Bio Strath – a Feast of Yeast (Part 2)
December 1st, 2006
Regular readers of SciencePunk will remember my skirmish with MM Networks over their wonder-drug / food supplement Swiss Health Tonic “Strath®”. I was just coming round to their way of thinking when I received this email from the Strath® head office (CC’d to a bunch of other Strath® bigwigs):
Dear Frank
Back to the office I have seen the correspondence you had with our Agent in Malaysia. Alex Wong answered your questions perfectly. In the meantime my assistant, Claudia Assirati, sent documentation to you. I just like to inform you that the Bio-Strath Food Supplements liquid and Tablets are exported to more than 50 countries. The requests of the countries world-wide are different. In England we are registered with the MHRA, in other countries, like in Switzerland, just with the Food Authorities.
The products which we export are always the same, but the texts on the boxes vary from country to country.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.
With best regards
Alfred Habegger
Technical Director
Bio-Strath AG
I think I’ve rattled some cages down at Strath HQ. Surely they don’t have anything to hide?
Dear Alfred Habegger,
Thank you for your email. Apologies for the delay, I have received the articles you sent, and read them with much enthusiasm. However, I am sorry to say that many of these articles have absolutely no scientific merit. However, I understand that Bio-Strath AG cannot be held responsible for the quality of science carried out by third parties, and I will take up my misgivings with the publishers of the research. Regarding this, did Bio-Strath AG commission or fund any of this research, and if so, considering the quality of the research, do you feel short-changed?
Alex Wong suggested you might be able to answer this question:
Yeast is in a different taxonomic kingdom to humans. Yet your website claims “The cells in the body absorb Strath® easily due to the fact that yeast cells are similar to human cells”. Which of these statements do you think is most true?
Your website states that Strath® is able to cause a “significant increase in the response of all types of lymphocyte”. If Strath® causes such an effect above and beyond that of a balanced diet, why have you not chosen to license Strath® as a medicine to treat conditions where the number of lymphocytes falls (lymphocytopenia), such as Hodgkin’s disease, AIDS and during radiation therapy?
Thank you again for your time,
Frank Swain
Dear Frank
Thanks for your mail. Please tell us a little more about your interest in Bio-Strath. Are you a customer or a researcher or a prescriber?
We produce and export worldwide a fully natural Herbal Yeast Food Supplement which can be taken every day. Bio-Strath is not a medicine.
I think, in this context, we have good to excellent research results. Some studies like the Alzheimer study are double blind, others are open studies, but always with a significant value. All the studies were done with our products.
We do not know another Food Supplement on the market with so many research studies done with the product itself, not taken from the Internet!
Yeast is a vegetal cell, belongs to the botanical field. It is close to human cells, because it has a respiration and 2/3 of the genes are identical with human genes.
With 12 studies we have demonstrated that the T-Lymphocytes react faster and better in case of an infection when taking Bio-Strath. We have cases in Switzerland where pharmacists recommend Bio-Strath to Hodgkin’s patients, we have done a preliminary trial with HIV positive patients and we have done a double blind study with 177 patients under radiotherapy. Bio-Strath strengthens the full body and brings back the body into homeostasis.
With best regards
Alfred Habegger
Dear Alfred,
Thank you for your mail. I suppose my interest in Strath® is that of a researcher.
The length and breadth of studies into the effects of Strath® is impressive, however, you failed to answer whether any of these studies had been commissioned by your company?
As yeast does not express photosynthesis, I’m afraid I will have to insist that it is not a plant. In addition, I know of no scientific evidence that demonstrates similar genetic makeup as a factor in absorption of foodstuffs in the digestive system.
Many thanks for your unfaltering cooperation,
Frank Swain.
I think this sparring has gone on long enough. Alfred has been very good and put up with me for long enough, but it’s clear to me now that Alfred is not going to commit himself to any claim that Strath® has an effect above and beyond that of a well-balanced diet.
I’m not getting into the lymphocyte argument again, and if quantity of studies were a measure of success, Strath® would be on top. I honestly believe Strath® has a place in the world, but it’s not the wonder-drug I took it to be. In addition, Alfred refuses to comment on the funding of the trials, leaving us to draw our own conclusions.
Verdict: after all that, I’m still not sure who came out on top.
But yeast is definitely not a plant.
