Shaklee Review
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By CANDICE GREY ConsumersCompare.org Update: Jul 11, 2024 |
Shaklee is a company that offers a variety of different diet supplements and nutritional products, with the most popular being the Shaklee 180. This multi-level marketing company has been around since 1956, and they use Shaklee distributors to do most of the leg work. On top of nutritional products, they also offer beauty and cleaning products.
When you are a representative of Shaklee, you are enticed with trips around the world and a car if you sell enough products. This company sounds like your typical multi-level marketing company, but I still want to dive into the details a little further. The headquarters for Shaklee products are located in Pleasanton, CA, and they also have locations in Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Mexico.
The company offers a variety of plans and products to choose from regarding nutrition and they range in price. For the 30-day Life Plan, you will pay around $250.00; for the Vitalizing Plan, you will pay around $150.00 dollars; the Essential Plan will cost around $90.00, and the RX for a Healthier Life may cost around $290.00.
There are also just Shake packages to choose from, such as the Shaklee 180 Turnaround kit, which will cost around $320.00. I will explain each of the packages in detail later on in this review. You can purchase individual supplements, such as protein powders and vitamins separately too, and do not have to purchase them in a package if you don’t want to.
The Different Shaklee Products
This company has a variety of products to choose from, so this list can seem a little complicated when you first take a peek at it. I wanted to just highlight a few of the items like their shakes, vitamins, and protein powder to give you an idea of what they offer in the packages.
The Vitalizing Plan
This particular package comes with the Life Energizing Shake and the Vitalizer supplements. These different supplements are a combination of multivitamins, Vitamin B, probiotics, and omega 3’s. The shake comes with 24 grams of protein per scoop, and it comes in soy, non-soy, and plain variety.
The Life Plan
This package combines the Life Energizing Shakes with the Life Strips and lasts around 30 days. The life strips are supplements made up of a variety of omega 3’s, multivitamins, liquid gels for healthy aging, and a B Complex for increased energy. However, there are other supplements available that are known to boost energy levels even more.
The Essentials Plan
This plan combines the Life Energizing Shake with the Vitalea and Omega Guard Supplements. The Vitalea supplement promotes heart and immune health alongside bone health. The Omega Guard is an omega 3 capsule, and it promotes a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. If you’re looking for supplements with even greater benefits to heart health, you may want to check out these alternatives.
The RX For A Healthier Life Plan
This plan can be customized a few different ways but can come with the Life Energizing Shake, Life Strip, Vivix Liquid gels, Omega Guard, Multi-Vitamin, and B Complex.
The Shaklee 180 Starter Kit
This kit is a combination of two canisters of the Life Energizing Shakes, 1 Box of Shaklee Snack Bars, the Shaklee Metabolic Boost supplement, Vita-Lea multivitamin, as well as program support. It is worth mentioning that there are other metabolic boost supplements that have received higher ratings and reviews.
Shaklee Claims
“People who use Shaklee supplements had double-digit better biomarkers of heart, brain, and cognitive health vs. those who used no supplements or another multivitamin. Our products are backed by more than 120 published scientific papers and presentations that show they make a difference in your health. Shaklee products have 71 patents and patents-pending.” [1]
“Shaklee Corporation will accept returns under the Shaklee Guarantee when the products were purchased directly from Shaklee. A refund will be issued for the full amount paid less shipping which the customer is responsible for. Customers can return items by completing the following process: Call 1-800-SHAKLEE, Receive appropriate return instructions from Shaklee Agent, Ship Product via carrier of choice to: 5650 Greenpoint Drive North , Groveport, OH 43125.” [2]
“Clinically-tested Life Energizing Shake and Shaklee 180 products: Are Powered by Leucine® to help your body retain lean muscle while you slim down, Use ultra-pure non-GMO protein, Have absolutely no artificial flavors, sweeteners or preservatives added, Gluten-free, lactose-free and kosher, Are low glycemic. Lower GI correlates to a slower rate of digestion and gradual release of glucose, contributing to better weight control.” [3]
Shaklee Ingredients
Life Energizing Shake- Vegan Soy Plain and Simple Soy Protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, L-leucine, rice protein concentrate, prebiotics, sunflower oil powder, dicalcium phosphate, sunflower lecithin, milled golden flaxseed, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, Vitamin D, ascorbic acid, selenium yeast, d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, molybdenum yeast, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B12, manganese sulfate, chromium nicotinate, pyridoxine, hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, and biotin.
