It Works, sometimes described as ItWorks, is a supplement and health food brand marketed to women. Many of their products have names that suggest weight loss, like “Skinny Brew” and “Slimming Gummies.” The brand also shares weight loss images from customers on their website.
In this article we’ll review the ingredients in several It Works products: Slimming Gummies, Skinny Brew, Wraps and Super Greens. We'll share our thoughts on whether these products are likely to be effective for weight loss based on a medical research review, as well as whether we consider them healthy overall.
It Works Slimming Gummies Review
It Works Slimming Gummies only contain two active ingredients: apple cider vinegar and MOROSIL.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is included at a dosage of 500 milligrams (mg). A clinical trial published in the Journal of Functional Foods found that ACV is effective for weight loss, however the trial participants were taking a dose significantly higher than that in It Works gummies.
Those taking ACV in the medical trial used a daily dose of 30 milliliters (mL), which equates to around 30,000 mg, or around 60 times the amount in It Works Slimming Gummies.
We have not come across any medical studies suggesting ACV is effective at such a low dose, so we'll consider this ingredient underdosed and unlikely to be effective for weight loss.
MOROSIL is a patented version of blood orange extract and is included at a 200 mg dose. This appears to be an effective weight loss ingredient based on early research.
A clinical trial found that MOROSIL caused significant reductions in body weight, waist circumference and hip circumference. Patients taking MOROSIL lost 6.79 pounds over the course of the 12 week trial, and their waist circumference decreased by 7.4%.
However, the dosage used in the study was 400 mg and the dosage in these gummies is only 200 mg, so we will consider this product underdosed.
It's a good sign that this product has no added sugar, because many gummy products do, but there are some additive ingredients we recommend avoiding from a health perspective.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer that may cause whole-body inflammation in a small subset of patients. A medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal highlighted four case reports of patients that experienced this effect.
Natural citrus flavors is a broad categorization that doesn't describe the specific chemical compounds used as flavoring agents. Without this information we cannot determine whether those compounds are safe or not.
We do not recommend It Works Slimming Gummies nor do we consider this product likely to cause weight loss, because we believe both of the active ingredients are underdosed based on a medical research review.
It Works Skinny Brew Review
It Works Skinny Brew is an instant coffee powder product that's mixed into hot water to make coffee.
It Works positions this product as a keto coffee, stating that it works for those "living a keto lifestyle." While this is technically true, it's not unique to this product. Any coffee without added milk or sugar fits in a keto diet because coffee contains a negligible amount of carbohydrates.
The first active ingredient in Skinny Brew is the mineral chromium at a dosage of 1,000 micrograms (mcg) which equals 2,857% of the Daily Value (DV). We do not recommend using such a high dose of a mineral without a documented deficiency, as doing so seems illogical.
Skinny Brew contains a proprietary (prop) blend called "Skinny Blend" that provides 225 mg of caffeine between the coffee powder and green coffee bean extract ingredients. As we documented in our Hydroxycut reviews article, caffeine is an effective weight loss ingredient and 225 mg is an effective dose.
We would recommend that consumers speak with their doctor prior to consuming this high of a caffeine dose (which is equivalent to more than two cups of coffee) because it can increase blood pressure and cause anxiety in some patients.
Green tea leaf extract is effective for short-term weight loss, but it is an ingredient we recommend avoiding for safety reasons. A medical review shows that high doses of polyphenol from green tea leaf extract can pose toxicity concerns.
Guarana seed extract may be effective for weight loss based on one animal study, but its dosage is not published in this product. We also have not come across any human studies suggesting this ingredient is effective, so we'll consider it unlikely to be effective.
Yerba mate leaf extract appears to be effective based on early research. A clinical trial published in 2015 found that 3 grams (g) per day of this ingredient caused significant decreases in body fat mass and percentage body fat in obese patients. It Works doesn't publish the dosage of yerba mate leaf extract, but the average dose per ingredient in this blend is only 1.06 g. We'll consider this ingredient potentially effective.
The remaining ingredients are in a "Nootropic Brain Blend" which we consider underdosed and ineffective. This blend contains 5 ingredients and only has a total dose of 50 mg, or 10 mg per ingredient. This is a very low dose.
