actual medication.
Check out this post about Xyngular GLP-X:
The promoting of Big Pharma conspiracy theories while spouting the Appeal to Nature fallacy (natural is better! OMG SYNTHETIC MEDICATION!) is a classic sales tactic that’s sadly becoming more common, especially among multi-level marketing salespeople. It’s wrong, misleading, and just plain opportunistic, which is the main reason why, as a dietitian, I chose to write this post.
Everyone should be aware of this sort of thing. Oh, and also, this supplement is NOT ‘backed by 3 clinical trials.’ Not even close. See how MLM salespeople can basically say anything to sell product?
Horrible. Also: a 30 day supply of GLP-X costs $75 USD. Not exactly what I’d call ‘affordable.’
Can we increase our GLP-1 naturally using food and supplements?
Let’s start with the food part of the equation.
There are certain foods that are known to increase levels of GLP-1 in our bodies. High-fibre grains, eggs, nuts, and avocado are among them, according to this 2016 review.
In particular, mono and polyunsaturated fats, proteins, and fermentable fibre (fermentation in the gut to short-chain fatty acids increases GLP-1 levels) from grains, legumes, and some fruits like apples and green bananas. Research in this area is pretty hit or miss though, and as usual I’m reluctant to take animal studies and extrapolate them to humans.
It’s safe to say that even if we eat foods that increase GLP-1 levels in our bodies, this does not even approach the effectiveness of GLP-1 agonists for weight loss.
Let’s think about this for a second – we’ve had access to these foods forever. Would we all of a sudden discover that they have these magical weight loss powers beyond what we already know?
I highly doubt it.
My recommendations here are the same as always: lots of fibre, adequate protein, healthy fats. Can’t lose.
As far as supplements, as with food, there have been none that have shown the level of effectiveness of GLP-1 agonist medications.
If a supplement does have similar efficacy to actual GLP-1 agonist meds for weight loss, it likely will not be sold by a multi-level marketing company. It will be regulated by the FDA and used as a legitimate treatment.
What is Xyngular?
Xyngular is an MLM company that sells nutrition products.
I did an updated Xyngular review on my site in 2020, and I doubt much has changed with the company since then.
Here’s some of Xyngular’s product lineup. Typical fat burners, ‘craving controllers, and gut health boosters.
Most if not all nutrition MLM companies employ the same strategies to make sales (and this is in no way an exhaustive list):
Big claims that are impossible to back up
Lack of oversight of their salespeoples’ social media posts
Poor or no research on their products
Constant upsells
Taking advantage of women who want to make an income
I wrote about my issues with MLMs and their coaches here, but let’s just say that Xyngular is unremarkable among its MLM peers.
What is Xyngular GLP-X?
Xyngular GLP-X is a supplement that’s being marketed as an alternative to GLP-1 agonist medications for weight loss and ‘GLP-1 support.’ What is that, anyhow? I wasn’t aware that our GLP-1 needed to be supported.
Made up term with vague health claim = red flag.
It comes with all of the usual bells and whistles of a newly released MLM product – full court press sales all over social media by the Xyngular salespeople, cute little graphics that tell us basically nothing scientific, and of course, magical and fantastical promises that this little bottle contains the answer to all of our problems…no prescription required!
Xyngular GLP-X ingredients
Herbs and chromium and proprietary blends, oh my! Here’s what GLP-X has in it:
Carb management blend
This proprietary blend contains Eriomin and berberine. This is the specific blend in Xyngular GLP-X that the company states increases GLP-1.
Eriomin is a patented citrus bioflavonoid nutraceutical supplement. A daily dose (2 capsules) of GLP-X contains 250mg of Eriomin.
Where have I heard about Eriomin before? Oh, right! The Glucose Goddess’s next supplement, Anti-Spike, contains it as well. I wrote all about Anti-Spike here, and just to repeat what I said about Eriomin in that case, there are two studies about this citrus extract and blood glucose. Both are relatively unremarkable in terms of blood sugar reduction.
