Speak of no heavy metals, see no heavy metals, hear of no heavy metals… and there will be no heavy metals: right? Well, maybe. It would be helpful if Truvani would release the lab report they claim to have.
For a company that prides itself on complete ingredient transparency,1 Vani Hari’s Truvani line is off to a poor start. In spite of her January 3, 2018 Facebook post boasting of a “clean” glyphosate and heavy metals test,2 Hari has spent the past two months ignoring repeated requests to release lab results backing her claims.
I’m one of several interested parties who have made multiple requests through the official contact numbers and addresses listed by Truvani.3 Truvani’s physical address is actually a mail drop located in a strip mall in Las Vegas, sandwiched between a beauty salon and a dry cleaner. Her phone line is an unmanned voice mailbox.
Unsurprisingly, all of our inquiries have been ignored. This alone does not mean Hari has something to hide. However, the discovery of even trace amounts of heavy metals in this company’s products would be damning to the “Food Babe”, who has gone on record saying there is no safe amount of any chemical to ingest, and has made a career out of disparaging trace amounts of chemicals in competitors’ products (while selling those same ingredients in her own online store).
If you’d like to add your voice and call for the same transparency that Hari demands in the products of others, the company phone number is:
(980) 292-0438
This is a voice mailbox in Charlotte, NC. There’s no human manning the phones, but you can leave a message. Ask that the full lab report for Truvani’s turmeric heavy metal analysis be released publicly. Please be polite.
Sending physical mail to Truvani’s legal business address is an exercise in futility. Listed as “848 N. Rainbow Blvd, Unit #8187, Las Vegas, NV 89107,”3 the address is nothing more than a mail drop in a small strip mall in Las Vegas (photo, below). You can send a letter, but don’t expect a reply.
Truvani’s official business address is a “Mail Link” franchise, wedged between a dry cleaner and beauty salon in a Las Vegas strip mall. Don’t expect a reply if you send mail. (click/enlarge). Photo © 2018 Google Maps.
Finally, you might try (as we did) emailing Truvani and asking for the release of the full lab report. We received no response, but perhaps if the outcry is great enough… The listed email address is:
If you’re lucky enough to get a response, I’d love to hear from you here at the blog or via the Bad Science Debunked Facebook page. There may be nothing to see, but it rings hollow that Hari, one of the loudest voices shouting for transparency in the food industry, refuses to disclose lab reports that she claims to have in hand.
Suggested Twitter hashtags if you tweet this article:
#FoodBabeArmy #FoodBabeWay @FoodBabe
Bonus Coverage: Chemicals in Truvani Turmeric
Vani Hari dances around the issue of chemicals in her flagship turmeric product by saying there are no “added” chemicals. Well, added by who? As we know, everything is a chemical, and it matters not where the chemical came from. While we wait on Vani’s lab reports, I thought I’d show you some of the chemicals you’re buying with every bottle of Truvani turmeric.
“Major phytoconstituents of turmeric are diarylheptanoids, which occur in a mixture termed curcuminoids that generally make up approximately 1–6% of turmeric by dry weight. Most crude extracts prepared from turmeric, and even some refined “curcumin” materials, contain three major compounds”4 — The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin
(Journal of Medicinal Chemistry)
Curcumin, found in TruVani’s product (Click to enlarge). Courtesy Pubchem. See references.
Bisdemethoxycurcumin, also found in TruVani’s product. (Click to enlarge). Courtesy Pubchem. See references.
![Demethoxycurcumin, another chemical found in TruVani's [todo]](https://badscidebunked.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/demethoxycurcumin.png)
Demethoxycurcumin, a Truvani offering. (Click to enlarge). Courtesy Pubchem. See references.
Curcumin, a major component of TruVani Turmeric, is loaded with chemicals (click/enlarge)
References
(1) Truvani Mission Statement on Ingredient Transparency
Warning: Not a scholarly or educational link
https://www.truvanilife.com/
Retrieved 17 Mar 2018
(2) Vani Hari Heavy Metals Claim on Facebook
Warning: Not a scholarly or educational link
https://www.facebook.com/thefoodbabe/photos/a.208386335862752.56063.132535093447877/1789015851133118/?type=3&theater
Retrieved 17 Mar 2018
(3) Truvani Contact Information
https://www.truvanilife.com/contact
Retrieved 17 Mar 2018
(4) The Essential Medicinal Chemistry of Curcumin
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
2017 Mar 9;60(5):1620-1637
Kathryn M. Nelson, Jayme L. Dahlin, Jonathan Bisson, James Graham, Guido F. Pauli, and Michael A. Walters
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5346970/
Retrieved 21 Nov 2017
(5) Curcumin (Compound Summary for CID 969516)
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/969516
Retrieved 21 Nov 2017
(6) Demethoxycurcumin (Compound Summary for CID 5469424)
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5469424
Retrieved 21 Nov 2017
(7) Bisdemethoxycurcumin (Compound Summary for CID 5315472)
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5315472
Retrieved 21 Nov 2017
Image Credits
Curcumin image Copyright © 2017 American Chemical Society, from an open access article published under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial No Derivative Works (CC-BY-NC-ND) Attribution License, which permits copying and redistribution of the article, and creation of adaptations, all for non-commercial purposes.
