In 2012, Research published by Dr Sinclair of Harvard stunned researchers by showing that short term supplementation with Nicotinamide Mono-Nucleotide (NMN) reversed many aspects of aging, making the cells of old mice resemble those of much younger mice, and greatly improving their health.
Since then Chromadex has been marketing a related product named Nicotinamide Riboside (NR or Niagen) that seems to work on the same cellular pathways as NMN.
1000s of articles have teased us with the possibility that taking a supplement called Niagen could halt or maybe even actually reverse some of the signs of aging. Of course there is a lot of skepticism with such claims.
Chromadex has been producing the only commercially available form of Niagen and supplies it to 20 or more different companies that put their own brand name on the bottle and sell to customers.
Elysium Health is one of these sellers, although they have fairly deep pockets and extensive connections among top researchers in the field.
To overcome the skepticism, Elysium Health decided they would enlist several Nobel Prize wining scientists as advisors and consultants.
This does add a lot of credibility to the company, even though the 7 nobel prize winning scientists Elysium pays had little or no input in creating this product, but are mostly used for marketing purposes.
Elysium Health makes a change to the formula for Basis
Basis contracted to buy Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride (often referred to as NR, or the brand name Niagen), and combine it with another off the shelf product from Chromadex, Pterostilbene.
But in June 2016, Elysium got into a contract dispute with Chromadex and later sued Chromadex for abusing the patent process.
Their goal seems to be to invalidate Chromadex patent(s) so they could produce their own version, which appears to be what they are doing now.
Elysium has changed the product information on their website to list “Nicotinamide Riboside”, without the Chloride. A key patent Chromadex has licensed the rights to involves adding the Chloride to make it more stable.
This new ingredient used by Basis likely has the same effects in the human body, but we don’t really know for sure.
It seems Elysium Health plans to go forward with this revised formula for now, and continue to use previous test results obtained with their prior formula that used Chromadex Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride. It will be interesting to see how that strategy holds up going forward.
Elysium Health has some very slick Marketing people
So now they have changed their product to use a slightly different ingredient, but want to smooth it over and not cause customers to worry about it.
Their answer is to portray the change as something they did on purpose – to MAKE THE PRODUCT BETTER.
When a customer questioned the change, this is how they answered on their Facebook page:
Hi Anne–
Thank you for reaching out to us with your questions. I’d be happy to provide additional information for you here!
From the start, Elysium has always been committed to bringing superior, high-quality supplements to market. As part of that effort, we have established a new supply chain, located in the United States, that utilizes a proprietary process to produce Nicotinamide Riboside — the first of its kind for the production of Basis, and this does fully meet the GMP standard as outlined by the FDA. We believe our vertically integrated supply chain benefits our customers as it enables us to better manage manufacturing, packaging, shipment and eventually the expansion of our new product line.
While the specific Basis formulation and the amount of each ingredient have not changed, this new production process has allowed us to take an exceptional product and make it even purer. This reflects our ongoing commitment to being a trusted source for our customers by continually exceeding the highest standards in the industry.In regard to your question about GMO’s, this does not apply to Basis as we don’t have food products in our ingredients eligible for genetic modification. Basis is produced by nature identical synthesis, meaning that the active molecules are constructed to be nature identical. This process is preferable to attempting to distill down the ingredients from food as the final product is purer than what the bi-product would be via distillation.
If you have other questions or if there is anything we can do to help, my team can be reached directly here or by email at care@elysiumhealth.com or phone at 888-220-6436.
Pretty slick, I thought. No, they didn’t substitute something they just threw together to get around the patent and supply problem – they made something more pure and trustworthy.
I don’t know who is going to with the legal battles between Chromadex and Elysium Health, but I see Elysium as way ahead in the marketing department even if I don’t really trust their honesty.
(I have added the above update on the Elysium Health Basis onto an earlier review of the product below)
Basis is the same Nicotinamide Riboside that many other brands sell, with the addition of Pterostilbene, a form of resveratrol.
It is produced by Elysium Health, a new company founded by MIT biologist Lenny Guarente, one of the preeminent researchers in the anti-aging field.
They have also enlisted 6 Nobel Laurete scientists to serve as advisors to the company, which lends a great deal of credibility.
However, these scientists have had no significant role in researching,creating or testing Basis or either of the ingredients used.
