MediClear shake Review: Does it work?

Intro: What is it?

MediClear shake is a meal replacement made with plant protein that intends to promote liver and colon detoxification. It’s made specifically to work with the companies 10 day detox plan.

It claims to be a good source of high protein, low carbohydrates, and nutrients that are better than other detox products. It can be mixed with water, fruit liquids, and it’s recommended to be taken with nut milk. The biggest claim made by the company is that our current lifestyle causes an increase in toxins and that this requires extra help on to help prevent this. Is it actually effective? What kind of change can be accomplished with MediClear? This full review has all the information you need to know.

MediClear Ingredients

 Ingredients to look out for include:

Pantothenic Acid: A form of vitamin B5 which may cause panic attacks in certain people.

Betaine Anhydrous: A chemical found in the body and in food, it’s added to toothpaste to prevent dry mouth. Possible side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and upset stomach.

Glutathione: Antioxidant which is an important amino acid used as a main antioxidant source. Since it’s rapidly digested, it serves no purpose in supplement form. It’s commonly mixed with other ingredients found in this formula, but it has not been proven to be useful.

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine: Often given as a drug used to treat acetaminophen overdose. It can produce nausea, vomiting, reddened skin, itchiness, and shortness of breath. It’s added to this shake as an antioxidant. A study featured in the US National Journal of Medicine showed it could:

“signal hypoxia-mimetic vascular pathology”

This is another way of saying it could lead to heart damage.  The same study showed damage to the liver.

Methylsulfonylmethane:  This ingredient is often mixed with Glutathione for helping prevent arthritis. The FDA has sent warning letters to companies who make positive claims about this ingredient.  It has been studied in many reviews, and no study has shown it has any effective medical use.

Quercetin Phytosome: No information exists about this ingredient besides the manufacturers. It’s a combination of the flavonoid Quercetin mixed with sunflower, that the company claims help relieve allergies.  Though they fail to provide any proof for these claims.

Clinical studies were performed and the European Food Safety Authority concluded there’s no known health benefit to this ingredient.

Macronutrients and Calories

 Calories

There’s a high 190 calories added of which 33 come from fat. This high amount of calories is more than twice the amount seen in other meal replacements. The overall fat content is:

33/190= 0.17 times 100= 17% fat by weight.

This just meets the qualifications for being moderate fat, since the FDA lists any food with 20% or more as being high fat.

Sugar

There’s 4 grams of sugar per serving that comes from:

Pure Cane Molasses: A thick leftover taken from the processing of sugar. It’s a mixture of glucose, fructose, and sucrose. It offers some minerals, though it’s still important to limit any type of sugar to prevent weight gain. Fructose in particular is known to cause weight gain and metabolism disorders.

Monk Fruit Concentrate: A non-caloric fruit that is 300 times sweeter than plain sugar.

Limiting sugar is important in all forms, since high amounts of it can lead to weight gain. There’s 8 grams offered per 2 servings a day.

The Quality of MediClear’s protein

The 31 grams of protein are a mixture of the following:

Pea Protein: Easy to digest that has purines, which are known to increase the amount of uric acid in the blood; this can then lead to gout. It also does not have all the essential amino acids. Purines may also increase the risk for cancer, since it’s known to break down DNA.

Rice Protein: A quick absorbing protein that can promote diarrhea and nausea if over supplemented.  It’s low in the amino acid Lysine, which is necessary for breaking down other proteins.

Since neither of these protein sources have all the necessary amino acids, the company tries to compensate by adding both Lysine and Glutamine. However, it’s unknown if these 2 added aminos are as good as finding them in Whey protein. Overall, the quality suffers for this lack of information.  High amounts of both of these proteins may produce unwanted side effects.

The Price and Quality of MediClear

This product is offered at $62.40 for one 20 serving container. This amounts to a daily price of:

$64.20/20= $3.21 a day for one shake.

There’s several ingredients added to MediClear which are either known to cause potential side effects, or they haven’t been proven to work. Also, the kind of protein added has a high potential risk for causing stomach issues. This brand is expensive for what you’re getting.

Potential Side Effects

The company lists a few potential complications which may occur.

They recommended not taking this if you are undergoing cancer therapy.

It’s also known to potentially cause diarrhea, bloating, gas, and other gastrointestinal issues.  This may be due to the elevated amounts of vitamins and minerals added. For example, there’s:

500% Vitamin C per serving: This may cause red blood cell death, kidney stones, heart problems, and improper blood clotting.

800% Vitamin B1 Thiamin: High amounts of this can lead to irregular heart beat and low blood pressure. It can also promote difficulty breathing, hives, and swelling.