Shaklee 180 Snack Bars Soy protein crisp, tapioca flour, peanut flour, fructose syrup, fructose, peanut butter brown rice syrup, honey, glycerin, inulin, L-leucine, Acacia gum, guar gum, natural flavor, medium-chain triglycerides, salt, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, vitamin B, Riboflavin, Thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, and vitamin B12.
Life Energizing Shake Soy Vanilla Soy Protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, L-leucine, rice protein concentrate, natural cane sugar, soluble corn fiber, short-chain fructooligosaccharides, maltodextrin, bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086, high oleic sunflower oil powder, dicalcium phosphate, natural flavor, soy lecithin, milled golden flaxseed, potassium chloride, magnesium oxide, silicon dioxide, ascorbic acid, selenium yeast, rebaudiana, d-alpha tocopheryl acetate, molybdenum yeast, niacinamide, zinc oxide, copper gluconate, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B12, manganese sulfate, vitamin D, chromium nicotinate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, biotin. [3]
The Science (or Lack Thereof) Behind Shaklee
Is Shaklee a scam or do they really have science to back it up? When looking at the Shaklee vitamins, they seemed pretty standard with nothing special about them. The claims that were made on the site were pretty basic too. You will often see statements like this product has not been evaluated by the food and drug association, or this product is not meant to treat, cure, or diagnose a disease.
What I have found with products like this (so strung out) they are intended to create orders each day, but they are not meant to screen, prevent disease, or diagnose any health conditions you might have. The company claims that the people who take their specific vitamins have an overall better brain, heart, and cognitive health, but there are no studies proving these statements.
When learning about leucine and how it can work to make the body retain more muscle all while slimming down, there are some interesting facts. According to a study done by NCBI, “During 5 weeks of strength and speed training, leucine supplementation of 50 mg/kg body weight/day, supplementary to a daily protein intake of 1.26 g/kg body weight/day, appeared to prevent the decrease in the serum leucine levels in power-trained athletes.
According to 1 study, dietary supplementation of the leucine metabolite beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) 3 g/day to humans undertaking intensive resistance training exercise resulted in an increased deposition of fat-free mass and an accompanying increase in the strength.” [4] So the company claims do match up with the study in regards to effectiveness.
Word On The Street About Shaklee
When looking into different Shaklee reviews, I wanted to see what both customers and distributors had to say about their experience. My Shaklee and the Shaklee login are for distributors to go through, and the portal seemed pretty user-friendly.
Those who worked for Shaklee corporate and left reviews through Glassdoor overall had positive things to say about the company vision, CEO, and work environment they were placed in. The only downer many people ran into was the lack of movement and promotion over time. [5]
There were not a lot of outside reviews on the products alone, and the people simply liked or disliked them.
KM said on the Better Business Bureau site (2016, 1 star),
“I placed an order with who I thought was my distributor and after I placed the order and printed the receipt; I was given a distributor 415 miles away. I called to ask why and to change my distributor to mine. They told I was given the closest distributor and I could not change the distributor. When I asked to cancel the order they told I could not cancel. I called within five minutes of placing the order. This is disturbing that within five minutes you cannot cancel a web site order. I don’t think I will ever buy another product ever!”