[box] BASIS IS NICOTINAMIDE RIBOSIDE, PLUS PTEROSTILBENE [/box]NICOTINAMIDE RIBOSIDE IS NIAGEN
Nicotinamide Riboside is a recently discovered version of Vitamin B that recent research has shown to raise NAD+ levels in humans.
The only manufacturer of Nicotinamide Riboside is Chromadex, as they have bought up all the patents on production methods for Nicotinamide Riboside.
Niagen is the brand name used by Chromadex.
The two names are synonymous. Basis uses Niagen supplied by Chromadex.
NIAGEN PLUS PTEROSTILBENE
Pterostilbene is also manufactured by Chromadex.
Pterostilbene is described by Dr Guarente as “a close relative of resveratrol, but is potentially more potent and effective”.
So, Basis MIGHT be better than taking Nicotinamide Riboside plus resveratrol.
But there has been no testing at all to show any synergy from combining Nicotinamide Riboside with resveratrol or Pterostilbene.
The original research by Dr Sinclair with mice used NMN, but it is not commercially available yet. The recent excitement and dozens or research studies about slowing or halting the aging process is centered around Nicotinamide Riboside.
WHAT WE RECOMMEND
Since all Nicotinamide Riboside is supplied by Chromadex, we recommend the less expensive options below.
Note: If you do want to try NR with Pterostilbene, we have a listing for 1 bottle of Pterostilbene and 1 bottle of Nicotinamide Riboside.
These two bottles provide the exact SAME INGREDIENTS AND QUANTITIES AS 2 BOTTLES OF BASIS, AT HALF THE COST
NOBEL LAUREATE SCIENTISTS
One of the main selling points for Basis is the company cofounder, Dr Guarente, and the Nobel laureate scientists shown here that are on the advisory board.
They certainly lend a lot of credibility. It is very doubtful they would lend their name to some scammy fly by night product, which makes me believe in the potential for Nicotinamide Riboside.
WHY BASIS – IS IT BETTER THAN OTHER BRANDS?
You’ll find very little mention of Niagen in the sales and marketing literature about Basis.
Elysium would like you to think that Basis is some exclusive formula created by their founders.
In fact, they purchase Niagen from Chromadex like several other brands.
The research and testing that has generated so much excitement has been done with Nicotinamide Riboside from Chromadex.
There has been no research published to show that Pterostibene makes Niagen work any better.
[box]Conclusion: ALL Niagen comes from Chromadex, there is no proof that Basis is any more effective than other brands of Niagen.[/box]THE COST
Basis is available only thru their website for $60 a bottle, which would last for one month if taking 2 pills per day (250mg of Niagen).
Recent research indicates that the optimum dosage for maximum increase in NAD+ levels is at least 250mg per day, or more.
In fact, the best evidence on recommended dosage will hopefully soon be available from a recently completed study sponsored by Elysium Health themselves.
This study of 120 elderly patients tested blood NAD+ levels of 250mg and 500mg of Elysium Health Basis vs placebo.
Once this study is published we’ll have a lot better idea if one bottle per month is sufficient
IS IT WORTH THE EXTRA COST?
If you know that Basis is Niagen + Pterostilbene, and start searching for “Niagen”, you quickly realize you can get the same thing for 50% less elsewhere.
Of course other brands don’t have the impressive scientific pedigree that Elysium’s founders have, which some people don’t mind paying the extra $ for.
That pedigree might also lead you to trust Basis more.
What does Basis do?
The field of Anti-Aging supplements is littered with scams and hoax products that are supposed to miraculously stop the aging process.
It is for that exact reason that Elysium Health DOES NOT market Basis specifically as an anti-aging pill like some of their competitors.
Rather, they focus on some specific areas that their pill may help with such as:
— DNA repair
— Energy production
— Cellular detoxification
— Protein function
Basis – Conclusion
- Niagen plus Pterostilbene (similar to Resveratrol)
- Pre-eminent antiaging researcher as cofounder of company
- 6 Nobel laureate scientists on advisory board
- By far the most expensive Niagen on the market
- One bottle a month may not be enough for optimum results
[box]Conclusion: We don’t believe Basis by Elysium Health to be a scam. They go out of their way to avoid making exaggerated claims.
If you want to spend $60-120 a month, Basis is probably a good choice.
If not, you might want to spend your money on some other brand where you will get twice as much Niagen per dollar.
[/box]The post Does Basis still use Nicotinamide Riboside (NR) from Chromadex? appeared first on Alivebynature - Evidence Based Reviews.