Today, I’ll go through that claim in greater detail.

I figured that instead of putting words into ViSalus’ mouth, I’d actually use this lovely promotional video I found extolling the many healthy benefits of a ViSalus shake.

According to the ViSalus spokeswoman, ViSalus manages to cram more “nutrition” into their shake mix than is possible to achieve using real food. Best of all, ViSalus is able to provide all this “nutrition” at a cost savings of hundreds of dollars for the consumer.

Geez ViSalus, you are such a swell bunch of guys.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Now by the sounds of it, such an amazing product could quickly put me out of business, so what’s a nutritionist to do?

Well obviously run a full nutrient analysis on their claims to see how well they stack up!

Below is a copy of the label from a Vi-Shape Nutritional Shake mix (you’ll have to multiply the Vi-Shape label by 2 to come up with the levels of each nutrient discussed in the video) and the Nutrition Facts label I compiled after analyzing all the foods they talked about in their video.

• I’ve got the full nutrient analysis of the foods discussed in the ViSalus commercial for those who wish to see it.

Now even for the mathmatically challenged, it’s apparent that the real food provides hundreds of grams more protein, dietary fibre, healthy fats, and also boasts a micronutrient profile that’s roughly 10x as robust as the ViSalus shake mix.

Looks like someone in the ViSalus marketing department really dropped the ball on this one, but if any ViSalus rep cares to chime in with a correction with how my math or nutrient analysis was done, I’m all ears!

However, I think we can all agree that not every North American has a nutritionally complete diet. The real appeal of a shake mix comes from offering consumers a convenient and well-designed supplement to round out there nutrition.

To that end, let’s see how well a ViSalus shake stacks up with some other commonly available products on the market.

Vitamins and Minerals

The ViSalus video seemed to imply that getting all the vitamins and minerals in a Vi-Shake is too great a challenge to get from food (I think they meant to suggest it was impossible to get from any one whole food, although they never actually said that).

But how about if someone just took a multivitamin?

Below, I took the liberty of breaking down exactly how much of each micronutrient is provided by a ViSalus shake compared to two popular (and pretty basic) brands of Multivitamins commonly found in stores or online.

I also took the the liberty of highlighting the product that provides the most concentrated dose of each micronutrient, because I’m a nice guy like that

Well now there’s a surprise! (or not)

ViSalus finished dead last when it comes to the amount of vitamins and minerals contained in their product. In fact, it would appear that their shakes contains 5-10x less of most nutrients than was were provided by the NOW Foods multivitamin.

Even the crappy Centrum vitamins trounced ViSalus.

It is also worth noting that a serving of both the NOW Foods or Centrum multivitamins costs less than a quarter.

Guess that’s one strike against ViSalus.

The Protein

So it appears the cost of the Vi-Shape Shake can’t be justified by some amazing amount of vitamins or minerals.

But all is not lost, perhaps ViSalus can redeem themselves by providing a sweet amount of protein in their product.

According to the label, one serving of the Vi-Shape shake mix provides 12 grams of predominantly soy protein (if you can call 12 g of protein a serving).

Time for another quick cost comparison. This time I will source my protein from two other popular online supplement companies, Bodybuilding.com and True Nutrition:

Once again, we see the concentration of ingredients in a serving of the ViSalus product lags behind that of their competitors, yet their price is dramatically higher.

Question: if True Nutrition can turn a profit selling soy protein at $0.14 per 12 g, why can’t ViSalus do the same?

Mind you, I haven’t even brought up the question of why anyone would opt for soy protein in a fat loss product to begin with? Does ViSalus assume everyone using ViSalus is vegan?

Incidentally, I’m not a staunch anti-soy crusader who believes consuming a serving of soy protein will instantly cause men everywhere to grow a fine set of breasts.

However, there seems to be enough compelling published research suggesting that dairy sourced proteins are more effective in terms of suppressing appetite, assisting with lean mass gain and encouraging fat loss.

