Supplement Facts

Allergy Research Group is one of the very first allergy-oriented, hypoallergenic nutritional supplement companies and was founded in 1979 by Stephen Levine, Ph.D., a biochemist from UC Berkeley. For almost 30 years, Dr. Levine has dedicated himself to the latest research and the passionate pursuit of cutting-edge nutritional supplements.

Dr. Levine and Allergy Research Group were among the first to introduce truly hypoallergenic products to the market, and developed the very first Buffered Vitamin C product. Dr. Levine's antioxidant research is legendary in that it created a unique, broad spectrum integration of the data with a very expanded perspective, which is still one of the most sophisticated antioxidant presentations even today. This work eventually lead to Dr. Levine’s groundbreaking textbook Antioxidant Adaptation, which he co-authored with Dr. Parris Kidd in 1985. For almost thirty years, Allergy Research Group has been known for the highest quality, most hypoallergenic, and most cutting-edge nutritional supplements available, and has supplied products to physicians and healthcare practitioners around the world.

Allergy Research Group's Scientific Advisory board adds a wealth of traditional medical knowledge and sophistication to supplementation development. Headed by founder Dr. Stephen Levine, this board has been instrumental in both product development and legislative issues which impact the Nutritional Supplement market globally.

New Allergen Labeling Regulations
As a result of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, effective January 1, 2006, the FDA is requiring manufacturers to identify the presence of eight major food allergens on all product labels. The term “major food allergen” means any of the following: milk, egg, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans, as well as any ingredient derived from those foods. It is important to understand that while an ingredient may have been derived from a common allergen, we are required by law to list that allergen on the label as a source of the ingredient, even if it does not contain any of the actual substance. For example, 100%-pure glucosamine sulfate does not contain any actual shellfish, but we are required to indicate the source material (shrimp, crab, lobster) on the label.

Full Disclosure Labeling
Allergy Research Group fully discloses all ingredients, both active and inactive on every product label, so you can make fully informed choices.

Vegetarian Capsules
Allergy Research Group is currently in the process of converting most of our existing products to vegetarian capsules, and all new products are being made with vegetarian capsules.

Cellulose Powder is derived from fibrous plant material, is insoluble in water and is used as a filler. In addition to being used as a filler, cellulose powder is sold as an individual supplement as a pure insoluble fiber, and is extremely well tolerated.

Silicon Dioxide, or silica, is one of the most common chemical compounds. Silica plays an important role in biological processes. Most rocks and minerals are made of silicon dioxide and other minerals. Silica is insoluble in water and is used for its drying properties.

Stearic Acid is an 18 carbon, naturally occurring saturated fatty acid. It is a component of membrane structure and is utilized for its lubricating properties.

Magnesium Stearate contains stearic acid and magnesium palmitate, the magnesium salt of a 16 carbon saturated fatty acid, also common in membrane structure. It is also utilized for its lubricating properties.

Dicalcium phosphate (calcium phosphate, dibasic) is a white, odorless, tasteless powder that is stable in air. It is practically insoluble in water, but is readily soluble in hydrochloric acid.

L-leucine is an essential branched-chain amino acid, found in almost all animal and vegetable proteins. As an excipient in our formulas, pharmaceutical grade L-leucine is presented in minute amounts and is used as a lubricant.

A History of Quality
Since 1979, Allergy Research Group has used only the purest raw materials available, and has implemented strict quality control procedures in every stage of production including inspection of raw materials, manufacturing, packaging and storing. For many years we have used the same manufacturers to produce our capsules and tablets to ensure consistency. In our facility in Alameda, California we bottle, label and ship our finished products. Allergy Research Group is currently licensed by the California Department of Health Services, Food and Drug Branch. Our registration number is 0021150.

GMP Standards
Allergy Research Group products are manufactured under the recognized principals of current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) proposed by the FDA. The GMP standards are applied to a wide variety of procedures associated with the manufacturing of dietary supplements, including approval of raw materials, production and process controls, laboratory testing, and product packaging, labeling and distribution.