As an interesting side note, this is an example of a company who not only (in all probability) commission incompetent research, but are then too incompetent to understand how worthless it is, and post it on the internet for all to see.
Makes a change from suppressing negative results anyhow.
Entry Filed under: The Letters
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27 Comments
1. anon | January 8th, 2008 at 7:39 am
You seem to be trying a little too hard to make these guys look bad. Ive been taking bio-strath for about 2 months and its working fairly well.I was alwaysgetting sick, and i heard bio-strath is good for your overwll health/immunity. I feel quite a bit better, i use it every day.it helps a lot when i need to do physical work for long periods of time and i need energy. One of the best things I have heard and seen bio-strath do is to help kids calm down and focus, especially during school. You may want to try the stuff out before you barrage them with questions and such.
best regards
anon
2. Frank the SciencePunk | January 8th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Can you really place your faith in a company who are so utterly incompetent in their research?
3. Sam | February 6th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I just caught a lengthy BioStrath advertisement on South African TV. Actually it looked like a documentary about health matters abd it takes a measure of sophistication to realise that it’s an advert, The usual claims about “clinical trials”, the goodness of nature, boosting that vague entity “the immune system” etc etc. I walked to my computer for a quick search, knowing what I was going to find. It took me ten second to hit this website and (oh my prophetic soul!) it confirms my suspicion. Yes, it is natural — pure natural taurine dung.
Actually this is no light matter, and I was particularly alarmed by the hints of a possible cure for HIV/AIDS. This is a huge problem in South Africa and we have a Minister of Health who has questioned the value of antiretrovirals and touted her own prescription instead: olive oil, beetroot and lemon juice. If she sees the Biostrath coprolalia on her TV, she is quite likely to fall for it, and kill even more HIV/AIDS sufferers than she already has.
This stuff is a public health menace — particularly in the third world. I’m sending your stuff to an investigative newspaper. I’m sure they’ll have fun with it!
Incidentally — people who feel “so much better” on this rubbish have obviously never heard of the placebo effect.
Many thanks for pursuing these charlatans!
4. Grace Gawler | March 4th, 2008 at 1:46 am
I have just found this series of comments about Strath products and was surprised by the arguments presented. I do know that funding is rarely available from outside resources for such natural products so most businesses have to research for themselves. Most research has a bias and we know that the observer in all experiments affects outcomes to some degree. The placebo affect is an inseparable part of every cure medical or natural. In veterinary medicine however – placebo is questionable and I have personal experience in this realm using Strath products. Take out the emotion and look at the real scince of effective treatments. However – there is much more than research in this argument – the products work! I can say anecdotally, from a point of view of working with more than 12,000 people with cancer over a 30 year period that I have independently prescribed and used this product for cancer patients as a prophylactic pre radiation treatment and for patents during and post radiation treatment. I have to say that over the past 25 years the results have been absolutely impressive…stunning in many cases. I have good relationship s with oncologists and doctors. As a herbalist and cancer support specialist, I regularly contacted oncologists and radiotherapists to let them know that I was seeing their clients and using some relaxation methods and herbal treatments to support the client through their treatment. Well an interesting thing happened – Many of them wrote back or called me to ask what I was doing with these patients…their blood pictures were better than expected, their energy levels were much graeter than expected and their appetite and wellbeing was relatively unaffected by radiation. I have used the product for post surgical recovery, chemotherapy recovery, chronic fatigue and many other conditions – The patients all report an improvement – some enormous improvement. I have also used and prescribed Animastrath for our equine and canine patients many years ago when we had a vet clinic. Sometimes science need to look outside the square. If a product worked for one person – correct scientific enquiry would ask why – but this product has repeatedly performed well – well enough to warrant some respect and to answer the question why – rather than to dismiss because it might not fit into the current scientific paradigm. I know that Strath products deliver and help patients without doing harm…..and that is enough for me and those whose lives have been helped. I have no connection with the manufaturers and recntly listed Biostrath elixir on my website as so many clients could not find it at the health food store or pharmacy. This listing was done independently of the manufacturere although I wrote to them to ask for permission.
Regards
Grace Gawler
5. Frank the SciencePunk | March 4th, 2008 at 10:42 am
@ Grace
I think you’re a little confused. I’m not arguing that against the use of high nutrition foods to chemotherapy patients (whether it be Strath or high-protein bars or whatever).
