In today’s world, the media continuously solicit consumers with an enormous amount of information about new the products that are being launched into market by food science.
For this reason, it is not always easy for the consumer to appreciate the qualities and limitations of food supplements and also to understand, beyond what may be stated in the advertising campaigns, how useful a certain product can be in one’s dietary supplementation.
Professor Tommaso Beccari, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Food Science and Nutrition Section, University of Perugia, offers us an evaluation of a new dietary supplement called Garlive Recovery. The study is not intended as a product certification, but as a personal opinion.
The aspects of the supplement considered in this study are the following:
1_ Composition and amount of natural molecules. Each pill of Garlive Recovery contains 100 mg of olive tree polyphenols, 10% titrated in hydroxytyrosol (10 mg per tablet).
MAGISNAT (www.magisnat.com) was inspired by two studies on the role of olive tree polyphenols, particularly hydroxytyrosol (Lockyer S, Rowland I, Spencer JPE, Yaqoob P, Stonehouse W. Impact of phenolic-rich olive leaf extract on blood pressure, plasma lipids and inflammatory markers: a randomized controlled trial. Eur J Nutr. 2017 Jun;56(4):1421-1432. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1188-y. Epub 2016 Mar 7. PMID: 26951205; PMCID: PMC5486627. – in which phenolic-rich olive leaf extract (OLE) (136 mg oleuropein; 6 mg hydroxytyrosol) was used daily for 6 weeks), (Mosca A, Crudele A, Smeriglio A, Braghini MR, Panera N, Comparcola D, Alterio A, Sartorelli MR, Tozzi G, Raponi M, Trombetta D, Alisi A. Antioxidant activity of Hydroxytyrosol and Vitamin E reduces systemic inflammation in children with paediatric NAFLD. Dig Liver Dis. 2021 Sep;53(9):1154-1158. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2020.09.021. Epub 2020 Oct 13. PMID: 33060043. – in which 7.5 mg of hydroxytyrosol plus 10 mg of Vitamin E were given orally for 16 weeks.).
This dietary supplement also contains 25 mcg of vitamin D (120% of the daily value), which is a very important component: as demonstrated by recent studies, the levels of this vitamin were quite low in 48% of white preteens (female), 52% of Hispanic and Black preteens (of both sexes), and is estimated that over 40% of the adult population in the United States of America have quite low levels of vitamin D. Another component is vitamin C, 150 mg (170% of the daily value), and vitamin B12, 6 mcg (270% of the daily value), whose estimated average deficiencies are 7% and 26% in the world population, respectively. Garlive Recovery also contains other vitamins that are most commonly found deficient in the world population, which are B1, 13 mg (1.100% of the daily value), B6, 6 mg (390% daily value), and folic acid, 280 mcg (70% of the daily value).
In conclusion, the product appears to be well formulated.
2_ Allergens. The supplement contains none of the allergens that the law requires to be reported, including eggs, milk (certified lactose free), fish, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, and wheat (certified gluten free).
3_ Fats and sugars. 100 g of Garlive Recovery contain less than 0.5 g total fats and 6 g total sugars.
4_ Coloring and flavoring. Neither has been added to the product formulation.
5_ Price/quality ratio. The full cost in the market (without offers) is $26.9 containing 30 tablets (dosage: one per day). From a comparative study of other supplements on the market, containing the same amounts of natural substances, the price/quality ratio is good.
6_ Advertisements. When MAGISNAT reports studies conducted on the product, it is always specified that ” This dietary supplement is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease” and “Dietary supplements do not possess any therapeutic or preventive properties.” Therefore, the form of communication is deemed as transparent, also because the following disclaimer was included in the publications section: “None of the reported studies can be used to claim the properties of dietary supplements. Dietary supplements do not possess any therapeutic or preventive property.”
The company demonstrates, also, a strong vocation toward scientific research.
Moreover, it was deemed useful to add two final remarks. The first is that many researchers attribute some of the properties of the Mediterranean diet to olive polyphenols. Secondly, from an initial check of the supplements on the U.S. market, it would appear that just a very small number of them (only a few dozens) contains olive tree polyphenols.
In conclusion, it is our hope that this careful study has done a good service to the consumers.