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Has anyone tried the product called "ASEA"?

richvank

Senior Member
Messages
2,732
Hi, all.

Let me say up front that I realize that "ASEA" is a multilevel marketed product. I don't sell it, and I'm not promoting it. I'm also not encouraging people to try it at this point. I'm just trying to learn about it. I've heard about it from a couple of PWMEs now, and the reports were positive, but I still don't know what to think about it.

According to the information supplied by the company producing it, it contains what are celled "redox signalling molecules," apparently in a salt water base. It is taken orally. A "white paper" by Gary L. Samuelson, Ph.D., is available on the internet, and it describes some in-vitro testing of this product.
The thing that intrigues me about this paper is that it claims that this product raises the transcription factor NRF-2 without raising NF kappa-B. NRF-2 is known to increase the expression of genes associated with the antioxidant and detox systems in the cells. Among others, it raises the gene expression of glutamate cysteine ligase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of glutathione. Since I believe, based on evidence from lab testing, that glutathione depletion is a major factor in the pathophysiology of ME/CFS, I find this very interesting.

Another claim that is made on the website is that testing by a lab in North Carolina has shown that this product raises the mobilization of fatty acids, so that the muscle cells preferentially burn fat rather than glycogen, and that this gives athletes who take ASEA much more endurance. According to the GD-MCB model that I have proposed, in ME/CFS the cells are not able to burn fat at a normal rate because glutathione depletion puts a partial block early in the Krebs cycle. But if this product does indeed raise glutathione, it is at least plausible that fat-burning could be increased if fatty acids were mobilized to a higher degree. So I would say that their story so far seems consistent from a biochemical point of view, but without knowing exactly what these "redox signalling molecules" are, there is a limit to how much I can check this out. And of course, they are keeping the formula proprietary.

Again, I can't recommend this product at this point because I'm not yet sure what to think of it, but if anyone has tried it, I would be very interested to know what effects you observed.

Best regards,

Rich
 

nanonug

Senior Member
Messages
1,709
Location
Virginia, USA
Someone told me about this "product" a couple of months ago. Mostly, the person wanted to know what I thought about the legitimacy of this "product". I scoured the web for reliable research and could only find circular references supporting the MLM aspect of it. I read that the only ingredient listed on the bottle, besides water, is NaCl. My conclusion was that this "product" was simply heavily marketed salt water. I told the person to save her money.
 

dsdmom

Senior Member
Messages
397
Someone I know has started using it - they have rheumatoid arthritis. This is a very well educated person who works in the medical field and I am interested to hear their report when I see them next. No info yet though!
 
Messages
2,565
Location
US
An acquaintance with fibromyalgia and CFS/ME said it was working great. However, I am skeptical.

The person might have been interested in making money. But how much would they make, say $20 per bottle. If I tried and it did nothing, then I would stop buying, so would they really lie to an ill person like me just for $20? So they must believe in the product somewhat, and think I would keep buying and promote it.

This person was trying many other treatments on and off. Maybe one of their other treatments started to show results and they attributed it to ASEA.

Or maybe it's placebo effect? If you pay a lot, you expect something will happen. You can't admit that you just gave your money away.

I would love to have a 1 oz sample, or more if they believe more is needed to see the effect. IIRC the acquaintance suggested I would notice the effect from the first time, you have to keep buying to maintain the effect, but do not need to wait and build up to the effect.

I am skeptical of all MLM products and many supplements. I believe many supplements will give a one time initial benefit, and MLMs can capitalize off the initial wow someone feels.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
I would be very interested to know what effects you observed.

Hi Rich,

A friend of mine became a distributor of ASEA, and told me about it several months ago. He liked the product, and thought it was doing him some good (he does no have CFS). Then several weeks ago, I was given a bottle of ASEA as a gift.