Science nerds, here you go:

• Whey protein but not soy protein supplementation alters body weight and composition in free-living overweight and obese adults
• Supplementation with soy-protein-rich foods does not enhance weight loss
• The role of milk- and soy-based protein in support of muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein accretion in young and elderly persons.
• Dose dependent satiating effect of whey relative to casein or soy

Considering that dairy protein are pretty cost effective and are arguably better for body recomposition, I wonder what was ViSalus’ rationale for including soy protein in their product?

P.S. That was a rhetorical question.
P.P.S. It was actually a sarcastic rhetorical question.

So let’s call the inclusion of soy protein in a weight loss product strike 2 against ViSalus.

But there’s still a chance for a comeback… let’s see what ingredient is behind door #3!

The Fibre

As we make our way through the ingredient list, the last potential ingredient that might be the magic behind the ViSalus secret sauce is the 5 g of fibre!

And as everyone knows, fibre helps people lose weight…

Except that ViSalus seems to have included a type of fibre (Fibersol: a low-viscosity, digestion resistant maltodextrin) that hasn’t been shown assist with weight loss.

According to the Foods for Specified Health Uses report issued by the Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare’s board linked to on the  Fibersol website (thankfully, this company actually knows what a white paper is): Fibersol IS NOT considered a food/compound approved for use in conjunction with a reduced body fat claim.

Making matters worse, low viscosity fibres don’t appear to be very effective in suppressing appetite either:

• Effect of dietary fibre on subjective appetite, energy intake and body weight: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials
• Viscosity of fiber preloads affects food intake in adolescents

ViSalus-Sciences… your product formulation decisions deserve a slow clap!

Regardless of it’s apparent ineffectiveness as a weight-loss agent, I still took the liberty of running a price comparison on Fibersol:

* not a pure Fibersol formula

So by the looks of it, a 5g serving of pure Fibersol should set you back a dime.

Well that about settles it, the inclusion of a useless fibre (for weight control purposes) is strike three!

After tallying up the costs of all the key nutrients in a Vi-Shape shake (based on True Nutrition prices), we discover the market rate of the ingredients used to be:

Multivitamin blend: $0.15
12 g soy protein: $0.14
5 g Fibersol: $0.10

For a grand total of…. $0.39!

Yet ViSalus believes their magical wonder shake is worth $1.63/serving.

Now my math isn’t as good as it used to be, but that’s an over 400% mark-up over the already inflated costs of the materials.

Remember, I sourced the materials from retailers, not from distributors themselves. All these items cost pennies to produce.

I could go on longer, but I think that’s more than enough justification for why no fitness professional should ever be caught dead peddling ViSalus shakes.

No matter how you slice it, ViSalus products are a giant piece of over-priced crap.

The saddest part of this analysis is that I limited myself to the “cheapest” offering in the ViSalus product line. On their website, they heavily push the Transformation kit ($249/month) for best results.

Look, any fitness professionals interested in recommending a quick “grab and go” meal replacement for their clients should look into any one of the countless low-cost and high quality products offered through distributors like True Nutrition, Bodybuilding.com or your local sports supplement store.

Any trainer pushing ViSalus cannot in any way, shape or form argue that they are doing so in their client’s best interest… neither the science nor the cost of the product compute.

P.S. I don’t think ViSalus products are dangerous (like some weight loss products)… just poorly designed and embarrassingly over-priced.

P.P.S. Do the trainers recommending ViSalus actually use ViSalus themselves? Kinda makes you wonder…

Of course, I’d be more than happy to hear the opposite side of the story presented by a ViSalus distributor or two… but I don’t hold out much hope.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!

In fact, over the past six months I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve been approached by Visalus reps suggesting I promote their products.

And my answer each time is the same: a polite “thanks but no thanks”, while silently rolling my eyes and cursing the sorry state of the weight loss industry.

“To all my little Hulkamaniacs, say your prayers, take your vitamins ViSalus and you will never go wrong.”

For those of you who haven’t heard of ViSalus yet (and I’m guessing that is possibly only 4 people in North America), ViSalus is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company promoting a line of supplements as part of a 90-day weight loss challenge.

The essence of the program is as follows: users purchase one of five ViSalus weight loss supplement kits available (ranging from $49-$299/month) as part of a “transformation challenge” and at the end of the 90 days, those with the most impressive transformations are eligible to win huge prizes.

