Why Metagenics Cont. - Quality Difference

Doctors and patients have thousands of nutritional products to choose from—with a wide variation in quality and price. We focus on improving people's health—not just selling pills.

Our top priority is to make products that work. Because no matter how much you pay for a product, it's too expensive if it doesn't work.

It's rare for a professional nutritional product company to devote the scientific staff, labs, equipment, time, resources, and strict procedures necessary to achieve true quality status.

We can't imagine it any other way—people's health may depend on it.

We Measure Up to All 5 Quality Standards—and Beyond.

We're the only nutritional company selling to health care professionals that strictly adheres to the 5 most identifiable standards for quality.

1. GMP-certified manufacturing—the ultimate quality marker. If it's on the label, it's in the bottle—guaranteed. Our manufacturing facility is certified for good manufacturing practices (GMP) by the Natural Products Association (NPA), National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), and the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia (TGA) to ensure the highest quality standards.

It's a sure way to know you're getting exactly what you pay for. No other professional supplement company has all 3 of these certifications. Many don't even have one.

2. Pure ingredients—identity tested on multiple levels. We accept nothing less than the best we can find. We quarantine each raw material then test each thoroughly to support quality, safety, and efficacy. On formulas requiring especially sensitive or perishable ingredients, we conduct additional testing—above and beyond the testing required of us by the Food and Drug Administration current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs. A batch of each final product is then tested again for purity as an added safety measure and confirmation of quality.

Our attention to detail here is unmatched in our industry.

3. Safety-reviewed ingredients—we won't create a formula without them. We don't even think of using an ingredient in a formula without a thorough literature search on its predicted safety in use as a nutritional supplement.

We have an onsite research staff and medical information center with access to thousands of peer-reviewed scientific publications. We review published studies and articles on every new natural ingredient we consider using in our products.

It's an added assurance for products you can trust.

4. Human clinical evaluations—the surest way to show effectiveness. The best way to test effectiveness and safety of a nutritional product is to see how it works with real patients. The Functional Medicine Research Center℠ (FMRC)—the clinical research arm of Metagenics—is an on-site clinic staffed by medical professionals who recommend our nutritional approaches and monitor their success. The FMRC also conducts clinical trials that have been published in respected peer-reviewed journals.

No other company in our market segment can offer this kind of first-hand knowledge that can only be achieved a clinical setting.

5. Scientific staff and facilities—the best in our business. Not every professional nutrition company has its own staff of dedicated medical and technical professionals. We have one of the largest in-house scientific staffs—MDs, PhDs, and others—in our industry segment.

Plus we have some of the industry's most progressive research facilities and labs, such as our MetaProteomics labs for testing the effects of nutrients on proteins and genetic expression.

It's easy to see why so many health care professionals and their patients rely on our products.

Added Measures to Maximize Effectiveness & Value

Going above and beyond is just routine for us. Here are just a few more examples:

Appropriate ingredient form & dose—so you can be sure. Our goal is to use highly absorbable nutrient forms so the body has a greater chance of using it the way it should to promote health. This is particularly important with certain key nutrients that may be poorly absorbed, or for people who have absorption concerns. And the dosages we recommend are based on scientific research that document effectiveness and predicted safety when used as intended.

The right delivery form—to meet the demands of patients and appropriate to the ingredients. We don't have a "one form fits all" policy. Not every ingredient should be made into a tablet or a capsule. So the ingredients often decide the delivery form for each product—tablet, chewable, liquid, capsule, softgel, soft chew, bar, or powder.

And a product can't work if people won't take it. So we also consider what people prefer. That's why we offer many of our products in a variety of forms and flavors.

Tablets made for ultimate performance—for better results. Nobody pays more attention to tablets than we do. Our tableting technology makes sure they disintegrate within a short time, to release ingredients for optimal absorption.

And we don't stop testing even after we create the final formula. Every product batch is tested to make sure our high tablet standards are met.

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Why Metagenics?

Patient Health—It's Our Greatest Concern

We've built a reputation on nutraceuticals and medical foods that meet the high expectations of health care professionals worldwide. But what we care about most is serving the best interests of the patients who use our products and services with a goal of improving health and reversing chronic illness.

The Industry Leader in Quality & Efficacy

We don't compromise on safety, efficacy, or quality—to make sure that we deliver the best results possible. Time after time. Bottle after bottle. We carefully monitor all products to assure purity and safety, from formulation and ingredient selection all the way to the final product.