I took one dose of it, and became fairly nauseated for several hours, and have not taken any since, although I plan to try it again at some point at a lower dose. I noticed that it seems to have a slight chlorine taste and smell, and it reminded me a bit of MMS (chlorine dioxide). The nausea I experienced also reminded me of when I first experimented with MMS, and I've since wondered if there were any similarities between the two. I have my doubts, but chemistry is not my strong suit. If it does what it says, then it seems like the nausea I experienced could have been some kind of detox reaction.

My experience with ASEA was remarkably similar to one I had with taking the product Laminine. It's also a multi-level marketing product, which always raises red flags for me. But their product is apparently based on "harvesting" fibroblast growth factor from 9-day old fertile eggs, something that was first discovered by a Canadian doctor back in 1929, and who apparently used it successfully treating cancer patients. It apparently has some kind of capability of "orchestrating" stem cell activity in the body, which is helpful for a variety of things, especially brain healing.

A friend of mine who is an ND says she's getting pretty remarkable feedback from her clients. I don't believe any of them had CFS however. Anyway, thought I'd mention it in case you would be interested in looking into this a bit more. This link, Scientific Calls, has a number of audios hosted by two NDs who claim this product has been more successful for themselves and their patients than any other they've ever tried. The audio entitled "Fibroblast Growth Factor" gives you a good description of the product in the first five minutes or so.

I'll get back to you when I get a little more experience with the ASEA.

Best, Wayne
 
Messages
10,157
It's confusing. I am with Rich on this one -- until somebody says what the molecules are, how is one supposed to know anything. The label just says it contains sodium chloride and water which is the salt water part, so, indeed, what are the molecules. Any googling takes you back to the product.

Kina.
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
FWIW, I too usually avoid MLM products vehemently.
However, my naturopath found that, when combined with other supplements (depending on your personal terrain) it improves mitochondrial function.

Since my protocol with him changes every few weeks, it is rarely easy for me to pinpoint which thing is doing what, but I will say that I did feel gains using very small amounts of ASEA (much much less than what is recommended by the company) sometimes with Reishi Mushroom, other times with L-Carnitine. I was doing anywhere between 1 tsp - 2 Tbs once or twice a day.

I of course never did any labs to measure mito function, so I can say nothing of any scientific value here.
Anecdotally, however, I can say I felt an increase in a sort of core strength that may have been attributable to
ASEA+other.

As a side note, I took a small bottle of ASEA to a another (highly respected) practitioner when I first started taking it,
with a huge (metaphorical) grain of salt. Both he and I had the skeptical eyebrow raised about it, and to both our surprise, it tested extra good (for me) on the bio-resonance sort of device he uses to determine which supplements are beneficial or harmful. He also uses this device to hone in on pathogens etc, and he was spot on with things I didn't tell him about, so I tend to trust this as confirmation that, at least for my system, the ASEA is not just expensive chlorinated seawater.

Hope this is useful info.

P.S. I should add that my ND is one of the last old-school practitioners that keeps markup of his whole dispensary to a minimum--so he dispenses ASEA in the amount patients need, at barely above cost, so they don't have to buy the whole big bottle. So in other words, he's not in it for the profit.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
I tried Asea free for a few days, could not tolerate how nasty it was to take, and I take some pretty nasty things without flinching, including salt water mixes. This was just so strong, I finally told my friend, sorry, here's the bottle back and thanks for thinking of me. She uses it and swears by it. I tried food grade hydrogen peroxide once, too, supposed to be highly medicinal and wonderful, but just so gross to get down... asea is up there with that one! I did a lot of reading on the Asea, was impressed, but think there are easier ways to accomplish the same.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
FWIW, I too usually avoid MLM products vehemently.
However, my naturopath found that, when combined with other supplements (depending on your personal terrain) it improves mitochondrial function.

Since my protocol with him changes every few weeks, it is rarely easy for me to pinpoint which thing is doing what, but I will say that I did feel gains using very small amounts of ASEA (much much less than what is recommended by the company) sometimes with Reishi Mushroom, other times with L-Carnitine. I was doing anywhere between 1 tsp - 2 Tbs once or twice a day.

I of course never did any labs to measure mito function, so I can say nothing of any scientific value here.
Anecdotally, however, I can say I felt an increase in a sort of core strength that may have been attributable to
ASEA+other.