Now before I address ViSalus products, to be fair I should applaud ViSalus for attempting to inject some excitement among the lay public into the very real problem of how to motivate North Americans to address our growing obesity epidemic.  If dangling the chance to win a trip, photoshoot or gift card motivates someone to drop body fat, then by all means continue doing so!

But culture of excitement aside, that’s about where it ends in terms of valid reasons why fitness professional should consider recommending ViSalus products.

One of the biggest red flags that should immediately jump out at fitness professionals deciding whether or not to promote ViSalus comes from the ViSalus website itself. When you visit the ViSalus website, you’ll discover that roughly 80% of their site deals more with trying to recruit you to become a ViSalus sales rep, instead of actually discussing their product.

Now call me old-fashioned, but when the #1 objective of any company’s promotional material is aimed at recruiting new salespeople and not actually highlighting the benefits of their product or outlining why their product is superior to that of their competitors, this is pretty much a dead giveaway you are dealing with an inferior quality product.

Incidentally, I have no problem with MLM companies provided they actually confer a real service or product, which ViSalus does. So in that sense, ViSalus definitely can’t be considered a scam.

I believe every company is entitled to recruit salespeople or ambassadors for their brand. I’m also more than happy to recommend products or services to my clients (whether or not I receive an affiliate commission for doing so), as long as the product I’m recommending is in my client’s best interest.

However, judging from the number of “BMW reward photos” featuring ViSalus salespeople populating my Facebook feed (many) compared to the number of awesome Body-by-Vi transformation photos (zero), it seems to me that the major benefits of this product DO NOT come from actually using it yourself.

But suspect sales tactics aside, the most egregious offenses to fitness professionals everywhere have to be that:

1. Visalus, the company, shows a pretty suspect understanding of nutritional science.
2. The quality of the ingredients used in their products is sub par and embarrassingly over-priced.

I’ll address this 2nd point in greater detail Thursday, so remember to check back.

So without further ado let’s examine the evidence.

ViSalus-Sciences: Where Is the Science?

For a company calling itself ViSalus-Sciences, I was amazed at how difficult it was to locate any information on their website concerning the scientific benefits of their products. However, after an exhaustive search I eventually stumbled across the “white paper” section on their website, which contains some information.

Normally, the term “white paper” is used to denote an authoritative paper issued by an organization. So, one might expect this section to contain a number of great summary papers about the impressive weight loss benefits of their products or at least the weight loss benefits of the ingredients contained within their products.

Of course, expecting a supplement company to actually provide concrete science in support of their products is probably as wise as expecting great success from your efforts at teaching your pet pot-bellied pig to fly.

However, under the white paper section of Visalus’ website you’ll find such illustrious titles as:

• Resveratrol-induced apoptotic death in human U251 glioma cells
• Otholaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
• Biologic Activity of Mitochondrial Metabolites on Aging and Age-Related Hearing Loss
• Anti-Intercellular Adhesion Molecule – 1 Antibodys Effect on Noise Damage
• Aging of the Cochlea
• Age-related Hearing Loss and its Association with Reactive Oxygen Species and Mitochondrial DNA damage
• Effects of Dietary Restriction and Antioxidants on Presbyacusis
• Auditory research involving antioxidants
• The Rationale for Consuming Protein Blends in Sports Nutrition
• Biologic Activity of Mitochondrial Metabolites on Aging and Age-Related Hearing Loss
• Effects of resveratrol on acoustic trama
• Influence on lecithin on michondrial DNA and age-related hearing loss

Come again ViSalus, you’ve got to be kidding right?!?

Oh where or where to begin…

Problem #1: None of these links are “white papers”.

All of these titles are actually just original research papers, not authoritative summary papers issued by ViSalus or another organization specializing in weight loss.

I suppose that assuming a company calling itself Visalus-Sciences would understand that an original research paper IS NOT AT ALL the same thing as a white paper.

But as the old saying goes, “when you assume you make an ass out of you and me”

Well fool me once, shame on you.

Problem #2: None of these research articles actually apply to weight loss.

