Is Herbalife safe for pregnancy

Is Herbalife Safe for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding?

So here are two questions that have been on our Facebook page regularly:

  • Is Herbalife safe for pregnancy?
  • Is Herbalife safe while breastfeeding?

The fact is that I can research this and write a great article on it for you. Gather all the facts and present them to you.

However I am pretty sure that none of these diet/ nutrition/ weight loss products (Herbalife and others) have been tested and been approved as 100% safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Why do you want to take Herbalife?

Is it because you want to lose weight? Is it perhaps because you think it might help you with being healthier?

Maybe I am a complete idiot here (feel free to rip me apart in the comments!), but I have a very strong opinion on this topic.

Here are 10 Things I Believe In:

  1. We can get all the nourishment we need from FOOD. Yes from just eating the right things. Have you heard of things like spinach, nuts, seeds, avocado pears? These things are good for you.
  2. There are bad things we eat that we shouldn’t. Coke, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, sugar, caffeine… the list here is endless. All those yummy things that we probably eat lots of? Well those are the things that will make a big difference if we cut down on them. Yes I am guilty too, I am not preaching here. I am just saying what I know to be the truth.
  3. Exercise is good for you, it will make your body and your mind healthy!
  4. When you are pregnant you need to nourish your body with the right things, you are growing a baby!
  5. When you are breastfeeding you need to nourish your body with the right things, you are still growing a baby!
  6. When you are pregnant you will be a little (haha a LOT) heavier, this is normal. Relax and enjoy the fact your body is making a miracle!
  7. When you are breastfeeding you will still be heavier than normal, you will also have stretch marks and podgy bits. This too is normal. Give yourself a pat on the back, you have made a baby. Your body is amazing!
  8. Meal Replacement Shakes? Yes they are actually called that. No shake will make up for a meal, it never will. Who came up with this anyway, it’s crazy!
  9. These products are made in a factory, this is not food, it is not real nutrition. Real food is grown outside, pick it off a tree, but don’t get it out of a factory.
  10. No weight loss program or nutrition program will come close to what you can do on your own. Just eat right, get some exercise and cut down on certain things. Even the odd naughty thing is fine, in moderation. You won’t suddenly explode in fat rolls if you eat one chocolate.

I think you know what I am going to say here, I personally don’t think taking Herbalife (or any other type of diet/ weight loss products) while pregnant or breastfeeding is a good idea at all.

Furthermore Herbalife is an MLM (Multi Level Marketing) company which doesn’t sit well with me. It reminds me of other MLM companies like Amway and Jeunesse. Overpriced products that may or may not be bad quality (sorry I am really not sure because I have not really delved into it).

These MLM companies seem to have a cult like feel to them with distributors trying to recruit people so they can make more money. It just makes me so suspicious. Check out this article where customers accuse Herbalife of being a pyramid scheme.




I know we all want to be thin and beautiful, but the truth is that no diet or weight loss products have been tested as 100% safe for pregnancy or breast feeding.

Just briefly surfing around online I found so many complaints about Herbalife it is scary!

Is Herbalife safe

Here are some of the things people are saying about Herbalife and their products:

  • Products cause Nausea, Vomitting and Diarhea
  • Products cause Headaches
  • Products cause Muscle Pain
  • Products cause Stomach Pain
  • Products cause Blood in Stool
  • Products cause Heart Pulpitations
  • Products cause Dizziness
  • Products cause Tiredness and Sluggish
  • Products smell and taste like chemicals when they claim it is natural, read this article I found on the ingredients.
  • Distributors refusing to give refunds as promised when products don’t work
  • When products don’t work Distributors say it is because customer is not taking products as instructed, there is nothing wrong with the product
  • Initial weight loss but when stopped taking the products gained more weight than before
  • They are a pyramid scheme
  • They are a scam
  • When asking Distributor about all these physical side effects you get an answer of it is the toxins leaving your body, you must drink more water!

Is herbalife safe while breastfeeding

Here are some links to sites with Herbalife complaints, feedback and news:

pregnant-1170360-1280x1600See if they were such a great company surely there would not be so much fuss about them right? Where there is smoke…

So considering you need to really be putting the best you can into your body to grow your baby during this time I would really stay away from Herbalife while pregnant and breastfeeding.

If you want to take the risk after you are finished growing your baby go for it, but please wait until you are finished breastfeeding.

I wrote an article in December last year about my Body After Birth, have a read and have a laugh. And yes I will write an update to that article. I am getting there slowly, the right way.

So please, look after your baby, look after your body and give yourself a break!

What is your experience with Herbalife? Please leave a comment.

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16 comments

  1. hi Lynne
    ok I have to say that I totally agree with you. I do not see why someone would want to use a weight control product while being pregnant. you are supposed to gain weight when pregnant! Even though it might be hard to accept for some. Feed yourself and the baby growing inside of you good food, real food. And I am with you: no shake will ever replace a meal. Other than a smoothie in the morning, I feel no satisfaction whatsoever in drinking a shake as a meal…

    • Hi Emily
      I think loads of women struggle with the weight gain. I put on a crazy amount of weight with my first baby.. It was about 38 kgs (yes you can close your mouth now lol). I took about 18 months to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 60kgs. It is the first time I have ever struggled with weight in my life. And of course I fell pregnant again as soon as I lost all that weight (talk about crying buckets lol).