My problem is that people behind Strath are touting “scientific studies” that are so utterly incompetent they aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on.
You seem to be confusing the effect of chemotherapy (scientifically proven anti-cancer treatment) with Strath (nutritional supplement). Strath is not a prophylactic. You cannot “prescribe” Strath any more than you can “prescribe” a Marmite sandwich. What is more, as a herbalist, you are not a medical doctor, so perhaps be careful about claiming to “prescribe” anything.
Science does not need to think “outside the box” because Strath is firmly inside the box. It is a foodstuff – nothing more, nothing less.
If Bio-Strath AG made this clear, rather than publicising ridiculously inept and flawed ’studies’, I’d be a happy man.
6. Mark | May 4th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Frank I think your comments are arbitory towards Grace and it seems that you have a personal dislike for Bio Strath whatever the reason.
I have not tried the product, but am open-minded.
As for Grace prescribing natural substances, if she is a natural medicines practitioner and registered, she is entitled to prescribe.
7. Frank the SciencePunk | May 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Mark, there’s no such thing as a ‘natural medicine practicioner’ – you are either a doctor, trained and regulated to administer effective medicine, or you are a therapist, with no real medical training and no authority to administer anything stronger than aspirin.
It is important not to confuse the two.
8. Me | June 6th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I would like to examine these so-called incompetent studies on my and make the decision my self. Where might I find them?
9. Frank the SciencePunk | June 6th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
@ 8
Hint: the clue is in the article…
10. liz | August 28th, 2008 at 6:08 am
of course bio-strath is not marketed as a medicine. bio strath contains medicinal herbs which contain a whole complex of different chemicals, varying in amounts from plant to plant, these variables can depend on the season the herb was harvested, where it was grown, the age of the plant, etc. Pharmaceutical companies cannot patent a plant partly because of this; it is not just one standardized chemical. therefore, depending on the country where it is sold, it is generally classified as a food supplement or something similar. in which case bio-strath cannot legally sold as a medicine.
also, in reference to this
“Mark, there’s no such thing as a ‘natural medicine practicioner’ – you are either a doctor, trained and regulated to administer effective medicine, or you are a therapist, with no real medical training and no authority to administer anything stronger than aspirin.
It is important not to confuse the two.”
there are such things as naturopaths, who very often prescribe, legally, things such as bio-strath for their patients.
and although it may be illegal, there are plenty of herbalists who “prescribe” for their patients herbs and nutritional supplements, such as bio-strath. some are highly educated, some are not.
perhaps you know absolutely nothing of this profession and kind of medicine, and this is why you are so obviously angered and confused by an herbalist saying they prescribe bio-strath.
furthermore,
i found the findings of “Effects of a herbal yeast preparation in convalescent patients”, by F.H. Schwarsenbach and K.W. Brunner, to be found in Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Ganzheits Medizin, 1996 pp. 266-73
to be very positive and the research to be thoroughly adequate.
here is a book suggestion which i think would greatly improve your understanding of herbal medicine as well as standard western medicine “Green Pharmacy: The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine” by Barbara Griggs.
11. Frank the SciencePunk | August 28th, 2008 at 9:47 am
@10 Liz
Medicinal drugs are a tightly regulated product that must pass stringent tests showing them to be safe and effective, comply to highly specified quality control processes in their manufacture so they contain an exact amount of active agent and nothing undesired, and be prescribed to suitable patients in correct dosage in the correct method by a highly trained, regulated, professional.
By contrast, herbal drugs are unregulated, have no proof of efficacy or safety, no quality control, and are handed out to anyone who asks by untrained, unregulated therapists.
Take your pick.