Karen said on the Better Business Bureau site (2017, 5 star),
“I have been a customer of Shaklee for 14 years and each year, they continue to out-do themselves. Between the outstanding products and personal service, if Shaklee makes it, I buy it. I have seen my health and the health of my family improve over time. Their cleaning products are incredible and now they’ve launched a new skin care line that I’m excited to try. I can’t imagine my life without Shaklee!”
The Bottom Line: Is Shaklee Worth A Try?
Yes. While Shaklee products may offer benefits such as muscle retention, there are better alternatives available that offer more potent and effective ingredients for maximizing your health and fitness goals. Check out these better alternatives here.
There really was a lack of information regarding the science behind the products that the company failed to give to the interested customer, as well as a lack of reviews from authentic customers. The products are quite expensive when you sit back and look at what they are really offering you and what you will be paying in return, so just keep that in mind.
Felt best when in lots of Shaklee, most stress free company I dealt with, met great people, I miss their make up, nothing has compared, love cleaning products
This supposed review is written with bias and actually intended just to promote other products. The writer is so uninformed as to not recognize a disclosure meant to protect Shaklee from frivolous legal actions or having the FDA kick down their doors for making claims not approved by the FDA. Shaklee hires research people and spends a lot of money on research. They also claim a legitimate University study showing people live longer and live healthier if they take Shaklee vitamins. This review is dishonest and uninformed.
I have try and i fall in love with the product. It speaks by it self. Feel more energy. I did lost wait , i sleep much better.
My name is Angela Hood, I am fed up with Shaklee, they used to be wonderful but now SUCK, keep saying out of stock, backordered, I’ve been waiting for a refund since July 1st they keep saying we’re working on it, how blasted long does it take to put a refund back on someone’s card?? Take my advice people, unless you know someone higher up you’ll be disappointed!!!!!!!!
The main complaint of this review site of Shaklee is the following, ” The claims that were made on the site were pretty basic too. You will often see statements like this product has not been evaluated by the food and drug association, or this product is not meant to treat, cure, or diagnose a disease. What I have found with products like this (so strung out) they are intended to create orders each day, but they are not meant to screen, prevent disease, or diagnose any health conditions you might have.” Please notice that the following is a statement from the reviewers ‘top’ supplement site, PS1000- “We do not claim to “cure” disease, but simply help you make physical and mental changes in your own body in order to help your body heal itself. No material or product on this website is intended to suggest that you should not seek professional medical care, or that you should disregard professional medical advice. Always work with qualified medical professionals, even as you educate yourself in the field of diet, weight loss, fitness and nutrition. No information offered here, or product sold on this website, should be interpreted as a diagnosis of any disease, nor an attempt to treat or prevent any disease or condition. For any products and/or services purchased from The PS1000, you should carefully read all product packaging and instructions. While the information on this website, and the products sold on it, are discussed in the context of numerous conditions, it can be dangerous to start any health program without first consulting a local health professional. Information and statements regarding products and/or services made available by The PS1000 have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The PS1000 products and services are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.” Notice any similarities. He needs apply his ‘negative’ remarks to his #1 rated recommendation. The take away? This site’s purpose is to discourage people from buying products from Shaklee and to market the recommended products. By the way, many of Shaklee’s products are “Koshered” which means their claims are validated by an independent oversight company. A company that has been around for 65 years is doing something right. Another “by the way” is that I am not a Shaklee distributor or employee.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Shaklee has the highest quality products out there. Absolutely nothing artificial has ever been added to their products & they test at every step of the manufacturing process to make sure it isn’t contaminated along the way. Yes, the supplements are higher priced, but if you use the cleaning & laundry products you will save way more money on them & more money to spend on good health. My husband & I haven’t been sick in YEARS!! I also give them to our dogs & cats & although they have health issues, they’re still doing great! Love it all!