      I also had a few smoothies when I was pregnant, especially at the times I had morning sickness. It was often easier to get down a fruit smoothie than anything else.

  2. You asked if Herbalife is safe for pregnancy and breast feeding.
    Would I want my wife to take Herbalife?

    You supply data that people have complained about this product and have experienced uncomfortable side effects.

    Well, nobody complains about good food or experiences unpleasant side effects from eating a healthy meal.

    The facts speak for themselves. I’m with you 100% on this issue. Thanks for presenting the facts. Now people can make an informed choice.

    PJ

    • Hi PJ, thanks for visiting and giving a man’s viewpoint on this topic, lovely to hear what you have to say. That is exactly my point, there is too much uncertainty about Herbalife for my liking, and even if it was endorsed by specialist doctors I would be hesitant… meal replacement shakes while pregnant or breastfeeding? Dieting while pregnant or breastfeeding? Scary stuff if you ask me.

      That is the one time in life I believe a woman has an absolute right to relax and not worry about her weight. She should just focus on being with her baby and getting used to being a new mom

      If a woman exclusively breastfeeds chances are she will lose lots of baby weight very fast anyway. With my 2nd baby I lost all my baby weight plus 5kgs in 3-4 weeks after birth. My boy was a big feeder LOL. But yes I was one of the lucky ones, so I do understand some women take a long time to lose weight.

  3. Hey Lynne! I was scared Reading the title, because as you say Herbalife has a kind of cult feel to it, they think what they’re doing is so great when it could not be farther from the truth. I think their products are dangerous, and I totally agree with you: we can get all the nutrients we need from food, the more natual the better!

    • Hi Laurie
      I am so glad you agree, I have had some moms not too chuffed with this post on social media, others loved it! I expected to get ripped apart though.. however as stated this entirely my own personal opinion, not based on a doctor or scientist’s opinion.
      I just feel that if a mom is looking into Herbalife she is looking at weight loss, I can’t think of a worse time to consider doing it. Wait till your baby is not physically dependant on you!

  4. As a user of herbalife I can say the products is 100% safe and good for you. I doing Herbalife a see major improvements in my body and have never felt better I ate a health diet before starting herbalife but it just was not enough. My body feels healthy and greatly fueled vetter than I ever have. Also, herbalife is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and I know of tons of women who have used it during these stages. Yes, weight gain is noral during pregnancy but a normal weight women should only gain about 30 pounds during there pregnancy. This does not happen anymore though most women and it is even proven in the comments on this article gain around 60 pounds during there pregnancy which is not healthy. Herbalife is more than just a diet a plan. Herbalife is also not over priced when you but your shake mix and decide the servings out by the price you actually pay only around $2 for your meal.

    • Hi Johanna thanks for sharing your opinion with us. I do agree that some women are picking up a lot more than normal, I did too with my first pregnancy. However I still stand by my thoughts in the post that it can’t be healthy to replace a meal with a shake of any sort while pregnant or breastfeeding.

  5. I was on a diet before i fell pregnant and lost 13kg. But the soon as i heard im pregnant i stopped using the pills (not Herbalife).
    I then started breastfeeding and asked the doc if i could use these pills again and he said no. Its not good for your baby.
    I agreed.
    Now im going to start in January without any pills! Just going to exercise and eat healthy!
    I know i can do it!!!

    • Great stuff Marisca. Just so you know I am trying out something new, it is natural and I will be giving feedback after Christmas with how it is going so keep your eyes peeled for that.

      Hopefully I will lose some of this stubborn weight! Read my latest post about this Fat Mom for more info!

  6. Will do Lynne.
    Just love this page and all the reading material xxx

    • Yes I’ve actually lost a bit already so I am really surprised. Honestly I don’t go for these things usually. But it was given to me for free and it’s just a nut so I thought why not right?

      I will update you soon in January.

  7. I don’t think it’s a good idea to loss weight during pregnancy and to use some products it’s just not fair for the baby growing inside stomach and for the product I never used it i don’t know anything about it

  8. Herbalife is not safe for pregnancy or breastfeeding. Drinking weight loss shakes is not a good idea, pregnant, breastfeeding or not.
    Just eat properly, drink water and exercise and you will be fine.

    I hate this Herbalife – someone close to me tried it and she felt so awful after taking it. There have been numerous legal proceedings for against Herbalife. A year ago Herbalife agreed to pay out $200 MILLION …like OMG are you serious?

    Check that out here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/07/15/federal-trade-commission-herbalife/87119208/

    You don’t just pay out $200 million for nothing. I won’t touch it and I won’t recommend it to anyone else either.

    It’s as good as a pyramid scheme.

  9. “Although Herbalife products are safe to be consumed by most adults, a few Herbalife products bear a warning statement indicating they are not recommended for pregnant or lactating women. The products referred to with the warning statement generally contain caffeine.”

  10. I love Herbalife, it has made such a difference to my health. I also used it during pregancy.

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