As a side note, I took a small bottle of ASEA to a another (highly respected) practitioner when I first started taking it,
with a huge (metaphorical) grain of salt. Both he and I had the skeptical eyebrow raised about it, and to both our surprise, it tested extra good (for me) on the bio-resonance sort of device he uses to determine which supplements are beneficial or harmful. He also uses this device to hone in on pathogens etc, and he was spot on with things I didn't tell him about, so I tend to trust this as confirmation that, at least for my system, the ASEA is not just expensive chlorinated seawater.

Hope this is useful info.

P.S. I should add that my ND is one of the last old-school practitioners that keeps markup of his whole dispensary to a minimum--so he dispenses ASEA in the amount patients need, at barely above cost, so they don't have to buy the whole big bottle. So in other words, he's not in it for the profit.
That is cool! So glad to hear something a little more solid outside the distributors.
 

maddietod

Senior Member
Messages
2,859
Rich, this is the product my ND wanted me to take in the fall; you and I had a brief conversation about it. He did before and after labs on himself, and had impressive gains in glutathione. He was very excited for me to try it, but I was scared of direct glutathione manipulation.
 

froufox

Senior Member
Messages
440
I tried ASEA a few years ago...I did notice a slight improvement in energy the first couple of days that I took it but after that things just seemed to go back to normal. I only took one bottle which lasted a month. I couldnt get hold of it after that as my doc in the UK couldnt supply it any more. So Ive no idea how things might have gone had I taken it for longer.
 
Messages
1
I came across Asa via a supplier and was immediately sceptical because here in the UK anything to do with MLM is the death knoll. The agent tried to persuade me to buy a case but I insisted on trying a bottle for free.
I gave it to a patient who tested fori mercury in their CNS and who has glutathione deficiency and within hours he had energy to burn and his wife commented he was back to his old self of eight years ago. (CFS) He lost a trouser size in one week so the fat burning claim seemed plausible.
Another patient claimed she has more energy than ever before but a flare up of inflammation that caused here to take a week off it.(she is on the FMS side with Toluene in the brain)
I recommended it to another practitioner who after one week her MS patient reported less pain. She is on a month trial with it.
The practitioner has two patients (sisters) who have both been tested for glutathione & SOD deficiency with the Acumen test. She will report back to me after they have taken it for a month. If they both retest in a month or two improved GSH & SOD I will be completely convinced. MLM or not

steve
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
I avoid most MLM things like the plague. Add to that that it appears to be expensive water, and there was no way I was going to try it.

Well, I did, when I was given some, and holy cow it was one of the better treatments I have done. My naturopath dispensed it in smaller bottles
so it wouldn't be so costly, and had me taking way smaller than the recommended doses.

I moved out of state and forgot all about it-- thanks for the reminder. I felt so much better on it.
 

Ayaju

Senior Member
Messages
160
Location
San Diego, CA
My sister almost got into ASEA until I turned her on to structured water. It does everything ASEA does (not the same way) and it's a one-time purchase of a device that never needs replacing or filters. In two short months drinking structured water, my long-time severe neck pain from arthritis is gone, all my joints and muscles barely ache at all, I have more energy (miracle), and my body is getting hydrated for the first time in my adult life. Even my thinking is clearer, and my mood is better, much much better, in fact!

Judy
 

leela

Senior Member
Messages
3,290
What do you use for structured water, @Ayaju ? I have an EM ceramic ringstone but never noticed much improvement with it.
 

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
@Wayne what ever happened with ASEA for you, after the first dose?

I believe I backed off from it for several weeks (or more) before trying it again. The next time around, I noticed feeling a bit better. Not a lot, but enough to notice. I stayed with the recommended dosage, and continued to do pretty well with it. Though I might have had further improvements had I stayed with it, the price didn't seem to justify such a course action. My friend who introduced me to this has since discontinued it, also not believing it was worth continuing, even though he seemed to have experienced even more positive results than I had.