Curcumin Image (Compound CID 969516) from PubChem, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/969516
Demethoxycurcumin Image (Compound CID 5469424) from PubChem,
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5469424
Bisdemethoxycurcumin Image (Compound CID 5315472) from PubChem,
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5315472
Bad Science Debunked 
Pretty face with a pretty name is a pretty good gimmick, don’t have think? I used to be naive to the game, but no longer.
Still… buyer beware
LikeLike
There’s a spelling error in the title (Revel/Reveal), just fyi.
LikeLike
Thank you, got it fixed! Typo on my part. The perils of being a one-man shop with no proof reader.
LikeLike
It happens to the best of us.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This article is such a lie to discredit her. Don’t listen to these people. I use Truvani products and I’ve always gotten a quick response from the support staff. I personally know people who have worked for her and she stands by everything she says and is truly trustworthy. There is a whole bunch of people who want to discredit her to keep us in the dark about our terrible food industry and this article must be written by one.
LikeLike
In that case I have a challenge for you Megan. Simply ask Truvani to release the lab reports they claim to have on her turmeric product, and post the results here.
You will not get a response, I promise you.
Furthermore, I challenge you to post the question on her Facebook page. You’re will be banned, blocked from ever commenting again.
I also challenge you to ask her on Twitter. You will be blocked from following her.
Any voice mails or emails you send on the question will
go unanswered .
Please prove me wrong.
LikeLike
Thanks for the info, I have asked several times where they source the fish from in the marine collagen and have yet to get a response.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Would you trust a report you received from Truvani? Couldn’t they edit the results? Why not have the product independently tested instead?
LikeLike
I am having it independently tested. Of course, she will claim any results were faked.
Yes, you are correct, there could be a trust issue. From the purveyors of over four dozen products that contain the same ingredients she says are harmful, I wasn’t holding my breath for a transparent reply.
I wanted to see her results so I could use the same lab that she used, somewhat defusing the anticipated fakery claims. But, also, based on what I know about chemistry, biology, and her ingredients,I am somewhat confident I can predict things in her results that she will want to cover up. I can’t say I’d trust her to accurately report, but if she fudged it, that might be evident too.
Her failure to release anything speaks volumes.
LikeLike
I see you were having a lab test done. Where are the results of that test?
LikeLike
Hi Cindy,
Thanks for checking in. I held off on the lab test because of the release of her new book. I didn’t want to give her another Martyr Card to play leading up to and during the release. More free publicity if I did. If you followed any of her so-called writing during this time period, she put herself on a cross and was screaming about the nails being driven into her body, if you can forgive the analogy. Costco was allegedly attacking her for not carrying her book–she released a video where she broke down crying over the persecution (it was a great acting job for a beginner ;-)). And it went on and on.
I still have the Truvani turmeric sealed in its original box; her book sales seem to be quickly tanking. As soon as she can’t link the test to an attack on her book I still plan to open the box on video, put it in the lab bag with the chain of custody form and ship it off, and see what comes back :-). Apologies for the long wait. Her relevance has declined so greatly that I don’t want to inadvertently help it along. BTW, I’ve also found an ingredient in another of her Truvani products that she says will cause brain disorders. Not quite done with her yet, just waiting for the right time 🙂
LikeLike
Of course I read this article after I purchased the protein powders and turmeric. It’s so disheartening. I am glad you are doing an I dependent test and cant wait to find out the results. Will be returning these products.
What do you use for protein powder?
LikeLike
Are you really trying to say that natural chemical compounds found in natural foods are bad?
All foods and even water have a chemical breakdown but they are natural and safe, the man made fake chemicals that are not meant for human or animal consumption are the dangerous chemicals. you seem to be deliberately misleading people.
LikeLike
No. Please read the article. Chemicals are chemicals. Full stop. Crude oil and cyanide are organic and natural. That doesn’t mean they are safe for human consumption. You’re falling for a fallacy known as Appeal to Nature. Toxicity isn’t based on whether a compound is found in nature or manufactured.
LikeLike
you wouldn’t be on of the ones i’ve read about in her book ‘feeding you lies’??? sure sounds like it…
LikeLike
Everyone who disagrees with her or points out her errors is “feeding you lies,” so I doubt she’s a fan of mine. 🙂 . I’ve documented just short of 48 products she’s sold that contain the same ingredients she says are toxic, and have co-written a book her scientific gaffes, so she does know about me. I’m the guy who pointed out to the national news that she’d been selling BHT for years, despite her campaign to remove BHT from consumer products. She had some pretty unkind things to say when they picked up that story 😉
So maybe I am talked about in her book. I don’t know, I’m waiting on a library copy before I review it. Not going to contribute $$$ to someone who called vaccines a tool of genocide 😦
LikeLike
Would you be willing to buy the product and send it to a 3rd party lab to have it tested yourself? I’ve done this before with drinking water in my home to see how well my water filters are working. Then let us know what the results are. If you arent getting a response and you are since concerned then get to the bottom of it.
