Last month our Marketing Executive, Dean Forbes had the privilege of travelling to a remote part of south-east Sweden to visit the home of the KiSel 10 study.
A press conference had been arranged in the sleepy town of Kisa to communicate the results of the trial, which had just been published in the International Journal of Cardiology. All the professors were in attendance, as well as many of the participants, who were yet to know whether or not they'd been part of the successful treatment group or the unfortunate placebo group.
Dean put himself in their shoes and considered how he would feel if he knew he missed out on the benefits shown by the study - improved heart function and cardiac mortality reduced by 50%.
"Well, I'd be upset and reaching for the selenium and Q10 to start redressing the balance. The KiSel-10 study is a breakthrough in heart health because it shows how supplements if they are high quality, can have a major impact on healthy people. Pharma Nord considers selenium and Q10 to be their flagship products and have been promoting their role in heart health for decades. Another exponent of these supplements is Dennis Gore, otherwise known as Dennis the Chemist. He has been selling Pharma Nord Bio-Quinone Q10 and SelenoPrecise from his renowned Manchester pharmacy for over 20 years and has witnessed the benefits personally as well as through his family and customers. Dennis came with me on the trip to Sweden and he was excited to say the least. The results of KiSel-10 helped him understand that not only do Q10 and selenium benefit heart function independently, but they actually work together. Selenium operates in the liver, allowing a more efficient conversion of ubiquinone Q10 into the more active ubiquinol form.
"After a picturesque, but tiring, journey through the Swedish countryside, we arrived in Kisa and went straight to the local community centre. We attended a presentation led by Associate Professor Urban Alehagen, who described the complexity and significance of the research. 10 years in the making. Over 2 million tablets and capsules used. Over 2500 phone calls, over 51,000 blood samples. And this was for a modest trial on 443 people! No wonder it's only the pharmaceutical giants that get to test their drugs on larger numbers - this is a huge shame! But the fact that such a modest trial yielded such statistically significant results is a testament to the quality of the research and the integrity of the supplements used. During a Q&A at the end of the conference, ALL of the key academics involved confirmed they take Pharma Nord selenium and Q10 as a result. It makes sense. Given the outcome, combined with the safety, it's a no-brainer. Those people wanting a larger trial will have to wait another 10 years, which could be too late.
"Both me and Dennis got the chance to speak to some of the locals who had participated. The energy and vitality of the elderly residents were impressive and encouraging to say the least. One gent told Dennis that he wanted to take part in the study because he used to be a pig farmer. He knew that his pigs became ill without adequate selenium supplementation. This illustrated the importance of that nutrient to him and he never forgot it. We returned from Sweden more convinced than ever that supplements can make a difference and that the body does respond to them. The uphill challenge is to help people realise that quality counts. There are very poor, inactive supplements out there giving the industry a bad name and risking the health of consumers - no wonder GPs are reluctant to discuss nutrition with patients! From a personal point of view, I will continue supplementing Bio-Quinone Q10 and SelenoPrecise. I was already impressed by the impact of Q10 on my running ability and selenium for colds and flu. Now with the KiSel-10 study, there is no way I'm going to wait until I'm 70 to start looking after my heart. The results are there, the supplements are safe, prevention is better than cure". Dean