Research & Innovation Ahead of the Curve

We offer more than just products. Our strong focus on research keeps us on the leading edge of the current evolution in personalized medicine. Our in-house team of highly regarded clinicians and scientists is actively developing breakthroughs in nutrient modulation of gene expression to help us create even more effective health care solutions.

Educational Programs with Renowned Experts

We offer more educational support for health care professionals than anyone else in our field—keeping them in touch with the latest research and nutritional approaches to help manage today’s most common illnesses. With our renowned in-house experts, including Dr. Jeffrey Bland and many other opinion leaders, we provide education through seminars, workshops, webinars, symposiums, and other venues.

Discover the Difference

See why more health care professionals and patients select Metagenics over many other professional brands. You'll be glad you did.
 
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Probiotics Aid in Weight Loss After Gastric Bypass Surgery

Last Updated: 2008-05-22 13:26:39 -0400 (Reuters Health)

SAN DIEGO (Reuters Health) - In a study at Stanford University, patients who took probiotics after Roux en Y gastric bypass surgery (RNYGB) lost more weight than RNYGB patients who did not.

These findings were presented Tuesday during Digestive Disease Week 2008 by Dr. John M. Morton, during a session on the management of patients with obesity.

"We have better treatments for crack cocaine addiction than we do for obesity," Dr. Morton asserted, "but there has been a real revolution with bariatric surgery. It provides strikingly durable weight loss...As a result, blood pressures will normalize...We have seen diabetes cure rates of 82%, and this can occur within weeks of surgery."

The trial involved 44 patients who underwent endoscopic RNYGB and were randomized to receive either 2.4 billion lactobacilli daily or no probiotic therapy for six months. Quality of life, hydrogen (H2) breath tests, vitamin B12 levels and weight were measured before surgery and at three and six months afterward.

At six months, the probiotic group had lower H2 breath tests, lower fasting insulin, lipoprotein A and triglyceride levels, and higher HDL cholesterol levels compared with controls, although the differences were not statistically significant. There was, however, a significantly greater improvement in quality of life in patients taking probiotics compared to controls.

"What was surprising was that probiotic patients lost more weight after surgery," Dr. Morton told Reuters Health. The study group lost 70% of their excess weight at six months compared with a loss of 66% of excess weight in controls.

He added, "This suggests that the cause of the weight increase may be bacterial...and may help explain the observation that fat people have fat friends...Some of it may be environmental and related to social factors, but it may also be related to high bacteria levels in some way."

"We know that probiotics have to be live cultures and you have to [ingest] a minimum of two billion colonies a day," Dr. Morton said. "We don't know exactly which probiotic organisms are best and how much to recommended...The populations vary. They are different in the gut flora in different patient types."

At the very least, probiotics are safe, Dr. Morton said. "There doesn't seem to be any downside to taking them," he commented.
 
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Apolipoprotein Ratio Better Than Cholesterol Ratios as Indicator of MI Risk

Last Updated: 2008-07-17 18:30:13 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The ratio of apolipoprotein B100 (ApoB) to apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) is superior to cholesterol ratios for estimating risk of acute myocardial infarction, the INTERHEART study investigators report in the July 19 issue of The Lancet.

The ApoB/ApoA1 ratio is an index of the proatherogenic and antiatherogenic lipoproteins in plasma, Dr. Matthew J. McQueen, at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and co-authors explain.

The study team obtained non-fasting blood samples from 9345 patients with a first acute MI and 12,120 age- and sex-matched controls from 52 countries, representing all major ethnic groups. Concentrations of plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins were measured using standard assays.

The population-attributable risk of MI was substantially higher for the ApoB/ApoA1 ratio (54%) than for the ratio of total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol (TC/HDL, 32%, p < 0.001).

The odds ratio associated with a one standard-deviation change in the ratio of ApoB/ApoA1 (1.59) was also higher than that for TC/HDL (1.17, p < 0.001).

ApoB/ApoA1 was superior to cholesterol ratios for estimation of the risk of acute MI "in all ethnic groups, in both sexes, and at all ages, and it should be introduced into worldwide clinical practice," Dr. McQueen's group maintains.

As they note, "The clinical measurement of apolipoproteins is standardized, simple, inexpensive, and can be done with samples obtained from non-fasting individuals."

They also point out that their recommendation is in line with the recent joint Consensus Statement by the American Diabetes Association and the American College of Cardiology, that "ApoB should be the final test of adequacy of any LDL cholesterol-lowering treatment."

In an editorial, Dr. Lars Lind from University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden, remarks that "the most important task is to ascertain that lipids are evaluated at all."

