Companies I’ve Reviewed: Plexus

Companies I’ve Reviewed Series:

In my research and reviews of companies/brands I look at:

-Rating/Reviews – I look at general reviews online and check rating on ewg.org and/or ewg.org/skindeep (a website that examines brands/ingredients for toxicity). On the main website the best rating is an A, on skin deep best rating is 1. Note that it can be complicated to search for things on the main site – usually I google the brand and “ewg” and see if it comes up. Occasionally a company/product cannot be found so then I look more closely at the actual ingredients and reviews both online and people I know.

-Cost – Is it worth it for what you’re getting? How does it compare to what else is out there?

-Effectiveness – Do the products really work? This is sometimes a matter of opinion - some find certain products to work well that others don’t.

Disclosure/important note on Vitamins/supplements: This is a tricky area because some people need certain vitamins/minerals more than others! Every person is different, and some things will work for one person but not another. I always advise people to go see a naturopathic or holistic doctor before spending a lot of money on vitamins/supplements. Some supplements can actually just work on symptoms and not address the real cause which means you’re stuck taking it forever. Ideally vitamin/supplement use should be temporary and NOT life-long (although there are exceptions of course). Please seriously consider seeing a trained holistic doctor before spending money on specific supplements! For example: I was dealing with fatigue/energy and digesting issues and went to a naturopath. She found that my body was/is not processing water and digesting food correctly so put me on specific supplements that my body would respond well to. Several years ago she helped me regulate my period (there was something very specific that we fixed very quickly without any vitamins or anything). Also, it is very important to be drinking lots of water, have a good diet, exercise and get fresh air to help your body stay healthy! All the vitamins in the world will not help if you are not proactive in these ways. For sickness I typically always treat myself naturally first and only go to the doctor if it’s something more serious and it’s been several days. Example: I had a VERY bad sore throat 2 years ago that I was pretty sure was strep or mono. I tried treating it myself but after a few days of it not getting better and hurting a lot, to the doctor I went and got an antibiotic. Go to the doctor if it’s serious or you’re unsure!

Now for my Plexus review….

I hesitated a lot about publishing this. Plexus is a big rage in some circles and there are very loyal followers… I also have several friends/acquaintances who have used their products, found them “life changing” and are now passionate ambassadors for the company - and I really don't want to alienate or offend them. But, having spent hours and days looking online at tons of reviews, at Plexus products, researching ingredients, I’m sorry to say I am not impressed. It is a MLM company (which is not bad, I worked for one at one time), however, this is one that bothers me some. People have become ambassadors because they have found it to work extremely well for them and as ambassadors they get discounted prices and can make money (although how much they really make is debatable - I worked for an MLM remember). This is not a bad thing (who doesn’t like to earn and/or save money?), but how they market and the fact that they tend to share what is told them by the company is another thing. It’s very much promoted as a “one size fits all” type of thing… as if Plexus is the answer for everything! I’ve seen many ambassadors make claims about how their products fix leaky gut, and while I certainly believe the stories of it helping people greatly I do not believe they completely “fix” it, because you have to continue these supplements indefinitely. Weight-loss is a big emphasis as well, but their Slim doesn’t work for everyone and their clinical study wasn’t impressive (only a 2 pound weight loss difference between the two groups). What actually causes leaky gut syndrome and how can you really fix it? What’s the best way to lose weight? Sure, you very well may feel better taking Plexus supplements, however I am not convinced that long-term it is addressing the real problem nor do I feel that some of their vitamins are of the best quality. Many ambassadors are being honest and forthright, but their marketing strategies irritate me (and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way!). I am not a big fan of their business model or structure (again, coming from someone who worked for a MLM company). (NOTE: Some ambassadors have denied that Plexus is a MLM company, but there are downlines and uplines so this denial is absurd.)

Plus-sides:

·         Their supplements contain many good vitamins/ingredients (although there is a lot of debate over how helpful some actually are, not to mention not everyone needs or will benefit from these vitamins either).

·         There is a 60-day empty bottle money-back guarantee so risk-free to try!

Downsides:

·         Some report reactions to supplements. Sometimes feeling worse before you feel better is a detoxing effect, however if you continue to feel bad on the supplements after a week or two I would stop and see a trained homeopath/naturopathic doctor. Vitamins CAN actually harm you if used incorrectly!