Procedures of Analysis
Allergy Research Group utilizes a number of advanced methods of analysis, including high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), IR and UV-VIS spectroscopy, capillary electrophoresis (CE), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and atomic absorption (AA), along with biochemistry and wet chemistry techniques.

Below is an interview with Dr. Levine as he discusses why he founded Allergy Research Group, how he came to pioneer so many key nutritional supplements over the last 30 years, and how he continues to do so.

Since 1979, Allergy Research Group, founded and lead by Stephen Levine, Ph.D., has become well known for its innovation, quality and purity. Over the last twenty-seven years, and since its inception, Allergy Research Group has set the record with consistently ground breaking products. One need only take a brief look into the scientifically adventurous life of Stephen Levine to understand why.

What is your educational background?
My undergraduate work was at Buffalo State University, after which I did a full fellowship at UC Berkeley in the genetics department, where I received a Ph.D. in 1976, with an emphasis on genetics and molecular biology.

How did you come to found Allergy Research Group?
It became obvious that I had chemical sensitivity and environmental illness when I was working as a lab director after graduation. That started my passionate entry into the field of alternative/environmental medicine. My recovery from chemical sensitivities with selenium was memorialized in numerous lay and technical articles, including Prevention magazine, and finally, the writing of a textbook, Antioxidant Adaptation (co-authored by ParrisKidd, Ph.D.). This book straddled both academic science in free radical biochemistry and alternative medicine and became the “new testament” providing an organizing principal for understanding the action of the best known and best selling supplements of the day. These were, of course, vitamins C, E, beta carotene, and selenium. These were fundamentally antioxidants, i.e. redox-active. My insight into the contribution of redox activities redefined the understanding as to the underlying energetic nature of biological processes, stress and illness for thousands of doctors. From this work, two of Allergy Research Group’s first products were developed: Sodium Selenite and Buffered Vitamin C.

Sodium Selenite, a rather simple solution, is still a favorite form of selenium for many patients. In some patients it produced immediate benefits for chemical sensitivity and in others it allowed patients to recover chemical tolerance over an extended period of weeks and months. Confirming work has been done by Dr. Michael Rosenbaum, M.D., and Alfred Zamm, M.D.

Buffered Vitamin C was developed from some of the initial research in the early 50’s of Theon Randolph, M.D., who was the founder and leader of the environmental medicine movement.

Both products were widely embraced by the environmental medicine community, and used by leaders, Drs. Randolph and Rea, as well as hundreds of doctors from the Clinical Ecology Society. They were also used by many patients and lead to relief and hope for thousands. So it was these first two products, Buffered Vitamin C and Sodium Selenite Solution, from which Allergy Research Group was born.

Buffered Vitamin C Study at Haight Ashbury Free Clinic
Buffered Vitamin C (BVC) was so effective for food allergies, I was convinced it would work for addictive cravings. So in 1985, an informal study was conducted at the Haight Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco, in which BVC was used by outpatients recovering from addictions. The results were remarkable and BVC reduced withdrawal symptoms and cravings in 90% of the participants.

Why are you able to introduce leading products and see leading trends consistently before others?
It partially comes down to looking at underlying principles. You can’t get more fundamental than electrons and protons and I knew that the energetic principles would have an impact on clinical manifestation of illness. Recently, my theory on free radical and chemical hypersensitivities received considerable support by the monumental research of Dr. Martin Pall, Ph.D., Professor at Washington State University. Also, I have had the tremendous good fortune of being involved with a large and dynamic group of friends and colleagues - a network of leading doctors and scientists with whom I am always exchanging ideas. These personal connections have led to the birth of many groundbreaking products, and will continue to do so for years to come.

What makes the formulas different?
They are different from the start - we don’t generally follow the pack. We work with leading doctors in our industry as a brain trust to bring in what is most interesting and most needed at that time. A small list of the prestigious, or accomplished doctors that we have worked with include: Leo Galland, M.D. (twice awarded with Practitioner of the Year), Jonathan Wright, M.D., Dana Flavin, M.D., Dr. Ba Hoang, M.D., Ph.D., and many others...

