Herbalife Weight Loss

The Herbalife weight loss program is part of Herbalife International, founded in 1980 as a multi-level marketing operation specializing in weight management, personal care, and nutritional products. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HLF.

The cornerstone of the Herbalife weight loss product line is a meal-replacement beverage mix called Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix. Proprietary measures keep the exact contents of the shake mix secret but nutritional ingredients are listed on the product's label.

Advertising for the Herbalife weight loss shake mix describes the product as a low-calorie substitute for a typical meal and as a nutritional supplement. Advocates of the product claim the Herbalife weight loss regimen is in keeping with industry standards for safe and effective weight control. The Herbalife weight loss and nutritional supplement line of products is said to utilize macro- and micronutrient formulations.

Some of the ingredients in the original formulation of the Herbalife weight loss line have come under fire in recent years by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Two herbs in particular, ma huang and sida cordifolia, contain dangerous ephedrine alkaloids that cause adverse reactions, even death, in some users. When the FDA banned the use of ephedra in 2004, the company stopped using it.

The multi-level marketing giant is not without controversy and scandal.

Mark Hughes, the company's founder, died of a multi-drug overdose in 2000 at the age of 44 after a four-day binge of alcohol and antidepressants.

Two top-level members of the Herbalife Scientific Advisory Board have been cited for inappropriate conflict of interest charges after benefiting from large financial gains as a result of their association with the company. Other legal issues include challenging marketing practices employed by independent distributors.