A company called Drink2Shrink (sometimes referred to as “Drink to Shrink” or "Drink 2 Shrink") has become popular recently, so we wanted to publish a review the brand and give our take on whether the product is actually likely to cause weight loss based on a review of medical research.
In this article we’ll analyze the ingredients in Drink2Shrink, highlight some concerns we have over the brand's failure to publish critical health information, and share some research-backed weight loss supplements.
We want to note that there are a number of brands selling health products with the name "Drink2Shrink" or similar variations. We are reviewing the brand at this website which appears to be the most popular "Drink2Shrink" brand.
Ingredient Review
Drink2Shrink is an herbal tea product with a blend of botanical ingredients.
The first listed ingredient is persimmon leaf. There is some research suggesting that persimmon extract (which is much more potent than the raw herb included in this formulation) may be effective for weight loss, but we haven’t seen any medical studies at all proving that persimmon leaf alone aids with weight loss. We'll consider this ingredient ineffective.
Holy thistle is the second ingredient and it’s a strange way to label what’s much more commonly referred to as "milk thistle." We haven’t come across any research suggesting this ingredient is effective for weight loss. It's typically used for liver health.
The only ingredient in this entire formulation that we could find relevant weight loss studies on is ginger, which has some research backing. A medical review published in 2019 analyzed data from 14 individual clinical trials on ginger supplementation and weight loss, and found that "ginger significantly decreased body weight."
Another medical review published in the Phytotherapy Research journal also found favorable results. The study authors analyzed data from many medical trials and concluded that ginger was potentially an anti-obesity agent, and that the ingredient could reduce appetite.
We haven’t come across any medical research suggesting any of the other ingredients (malva leaf, marshmallow leaf, blessed thistle, papaya, chamomile, myrrh) are effective in supporting weight loss.
Based on the ingredient review, we consider Drink2Shrink unlikely to be effective for weight loss overall. We only consider one of the nine ingredients in this tea to be effective for weight loss.
Questionable Product Coloring
Drink2Shrink claims to have no additive ingredients, so we don't understand how the product comes in so many different colors. If the same botanical tea ingredients are included in all Drink2Shrink formulations, it doesn't logically follow that the drink could come in a wide variety of distinct colors.
This suggests that the company many be adding coloring agents to the drinks without disclosing this on their website.
We urge Drink2Shrink to share information on what coloring agents are used, if any, because the herbal ingredients listed on their site are unlikely to create these bright and distinct color variations.
We consider this to be a significant red flag about the legitimacy of this business.
No Medical Experts Involved
The Drink2Shrink website lists a woman named Sanya as the founder. She states that after successfully losing weight she wanted to help coach people to do the same.
That’s a nice sentiment, but we generally recommend avoiding health brands with no team members having relevant medical or scientific credentials. It's challenging to formulate an effective and safe health product, and doing so requires a significant amount of clinical research reviews.
We find it unlikely that individuals with no medical background undertake such reviews, which is why the majority of health products we've reviewed on Illuminate Health with no medical experts on their team have been poorly formulated.
Since the dietary supplement market in the U.S. requires no pre-approval, taking health products created by people without relevant scientific credentials is a significant risk in our opinion. We highlighted this same concern in our Soul Drops review: a founder who probably meant well but was selling products with very questionable formulations to unfortunate customers.
No Published Dosage
There is no published dosage of any of the listed ingredients on Drink2Shrink’s website. Since this is a product making specific health claims about weight loss, we find this to be unacceptable.
Consumers need to be able to access dosage information to determine whether or not an ingredient is likely to be effective.
If Drink2Shrink published the dose of ginger in their product, we could compare that dose to the ginger dose range from medical studies linked above, and establish whether or not this ingredient is likely to be effective.
We recommend avoiding any health brand making specific claims about weight loss without providing dosage information for their active ingredients.
Our Weight Loss Product Recommendations
There are several products that have significant research backing for weight loss.
We recommend dietary fiber as a safe and effective product for weight loss. It's actually a food product and not a supplement.
An extensive medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition found that dietary fiber intake directly predicts weight loss when consumed at a high enough dose. It's zero-calorie plant matter that makes you feel full faster, and consume fewer calories overall.
The fiber supplement we recommend is SuperGut Fiber Mix. It contains a clean and effective formulation: a blend of three different types of unflavored dietary fiber and zero additive ingredients. It can be mixed into liquids or foods. Interested consumers can buy SuperGut fiber at this link.
We recommend using two fiber mixes per day, which provides 16 grams (g) of total fiber. This is within the effective fiber dosing range associated with the greatest weight loss outcomes in the above-linked study (8-29 additional grams per day).
Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil is another dietary supplement which has been shown in clinical trials to cause weight loss.
MCT oil is quickly absorbed by the body and increases metabolic rate, which causes fat loss. A meta-study on MCT oil documented weight loss of 1.12 pounds over 10 weeks. This equates to a potential annualized weight loss of 5.84 pounds with MCT oil supplementation.
We recommend Bulletproof MCT Oil as our top MCT oil product, because it has a clean and effective formulation. The only ingredient is MCT oil derived from coconuts, and the product has no questionable additives. Interested consumers can buy Bulletproof MCT Oil at this link.
The effective dose range of MCT oil for weight loss (based on the medical review) is 1.7 g to 10 g per day. Bulletproof's MCT oil provides 14 g in one tablespoon, so around two-thirds of one tablespoon should be a maximally-effective dosage.