·         These supplements are very expensive! 60 days on Biocleanse, Probio5 AND Slim will cost you (on subscription) $133 (for the three) + $82 + $82 +$82 (Slim is supposed to be twice a day and there’s only 30 per package so you need 3 more to make it through 60 days) +$33 (for a 2^nd probio5 as it says take 1-2 and there’s 60 in the bottle – and it says you can take up to 4 a day so that could go up more). So, you’re looking at a minimum of $412 every two months!!!! Buying wholesale (requires you sign up as an ambassador and spend a minimum of $100 a month) is cheaper of course, but joining the team means a big commitment!

Now, here is a review of the three above-mentioned (and most marketed) Plexus supplements:

Their BioCleanse supplement is basically vitamin C and magnesium (magnesium hydroxide - the kind of magnesium that is used in laxatives and antacids). Now this has been very helpful to some people because many people nowadays are lacking these two vitamins in their diet and this kind of magnesium especially can have a big impact on how you feel/energy level/how your body functions and processes food, etc. So, a fine product, but you can easily get a similar magnesium supplement for a LOT cheaper elsewhere so honestly, I don’t think you should spend your money on this. Also, this form of magnesium may not be what your body needs.... my body needs magnesium glycinate (helsp with muscle relaxation) so that's what I take (and it's loads cheaper too!).

Their probiotic (Probio5) contains 20 billion CFU per capsule which is pretty good and enzymes Serrapeptase, Proteases, Chitosanase, & Cellulase (via website). My naturopathic doctor said it would be fine to take but only on a completely empty stomach and before eating for several hours (in other words for it to be really effective you’d need to take it very late/in the middle of the night. On the bottle it says to take before bed). This is because it needs to get through your stomach to your gut and if there’s food or acid in your stomach than it will just dissolve there since it’s just a regular gelatin capsule. For my husband and I this was not an ideal probiotic because we have some digestion/stomach issues so there wasn’t certainty our stomachs were completely empty even late at night. Now, my husband took Serrapeptase (which is a probiotic enzyme) once a day for 2-3 months (long-term use of this supplement is not recommended), per recommendation of our naturopath (she recommended this along with this probiotic - https://smile.amazon.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-Pearls-Intensive-Probiotics/dp/B002NL165W/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1521643135&sr=8-6&keywords=Probiotic+pearls ). (By the way, this costs us about $35-40 for THREE months on Amazon Prime.) The probiotic we took daily for 3 months and then were advised to cut back to every other day, then once a week. If you’re eating healthy, that should be enough.   

As for their Slim… nothing special from my perspective. It has helped people feel more energized (although this could also be a combination of the other two supplements above as well as working on a better diet) and can help some people stabilize blood sugar. In the link below you can see for yourself the ingredients and the clinical study that was done. Many reviewers (including medical staff) do not see anything special in the ingredients. Also note there was only a 2 pound difference between the two groups in the clinical study which is not really significant, so if you’re looking for a great weight-loss product this isn’t it.  It is very possible to stabilize blood sugar just with diet (although for some people that is harder – it takes a lot of discipline to eat right!).But I have seen people who follow the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan be cured of diabetes!  https://plexusworldwide.com/product/plexus-slim 

In closing, I’ll mention that my husband was on all three of these supplements for a month and didn’t notice any difference. We stopped at that point because we saw our naturopath. Maybe he would have after the whole 60 days, but based on her findings and recommendations I highly doubt it. It just wasn’t a good fit for him/us and didn’t address the real problem.

Is Plexus for you? First, do your research and see a trained homeopathic doctor is my advice.

From my research, I have not that impressed with their products and do not think the cost-benefit is worth the investment. I will again stress that you should see a trained homeopathic doctor before taking any supplement or investing money long-term.

Don’t take my word for it! Here’s are two other reviews that I found to be very good: http://www.patchouliherbs.com/blog/how-i-feel-about-itworks-and-plexus

https://www.dietspotlight.com/plexus-triplex-review/

More:
https://www.reddit.com/r/antiMLM/comments/8j4jrs/i_quit_plexus_thanks_to_this_sub/
https://www.lazymanandmoney.com/plexus-scam/ (apparently Australia has banned Slim!)

Thanks for reading! Check out my other reviews and stay tuned for more!