I like the fact that Shaklee nutritional products have clinically proven positive results. As a senior, like many, I am on a limited budget so I need to spend my money wisely. Although I have long stopped researching, I have met so many, young and old….athletic and non athletic, who claim they have been helped in some way from using this company’s products……more energy, fewer infectious diseases, colds ect, better sleep and improved athletic performance…needless to say these people must have used these vitamins and minerals consistently for some time in order to provide an accurate judgement as to their value,,,,a consistent customer evaluation of 4-5 stars seen on this post is very good. Personally I would like to see ratings from several thousand evaluations to insure that my personal almost FIVE star rating is in align with what others would say. As an 81 year old person I need to rely heavily on the company and its products, especially nutritional items hopefully designed to help us live longer better and are what the company says they are….in this case with Shaklee…good, natural, and clinically researched to be #1 NEEDED and, #2 to be EFFECTIVE. I do believe there in fact can be a positive health result from supplementing our diet… like many, I am on a limited budget and need the things I choose to buy to work. I believe these Shaklee vitamins, minerals, and protein products actually do and will assist with the on-going job of helping me delay the ravages of aging.
I don’t know what has happened to this company, but they are down the tubes. They take your money, don’t ship your product, give you a list of excuses why it hasn’t shipped, and won’t cancel your order or return your money as the order is “in process.” After 30 years of being a huge Shaklee fan and praising them to anyone who would listen, I am now a FORMER customer. Stay away unless you want to get the run around.
I feel the best when I use Shaklee products. Compared to other products theirs work the best and you can feel a big difference. Their cleaning products and laundry products really work and help with allergies too. I have not found anything I didn’t like, and I know if I ever did I can return it. They have a great guarantee and there are many patents and scientific studies done on them. very excellent company
Their products work better than any other brand I have tried. The purity and potency is excellent and they go through a lot of testing and research. I have not found a product I didn’t like and if I ever did I can return it even if I used the entire product up. There really is not another company that compares. Their supplements work amazing and their cleaning and laundry work better than anything else and they help with allergies. I so far have not found or hear anything bad about this company and I have been using them for 6 years.
I have tried Shaklee for the last year and have not noticed any difference, except my bank account has a lot less money in it. Not approved by the USP, but Shaklee says a third party will back what they say about their products, only problem is they will not disclose the third party’s name. Many better products out there! Also many of Shaklee’s products come from China.
If it was not for Shaklee products, I would not be alive. My dad raised us kids on Shaklee, sold it at work,church,and in our neighborhood. Now he is gone. This was his great-est gift to me.
I have used the shaklee nutrition for 40 years and I want do without them.I am 78 years old and people tell me I look 60 I tell them that my good health and vitality is due to the continued use of Shaklee
I’ve been with Shaklee since the 1980’s (41 years.) and believed that Shaklee products were more ‘natural’ than any other products, now, I realized I’ve been bamboozled. I just called Shaklee and got a refund of most of the money from my last order. I threw my vitamin order in the trash! Many recent researches, showed me that they also use synthetic chemicals mixed in with their vitamins. Example: Ascorbic Acid…is NOT vitamin C. ‘Ascorbic acid’ is only the ‘shell’ of the C complex. Do your own research. But don’t just take the drug company sponsored ‘tests’. Dig deep for more research of long term effects of synthetic ingredients. Dr. Shaklee would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what the pharmaceutical companies have done with his products, just to make a money.
I have two daughters several years apart in age. I took prenatal vitamins for my first daughter. After she was born I had several cavities, my hair was in poor condition, as well as my nails and skin. I was also borderline anemic. A friend then introduced me to shaklee products and for my second daughter’s pregnancy I only took shaklee supplements. I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful I felt during that pregnancy. My hair,skin,and nails were in better condition than ever. My post pregnancy doctor & dentist appointments revealed amazing results. I needed no dental work or follow up doc visits for months! Don’t care what anyone says about Shaklee supplements…they work and are the best out there.
