Smilz is one of the most popular cannabidiol (CBD) gummy brands. The company's designs are bright and playful, and the Smilz describes their gummies as "a new way to chill."
But what's actually in Smilz CBD Gummies beyond CBD? Are there unhealthy additives? Is there a marketing scam involved with this brand? And how do real Smilz customers rate and describe the effects of the products?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Smilz CBD Gummies and highlight a number of ingredients we consider questionable from a health perspective.
We'll also document an ongoing scam related to the marketing of this supplement by a competitor, and explain why the test results published by Smilz concern us.
Update: Smilz CBD may have gone out of business, as we cannot locate an official manufacturer website at the time of updating this article. To see our updated CBD picks, scroll down to the section of this article titled "Our Clean CBD Picks."
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Smilz CBD Gummies are shown above.
Hemp extract is the source of the CBD, and is the active ingredient.
Corn syrup is a cheap, high-glycemic sweetener that has been associated with negative health outcomes in medical research.
A medical review published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that corn syrup intake increased obesity risk, and potentially increased risk of high blood pressure and insulin resistance.
Sugar is another added, refined sweetener in this formulation.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer that has been associated with whole-body inflammatory reactions in some individuals.
A 2018 medical review documented a series of case reports from individuals severely affected by citric acid intake.
Natural and artificial flavors are included, and as we discussed in our PureKana CBD reviews article, there are a number of negative health effects associated with artificial flavor consumption.
Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue #1 and Red #40 are artificial food dyes.
A 2012 meta-study reported that Yellow #5, Yellow #6 and Red #40 have been found to be contaminated with benzidine, which is a carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemical compound.
Overall, we consider Smilz CBD Gummies somewhat likely to be effective, given that they contain an effective CBD dose.
However, we consider this formulation to be highly unhealthy, due to the additive ingredients discussed above.
Outdated and Incomplete Test Results
Smilz CBD Gummies has the most unimpressive test results of any CBD brand we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
As shown in the image above, the document published by Smilz on their product pages clearly shows that this supplement has not been tested for any safety measures, including contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides.
How can Smilz know whether their CBD is safe to sell to consumers if it has not been safety tested?
The test results do show that the product is accurately labeled and contains as much CBD as advertised, but potency testing is less important than safety testing in our opinion.
The document also clearly states that the test results are outdated.
At the time of accessing this information on the Smilz website, it was over nine months beyond the expiry date for the testing.
We consider it to be a red flag and a quality control issue when a brand fails to publish updated test results.
Is There a Smilz CBD Gummies Scam?
As stated in the intro to this article, Smilz appears to have gone out of business.
However, there is currently a website with the URL "smilzcbd.info" that is branded to look like the previous Smilz CBD website (including product images), as shown below:
However, if you click the link to purchase, you're re-directed to a different CBD brand's website called CBD Care.
We consider it to be a major red flag when companies engage in this type of deceptive marketing, and we would recommend that consumers avoid any brand associated with this type of website re-direct marketing strategy.
Customers Rate Smilz
The average customer rating for Smilz on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website is 1.09 out of 5 stars at the time of updating this article.
There is an active investigation by the BBB into Smilz's business practices, shown above, due to all of the complaints by customers.
Many customers are complaining about being allegedly overcharged. A BBB user named “Roderick F” claims the following:
“April 7th, I placed an order for a special they advertised and on the 8th of April realized I was overcharged by $123.69. April 12, I was finally refunded for the 'Error'. After never receiving my order, I again contacted the company after 3 weeks of waiting and told them I would like to cancel my order all together. On the 25th of April, I received an email stating $125.00 had been refunded to my account. It is now May 6th, money has yet to be retired”
While many brands have customer complaints on the BBB site, because frustrated customers are more likely to publish a review than happy customers, we consider this score and investigation to be a serious red flag.
Is CBD Oil Healthier?
We consider CBD oil to be much healthier as a product category than CBD gummies.
Many CBD oils have a clean and effective formulation of hemp extract and a carrier oil like organic coconut oil. There tend to be no questionable additive ingredients, and these products also tend to be cheaper per serving.
For health-conscious and price-conscious consumers, we definitely think that CBD oil is the logical choice.
Our Clean CBD Picks
Cornbread CBD Gummies is our top CBD gummy pick.
This is the healthiest CBD gummy formulation we've come across, because the brand uses organic flavoring and organic beetroot for color.
Cornbread CBD Oil is our top CBD oil pick.
It has a clean formulation of organic hemp extract and organic coconut medium-chain triglycerides, and the brand publishes lab testing on every product page.
Medterra Citrus Oil is our top flavored CBD pick, because the brand uses organic flavoring which meets a higher ingredient standard than natural flavors according to USDA flavoring guidelines.
All of the supplements recommended in this section are free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Smilz Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Smilz CBD Gummies in our opinion:
Pros:
- Effective CBD dose
Cons:
- Company appears to have gone out of business
- Contains added sugar
- Contains artificial dyes
- Contains artificial flavors
- Contains natural flavor
- Questionable test results
- Highly negative BBB customer reviews