One of the studies, done in 2019, saw a 15% rise in GLP-1 with dosages of 200-800 mg of Eriomin over 12 weeks. However, researchers found it had no effect on body weight, BMI, lean mass, fat mass, fat percentage, and hip waist ratio.
The 12-week 2022 study featuring Eriomin found a 17% rise in GLP-1 with 200 mg a day of the ingredient. However, body weight and BMI remained unchanged.
You’ve probably heard me bang on and on about the importance of ‘clinical relevance,’ and this is the perfect time to show you what I mean.
In the above studies, we see that GLP-1 levels were indeed higher after supplementation with Eriomin. This sounds great, until you’re wanting to use this ingredient to promote weight loss. Because even though there was a significant change in the study subjects’ GLP-1, nothing really happened to their weight while those levels were elevated.
It basically didn’t change a thing around weight.
Repeat after me: it may be ‘significant,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s clinically relevant to us!
As far as Berberine, we do know that it has positive effects for increasing GLP-1 and for decreasing blood glucose in people with diabetes. However, berberine doesn’t lower blood glucose by increasing GLP-1 in the body; it promotes insulin secretion and improves glucose regulation, among other mechanisms.
Again, clinical relevance of this ingredient for GLP-1-related weight loss? Probably none.
GLP-X also contains a proprietary ‘water balance blend,’ otherwise known as a diuretic. Peeing out fluids does not equal ‘weight loss.’ Or, should I say, ‘fat loss.’
Then there’s the proprietary ‘appetite support blend,’ which contains the usual suspects: green coffee bean, 5-ATP, and phytosterols, none of which have ever been proven to facilitate significant weight loss in humans.
Even so, a ton of multi-level marketed products continue to put these ingredients in their weight loss products. Unfortunately, science doesn’t care how hard you wish for something to work so your product can be the ‘next best thing.’
A word about proprietary blends: I recommend not purchasing products that contain proprietary blends. These are basically smokescreens that companies can hide behind so they don’t have to reveal the exact amounts of ingredients that are in their products. It could be a little, it could be a lot. It could be the effective dose (assuming any of the ingredients are effective at all), it could be less. For GLP-X, for example, we have no idea how much Berberine or Eriomin is in each capsule. It’s a roulette wheel that I don’t recommend spinning with your wallet or your health.
GLP-X has two more ingredients that are similarly underwhelming for weight loss and effects on GLP-1: chromium and magnesium.
Nothing about these two minerals increases weight loss or GLP-1. That is all.
What? But I thought GLP-X is ‘backed by 3 clinical trials’?
The fact that Xyngular and its salespeople can say that the ingredients in this product are ‘clinically studied to increase GLP-1’ makes most people think that 1. GLP-X itself has positive studies behind it (it doesn’t) and 2. the ingredients deliver clinically relevant and meaningful results for GLP-1 leading to weight loss.
Nope to all of that, but it’s a marketing tactic I see literally every day with supplements. It’s misleading and it’s disappointing.
Does Xyngular GLP-X work?
While some of the ingredients in Xyngular GLP-X have been shown to improve blood glucose management in some people, there is no research to show that the GLP-X supplement itself actually does what Xyngular claims it does.
There are plenty of GLP-X testimonials, but these are easily faked, and guess what? MLM coaches love to post them, but conveniently forget to post the not-so-glowing reviews, too.
Why are we so desperate to look a certain way, that we trust our health to these companies and their salespeople, most of whom have zero relevant health training and who don’t care about our health, only their sales? Please don’t.
As far as ‘natural’ GLP-1 supplements, those are more myth than fact. Just because something increases our GLP-1 levels doesn’t mean that this leads to the weight loss effects we’d see with GLP-1 agonist medications. In fact, the research is pretty clear that in most (if not all) cases, it doesn’t.
Save your $75.