Quality Always Matters

“The therapeutic value of a supplement is only as good as its raw materials, which has a direct effect on how we perceive the product and its results.”

After Covid the public lost trust in the medical system as more and more people are taking their healthcare into their own hands. Most people feel deceived and lied to on so many levels from our elected politicians, through the independent media to our family physicians and the entire healthcare system. People believed that these authorities had our best interests in mind as they sounded the alarms; they were shown on live TV that death was imminent and everyone we met was a potential carrier of this invisible deadly disease.

The unsuspected public felt that the world is under attack, they did not know what was happening, if foreign governments used a bioweapon or not. They did not understand how is it so dangerous that every family member is at risk no matter the age or situation, and if it is a war zone, everyone is a potential enemy, even our own siblings and parents. The people were filled with fear and sounded the rally cry: save us from the enemy! And the pharmaceutical industry listened as they held their board meetings—this was their opportunity to help people as they convinced the politicians, the world health authorities who were asking of them: “what can you do for us under such an emergency? You will be exempted from prosecution and any side effects will not be compensated, operation warp speed to the rescue. We understand the method is untested and not proven safe, yes, the animals tested all died but the sky is falling and we must all do our part since we are all in this together.”

When the same pharmaceutical companies pushing their experimental drugs are also the same group that owns most of the trusted vitamin brands, the level of quality control is non-existent. Give the children randomly sourced melatonin, after all melatonin must be safe, even though it is a hormone. If not, it would not be sold in every health food store. It is a gummy and gummies taste good, it is a vitamin after all and it must be safe, kids love it, so it got to be good for you. Then the truth becomes apparent that these gummies we are giving in vast amounts to our children may be dangerous, they may be shutting down the children’s own serotonin production. The label says 1mg but apparently it could be 10mg: 10 times the safe level for children. At this point what is the public going to do? We cannot trust the drug companies and even the health companies we cannot trust since they own them too. There must be some companies that are not compromised, right?

We have done several newsletters discussing the quality of the Life Choice® products, at trade shows other suppliers ask me what my latest research is on and when I say it is finding the highest quality raw materials and formulating natural medicines to create an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs without the side effects, over and over they say the same: do you not do anything differently, just go with the flow. In the end we often stand alone from our industry: we hear the comments from other suppliers and various retailers when they say we should not talk about product quality as we make the other brands look bad. I just shake my head in disappointment because we would be better accepted as a brand and by our industry if we would only lower our quality standards and go with the flow. I am old school and the flow I will go with is the one I have been pursuing for 37 years even if that means swimming against the current, so be it. I would rather retire from the industry than compromise on product quality.

The latest disaster is about the melatonin gummies sold in the US; the study was wide spread and showed how much the natural health industry is in disarray for quality standards. It is hard for me to write about this because doing so it fortifies pharma’s stand and it gives the FDA and Health Canada reasons to further restrict natural health products. It affects my own industry, the one that I love but when the industry has failed it does not mean that those pursing a higher standard should also be lumped in the same pile. Our only hope is to raise customer awareness and hold the industry accountable with their purchases and to force it to raise their standards.

It is tragic when you see this happening, especially when knowing that the pharmaceutical industry would like nothing better than to see the natural health industry go away so that they could control everything in regards to health care. How disappointing to see such a powerful product like melatonin to be so abused. It gives the amazing product a bad name when in fact it is the sourcing of melatonin and a lack of quality standards that causes the side effects and especially for young children.

In 2017, the University of Guelph published findings of their study on different varieties of melatonin. The university tested 30 different melatonin supplements from 16 brand names. The supplements were sold in grocery stores and drug stores. Of the products tested, 71 percent did not meet their label claims. Some examples of these inaccuracies are listed below:

  • 12-25% had higher than listed melatonin amounts
  • some products contained almost 5 times the listed amount of melatonin
  • 1 chewable tablet that listed 1.5mg of melatonin actually contained over 8mg
  • some products skewed the other way, containing less melatonin than listed
  • 1 product listed 3mg melatonin but contained 83% less
  • 25% of the supplements also contained serotonin, which is not authorized to be sold as a supplement, as it could be dangerous for those on SSRIs.

