Go Cleanse Review
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By CANDICE GREY ConsumersCompare.org Update: Jul 24, 2024 |
Go Cleanse seems to be a mystery product at first glance. The sales page says they’ve been in business since 2006, but the copyright at the bottom of the page says 2017. There’s no information on what’s in any of the products in the “program.” In fact, it’s not until you go to their Facebook page and do some digging that you find out they’re actually an alternative and holistic health service center in Denver, Colorado, and they’re an “Independent Associate” of Isagenix International. So they’re a distributor of something. But there are no names listed aside from “jane” on the customer service email.
Because they’re an Isagenix distributor, I went to the Isagenix website to see if I could find GoCleanse. But apparently, that’s the distributor’s name for it, because Isagenix has nothing named GoCleanse. But they do have a Cleanse for Life product, so I can only assume that’s what the Go Cleanse program uses. But I don’t know for sure.
And the second part of GoCleanse’s sales page goes on about some special high-grade whey protein from New Zealand in their shakes. Isagenix doesn’t have anything like that. So I don’t have a clue what GoCleanse is actually selling. We’ll look at their claims, but we’re kind of stumbling in the dark with this one.
Isagenix has an A-plus rating on the Better Business Bureau, and there are a number of distributors listed there as well. But GoCleanse isn’t one of them, and if the Denver clinic is listed I can’t find it because the clinic apparently doesn’t have a name they’re willing to share on their Facebook page. In fact, the only contact information for GoCleanse is a phone number—866-352-6888—or an email: jane@gocleanse.net.
The program consists of Cleanse Days, where you drink their aloe vera-based shake, have their snack wafers twice a day, and drink half your weight in water, plus take their accelerator/vitamin pill. These alternate with Shake Days, where you drink two of their protein shakes and make your own 400-600 calorie lunch, plus that accelerator/vitamin pill (I don’t know if this is an Isagenix brand or not; they do have an accelerator capsule).
Then after that for about two weeks, you get a one-on-one nutritional cleansing coach who will walk with you step by step during your cleanse. There are two options for purchasing: The 11-Day Cleanse costs $187.00, plus a $39.00 wholesale fee, plus shipping and tax. Or you can purchase the 30-Day Cleanse that costs $363.00 plus the $39.00 wholesale fee and shipping/tax.
Go Cleanse Claims
We have been successfully teaching people how to cleanse since 2006. We have coached over 100,000 people through the cleansing process.
This is not a diet and this is certainly not a colon cleanse. This is a new approach to weight loss, health, wellness, and anti-aging. This is such an amazing technology that if you need to lose weight you could lose as much weight in 4 days as you would on a diet in one to two months.
GoCleanse is a comprehensive educational coaching program. We offer you an opportunity to have an experienced cleansing coach. Best of all we provide our coaching services FREE to you. We have seen that people who take advantage of the GoCleanse coaching system are experiencing 40-50% better results than those who attempt the program on their own. (emphasis added)
Basic information and a massive claim (not to mention potentially hazardous, given proven science suggests 1-2 pounds a week is safe), but still pretty vague.
We live in an ever-growing toxic world. Diets are no longer working. Cleansing is a natural process for the body and allows the body to rid itself of stored toxins. The average person in the US has between 400 and 700 toxic chemicals in their body. Therefore, ages two and up should do some form of cleansing.
Two and up? Seriously? You’re going to make a two-year-old cleanse? Reality check time is here. The human body already has a pretty amazing “cleansing” system: it’s called our liver and kidneys. And as long as we’re eating healthy, they do a bang-up job of ousting toxins. Our skin sweats out toxins, too.
back to menu ↑Go Cleanse Ingredients
There is no information listed for what is in these products, and when I called the rep would not tell me the ingredients, either. They simply said there are shakes, snacks, a super vitamin, and an aloe vera cleanse. The website is very, very proud of its protein powder, though:
…one of the world’s rarest forms of whey protein from New Zealand where they do not use herbicides or pesticides and they use a low-temperature pasteurization process. This process allows for over 20 amino acids to be preserved which assist the body in cleansing itself. The pasteurization process in North America uses a high heat process which destroys the key amino acids and enzymes in the protein.
Maybe. But the fact they don’t want you to know what’s in their product before you buy it makes the little “mayday” light at the back of my brain start flashing.
back to menu ↑The Science (or Lack Thereof) Behind Go Cleanse
With little transparency on ingredients, it’s a little hard to pull up some science. The website cites none. Not one study, other than “this agency says this” and “that agency says that.” I say prove it to me. But when I called the customer support line, the rep rattled off all the instructions so fast I could hardly understand what she was saying.
The only things we do know about are aloe vera and some enzymes that have been rescued from the dreaded pasteurization process. We know about aloe vera as a topical pain reliever and cooler, mostly from sunburn experiences and minor scrapes. People do take aloe capsules or drink aloe juice as a general tonic and for specific health issues ranging from constipation and fever to high cholesterol and hepatitis. In this case, we’re looking at evidence for using it in weight loss. And WebMD says aloe is
Possibly Effective for: Weight loss. Research suggests that taking a specific aloe product (Aloe QDM complex, Univera Inc., Seoul, South Korea) containing 147 mg of aloe gel twice daily for 8 weeks reduces body weight and fat mass in overweight or obese people with diabetes or prediabetes.
But the Mayo Clinic also notes “A report of liver toxicity from ingesting aloe raises a question of safety.” And Mayo makes no mention of weight loss or cleansing in its grading, so apparently they either haven’t researched it, or they’re not impressed enough (nor alarmed enough) to grade it.