12. liz | August 28th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
im sorry, but its just not as black and white as that.
herbal medicine has been in use since the dawn of time. 80% of the worlds population use some form of herbal medicine to take care of their everyday ailments, and sometimes severe ailments. indigenous healers all over the world would laugh in your face if you tried to tell them their medicines have no proof of efficacy and safety. did you ever think that maybe your way of viewing medicine/s is a bit ethnocentric?
it would be absolutely ridiculous to say that all of these people are untrained quacks. many of these people have learned their skills through apprenticing with other healers. some have gone through bachelors of masters programs to study herbal medicine, and sure, some people probably dont have much training at all.
also, there are generally national herbal groups that can steer an inquiring patient towards a good herbalist. for instance,American Herbalists Guild, the National Institute of Medical Herbalists etc.
also, many of the medicines used today by regular doctors are in fact derivitives of plants used by herbalists for centuries, digoxin, quinine etc.
also, many herbs have undergone scientific testing that have proven them to be safe and effective, oftentimes more effective than their pharmaceutical counterpart, ie, garlic, hawthorn, ginkgo biloba, eleuthero, etc.
also, to dismiss centuries and centuries of an herbs safe an effective use simply because it has not undergone “scientific testing” is ridiculous. it seems to me that you are pretty ignorant about herbal medicine, its history, and its current use. maybe getting a little insight on a subject before you reject it fully and claim its unworthiness would be a little more “scientific” of you, dont you think?
13. liz | August 28th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
i almost forgot, some of the pharmaceuticals which were deemed safe and effective after highly stringent tests turned out not to be so safe after all, Rofecoxib, thalidomide,baycol etc.
14. Frank the SciencePunk | August 28th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
@ 12. Liz
There are two types of medicine in this world, those that are evidence-based and those that are not.
If a medicine (including herbal ones) can be shown through clinical trials to be safe and effective, it becomes part of the canon of EBM. Those that do not are destined to be ‘alternative’ medicines.
You say “to dismiss centuries and centuries of an herbs safe an effective use simply because it has not undergone “scientific testing” is ridiculous.”
On the contrary, scientific testing is the only way to separate what is safe and effective from what is not. If you want to live in the dark ages and make choices based on tradition and hearsay, so be it.
The safety protocols for regulated medicine aren’t perfect but do get better: the thalidomide scandal prompted the 1968 Medicines Act. By contrast, herbal medicines are completely unregulated – just look at the recent news that herbal medicines “frequently contain dangerous levels of heavy metals”.
I’d be happy to explain this further via email.
15. Holly Chandler | September 10th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
All this “sparring” has convinced me to purchast Bio-Strath as soon as possible. Had the so-called “researcher” been an actual biochemist, he would have had a Ph.D. tacked on at the end of his name. The arguments are obviously coming from jerks who have nothing better to do with their time.
Holly
16. Allison | September 22nd, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Good for you Holly – Be the rebel and try Bio Strath which claims to work wonders when all their studies have been done inside their companies realm. That’s like jumping off the cliff because someone emphatically told you not too! I do hope it works for you though, really. Be careful and do your own research into products that report such outstanding effects. I have studied homeopathic medicines for 12 years and they have great effects taken in the appropriate manner for which they are prescribed. Yes I said prescribed – Homeopaths do that! They are real M.D.’s with PhD tacked on the end of their names.
17. Amy | October 2nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Frank,
I think you are just a little too quick to dismiss herbal medicine, naturopathic medicine, possibly TCM (though you didn’t speak of that). Keep in mind that companies that manufacture prescribables are interested mainly (only) in things that can be patented so that they can make money from it.
You have had some valid points and I’m not trying to take that away from you. But just because they aren’t going to market bio-strath as a medicine, does not mean it has no merit.
Many people’s diets are severely lacking, and if there is a food supplement that allows one to get the missing vitamins and minerals etc, that could go a very long way towards boosting their health.
Take care.
18. Frank the SciencePunk | October 2nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
@ 17. Amy
The first hit I find on Google for Bio Strath talks about ‘dosage’ and states:
I can’t say for certain where these claims initiated, but I haven’t seen anything from the parent company that can even come close to backing up these claims.
Whether Bio Strath is or isn’t medicine isn’t the point, and I’m not dismissing naturopathy or any other “treatment” out-of-hand.
I’m asking companies to provide evidence to back up their claims.
Your comment about ‘prescribables’ is besides the point – ALL companies are out to make a profit, and that includes the nutritional supplement industry (net worth: £60 billion).
The British Nutritional Foundation have gone on record to state that everyone in the UK can get all their full nutritional requirements from food – supplements are not needed. This is presumably true for most 1st world countries, and more to the point, those who are malnourished need cheap food not expensive supplements.
