Today I got asked a great question by a patient. I have a friend who has been recommending that I try her multi-level weight loss product. What are your opinions on trying it? We see this a lot...people are trying to be helpful because they see how much of a struggle it can be to lose weight when your thyroid isnt cooperating, and they offer up something that worked wonders for them or their neighbor or co-worker or aunt or...you get the idea. There are a few things you have to think about before jumping in and trying one of these proprietary products that no one else has so you can be less likely to get a flare up or bad result. Realistically, these 6 questions are good to ask yourself before you take any supplement, not just ones that are MLM. 1) Is it gluten and dairy free? Many of them are not, but some are. Dont just ask your friend or let her refer you to her upline, as they are usually only trained in the company sales pitch. You need to speak to someone in the main part of the corporate structure to get a solid answer. If they cannot tell you for sure that it is 100% GF and DF, I would avoid it. 2) Is it free of artificial sweeteners and corn derived sweeteners? Look for aspartame, sucralose, maltodextrin, corn syrup, HFCS, acelsulfane potassium, etc. If you see these on there, I would recommend not using it (even though some companies will argue that these are totally safe, for people with auto immunities they can be a problem). 3) Is it a Whey protein based product. There is no doubt that whey protein is one of the best researched products for protein shakes and there is a lot of evidence of its benefits. However, many people with leaky guts and auto immune issues are actually reactive to whey protein (I recommend trying the Array 4 test from Cyrex labs to confirm if you are). Thus using whey could flare them up. Additionally, you have to look at what is their whey source? Is it from organically raised, grass fed cows? Or is it from cows loaded with hormones and antibiotics? This makes a big difference in the quality of the molecule you are ingesting, although the cattle industry will argue differently. 4) Is it worth the price? Most MLM products are over-inflated in price in order to pay the compensation plan, and they usually try to get you on automatic re-order or get you to sign up as a rep. I know this because I have been in them before and used them, waaaay back in the 1990s. They all argue that they have a unique proprietary formula. All that usually means is that their combination of green tea extract (caffeine), garcinia cambogia, alpha lipoic acid, chromium, etc, is in different amount than anyone else. They may also name some unique blend that is in the pill and not disclose the ingredients to protect their recipe. This can be a real problem again because you dont know if there are things in that blend that you are reactive to. If you still want to try it, call the company before hand and tell them you have allergies and sensitivities and need to know if any of them are in their unique blend. 5) Are there a lot of immune stimulants in there? These can be beneficial for some and problematic for others. You are taking a shot in the dark when you dont know what you TH1 and TH2 balance is. 6) Is this addressing YOUR unique biological needs? This is the biggest problem. This gives a one size fits all approach. Even when I run blood tests in my office and create a customized nutritional plan and supplement protocol, we still cant be sure of the outcome because there are so many factors when working with auto immune patients. Without training, and without a thorough understanding of these conditions, you can really make a person worse with many products. So before you let the hype get you to try one of these products, and there are in fact good ones out there along with the bad, I recommend that you ask yourself these 6 questions. What have your experiences been with MLM products, both good and bad? What about with any specialty thyroid products at vitamin shops or your doctors office?
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 20:55:23 +0000
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