Smart Blood Sugar by Dr. Marlene Merritt looks more like a scam than a legitimate product. In this review, I’m going to reveal why I came to this verdict even though this product has some genuine positive testimonials online and the creator is a real person with the right qualifications. So make sure you read this review to the end before you decide to try the product.
Smart Blood Sugar, aka Smart Blood Sugar Fix, claims to be the product that will lower your blood sugar levels permanently and reverse your Type 2 Diabetes for good. It claims to achieve this feat by changing your diet to fewer carbs, and more healthy fat recipes, which will boost your energy levels and eliminate your bad food cravings.
Before we go any further, let’s find out who the author of this product is, shall we?
Who is Dr. Marlene Merritt?
Dr. Marlene Merritt is a licensed doctor practicing in Austin, Texas. She holds a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and is a certified Applied Nutritionist and doctor of Oriental Medicine since 2000.
Merritt currently runs a medical organization called Merritt Wellness Center with her husband Will Mitchell. You can also find her on Twitter and YouTube, but she hasn’t posted on them since 2012. However, she’s been posting regularly on her Merritt Wellness Center website.
Bottom Line: The author of Smart Blood Sugar is real and qualified to give medical advice on health and nutrition.
Science Behind Smart Blood Sugar
According to Smart Blood Sugar’s website, the program is based on the principle of ‘glucose load balancing’, defined as ‘the process of actively managing blood glucose at optimum levels.’ In order to reach and maintain this optimum glucose level, Marlene advises that you restrict your carbs and eat more healthy fat.
Smart Blood Sugar promises to reveal to you the following:
- A sweetener that’s 300% sweeter than sugar and safer to enjoy than artificial sweeteners
- A ‘miracle noodle’ that has zero calories and doesn’t spike blood sugar levels
- An ancient religious practice that’s been shown to ‘increase growth hormone, burn fat, improve insulin sensitivity and lower fasting insulin levels’ without the need for exercise
- The tasty snacks you can use for hunger emergencies throughout the day without compromising your health or blood sugar levels
- The 9 ingredients you should always have in your cupboard
So far so good, right? Then why is Smart Blood Sugar a scam look-alike?
1. Fake Testimonials With Stock Photos
All the testimonials featured on Smart Blood Sugar are fake, as they were done using stock photos! I took my time to trace all of them. Let’s begin with the website itself:
- ‘Scott T.’ is a stock photo you can buy at Shutterstock.com;
- ‘Betty M.’ is a stock photo from Shutterstock;
- ‘Pride C.’ is a stock photo you can buy from CanStockPhoto, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, DepositPhotos, and 123RF;
- ‘Nicole O.’ is a stock photo you can buy at Shutterstock, Dreamstime, and Megapixl.
From the video presentation:
- ‘John’ is a stock photo from BigStock.com;
- ‘Charles W.’ is a stock photo you can buy at 123RF, DepositPhotos, and Shutterstock;
- ‘Robert C.’ is a stock photo from 123RF and Shutterstock;
- ‘Warlen B.’ is a stock photo from Fotolia;
- ‘Richard H.’ is a stock photo you can buy at Dreamstime, Megapixl, 123RF, and Shutterstock.
Now given the qualifications of the author of Smart Blood Sugar, I’m baffled that she had to resort to using stock photos to create testimonials about her product! There is a possibility that she did this in order to hide her patients’ true identities … but I didn’t find any disclaimer on the site disclosing this fact.
I believe there is more to this, as Smart Blood Sugar is not self-published or marketed directly by Marlene Merritt herself. Instead, it is published and marketed by a company called Primal Health LP.
So Who is Primal Health LP?
Primal Health LP is a company based in Allen Texas. It has a BBB rating of B- with more negative reviews (78% – the only ‘neutral’ review there is purely negative). You can check out its official website here.
As you can see from the website, Primal Health LP publishes and markets three products. Two of them (Blood Pressure Solution and Smart Blood Sugar) are written by Merritt.
Most of the negative reviews about this company center on the quality of its products, its scammy advertising, and refund issues.
2. Reluctantly Issues Refunds.
If you decide that Smart Blood Sugar is not for you and you want your money back, you’re going to have a pretty hard time. This is because they do NOT provide any information about how to get a refund despite offering a 60-day money-back guarantee. In fact, many buyers report that they never even received any email receipt after purchase!
So far, the only people I’ve seen who got their money back are those who filed complaints with the BBB. So if you’re having trouble getting your money back, try using BBB.
3. Contains NO Special Information.
Smart Blood Sugar is reportedly full of information that is readily available for free online. Reports from those who have used the product indicate that the book is ‘poorly written’ and ‘basically rubbish,’ while others praise it for ‘making sense’ and being ‘informative.’ But the general consensus is that the book does not have any original information. It’s basically a book that serves as an introduction to certain expensive dietary supplements Dr. Merritt’s crew is selling.
4. Other Evidence
1. Pop-ups. The Smart Blood Sugar website has pop-ups preventing you from leaving the website. Although this feature doesn’t show up if you visit SmartBloodSugar.com, it becomes apparent once you click on ‘Watch The Video.’ Try to leave the video page and the pop-up springs to action.
2. NO Support. Smart Blood Sugar claims to have support lines in case you have any questions about how to use the program. But I saw reports of people saying that the contact phone number published in the book is not functional. Also, there is no indication that Smart Blood Sugar offers any kind of support despite having contact information posted on their website.
3. Too Many Upsells. According to those who have bought the program, once you enter your card details to buy the program, you’ll receive only ‘2 pamphlets.’ Then you’ll be bombarded with a lot of emails asking you to try one program or supplement after another.
This calls to question the supposed ‘5 bonuses’ that are supposedly included in the program. At least one person reported that he never received the promised 5 bonuses, while another reported that they tried 3 times to sell him a meal plan – a plan I suppose was meant to be a ‘free bonus.’
Final Conclusion: Smart Blood Sugar Looks Like A Scam!
Blacklisted Website: SmartBloodSugar.com, SmartBloodSugarFix.com
To be honest, I feel bad blacklisting Smart Blood Sugar because its author is a real, qualified health professional and there are genuine reports from users testifying that it reduced their glucose levels. However, the people marketing this product are highly questionable, and I don’t want to believe that Dr. Merritt would resort to using stock photos to create fake testimonials in order to make people buy her book. A real doctor who knows his specialty well will NEVER resort to such disgraceful and career-killing practice.
So my recommendation is for you to stay away from this product until Dr. Merritt explains what is really going on. But if you disagree with my review, you can go ahead and try Smart Blood Sugar at your own risk.
[Consumers’ reports taken from HighYa, BBB]