It Works Skinny Brew also contains natural flavor which we recommend avoiding as detailed in the previous section.
Overall we consider this to be a decent formulation, and likely effective for weight loss. There are four ingredients we believe may cause weight loss at the stated dosage. We don't recommend this product overall due to the inclusion of green tea extract and natural flavor.
It Works Wraps Review
It Works sells a product called "Skinny Wrap" which the brand claims can help "targeted areas appear tightened, toned and beautifully smooth." The brand provides no citation for these claims.
We have not come across any medical research suggesting that applying food-based physical wraps to skin can improve skin appearance or provide "toning" benefit.
At the time of updating this article, It Works has no citations at all on the Skinny Wrap product page proving that this product is effective.
We consider this product to be a waste of money and recommend that consumers avoid it.
It Works Unsponsored Real User Review
One of the most popular reviews of It Works on YouTube is published by a channel called "Megan Christmas" and has achieved over 20,000 views at the time of updating this article.
The review appears unsponsored and the creator shares their honest experience using It Works products for a month:
It Works Super Greens Review
It Works Super Greens contains one of the largest Supplement Facts labels we've ever analyzed in an Illuminate Health review.
The ingredients in the top section compose a large blend of added vitamins and minerals. We don't see the need for added vitamins and minerals in a greens powder, as vegetables are already nutrient-dense.
We don't believe it's safe or logical for consumers to take large blends of random vitamin and mineral doses from supplement products, because it can push already-normal blood levels of vitamins and minerals into unhealthy ranges. A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report highlighted how a supplement sold by another brand was recently recalled due to all of its additive vitamins causing toxicity.
This product contains an "It Works! Superfood Blend" that contains many fruits and vegetables. We have no issues with this blend other than the inclusion of green tea extract.
It Works Super Greens has two other blends that we consider significantly underdosed. The probiotic blend only provides 100 million colony-forming units (CFU), while the medical research we've come across suggests that 10 billion CFU is the minimally-effective dose.
The "Adaptogenic Superfood Blend" has an average dose of only 26 mg per ingredient, which is so low that we would consider every ingredient in this blend ineffective.
This greens powder also contains natural flavor which we recommend avoiding.
Overall we find this to be a poorly formulated product. While it provides a decent dose of fruits and vegetables, it also contains a number of additives we recommend avoiding such as added vitamins and minerals, green tea extract and natural flavor. It's an overcomplicated product in our opinion; a green powder should just contain a dried blend of botanical ingredients.
It Works Cleanse Review
It Works sells a product called "Cleanse" which comes in small 4-ounce (oz) bottles. We generally recommend that consumers avoid "cleansing" or "detox" health supplements as these terms are poorly-defined and we consider them to be unscientific.
It Works provides no medical evidence on their product page that this product has any specific health benefits. The kidneys and liver provide natural detoxification in healthy individuals, and we haven't come across any medical research suggesting that random blends of vitamins and herbs provide additional detoxification benefits that are necessary.
This product also contains a wide range of ingredients we recommend avoiding, from added vitamins and minerals to preservatives like sodium benzoate and sodium hexametaphosphate.
We recommend avoiding this product and consider it to be the worst formulation of the It Works products we reviewed.
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
There are food-based nutrients which have been shown in medical studies to be effective for weight loss.
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).
Supergut Fiber Mix is our top fiber supplement, because it contains three different types of fiber powder, and retails for only $1.75 per serving at a subscription rate.
MCT oil was shown in a meta-study to cause more than one pound of weight loss over 10 weeks. This equates to potential annualized weight loss of 6 pounds per year with less than one tablespoon's worth of MCT oil per day.
Bulletproof MCT Oil is our top MCT oil product, because the only ingredient is MCT oil derived from coconuts. and it currently costs only $15.50 for over a month's worth of product.
Ginger intake "significantly decreased body weight" according to a 2019 meta-study on ginger and weight loss that analyzed data from 14 clinical trials.
Pique La Ginger is our top ginger product, because it's an organic tea in convenient crystallized form, and all that's needed is to pour the powder into a glass and add hot water.
All three of the products mentioned in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
