Did I miss something? Fibrolief
is advertised as a breakthrough. “Clinical studies indicate that the
ingredients in this formulation are highly effective at reducing the symptoms
related to Fibromyalgia”. This is topped with claims that “for others” (who?) “ingredients
have achieved”:
* “Reduction of lower back
pain, headaches, joint and muscle pain
* Reduced inflammation
* Improved energy levels
* Increased mental clarity
diminishing the effects of fibro fog
* A full nights sleep
without waking up groggy”
I'm not sure if these are legally called health claims; anyway that would be the duty of the FDA to decide. Theses claims, however, warrant a closer
look at the ingredients.
Turmeric
There’s turmeric/curcumin
in Fibrolief. Sorry, no study on PubMed – search has been done with this
strategy: ("Curcuma"[Mesh] OR "Curcumin"[Mesh] OR
"curcuminoid synthase, Curcuma longa" [Supplementary Concept] OR
"turmeric extract" [Supplementary Concept]) AND
"Fibromyalgia"[Mesh]. As fibromyalgia isn’t an inflammatory disease,
why should turmeric work?
Boswellia
“Boswellia is a popular
herb used for its benefits in fighting inflammation.” It doesn’t even work in
arthritis. And so sorry, nothing on
PubMed, too.
White Willow Bark Extract
“White Willow Bark extract
contains the active ingredient salicin which is a Cox-1 and Cox-2 inhibitor,
and acts as an anti-inflammatory and also reduces pain by inhibiting
prostaglandins.” That’s true, but … NSAIDs work like a key, which has to be but
on a slot, the enzyme Cox-a or Cox-2. No matter whether you take salicin,
aspirin or any other NSAID, you need the same number of key to lock the
enzymes. Salicin is more toxic like aspirin, which is more toxic than naproxen,
Diclofenac, ibuprofen or Cox-2-inhibitors. Salicin doesn’t work in
fibromyalgia, which isn’t surprising as NSAIDs generally aren’t of much use in
fibromyalgia. Please look here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19746561.
One could cite a plethora of studies that proved the inefficacy of NSAIDs in
fibromyalgia pain.
Celery Seed Extract
“Celery seed extract has
been used as a pain reliever for arthritis, fibromyalgia and gout. It is known
to help reduce muscle spasms and to alleviate painful gas and bloating. It is
also known to aid in improving the painful symptoms of fibromyalgia sufferers
by reducing inflammation.” How could symptoms of fibromyalgia be alleviated by
reducing inflammation? And you guessed right, there’s no study on PubMed
addressing fibromyalgia and celery seed extract.
Malic Acid/Malate
There has indeed be a
study in 1995. IJ Russell and colleagues published: “Treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome
with Super Malic: a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, crossover
pilot study.” The study had been done in 24 patients, which is quite low. In
results we are informed: “No clear treatment effect attributable to Super Malic
was seen in the blinded, fixed low dose trial.” Conclusions: “These data
suggest that Super Malic is safe and may be beneficial in the treatment of
patients with FM. Future placebo-controlled studies should utilize up to 6
tablets of Super Malic bid and continue therapy for at least 2 months.” There
have no further studies and may be is wishful thinking. The results didn’t show
an effect.
Rhodiola Rosea
No study on rhodiola rosea
and fibromyalgia. There is a study in mice on nociceptive pain: “Synergistic
interactions between the antinociceptive effect of Rhodiola rosea extract and B
vitamins in the mouse formalin test.” But pain in fibromyalgia is
non-nociceptive!
Coenzyme Q10
“Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) A
powerful Antioxidant”. There are studies going on, but in the last decade only
small studies (N=5) or other pilot studies have been published. I don’t think
that there’s the foundation for a breakthrough, but waiting for the result,
especially for the dosing is a good idea.
Bacopa Monnieri
Nothing on fibromyalgia
and bacopa monnieri.
SAM-e
Magnesium
There is a deficiency in
the general public. Eat a banana!
Vitamin D3
There also is a deficiency
in the general public in vitamin D3. But in the US you already have lots of D3
fortified foods. And most people live 10° South of for instance Germany. Four
times 3000 IU vitamin D3 per day might be an overdose.
Stabilized R-Alpha Lipoic
Acid
Nothing on fibromyalgia
and alpha lipoic acid on PubMed.
Zinc
There has been a Turkish
study in 2008 seeing low levels of zinc in fibromyalgia patients, but there’s
no study showing that substitution of zinc improves fibromyalgia.
Black Pepper Bioperine
Nothing on fibromyalgia
and black pepper bioperine on PubMed.
The ingredients of
Fibrolief aren’t convincing in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms. And Fibrolief is
a dietary supplement, which hasn’t to show efficacy like a drug. But the
producers should be careful with health claims. As you would spend around 750
US $ per year on Fibrolief, you should be pretty sure that it works. I would feel
better with a scientific study on the effects of this product, but there is none.
Would I buy Fibrolief? Nope!