"Physicians and patients have taken decades to learn to measure lipids and treat hyperlipidaemia," he notes, predicting that "it will be a demanding but not impossible task of education to substitute traditional lipid measurements by the possibly somewhat better apolipoproteins."

Lancet 2008;372:185-186,224-233.

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Exercise ECG Identifies Heart Problems in Prospective Athletes

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exercise 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) is useful in identifying cardiac abnormalities in individuals who are seeking to participate in competitive sports, new research shows. Whether disqualification of these athletes helps prevent cardiovascular events will require further study.

The study is the "first to investigate, in a large population of sports participants, a complete cardiovascular preparticipation screening that included both baseline and exercise electrocardiograms," lead author Dr. Francesco Sofi from the University of Florence, Italy, told Reuters Health.

As reported in the October 17th Online First issue of the British Medical Journal, Dr. Sofi's team analyzed data from 30,065 prospective athletes to assess the clinical usefulness of preparticipation cardiovascular screening.

Resting ECG identified 6% of subjects as having cardiac abnormalities, while exercise ECG identified 4.9%. More than 80% of the abnormalities seen with resting ECG involved relatively benign ECG changes.

The authors report that 1227 athletes with normal findings on resting ECG showed abnormalities on exercise ECG.

All told, 196 subjects (0.6%) were considered ineligible for participation in competitive sports, including 159 who were disqualified for cardiac reasons. Nearly 80% of the latter group had important cardiac abnormalities that were only seen on exercise ECG.

On regression analysis, age over 30 years was identified as a significant predictor of disqualification due to cardiac abnormalities on exercise testing.

In an accompanying clinical review, Dr. Sanjay Sharma, from King's College Hospital, London, and colleagues discuss the epidemiology, objectives, methods, psychological impact, and costs of preparticipation screening for cardiac abnormalities in young athletes.

The authors conclude that "preparticipation screening using health questionnaires and physical examination only has poor sensitivity whereas elaborate screening programs are cost prohibitive." This leaves 12-lead ECG testing, which is useful in preventing sudden cardiac death from channelopathies and cardiomyopathies, but not due to coronary disease, they note.

Unfortunately, "implementation of preparticipation screening is currently hampered by the lack of resources and infrastructure and cannot be regarded as cost effective in most countries," Dr. Sharma's team concludes.

BMJ Online First 2008.

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Warm Up to Winter Activities

December 15, 2000 -- As the snow piles up, North Americans are running down their winter activity lists. Skiing, skating, sledding and leisurely walks in the snow are just some of the more popular pursuits.

But while having fun should be first and foremost in your mind, avoiding health risks should be second. Trudging through snow, braving icy sidewalks, battling bitter winds, climbing snow banks and hitting the ski hills can wreak havoc on your body -- especially if you're out of shape.

That's why the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is warning people about flurries of winter activity. The ACA says sprains, tears and painful muscle spasms are just some of the injuries outdoor enthusiasts experience in the winter, and these are more likely to occur in people who aren't used to physical exertion.

The cold makes everyone more vulnerable to injuries, says ACA spokesperson Dr. Jerome McAndrews, because the body's muscles and blood vessels contract to conserve heat, lowering blood supply and reducing muscle capacity. This can weaken muscles and even trigger joint pain.

That's why bundling up is important. But besides wearing thermal underwear and a parka, people can prevent the cold from causing injuries by properly preparing their body with warm-ups and stretches. "The warm-up becomes important to get the blood back out to the extremities and to get those blood vessels dilated again," says McAndrews. "In the winter it is always good for someone who is going to engage in skiing or even walking to stretch out a little bit."

If you don't exercise regularly, McAndrews says warm-ups and stretches are even more important. "If those muscles are not in condition or toned up, the impact on them can be unbalanced and you could be in for some trouble."

For pain-free fun, different activities demand different precautions. Here are some of the ACA's tips for people who enjoy winter's most popular pleasures:

Skiers should know squat: Before hitting the slopes, you should do 10 to 15 squats. Stand with your legs about shoulder-width apart, slowly lower your buttocks as if you were sitting down, return to a standing position and repeat the process without a break until you complete the set.

Lunge for the goal: Before that pick-up ice hockey game or family skate, try doing a few lunges. Take a moderately deep step forward and let your back knee come down to the floor while your shoulders remain aligned over your hips. Come back to a standing position and repeat the process with the other foot. Continue, switching feet after each lunge, until your leg muscles are loose and warm.

Pull sleds, not muscles: To prevent injuries that can occur while you're sitting or kneeling on a sled and bouncing downhill, do knee-to-chest stretches before your ride. While lying on your back, pull your knees to your chest and hold them there for about 30 seconds.