The touted digestive enzymes found in the shakes (Lactase and Protease) are said to help with weight loss by improving the digestion process, helping to move things along in the body. Digestive enzymes are found in the pancreas, mouth, stomach, and small intestine. Lactase has a specific purpose, according to WebMD:
Like other enzymes, [lactase] is needed for a specific biochemical reaction in the body. The biochemical reaction that involves lactase breaks down lactose, a sugar in milk and milk products. Some people’s bodies do not make enough lactase, so they are not able to digest milk well.
These people are said to have “lactase deficiency” and are called “lactose intolerant.” They can take supplemental lactase to help them break down lactose and tolerate milk. In these people, lactase can prevent symptoms of lactose intolerance including cramps, diarrhea, and gas.
Not sure what this has to do with weight loss, but okay. Let’s check the other one. Neither WebMD nor the Mayo clinic websites had anything on protease (also called proteolytic enzymes, apparently), so I opted for the Global Healing Center website. They’re another holistic organization with their own little supplement shop, but they were the most credible site I could find.
Proteolytic enzymes are extremely important for the digestion of many foods. But their intestinal duties are not solely limited to digesting food. They also digest the cell walls of unwanted harmful organisms in the body and break down unwanted wastes such as toxins, cellular debris, and undigested proteins. In this way, protease helps digest the small stuff, so that our immune system can work hard to avoid toxin overload.
So protease is the big cleansing enzyme of GoCleanse. But here’s the kicker: there aren’t really any studies on “cleansing” programs, although there is some science behind a plain water fast. In fact, the cleanse-or-not-to-cleanse debate seems split right down the middle; most traditional medicine practitioners say it’s mostly useless, while holistic and alternative practitioners swear by it. It’s all in what you believe, I suppose. But that doesn’t mean a product refusing to divulge its ingredients makes me feel any better about it, belief or not.
back to menu ↑Is The Go Cleanse Plan Easy To Follow?
Go Cleanse is very complicated, and there are a lot of moving parts as you can tell from the above clip of how to go on the program. You have protein shakes to drink twice a day, snack wafers and almonds to snack on, as well as a ton of water to drink. This does not include the Aloe Vera cleanse you will go on for four of the days, as well as the accelerator pill you will have to ingest once a day.
On top of all of this madness, the website is very vague about the entire program, the coaching you will supposedly receive for free, and the supplements themselves and what they are actually made of! All in all, this program is very confusing to follow and the company does a terrible job of marketing it to a potential customer.
There is absolutely no scientific evidence as to why their products are cleaner than others found anywhere on the website. When I called into the customer support line, a rep rattled off all of the instructions so fast I could hardly understand what she was saying. It made me want to hang up the phone, and run very very fast.
back to menu ↑Do Dieters Lose Weight On The Go Cleanse Plan?
There is little information available on the effectiveness of Go Cleanse, with the exception of some customer reviews found on the company website. However, reviews can be tainted so they should be viewed with caution.
Go Cleanse is a dietary supplement that is to be taken either before any nutrition and exercise plan is started, or soon after it already has. Therefore, there is likely no significant effect that the Go Cleanse product will have on its own. Any weight that might be lost will be a direct result of the actual cleanse and will be mostly water weight that will be able to be put back on quite easily.*
According to the website, “The programs use one of the world’s rarest forms of whey protein from New Zealand where they do not use herbicides or pesticides and they use a low temperature pasteurization process.
This process allows for over 20 amino acids to be preserved which assist the body in cleansing itself. The pasteurization process in North America uses a high heat process which destroys the key amino acids and enzymes in the protein.” The side effects and customer testimonials are not traceable, which makes the program pretty vague. They do offer a money back guarantee, but they give no details to how many days it is, which is again very vague.
back to menu ↑Word On The Street About Go Cleanse
There were hardly any reviews from outside sites, or even on their own main website, but the company does have a Facebook page with customers talking about their experiences. The overall consensus from the program was:
- the shakes taste funky
- the program is expensive and not realistic for many people
- but it has been said to work if you stick to it.
The moment they stopped the cleanse was when people noticed their weight creeping back on—as happens with every single drastic-low-calorie diet plan out there. So there’s probably a good reason not many people are endorsing Go Cleanse.
“Heather Lamberson” (2015, 3 stars) said, “On my first cleanse day, the cleanse drink tastes awful… Shouldn’t something that is supposed to be good for you also tastes good?” “Erica Swope” (2017, 4 stars) said, “I did the 11-day cleanse a few years ago. I lost 6lbs and 14″ overall. I would do it a lot more, but it’s expensive!”
back to menu ↑Where To Buy Go Cleanse?
The GoCleanse programs can be acquired via the business’s official website. The cost of the 30-Day System is $363 plus relevant shipping and handling charges, while the cost of the 11-Day System is $187 plus those same charges.
Although you cannot pay for your program online, you can fill out a form and submit your contact information, including your name, address, phone number, and email address. You can also select the System you want to use.
There is no extra information provided regarding the money-back guarantee that is included with both Go Cleanse packages. It is not available at Walmart, GNC, or Amazon.
back to menu ↑The Bottom Line: Is Go Cleanse Worth a Try?
Risky. Go Cleanse is very complicated, incredibly vague, and outlandishly expensive—a forty-dollar “wholesale fee” on top of everything else, really? And I’m not convinced the coaching is free, though they never said one way or the other.
All in all, this program is very confusing to follow and the company does a terrible job of marketing it to potential customers. If you’re a believer in cleanses, there are more affordable, more transparent choices out there. Or look into that water fasting.