Doctors commenting on the findings noted that as an unstable molecule, melatonin could be affected by environmental conditions (such as temperature) or differences among batches (such as by improper mixing). The doctors speculated that feasibly some manufacturers may have added extra melatonin in an attempt to extend the product’s shelf life. Their final conclusion was their hope that these findings could help manufacturers improve production quality. Sadly, findings such as these are not new and keep happening.

The newest report published this year does not show many positive results either. “The great majority of melatonin gummy products were inaccurately labeled, with most products exceeding the declared amount of melatonin and CBD. (…) Administration of as little as 0.1 mg to 0.3 mg of melatonin to young adults can increase plasma concentrations into the normal nighttime range. Consuming melatonin gummies as directed could expose children to between 40 and 130 times higher quantities of melatonin. Unintentional ingestions could lead to consumption that greatly exceeds these dosages of melatonin. With respect to CBD, the drug is FDA approved to treat refractory seizures caused by 3 rare genetic disorders, but the FDA has not approved the use of CBD for any indication in healthy children. [1]

In order to achieve a therapeutic response the formulation must be designed to be effective, and the best assurance to achieve results is by using the highest possible pharmaceutical standards. Anything short of the very best will simply not work or worse, it will cause harm.

Melatonin: Standard Grade or Patented Pharmaceutical Grade?

Melatonin has become one of the most popular health products over the last decade, and the global market of melatonin has increased extremely yet the quality of the products available on the market varies tremendously in both strength and purity which influences not only the products’ effectiveness but also their safety. The problem is not only in inaccurate labels but other ingredients occurring alongside melatonin. Another important factor of melatonin production is the quality of the raw material – which significantly influences the quality of the final product – and whether the melatonin is natural sourced or synthetic.

The natural standard form comes from the pineal gland of animals and is mixed with unknown synthetic material and the synthetic is the patented USP grade melatonin that Life Choice® uses. We use the same chemical pathway as natural melatonin secreted from the pineal gland. Standard melatonin may pose a risk to humans because it can be contaminated with animal viruses. The lower grades of raw materials can be also mixed with fillers and the amount put in the capsule can vary. Patented USP grade does not, as it is safer because it is produced to be free from biological contaminants. The USP standard raw material is tested and it must be pure and exact.

Why Is Melapure® Melatonin Different?

Melapure® Melatonin has been used in clinical studies for treating insomnia, oxidative stress, preeclampsia, cancer, fibromyalgia, hair loss in women, and several other diseases. And while there are other melatonin’s on the market it is important to point out they don’t work the same way. Synthetically-sourced from the amino acid L-tryptophan, Melapure® Melatonin is safer to use than the natural sourced varieties because it is free from all biological contaminants and it is vegan. It is derived synthetically from chemical term 5-Methoxytryptamine; it is synthesized through a different chemical pathway and produces a number of important chemical reactions, including serotonin. The patented formula takes a total of four reactions to bring about the change, and each of these reactions requires its own specific enzyme. One of the enzymes act as the rate-limiting enzyme in the reaction pathway, and its activity determines how much melatonin is produced within the body preventing serotonin overloading. The other benefit of Life Choice® Melapure® Melatonin is it does not shut down your own serotonin production.

The therapeutic value of a supplement is only as good as its raw materials, which has a direct effect on how we perceive the product and its results. Melatonin is a good example; Life Choice® uses patented USP pharmaceutical grade quality costing eleven times more than other melatonin of an unknown grade or quality. Why is this important? Many people experience side effects using non-regulated melatonin e.g. vivid nightmares, clenching of the teeth, muscle spasms or anxiety these side effects are the results of the quality sourcing of the raw material used and not from melatonin itself. The old saying “you get what you pay for” rings true with melatonin for when the science is invested into the material the results will be therapeutic and bring peace of mind.

References:

  • Cohen, Pieter A et al. 2023. Quantity of Melatonin and CBD in Melatonin Gummies Sold in the US. JAMA 329,16: 1401-1402. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.2296

[1] Cohen, Pieter A et al. 2023.