Shaklee has ALWAYS made good on product replacement and refunds if a carrier fails to deliver my order (Shaklee refers to these orders as Auto-shipments) or for any other complications. I have been using Shaklee for 41 years. They have never ripped me off or dealt with me in any way that was unethical. Every key ingredient in Shaklee is rigorously tested. Every product is double-blind-clinically-tested and third-party-verified to PROVE bioavailability. Shaklee has the most rigorous purity and effectiveness testing in the entire industry. It’s earned them over a hundred references in extremely prestigious major clinical research peer reviewed journals. No one lives forever. But, my health, youth, vitality, appearance, strength, well-being has been (and is currently) years younger than my peers. Shaklee has given me a vigorous health and quality of life I’d never have otherwise. Some of the complaints about not being able to undo an order stems from the arrangement that if you go to Distributor X (who’s not your regular Distributor) and you buy a bunch of stuff, your regular Distributor must replenish the products taken from the substitute Distributor. You get your stuff. They work out how to replenish stock or the cost of the goods sold to you. It complicates matters if you just turn around and want to give everything back a couple days later. That’s why sometimes there’s a delay. Also, Shaklee has everything set up on Shaklee.com. My Distributor is 2000 miles away. It doesn’t matter. I order online. They get the points/credits. Shaklee ships my products to me via FedEx. I make a hobby out of randomly comparing supplement prices from the health food store or other multi-level marketing companies and I laugh at how Shaklee ALWAYS has better prices. But, people love that tired narrative of how expensive Shaklee is. The main reason for that? When people go to the health food store, they’ll pick up an herbal supplement or a multivitamin-multimineral with their groceries. It may be 40 or 50 bucks, but it’s swallowed up in the total of their grocery bill at the cash register. Then, they get another product the next time they grocery shop. It accumulates. But, most people sit down and order all the Shaklee they want in product groups for the duration of a couple months (of course the bill is going to seem spendy). but, you’re paying that anyway. You just don’t see it. I occasionally visit a popular supplement store in my town that has all the “Super GAIN 2000!” body builder formulas. And, I watch muscle guys drop 2 or 3 hundred bucks a shot without flinching all for their super amino mega bodybuilding crap (not tested, not pure, full of sugar and dehydrated milk and scary ingredients that are barely legal). So, a lot of it is your attitude. I make standard middle class wages. I can afford Shaklee (Protein, Vita Lea, Omega Guard, Time Release C, Osteo-Matrix, Zinc, Alfalfa, Enfuselle Lotion, and Basic H). I’m perfectly healthy and happy. You don’t have to buy the entire catalog. Also, the FDA is a federal agency and they’re preoccupied with higher profile stuff than a bottle of garlic capsules. So, it takes them a million years to study stuff anyway and they’re focused on bigger issues like Pfizer & Moderna. By law, companies have to put a disclaimer on their products that the FDA hasn’t tested them if that’s the case. It doesn’t mean that a product isn’t good for you or that it doesn’t work. The FDA will probably NEVER perform an extensive expensive test on green tea for weight loss.
unfortunate that you don’t know that there are over 125 clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals proving the efficacy and safety of Shaklee products.
It’s a shame that you didn’t talk about the clinical study conducted by UC Berkeley fifteen year ago on the effects of 20 years of Shaklee supplement users compared to a control group that used nothing, AND a group that had taken other supplements for the same period, and that Shaklee won out on many biomarkers of health, and the Shaklee group averaged 10 years older than the other two.
Why didn’t you tell your readers that there are over 100 Olympic athletes that between them have won 151 gold, silver or bronze medals to date? They pay (not gifted for their endorsements) for Shaklee because they work, and they’ll never lose a medal because they unintentionally took something banned, either.
Then there’s the astronauts. Shaklee has been on every space mission since 1993, and NASA asked them to create a product to stop the severe dehydration caused by reentering the atmosphere. They called it “Astro Ade”!
What do you think? Did you really do the research your readers expect on this “review”? And there’s never been a product recall or a lawsuit over a product either.