I find this stupendously amazing: ViSalus links to 12 articles, 7 of which relate to possible auditory benefits but NONE actually deal with weight loss.

Maybe I was mistaken with the point of the Body-by-Vi challenge; I thought it was supposed to be about weight loss. I didn’t realize the real purpose of spending hundreds of dollars a month on supplements was to markedly improve your hearing <insert eye roll>.

Considering that even a lazy Pubmed search for the term “weight loss” yields 84,133 published articles, how is it even possible that Visalus’ research team couldn’t locate even one article that links any of the ingredients used in their products to weight loss.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

Frankly, how can any self-respecting fitness professional not be appalled by the effort ViSalus puts into validating the quality of their product.

Remember, your reputation and professional integrity are on the line every time you recommend your client take something.

So this leads me to question: do those fitness professionals recommending ViSalus not know that ViSalus is marketing an inferior quality product for premium prices? Or do these fitness professionals not care about the quality of the ViSalus products and are simply interested in padding their own wallets at the expense of their clients’ well-being ($299/month for supplements… are you freakin’ kidding me?!?!)

Needless to say, if I were a client of any trainer or nutritionist peddling ViSalus I wouldn’t be impressed.

But I’ll take it on good faith that any trainer or nutritionist recommending ViSalus really just doesn’t understand why ViSalus is an inferior quality product.

So, Thursday, I will be back with a critical look at the ingredients of ViSalus shakes (something the ViSalus research team apparently couldn’t be bothered with) and see if we can’t build a much more effective product for our clients at a fraction of the cost.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!

Part II –  ViSalus Shakes: The “Science” Behind The Shakes

In fact, one potential issue people face when transitioning to a healthier diet is exactly that: what to make when inviting people over for dinner. On the one hand, you want to keep making healthy meals but on the other hand, you don’t want to offer your guests something they might perceive as bland ‘diet food’.

Thankfully, it is possible to make healthy food taste great and today’s recipe satisfies the bill. The recipe du jour is a chicken curry recipe, one that just tastes fantastic!

Although the original version calls for sour cream, I swapped that out for 2% mf Greek Yogourt. This bumps up the protein content, drops the caloric impact significantly and does nothing to detract from the original taste.

Don’t allow the large number of spices this recipe calls for to dissuade you, it’s well worth the effort. Plus if you make a large enough batch, toss your extras into some freezer-safe glass containers and you’ll have grab-and-go ready meals for your week.

Low Fat Chicken Curry
(makes 6 servings)
Low Fat Chicken Curry download

 Ingredients

• 2 cup chopped onions
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 cups canned tomato
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp ginger
• 1 tbsp coriander
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 4 cups mushroom
• 6-7 chicken thighs (bone-in works best)
• 1 cup Greek yogourt (2% mf)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp cayenne (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Dice onions and toss into pan. Once onions are translucent, add in garlic and cinnamon and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.

2.  On medium heat, add tomato, salt, pepper, ginger, cumin, coriander, garam masala and mushrooms to the pan. Heat for several minutes.

3. Clean chicken thighs with water and lemon juice, then add into pan. Cooked until chicken is browned on the outside.

4. Reduce heat and add water and yogourt. Simmer mixture for 30-45 minutes.

5. Remove chicken from mixture. Scrape the meat from the bone. Add the meat back to the mixture, discard the skin and bones. Continue cooking for 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition info (per serving):  300 kcal, 10 g fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 38 g protein.

As you can see this is the type of meal that packs a flavourful punch, without have to blow your day’s calorie load to do it. To make it even more physique friendly, go right ahead and serve this curry on a bed of steamed cauliflower or spaghetti squash… adding more vegetables to your daily routine is never a bad thing as far as your waist line and health are concerned.

So there you go, yet another way to make good food, taste great.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!

Anyway, I thought to re-start my blogging efforts, I’d throw together a very short summary of all things protein powders.

Protein powders still seem to be shrouded in mystery for many people and I’ve heard all kinds of claims associated with them: protein powders are a bad for your kidneys (most definitely not), protein powders are a processed food (true) and all processed foods are bad (incorrect), protein powders are dangerous for kids (not unless they trip over a tub and break a wrist), and so on and so forth.