500% Pantothenic Acid: This amounts to 50 mg, according to Web MD:

“recommended amount for adults is 5 mg per day”

Therefore you’re getting 45 mg more than what’s recommended.

It’s unknown what kind of impact this might have long term, also it’s not explained by the company why there’s this much added. Usually these types of ingredients are only required in small amounts. To get over 100% of your daily value may lead to unwanted side effects.

10 Day Detox Plan

According to the manufacturers, our current lifestyles and diet cause an increase of toxins in the liver and colon.  They suggest taking part of their 10 day plan.

In this plan there are a few phases. First with the turning of fat soluble substances into ready to be released enzymes. These toxic enzymes are then released by the liver.

The way this is accomplished is by getting rid of certain foods, while still taking MediClear as well as other supplements made by the company.

They offer a pamphlet as well which claims it will:

“help your body detoxify by providing nutrients and botanicals”

You have to quit eating many common foods that includes the following:

• Peanuts.
• Milk.
• Cheese.
• Wheat.
• Corn.
• Sweetened Fruits.
• Beef, pork, tuna, and cold cuts.

There’s also much more which is restricted including common fruits and even some vegetables.

In order to experience effect you also must supplement with MediClear, Medibulk, and a probiotic supplement. This increases the overall cost, and requires a lot more effort on the customer’s part. There’s also never any proof that these types of activities will produce any beneficial results.

Business

The company is known as the Thorne Research Inc., and they can be reached below:

Phone Number: (800) 228-1950

Address: P.O Box 25

Dover, Idaho 83825

There were 2 incidents with the FDA:

• The company was sent a warning letter by the FDA for making false health claims on over 11 different supplements. Without any evidence, the company was forced to stop making false health claims.
• Another warning was sent to consumers by the FDA over concerns of heavy metal toxicity from their supplements. The recommended to avoid any and all batches of this supplement over fears of serious side effects.

Customer Opinions

There are several reviews left by customers on Amazon.com:

“doesn’t mix up well with anything”

“expensive with unimpressive ingredients”

“kind of gross”

“had a strong, artificial, orange taste”

There are multiple reviews from concerned customers who felt that the overall value isn’t worth the price. Many complained about the taste and texture. Some also added they could taste the pea protein, and that the orange sweet taste was far too strong.

Conclusion

Many interesting details were revealed about MediClear:

• It contains lots of protein with missing amino acids: Though there’s 31 grams of protein added, it comes from 2 sources which are lacking in amino acids. Both rice and pea protein has been shown to cause potential side effects such as indigestion and diarrhea. The reason why the company reads amino acids is because without it this protein blend would lack key amino acids. Still, it’s unknown if these reintroduced aminos are as good as naturally occurring versions found in whey protein.
• Many of the additives have not been proven to work: For unknown reasons the company adds ingredients which have yet to be proven to work. Some of the ingredients like MSM, Glutathione, and Quercertin Phytosome have yet to be proven to work in clinical studies. So far, the prevailing evidence suggests there’s no benefit to these additives. This increases the price of this already expensive shake unnecessarily. There are also potential side effects with MSM as well.
• Customers have largely complained about the price and taste: Major complaints were reported from customers of this brand. Many felt it tasted chalky, too much like peas, and that it had an artificial orange taste. Plant based protein often has many added sugars and flavoring agents in order to get rid of this taste. Companies also often add fillers to make it taste better. Though there is silicon dioxide added to prevent caking and to promote the flavor of the ingredients. Still, there are customers who felt they had to force themselves to drink this expensive shake.
• In order to fully work a 10 day plan is advised: The company lists many common foods which need to be avoided including grapefruit, milk, corn, tomato, eggs, and much more. They also mention you have to take an additional amount of supplements made by the company. This increases the overall price and effort needed to experience results.  It’s also not proven with any clinical studies. Otherwise healthy people have their livers detoxify without much added effort. The creators of MediClear never offer any proof to suggest their plan is effective.
• It’s a detox shake, but there’s no proof it has this effect: The company mentions on the beginning of the website this shake will help relieve the liver and colon. However, they offer no clinical studies which show this is possible. They also fail to mention whether or not weight loss is a possibility. They also suggest an expensive 10 day detox plan which forces one to exclude foods, and to take more of the company’s supplements. Still, no proof is provided that this plan is either effective or safe.

Many customers have noted issues with the taste, price, and quality. There’s also concern over the use of unproven ingredients, some of which may cause side effects. It’s also expensive and features less than optimal protein.