Drink2Shrink (sometimes referred to as “Drink to Shrink” or "Drink 2 Shrink") is a fruit-based weight loss drink. The brand's website suggests that the drink can not only cause weight loss, but is also used to "detoxify the whole body."
But does Drink2Shrink contain research-backed ingredients to support weight loss? Does it contain any unhealthy ingredients? Is the founder a health expert? And is Drink2Shrink better or worse than popular weight loss products like 310 Nutrition shakes?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Drink2Shrink, to give our take on whether or not this drink is likely to be effective for weight loss, and whether or ont it's healthy.
We'll also share our concerns about a potential discrepancy between the ingredient list and the product colors, highlight the company's founder, and compare Drink2Shrink to other popular weight loss products to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- We can only identify one research-backed active ingredient
- Brand may be failing to list coloring agents
- We do not currently recommend Drink2Shrink
UPDATE: At the time of updating this article, the original Drink2Shrink company appears to be out of business.
To see our current weight loss recommendations, scroll down to the section of this article titled "Our Clean Weight Loss Picks"
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Drink2Shrink are shown above.
image source: https://www.drink2shrinkdetox.com/
Persimmon was shown to cause weight loss in a 2020 clinical trial, but an extracted form of the plant was used, which is much more potent than the raw plant material included in Drink2Shrink.
Holy thistle is more commonly referred to as "milk thistle," and is typically used to support liver health.
We can't find any clinical evidence that holy thistle causes weight loss.
Ginger is clinically shown to cause weight loss, as we documented in our Lipozene review article, on another weight loss product containing this ingredient.
A medical review published in the Phytotherapy Research journal described the anti-obesity effect of ginger to be due in part to its ability to suppress appetite.
Malva leaf, marshmallow leaf, blessed thistle, papaya, chamomile and myrrh are the remaining active ingredients, and we can't find any clinical evidence that these ingredients support weight loss.
Overall, we consider Drink2Shrink potentially effective for weight loss given the inclusion of ginger, which has research backing for weight loss.
However, we consider this to be an unimpressive formulation, given that only one of the nine active ingredients is effective for weight loss based on our review of existing clinical studies.
The good news about Drink2Shrink is that all of these active ingredients are whole food ingredients.
Questionable Product Coloring
Drink2Shrink claims to have no additive ingredients, so we don't understand how the product comes in so many different colors (as shown below in an image from the brand's website):
image source: https://www.drink2shrinkdetox.com/
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 bright, "artificial" looking 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 the brand's website 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.
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
Ceylon cinnamon was described as "an effective anti-obesity agent" in a 2022 meta-analysis. The study authors concluded that effects were greater at doses at or over 3 grams daily.
Illuminate Labs Ceylon Cinnamon Extract is our standardized Ceylon cinnamon supplement which is third-party tested to ensure purity and potency.
Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.
Both of the products mentioned in this section are free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Who's Behind Drink2Shrink?
The Drink2Shrink website linked in the Ingredient Analysis section of this article lists a woman named Sanya as the founder.
She claims that after successfully losing weight she wanted to help coach other people to do the same. There is no mention of relevant medical or scientific qualifications to formulate a weight loss supplement.
Wanting to help others is a nice sentiment, but we generally recommend avoiding health brands without public disclosures of team members with relevant research or educational backgrounds.
It's challenging to formulate an effective and safe health product, and without a background reviewing clinical research, we don't understand what the basis for such a formulation process would be.
We find it unlikely that individuals with no medical background would bother to extensively educate themselves and review existing clinical studies on safety and efficacy of functional ingredients, which is why the majority of health products we've reviewed on Illuminate Health with no medical experts working with the brand have been poorly formulated.
Since the dietary supplement market in the US requires no pre-approval, taking health products created by people without relevant scientific credentials may be a health risk.
We highlighted this same concern in our Soul Drops review: a founder who probably meant well, but who was selling products with very questionable formulations to unfortunate customers.
Failure to Publish Doses
There were no published doses for any of the active ingredients in Drink2Shrink, on the brand's official website, at the time of initially publishing this article.
Since this is a brand 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 safe and effective.
If Drink2Shrink published the dose of ginger in their product, we could compare that dose to the ginger dose used in medical studies cited in the Ingredient Analysis section, 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 its active ingredients.
Drink2Shrink vs. Weight Loss Products
Here's how Drink2Shrink compares to other popular weight loss products in terms of potential safety and efficacy, in our opinion:
310 Nutrition
Company was sued over allegations of high heavy metal levels in their products.
This doesn't prove anything, but the company added disclaimers after this lawsuit, which is a bit of a red flag in our opinion.
We consider Drink2Shrink to be the safer choice.
Winner: Drink2Shrink
MenoSlim Tea
MenoSlim Tea is marketed as a fat burner.
However, as we documented in the above-linked article, our analysis was unable to identify any effectively-dosed active ingredients.
We still consider MenoSlim Tea to be a safer option than Drink2Shrink, because all of its ingredients have clearly published doses.
Winner: MenoSlim Tea
ZipSlim
This weight loss lemonade contains an active ingredient which is clinically shown to harm the liver when taken at high doses over extended durations.
At the time of our most recent analysis, the brand failed to publish the individual dose of this ingredient.
We consider Drink2Shrink to be the safer option in light of this information.
Winner: Drink2Shrink
Drink2Shrink Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Botanical active ingredients
- No unhealthy ingredients in ingredient list
- Ginger can support weight loss
- Healthier than some competitors
Cons:
- Company may have shut down
- Unclear official manufacturer
- Unclear how product comes in different colors but has the exact same ingredient list
- Founder doesn't appear to have medical credentials
- Doesn't appear to be clinically studied
- Challenging to find unsponsored user reviews
- Dosing information not clearly published on brand's website