“Safer for Kids than a Plastic Bag!”

Let’s look at the question of “processed” because that’s where a lot of people cognitively struggle with protein powders. Yes, all protein powders are a processed food (let’s be honest, our ancestors never hunted tubs of protein in antiquity), however, they still rank fairly high on my “foods to build a diet around” recommendations.

Why is this?

Simple: our food supply has changed dramatically in the past 100-150 years and it’s unrealistic to expect we return to a time where everyone eats solely pasture-raised meat that was butchered by hand, eats copious amount of fresh fish caught in pollution-free waters and consumes fruits and vegetables that have never seen a pesticide, nor have traveled further than 50 miles.

Of course, if you are able to eat this way then by all means continue doing so… it’s just unrealistic to expect the 400+ million people living in North America to all be able to do it.

Given that this is our new reality, I’m quite happy to recommend people incorporate protein powders, omega-3 fish capsules and vegetables and fruits flown to us from far away lands as part of a healthy diets because let’s be honest, for the vast majority of people, incorporating “processed” foods like protein powders into their daily routine represents a quantum leap forward in terms of their diet quality.

And you know me, I’m a diet quality guy. Of course, getting 100% of your dietary protein from powders isn’t wise (as a general rule, whole foods are better), but a scoop or two or protein can be a boon to most people’s diets.

So now that that’s out of the way, let’s start looking at type of protein powders you may see on the shelves. I won’t go into specific brands (as there are thousands) but rather provide my thoughts on the different types of protein powders that exist.

Animal Proteins

Whey
Whey protein (one of the dairy proteins) has the highest lecuine content of any protein powder, making it the most powerful stimulator of protein synthesis of all the proteins.

Concentrates
Whey concentrate is considered less “pure” and contains less protein per scoop (often containing higher amounts of carbohydrates and fat as well). That being said, it undergoes the least amount of processing of any whey protein and retains the largest number of bioactive subfractions, which have a variety of health benefits.

Some individuals do struggle to digest whey concentrates, so before buying a huge tub, test your individual tolerance to a particular brand. Many people find that finding a brand that includes supplemental digestive enzymes (look for things like Aminogen or Proteases on the label) significantly improves digestibility.

Isolates
A pure whey protein, containing over 90% protein per scoop. Whey isolate is digested rapidly, making it a popular choice for protein powders ingested immediately post-workout.

Due to the processing techniques required (cold filtered is best), whey isolates do tend to be more expensive, however, they also produce less gastrointestinal distress than do concentrates.

Hydrolysates
Any hydrolyzed protein is digested and absorbed extremely rapidly. However, they tend to taste quite bitter and are very expensive. As a result, we don’t recommend going this route unless you absolutely can’t digest concentrates or isolates.

Blends
Typically a mix of concentrate/isolate, these proteins often offer the benefits of both types. Considering most of us aren’t elite athletes training 2-3x/day, the absolute speed of nutrient absorption is a minor concern, so we’d be better off choosing a blended whey protein.

These proteins tend to be quite affordable (~$50/5 lbs, which is 75 x 25 g servings) and can be found in a variety of flavours.

Casein

Casein (the other dairy protein) is digested very slowly. This lengthy speed of digestion makes casein a subpar choice for spiking protein synthesis, however, it does make it strongly anti-catabolic (which means it is great at preventing protein breakdown).

Casein-based powders tend to be superior choices for hunger managements and as pre-bedtime options with cottage cheese being a food naturally high in casein.

Several people do have dairy allergies though, particularly to casein, so if you are someone who does not tolerate dairy well, you are best to look into alternate sources.

You’ll often see “micellar” casein listed on a label. This tells you that your protein will form a “micelle” (a tiny ball) when mixed with liquid. Because of this tendency to ‘clump’, 100% pure casein powders are best mixed with a blender and not by hand.

Egg white protein

Egg white protein is one animal-sourced protein that is incredibly easy to digest making it suitable for many diets. Some people find the taste a little bland/salty though.

Pasteurized egg whites in the carton (best price is at Costco, 3 x 500 ml for under $5) are another easy way to incorporate more egg protein into your diet.

