A new wellness company has entered the chat: Yu.
This Yu TrimFit review will actually do the deep dive on all of the Yu products, including their Yu TrimFit purple tea powder.
As a dietitian, I’ve reviewed a ton of weight loss and wellness supplements and the companies that sell them. They all have a few things in common:
They all claim to have a ‘secret ingredient’ that helps users shed pounds effortlessly.
They all use aspirational marketing to sell a big ‘transformation’ that allegedly results from using their products.
They all sell a collagen product and a fat burning product.
The majority of them rely on anecdotal evidence. And, the ones that actually post scientific papers to back up their product claims, use evidence that’s poor and often not about the products themselves, just certain ingredients.
In other words, don’t immediately trust any of these companies to sell you a groundbreaking weight loss product that will change your life.
In fact, if something like that existed, or when/if it’s discovered, it’s going to be front page news. It’s going to be regulated by the FDA. It’s going to be first-line treatment for people who want to lose weight.
The only thing that even comes close to this are GLP-1 inhibitors, and those aren’t being sold as some MLM company’s ‘secret weapon.’
Do you know what I’m saying here?
What is Yu?
Yu was founded by Jenny Peterson, who describes herself as an ‘ADHD Mompreneur.’ Her Instagram is full of Yu content, before and afters, the unboxing of her new Louis Vuitton bag, you know, ‘Boss Babe’ sort of things that you see with a lot of MLM-type salespeople. Yu is not an MLM, it runs an affiliate program which according to Jenny, can earn you 6 figures a month!
Apparently, a lot of BeachBody coaches sell Yu products as well. Why am I not shocked.
What is Yu TrimFit?
TrimFit seems like Yu’s star product. Made with the famous Kenyan purple tea, Yu TrimFit is a powder that’s added to liquids.
Just the name TrimFit makes me want to retch. Hey Yu! The 80’s called, they want their diet language back!
Yu claims that Yu TrimFit can control appetite, burn fat, and increase energy. I’m going to assume that these are the reasons why people would want to take this supplement.
A 2022 Instagram post on the Yu page had a laundry list of claims around TrimFit.
That’s a whole lot of promises to make about a product, so let’s see how the science stacks up…or, if there’s any science at all to support them.
What are the Yu Trimfit ingredients?
Yu highlights two ingredients in Trimfit: GHG, and caralluma fimbriata. The GHG (1,2-di-galloyl-4,6- hexahydroxydiphenoyl-D-glucose) allegedly reduces fat and ‘increases lean body mass,’ according to the company.
Caralluma allegedly suppresses appetite. According to the company, this ingredient “increases the release of the energy molecule ATP into the hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that regulates appetite control. What does this mean to you? Less snacking on empty calories. More control over what you eat and how often you eat. This forces your body to burn fat reserves, potentially leading to weight loss.”
Because you know, food and eating are all about “control.”
Just kidding – they aren’t. This is classic diet culture BS, insinuating that that you are the weight you are because you have a moral failing: you’re out of control. You have no willpower. You’re weak, and this supplement can fix you.
I’m going to pop in here to let you know that your weight is a function of so many things: environment, education, access to food, access to healthcare, family history and perception of food and eating, dieting history, metabolism, and last but not least, genetics.
No, we don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day. Here’s why.
It’s a huge red flag when any person or company suggests that the reason why you’re overweight is because you’re ‘out of control.’ (or that you can take a supplement to lose weight effortlessly…that, too)
If you’re snacking on ‘empty calories,’ (which is such an outdated term) this behaviour is likely a product of your emotions or eating habits – for example, you have a restrictive mindset, you’re not eating often enough, you’re not eating enough protein and fibre…that sort of thing.
You’ll need to figure out why you’re eating that way, and make the necessary habit changes. A supplement is probably not going to help any of that.
In the meantime, Yu claims that ‘according to studies, about 87% of women want to lose weight.’ Is this a play for a ‘we’re all in this together’ emotional sales pitch? Where is that number coming from?
The rest of the copy is a dumpster fire of diet culture mixed with patronizing language aimed at women:
Want to lose weight? Here are three mistakes you might be making.
As far as research behind purple tea for weight loss or GHG and weight loss, Yu doesn’t provide any. I couldn’t do a Yu TrimFit review without any, so I found one 2015 study that initially looked promising….until it didn’t.
Remember, Yu claims that GHG helps with weight loss. Here’s what the study concluded:
4-week daily consumption of purple tea drink in humans improved obesity parameters compared to baseline, including body weight (79.9 ± 3.1 kg vs 80.8 ± 3.2, p<0.05), body mass index (BMI) (26.8 ± 0.6 vs 27.0 ± 0.6, p<0.05) and body fat mass (21.0 ± 1.4 kg vs 21.8 ± 1.5, p<0.01)
Do you see what I see? Let me lay it out for you: The purple tea extract did basically nothing in terms of weight loss. Did I mention that this study was done on only 10 people, all male, and that it was paid for by a company that manufactures purple tea extract? Also, Yu TrimFit’s active ingredients are in a proprietary formula, meaning we have no idea how much of each ingredient are actually present in the product.
