SY$ a.k.a. Save Your Money is a series of blog posts to shed light on some of the more unscrupulous/shady/devious diet products on the market.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it. We've seen a product or service advertised on TV, online or in a magazine that deep down we know it seems too good to be true. Despite that gut feeling, we end up buying the product or service. Consumers are not immune to good old fashioned marketing hype. Companies, salespeople and even medical professionals know this and are more than happy to exploit it to get your money out of your pockets and into theirs! We are living in the era countless schemes, scams and cons. Nothing is sacred or off limits from the devious hands of the modern day con.
The diet industry in the United States is no exception as its a $66 BILLION business in 2017! This segment of the healthy and wellness industry is ripe with complete and utter bullshit services and products (among a few good ones). The Save Your Money or SY$ blog series is dedicated to shedding lights on some of the most offensive (and metaphorically stinky) of these bullshit products and services. To kick off this series I would like to introduce you to ChiroThin.
The other day I noticed a poster for weight loss on the entrance of a chiropractor’s office. My first thought was “why is a chiropractor offering weight loss services?” My second thought was “this poster’s design is extremely tacky.” It boasted “Most people lose 20-35 pounds in just 6 weeks. *When following the program as instructed." It also proclaimed “No shakes, exercise or pre-packaged food” AND it's “doctor supervised.” Lots of very legitimate sounding buzzwords and phrases, but is ChiroThin legit???
ChiroThin is a combination of lifestyle changes, nutraceutical interventions (supplements) and doctor supervision designed to get the consumer to lose weight fast. All this will set a ChiroThin customer back $550 for the six week program. The ChiroThin website talks about ChiroNutraceuticals, which appear to be supplements that are used during this 6 week process. However the ChiroThin website doesn’t provide much detailed information about these supplements other than this blurb
“Unlike lower-grade products, you will not find our products being sold online or by other companies. We have worked with our formulation team to create only top-shelf nutritional dietary supplements. We do not import any ingredients from overseas. The ChiroThin formula is proprietary and uses nothing but high-grade ingredients. Our unique formula has many advantages, such as added natural appetite suppressants, energy supplements, detoxification, lean muscle protection, and more. This carefully designed formulation optimizes the weight loss plan. Patients frequently report to us that they feel much better and have fewer hunger issues while taking the ChiroThin nutritional support formula than when they had tried other weight loss programs.”
I found it interesting that descriptions of these supplements, along with pricing, are not found on the ChiroThin website. I started looking at some independent reviews of ChiroThin and found some interesting details as to why this may be the case. “ChiroThin is sold only to Chiropractors so they can prescribe it to their patients, therefore a price range is not available online” per a Consumer Health Digest review. I checked out the ChiroNutraceutical website and yes, they do not list prices for the public. Only chiropractors may purchase these supplements for retail.
Let’s stop right here. Is there anything from the preceding evidence above that remotely sounds legit about Chirothin?
As a consumer the answer is NO.
As a dietitian the answer is HELL NO.
Now let’s summarize the above and think this through. Chiropractors are selling patients a $550 diet plan and supplements that purportedly help clients lose 25-30 pounds in 6 weeks. There is literally not one shred of scientific evidence on the ChiroThin website, nor in Google Scholar or in the online research library I use, that proves the ChiroThin plan or supplements work. The website also does not list the prices of the supplements because that knowledge is only privy to the “delicate genius” that is a chiropractor. The best they can do is throw a few sketchy testimonials at you. If this plan does work, you can bet it’s not the supplements, but rather the super calorie restricted diet plan they promote (which is not safe in my opinion).
I’m no investigative reporter by any means. I just saw a poster, did some online research, used my knowledge as a dietitian and my intuition as a consumer to come to the conclusion that ChiroThin is complete BULLSHIT. Not all consumers have the time nor the nutrition background to do this, but that is why registered dietitians exist. We sift through the nutrition trends to help you the consumer make the right choices. There actually are some great diet plans out there to be sure! Even better is having access to your own personal dietitian which is not only less expensive, but will provide you with personalized diet strategy to help you safely achieve your goals.
So do yourself a favor and SY$. ChiroThin sure as hell doesn’t deserve it!
P.S. I would love to read comments from anyone who has used these products and what your overall experience was (positive or negative).
Sources
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180301006252/en/U.S.-Weight-Loss-Diet-Control-Market--
http://www.sj-r.com/article/20150103/News/150109876
https://www.consumerhealthdigest.com/weight-loss-reviews/chirothin.html
http://www.chirothinweightloss.com/about/about-the-program/