Vegetarian proteins

When it comes to vegan proteins, one (minor) concern is that they are not as bio-available as animal proteins. However, given that North Americans generally eat quite a bit of protein, this isn’t the end of the world.

Soy

Soy protein is the most “complete” of all vegetable proteins (meaning it contains all the essential amino acids). However, there are conflicting reports on soy’s ability to provoke negative hormonal impacts in certain individuals. For this reason, I tend to not recommend frequent usage of soy as a primary source of protein.

When it comes to soy products in general, I don’t recommend ingesting large amounts of refined soy products like soy protein, soy milk, soy burgers, soy cheese… etc. However, fermented soy products (tempeh, miso, some tofu and natural soy like edamame) are a valuable addition to any diet.

Pea protein
Pea protein is a fairly innocuous protein that I generally recommend ahead of soy (for the aforementioned reason). It’s inexpensive, tastes ok and isn’t overly allergenic. It’s got a nutty taste to it.

It’s also a really great protein to use in baking as it doesn’t have the same “turn into a leathery boot  upon cooking” feature that whey does.

Hemp
Hemp protein is another great product. However, in contrast to the proteins listed above, it’s not a pure protein source (it contains some fat, fiber and carbs), which renders it a little less versatile for certain recipes.

Hemp also is pretty gritty, so it won’t mix crystal clear in a shake. However, like pea protein, it does work well in oatmeal, muffins and pancake type recipes.

As an added bonus, a serving of hemp protein provides a modest amount of vegetable-based omega-3s (not quite as awesome as the animal sources ones, but still pretty damn good for you). So for anyone who doesn’t eat fish (or is allergic to it), finding a way to get more plant-based omega-3s is always wise.

Rice protein
The best feature of rice protein is that it ranks pretty low on the allergenic scale, however, it lacks a complete spectrum of amino acids and doesn’t taste all that great.

Protein Wrap Up

All protein powders (and protein sources in general) have their pros and cons. The key is to find one that fits with your overall dietary approach (animal vs. vegetables), doesn’t provoke allergies, and fits your budget/taste preferences. For best results, try to rotate between a couple of different types/brands just to err on the safe side when it comes to avoiding the development of any potential allergies.

So there you have it, a very quick rundown of what to look for in your protein supplement.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!

While there are numerous low carb energy bars on the market, virtually all of them make liberal use of tons of artificial sweeteners, which we can all agree aren’t exactly “healthy”. Sweeteners may be less damaging than pure white sugar, but neither of the two are something people are lacking from their current diets…

So the low carb bar will require a few minutes in the  kitchen. Now one of the challenges of creating a low carb protein bar is finding a way to get it to hold together and have enough body.

One thing you’ll realize about most homemade energy bar recipes is that they rely heavily on things like: oats, dried fruit, honey, etc to actually create a product with enough bulk. Needless to say, those are all off limits for the purpose of this little endeavor.

However, a few years ago I did experiment with a very easy to make bar that fits this request to a T. So I figured, why not share it with all of you?

Introducing the “Aztec Energy Bar”, the ultimate in low carb energy bars. I coined that name myself, mostly because I used Chia seeds in this thing. Incidentally, my good friend “Mr. Google” tells me that the Aztecs actually had their own recipe for peanut butter, so this recipe is seriously “authentic”

Aztec Energy Bar

1 cup natural peanut or almond butter
5 scoops (~125 g) chocolate whey protein
1/4 cup almond milk
2 TBSP chia seeds

Directions

Mix together peanut butter, protein powder and chia seeds. Then very slowly add almond milk to the mixture (if you add too much too quickly, the bar will become runny) just so that the entire mixture gets moist.

Press into a pan lined with wax paper, then place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Makes ~ 8 servings.

Nutrition (per serving): 280 kcal, 18 g fat, 11 g carbohydrate (5 g fibre), 23 g protein.

That’s all there is to it. In keeping with my overall approach to food preparation, this takes maybe 5 minutes to throw together and will do your body a hell of a lot more good than mowing down on a store bought protein bar.

Give them a try and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Till next time, train hard and eat clean!