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Fast Food Eaters Risk Liver Damage, Weight Gain

Last Updated: 2008-02-14 15:34:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Too much fast food and too little exercise can wreak havoc on the liver, according to results of a small Swedish study.

In the study, 18 trim, healthy adult volunteers who restricted their levels of physical activity to no more than 5,000 steps a day and ate at least two fast food meals every day for 4 weeks showed clear signs of liver damage. They also put on weight.

Another group of volunteers, who were matched to members of the first group by age and sex, maintained a normal diet and did not develop signs of liver damage or gain weight.

Dr. Fredrik H. Nystrom of University Hospital of Linkoping, Sweden and colleagues report their results in the medical journal Gut.

They designed their "fast food challenge" study to see what impact doubling the number of calories eaten daily and increasing body weight by 10 and 15 percent would have on liver health.

At the end of the 4 weeks, the fast food eaters had put on an average of 6.5 kilograms (14.3 pounds). Five increased their weight by 15 percent, and 1 person put on an extra 12 kilograms (26.4 pounds) in just 2 weeks.

Moreover, after just 1 week on the fast food diet, blood tests showed sharp increases in a liver enzyme called alanine aminotransferase (ALT). ALT levels more than quadrupled over the 4-week study period.

Doctors often use increases in ALT and other liver enzymes to diagnose liver disease before symptoms develop. In 11 fast food dieters, ALT rose to levels suggestive of liver damage.

The ALT increases were linked to weight gain and higher sugar and carbohydrate intake.

Too much fat in the liver is another sign of damage. Only one fast food eater developed "fatty liver," but test results from the other participants showed a steep rise in fat content in their liver cells, which is associated with insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.

None of these changes were seen among the comparison group who maintained their normal diet.

SOURCE: Gut, February 2008.

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Does Mold Make You Sick? Doctors Seek Answers

Last Updated: 2008-10-28 15:15:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fungus expert Joan Bennett did not believe in so-called toxic mold -- the cause of "sick building syndrome" and many lawsuits -- until her New Orleans home was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

When she got a whiff of the foul air that the black goo had created in her home, she decided to change her research focus and try to find out how and if the fungi that took over most of the flooded homes on the Gulf Coast might make people ill.

"The overwhelming obnoxiousness of the odor and of the enveloping air made me start to believe in something that I had never believed in before -- sick building syndrome," Bennett, of Rutgers University in New Jersey, told a news conference.

But it has been more difficult than she thought.

Bennett believes that molds could potentially cause illness in certain susceptible people via volatile organic compounds -- gassy versions of chemicals produced as the organisms metabolize food.

She has been unable to show this in the lab so far. But she told a joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

She has tested various molds on the laboratory roundworm C. elegans. "Sometimes the worm swims away and sometimes the worm does nothing and sometimes the worm eats the fungus," Bennett said.

"I am actually looking for something that has never been discovered by methods that have never been worked out."

Yet hundreds of lawsuits have been filed -- and some won -- by people claiming mold in their homes or workplaces has made them ill.

Dr. David Denning of the University of Manchester in Britain said it is plausible that molds and fungi would emit volatile organic compounds.

GENETIC SENSITIVITY

If these can be found, they could form the basis of diagnosing fungal illness as well -- perhaps using a breath test. People with fungal infections of the lungs, such as aspergillosis, would release these chemicals when they breathed.

"A certain group of severe asthmatics -- about a million people -- are sensitive to a number of different fungi," Denning told the news conference. These include Aspergillis and Candida.

"This is almost certainly a genetic issue," he added. "If you have (a) predisposition (to asthma), you probably have an additional predisposition to fungal sensitization."

Dr. David Goldman, a pediatrician in the Bronx, New York, said asthma rates in his borough are disproportionately high, and he blames in part Cryptococcus neoformins, a microbe found in pigeon droppings that causes disease in immune-compromised people.

"We believe this fungus contributes to asthma by modulating the immune response," Goldman told the news conference.

Both Goldman and Denning said treating patients with antifungal drugs such as itraconozole and fluconazole helped relieve the symptoms of patients with severe asthma. This supports evidence that fungi are contributing to symptoms.

All three experts agreed it would likely take a combination of factors -- including a person genetically susceptible to molds and unusual fungal activity -- to cause any disease.

"It is probably a relatively temporary disease, not a life-threatening disease," Denning said.

"As we sit here we are probably breathing in hundreds of spores," Bennett added. "Usually we only get sick if our immune systems are compromised or if we have this genetic susceptibility to allergy."

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