What You Need to Know About Thrive Le-Vel:

Alright, I am going to start this by saying, you don’t know until you know. The point of this blog isn’t to hurt feelings or discredit anyone. 

​I simply feel obligated to share my professional doctor opinion on another green washed* brand- one that regularly fills up my personal social media. 

*Greenwashing is considered an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company's products  are environmentally friendly and therefore ‘better’.

I’ve had numerous patients in the past tell me they’ve dabbled in Thrive. Hell, I even did for a hot minute when I was in school! Most recently, I had a new patient ask me if they should continue their Thrive regiment along with her individualized plan from me. I asked her to send me the ingredient list of what she was taking, and I couldn’t believe was I was reading. These types of things really raise my cortisol level. 

I’m including the pictures she sent me and I’m going to break down a handful of things that I have to address. 

“Directions: take 1 to 2 capsules on an empty stomach or in-between meals.”

​Wait a second, what? Taking a multivitamin pack on an empty stomach doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble vitamins. That means, if you do not eat a fat containing meal with these vitamins, they won’t be properly absorbed. Sure, you may get a smidge of absorption, but in reality, your pee will be expensive. 

“Folic Acid”

These two words make me cringe! They sincerely make me cringe more than the word moist. Folic acid is not our friend and we do not want it in the supplements we take or the food we eat. Folic acid IS NOT the same thing as folate and should NEVER be used as an equivalent. Folic acid can inhibit transport of the necessary active folate across the blood-brain barrier where we need it to be able to support reductions in neuroinflammation.

My patient then told me that you’re supposed to then have your shake 20 to 40 minutes after taking the capsules that I was just referring to. 

“Total Fat 2g”

Studies which have shown increased absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) have involved taking them with a high-fat meal (i.e., about 15 grams or more -- that's at least 3 teaspoons of oil or other fats). Most meals provide at least 5 grams of fat (the amount of fat in a single egg, for instance), while a tuna wrap with mayo can have 40 grams.
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Again, you’re getting a high dose of fat-soluble vitamins with not enough ingested fat in your stomach for adequate absorption. 

“Magnesium Citrate”

Magnesium is a powerhouse mineral that roughly 80% of American’s are deficient in. It’s also needed for over 300 enzymatic conversions inside of your body. Wild, I know!  There are multiple forms of magnesium- magnesium citrate is one I rarely ever use. It is typically used for constipation, if you’ve ever had a colonoscopy prep, you’d have used a lot of it. It’s not absorbed well and it’s not a great wellness, magnesium option- sometimes is can even do more harm than good. 

​“Natural Flavors”

Each natural flavor may contain up to 100 ingredients. Those 100 ingredients include synthetic chemicals such as the solvent propylene glycol, the preservative BHA, and GMO-derived ingredients (unless organic or Non-GMO Project verified). Natural flavors can be derived from literally anything in nature, even animal parts. The subgroup of BPA plastics are also xenoestrogens, meaning they mimic estrogen. With female autoimmune disorders on the rise, along with female cancers, the last thing we want in our diets are xenoestrogens. 

“Sucralose” 

Sucralose (Splenda) is an artificial sweetener, similar to aspartame. Sucralose is produced by a multi-step chemical process that replaces three hydrogen-oxygen groups with three chlorine atoms. This replacement intensifies the sweetness to 600 times more than table sugar- while containing zero calories. As you can imagine, our gut is not a fan of sucralose. A study on sucralose and the GI microbiome showed that sucralose altered the gut microbiome by decreasing beneficial bacteria by up to 50%. Moreover, 12 weeks after the study the beneficial bacteria in the GI tract had not recovered. The study also found that sucralose may limit the bioavailability of certain orally administered medications- making the medications less effective.1

1 Abou-Donia MB, El-Masry EM, Abdel-Rahman AA, McLendon RE, Schiffman SS. Splenda alters gut microflora and increases intestinal p-glycoprotein and cytochrome p-450 in male rats. J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2008;71(21):1415-29. doi: 10.1080/15287390802328630. PMID: 18800291.

“Soy”

. Nearly all soy is GMO courtesy of Monsanto. (Insert eye roll emoji.) There are two soy isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, that increase estrogen activity. Which means soy is xenoestrogens and mimics estrogen- causing an estrogen buildup in our bodies. As we learn more about what this does to our body, we know it influences autoimmune disorders, estrogen dominance, and female cancers. 

• These products are not certified GMO-free. And let's be real, if you’ve grossed over two billion dollars in 2018, you can afford the certification. Without a certification, I don't blindly trust anything- you shouldn't either. 

Did you know that 5-10% of breast cancer is genetic?
​Leaving 90-95% of breast cancer related to environmental factors!

Now, as I stated previously, you don’t know until you know. I’ve had patients and friends tell me they’d spend $150-$300 A MONTH on their Thrive supplements. That doesn’t sit right with me knowing how subpar and toxic some of their ingredients truly are.
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It is imperative to get your supplements, herbs, and vitamins from a trusted medical professional. If you have any questions on what supplements you and/or your kiddos should be taking, please, set up an appointment! I am truly here to help you- that’s the purpose of this exposing blog. I sincerely hope I did not hurt any feelings, but the truth needs to be told.

​Let’s get back to health,
Dr. Taryn