Even if the research showed a positive outcome, we’d never know if the dose in the studies was comparable to the dose in TrimFit.
Nothing remarkable so far in the research about GHG and weight loss. I figured that the reason why Yu is able to slap a ‘fat burning’ claim on it is because they’d include the standard disclaimer about their claims not being proven…but when I looked for it, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Interesting.
I’m going to say this – GHG does not ‘burn fat.’ There are actually no ingredients/foods/supplements that burn fat, despite what these sorts of companies want you to believe. Sure, some ingredients such as hot peppers can temporarily raise your metabolic rate, but not high enough or long enough to have a significant weight loss outcome.
The business of fat burners is complete and utter marketing garbage. Please don’t fall for it.
The other active ingredient in TrimFit is caralluma fimbriata, a type of cactus that’s native to India. According to examine.com, caralluma has traditionally been used in India to suppress hunger, but let’s see what the research has to say about the plant’s appetite-suppression powers.
This meta-analysis of 4 placebo-controlled studies looking at the appetite suppression effects of caralluma fimbriata found no meaningful outcome.
There’s no research that I could find showing that this ingredient causes significant or meaningful appetite suppression.
Purple tea is high in anthocyanins, which are the same antioxidants present in purple and black foods such as grapes, purple potatoes, blueberries, blackberries, purple kale, etc. Unfortunately though, this is unlikely to result in clinically meaningful effects for any of the claims Yu makes about TrimFit.
The other Yu TrimFit ingredients include 130mg of caffeine per scoop – about as much as a cup of coffee, so there’s the reason why Yu claims that Trimfit ‘gives you energy.’ It also contains some fibres, colors, sweeteners, and a couple of amino acids that are insignificant.
In addition to the fat burning and energy claims, all of the other claims around clinically relevant mood-boosting, immune-boosting, reduced cholesterol and blood sugar, skin appearance, and digestive health seem to be pulled out of someone’s imagination.
I’d really love to see what information Yu has to support all of this. I can’t find any, so until then, I’m thinking that this is all marketing spin.
Just because a company says that their products are ‘proven’ or that ingredients in their products have been used in traditional medicine for centuries, does not in any way mean that the product is efficacious for what they’re claiming. I’ve seen this sort of sales pitch with pretty much every weight loss supplement company, and it’s predatory.
Yu TrimFit costs $65 for 30 servings, which is a month’s worth…unless you decide to take two scoops a day. That would get you to half a month.
All of that money for what?
I’m sure the drink is a pretty purple colour, but as a dietitian, I can’t find any valid reason for anyone to take TrimFit.
Yu’s other products.
Although TrimFit seems to be their most famous (or should we say, infamous) product right now, Yu also sells a collagen powder, greens powder (whimsically named Earth + Ocean greens), and a probiotic.
Yu Protect Probiotic
It makes me sad that the Yu Protect probiotic is currently sold out, because that means that so many people have, in my opinion, wasted their money on something that may not even work for them.
I’ve written a comprehensive piece on probiotics here, but let’s look briefly at Yu Protect, which the company calls, ‘the most advanced probiotic on the market.’ Alright, then.
Yu cites this study, this study, and this study as ‘proof’ that the DE111© in Yu Protect works to support immune function, heart health, and gut function. And no, Yu didn’t post the actual studies – I had to go find them.
One study merely showed that this probiotic was present in the gut after ingestion, but did not explore the clinical relevance of this. One found a link between this probiotic and lowered cholesterol, but not CVD risk. The study used to support the immune boosting claims actually found no significant effect of DE111© on immune markers. So much for that!
All of these studies were also small, and at least 2 out of the 3 were funded by the probiotic maker. The cost of Yu Protect is $65 for 30 servings. Ouch.
The website seems to insinuate that probiotics can help with metabolism and weight loss, too.
If research hasn’t gotten that far, it’s safe to assume that Yu hasn’t, either.
Next!
Yu Beauty Collagen
I’ve already reviewed the shaky efficacy of collagen supplements for skin appearance here, but to tell women that collagen can ‘help erase wrinkles’ is misleading and gross.
Get Botox if you really want your wrinkles to be ‘erased.’
As far as collagen’s effects on hair and nails, there’s really no research that shows clinically meaningful effects.
Just more marketing fluff. Yu Beauty Collagen costs $55 – or $77 – for 30 servings. Not sure why there are two prices, but here we are.
Lastly, the Yu Earth + Ocean Greens.
Don’t forget the ironic ‘+’ instead of the word ‘and.’
The marketing copy for this product is, in my opinion, one huge red flag of buzzwords:
With ‘deep ocean minerals, natural grasses,’ and a whole lot of other ingredients, Yu says their greens powder can infuse your body with nutrients. The synergistic blend allegedly detoxifies the body and purifies the blood.
Nope. It does not. What does this even mean, exactly? These are functions that our bodies perform on their own.
Yu Earth + Ocean Greens is $100 a month (or $70, the website can’t seem to decide). There are plenty of other reputable greens powders that are less money.
Yu review, in short:
Yu TrimFit and Yu’s other products seem to benefit from major marketing spin. The research behind them is thin, and they’re expensive.
In my professional opinion, Yu is just another company making big promises without a lot of substance.