A 28-year-old young Mexican woman, Lorena Peralta Baltazar, allegedly died of lead poisoning, and at first, the Herbalif drinks were indicated as responsible for the poisoning, as the Daily Mirror (which later withdrawn the article). The news went around the world:  after abusing Herbalife’s drinks for six months, a well-known company of slimming products and supplements, in an attempt to lose weight, the 28-year-old would have felt ill and would have died in less than 24 hours from malaise. Just like the case of the woman who after three days of slimming supplements was put on the list for a liver transplant, also in this case the woman would have complained to her parents about severe pain in the abdomen, but believing that it was normal colic. she would not go to the emergency room, only to tragically die in her home.

According to some doctors, the woman’s kidneys would have collapsed , and a high percentage of lead was found in her blood, which had damaged other vital organs. The authorities initially blamed Herbalife for the girl’s death, citing the presence of a percentage of lead (present in many industrial and freeze-dried products) in their products. However,  some doctors would later deny this , saying that the girl’s death was not directly attributable to the consumption of Herbalife products, as local authorities had initially assumed, but to “previous illness conditions”. Herbalife was thus cleared of all charges.