LikeLike
So* concerned not *since
LikeLike
I’ve already bought it with that intention. I’ve held off though because it would coincide with the release of her new book and I’ve no desire to help feed the persecution complex she’s using to hype sales.
LikeLike
I just bought her protein powder and just came across these posts – this has been going on since March. Are there any Heavy Metals in her protein powder or BHT.
LikeLike
She won’t release her test results Cynthia. She’s in full-on persecution mode with her new book on the shelves; I won’t play into that by spending money to have her product tested on my own dime right now.
LikeLike
I ordered some products, just to “try”. She put me on her “autoship plan”. I asked to be removed, but the next month I received a “surprise” when another package arrived at the post office. I notified her via email saying I wasn’t going to pick up the package because I didn’t order via “autoship”.
The post office sent the product back. She reversed the charges of the product, but still charged me for shipping. I said I won’t pay for her to ship a product I didn’t order. Finally, she partially (?) reimbursed me for the shipping.
Dear Food Babe, You’re not off to a great start with your customers. I won’t be ordering any more of your products when you treat your customers by using the “autoship” feature without permission or request. You just lost me as a repeat customer. I won’t be ordering any more of your products ever!
Buyer beware! She’s unethical!
LikeLike
Hi Mark,
I don’t have a lot of money right now, as I am “paused”. But I would gladly support a “Go Fund Me” (or similar) to pay for independent testing of her products with demonstrated chain of possession. I’ve been increasingly frustrated with Truvani and Food Babe, and just came across this site. I’m shocked to learn that she’s un willing to be transparent while touting her brand to be so.
I shouldn’t be shocked- my Spidey senses were twitching warnings of unethical practices with difficulty in customer communication re: purchased items vs. no lag in communications when attempting to purchase a product, overly aggressive marketing, over priced products with deceptive volume, and too many pretty polished pictures of her face on her website everywhere.
Sigh.
It’s been a year since your last post. Let’s get this rolling. (Are labs open to independent testing during COVID-19?)
Thank you for your efforts.
LikeLike
I have the turmeric purchased from her and found a lab Diane. GoFundMe is the only way I could afford the testing we’d need. if some kind volunteer would be interested in setting up the gofundme, with any overflow going to perhaps covid relief efforts, I’d be happy to contribute my unopened turmeric, handle the labwork and write it up.
LikeLike
P.S. yes labs are still open. I found one with a 3-5 day turnaround time charging $360 for the three tests I have in mind. It’s basically $120/metal. Is there enough interest in her to get $360 in funding do you think? I do think with her recent COVID related garbage it would be a nice benefit to offer to donate any over $360 to a worthy Coronavirus charity. Just my random thoughts…
LikeLike
Pingback: Fantastic Trends and How to Find Them by Adam Yee – In Defense of Processed Food
Hi Mark,
Do you have any updates on the testing? I had subscriptions to several of Truvani’s products (protein powder, collagen, Turmeric and probiotic) for nearly six months. During this time, I experienced multiple symptoms – bloating, weight gain, headaches, muscle aches, joint pain, depression and fatigue.
I got frustrated with Truvani’s terrible customer service and ended my subscriptions. All symptoms gradually faded once I stopped using her products. This cannot be a coincidence. I was a loyal customer and Food Babe follower but I am now certain her products are not pure. I eat clean and live a healthy lifestyle and have never felt worse than when using Truvani products. Please test her products!
Thank you for speaking out – she does play the martyr and having dealt with her company for six months I can say for certain she is unethical. Vani is selling an image – she is not a doctor or a nutritionist.
LikeLike
Hi Julie, thanks for checking in. I never did have the testing performed. It was pretty expensive; I talked to some folks about a crowd fundraiser idea for it but the general feeling is that she isn’t relevant enough to spend the money on. So, I just let it go.
LikeLike
I asked to see the heavy metals analysis for the Truvani Collagen product. this is the response i got:
“Our COA reveals our specific formulation. If we were to publish it, people would be able to copy our products. Naturally, we don’t want that. However, our products run through rigorous 3rd Party Testing for the major heavy metals and contaminants. We ensure they fall under the guidelines to pass Prop 65.”
If you can’t show me your COA to prove your product is heavy metal free, there’s no way i would buy it from you! Clearly there is ways to show their COA without divulging their specific formulation. Talk about a cop out!
Anyone know any heavy metal free collagen products on the market?
LikeLike
Truvani is on Facebook as we speak attempting to peddle their products by offering “Buy 1, get 2 free” if you purchase on Amazon. I was tempted to do it until I saw the outrageous prices, this article and a few comments stating the product didn’t help them. Can anyone recommend a good source of tumeric? What are your opinions about tumeric actually helping with inflammation? I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of wasting money on supplements that doesn’t live up to the hype!
LikeLike