19. rob Chenoweth | December 26th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I gave a bottle of Bio-Strath to a friend who at age 62 is having to rebuild his Katrina damaged home here in New Orleans. I went back a few weeks later and he was chopping out a huge tree stump after cutting down a damaged tree. He says Bio-Strath gives him energy he was lacking before. I’m drinking some right now…beats soft drinks in my opinion.
20. ivan cheah | February 24th, 2009 at 7:11 am
Hi Frank, you seems to be an expert in supplement products. I have looking high and low for a good supplement that is safe and effective to boost up my vitality and also my immune system. (Preferably something that is 100% natural)
I wonder if you are kind enough to suggest or recommend any of it to me.
I shall be very grateful if you can do that. I should advance my sincere thanks to you.
21. Frank the SciencePunk | February 24th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
@ 20. ivan cheah
I’d have to defer to the British Nutrition Foundation’s advice, which states that you will receive all the nutrients you need from a healthy, balanced diet. Throw in some regular exercise to that and I’m sure you’ll feel super.
22. ivan cheah | March 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 am
Dear Frank, thank you for your reply to my personal email. But I was a little disappointed for not getting any advise from you.
I thought you will have some ideas to share with me, looking at the debate in your blog, you look like a pro to me in helathcare.
I always have a belief that someone who can give comments on a particular subject must be a person who are very knowledgable about it.
As for me, I will only give comments or criticize when I’m very certain of a particular topic.
Anyway I still appreciate your effort to reply to my email.
Thanks, and Good Luck in all your future undertaking :-)
23. ivan cheah | March 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 am
Dear Frank, thank you for your reply to my personal email. But I was a little disappointed for not getting any advise from you.
I thought you will have some ideas to share with me, looking at the debate in your blog, you look like a pro to me in HEALTHCARE.
I always have a belief that someone who can give comments on a particular subject must be a person who are very knowledgable about it.
As for me, I will only give comments or criticize when I’m very certain of a particular topic.
Anyway I still appreciate your effort to reply to my email.
Thanks, and Good Luck in all your future undertaking :-)
24. Mimmie | March 5th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I am a school teacher and have heard about Biostrath and therefore have recommended it to various of the parents whose children battle with concentration problems. I myself dislike medicine and usually feels better after receiving them and leaving them on my bedside table. I am concerned that I do not know enough about medical terms and definitely would not like to promote something controversial. Maybe you can advise me about this.
25. ivan cheah | March 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Hi Mimmie, I’m (not only myself but all my family members, and many relatives) taking Bio-Strath too for the last four years. I used to belief with your philosophy of not recommending anything to anyone when controversy arises.
Well as for Bio-strath, I really cannot figure out what is all the issue. All I can see here is some tecnical disputes. Well, why bother?
Surely if anyone can prove that this product had/may/will cause any negative side effect, then they should present it to us. Or if they think or know any better healthcare products, then spend your time and tell us, share with us.
Critisize and giving unnecessary comments is causing confusion to the reader. What good does it do??? Straight to the point, tell us if you can prove Bio-Strath is not a safe product.
Otherwise your motive will be quiried!!! :-)
26. Mulukuhu | March 24th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
I started taking Biostrath a month ago (4 tablets a day) when I had flu. It appears to give me a little more energy initially. However, just as I was about to be fully recovered, I have gone down with flu again. This is very unusually for me as I have never had flu one after another. The side effect I found was that it cause impotency for me. I have Erection problem and not able to have sex over the last month while I was taking biostrath. Very embarassing in front of my wife. I have decided to stop taking it two days ago. The erection problem seems to have gone away. Side effect like this should be clearly stated on the ourside of the box and clearly warning the consumer
27. ivan cheah | March 25th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Ms Mulukuhu, what you are going through with Bio-Starth is rather unusual for me. None of the people whom I know taking Bio-Strath experiencing this kind of phenomenom. Every of the side-effects you mentioned are the the opposite of my experience with Bio-Starth.
What amazed me is that you are so quick to confirm all the so called side-effects are caused by Bio-Strath. Definitely I’m in no position to question or disagree with what you believe.
If I were you, definitely I know what to avoid and what to choose in order to gain better health, ultimately.
Should you found any other alternative as a good supplement, please share with me. I would definitely give a TRY! I’m always in search of a good supplement at an affordable price which is clinically tested and proven to be safe, 100% natural and affirm 100% no side effect.
Good luck in your search, and please dont forget to share goodness withg us :-) ivancheah
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