You are considered a pioneer in the field of nutritional supplements. What are some of the products you introduced to the marketplace and how did you discover them?
We were the first to introduce many nutritional supplements to the market, two of which I have already discussed, Sodium Selenium Solution and Buffered Vitamin C, but here I will list some of the other key products and the stories behind their inception:

Melatonin
By the mid 80’s, a large body of literature existed on melatonin. I was also attracted to it because of some of the esoteric associations with this sleep hormone, which affected dreams, was inhibited by light, and was associated with the third eye (intuition). I tried it in '87 or '88, with a friend of mine, and it had sleep-inducing and hypnotic effects. Subsequently, at Dr. Rae’s meeting in Texas I met melatonin researchers Russel Reiter, George Maestroni, and others who where thrilled that I had melatonin available commercially. Reiter read my text and then began testing melatonin for its antioxidant activities. His subsequent research has been responsible for the mass acceptance of melatonin and the very important scientific understanding of its role as an antioxidant. It also appears to be intimately involved in cell protection. Reiter’s book on melatonin and his findings of its profound antioxidant capacity came out just as JAMA and NEJM had seriously embraced antioxidants as key cell protectors. Reiter has commented, “melatonin is such a potent antioxidant that its gradual loss could explain why aging accelerates over time. My colleagues and I have suggested that melatonin replacement could result in a significant increase in human lifespan.” I initially put out two potencies: 1.6 mg and 20 mg. Since then, 25 mg has been studied and found to profoundly affect cell growth and to be life-supporting for some patients, with numerous studies to support this.*

Lactoferrin
In 1998, a close friend of mine, Earl Etienne, Ph.D., the youngest professor to ever teach at Harvard, was intrigued by the pregnancy phenomena - how lactoferrin was so low during pregnancy to protect the fetus from immune system attack, and how high the levels of lactoferrin would become in breast milk after pregnancy in order to further the development of the newborn’s immune system.* We introduced the first lactoferrin product to the market in the late 80’s. Soon after, the popular press picked up interest in the lactoferrin story, further spreading the word.

Artemisinin
I was working with my colleagues Leo Galland, M.D. and Herman Bueno, M.D. who were the prominent researchers in the area of GI immunity and parasites. Galland and Bueno introduced me to the idea of working with Artemisia annua as a broad spectrum microbial balancer. The use of pure artemisinin was being studied at NYU Medical Center. At the time, artemisinin was only made in Vietnam so we connected with a missionary who was able to get some for us. Shortly after this, in 1986 or '87, artemisinin finally became available. We introduced it in two products: as pure artemisinin, and as part of our Tricycline product, which contained other herbs for GI support. These products have functioned well for many doctors and patients for many years.*

Full Spectrum Antioxidants
Creating a full spectrum antioxidant formula was simply a logical extension of my work on my textbook Antioxidant Adaptation. Antiox, Improved Antiox and Ocudyne are combination antioxidants, the first of their kind, with biological activities in areas of immunity, and cellular protection at a very profound level. As predicted, these had a major impact on patients and then on the marketplace, then and now. They still represent some of the most sophisticated products of this category.*

Nattokinase
We summarized all the research that was available from Japan - mostly from Dr. Hiroyuki Sumi, M.D., the discoverer of nattokinase. We also connected with Dr. Martin Milner, N.D., a cardiovascular specialist, and Dr. Ralph Holsworth, D.O., who later became the leading nattokinase researcher in the U.S. Jonathan Wright, M.D. noted that patients were responding very quickly and powerfully to the product.* Once again, this was perfect timing for the needs and awareness level of the doctors and their clinical practice. We were the first to introduce nattokinase to the U.S. market in 2002. We use only the NSK-SD form of nattokinase, which is the only form of nattokinase approved by Dr. Sumi and Dr. Holsworth.

Organic Germanium (Germanium Sesquioxide)
In 1985, while I was working on my antioxidant book, the importance of oxygen became clear to me. I came to understand the importance of the role of hypoxia, so I sought to find an effective agent for cellular oxygenation. I found the work of Dr. Kazuhiko Asai, the original Japanese developer of germanium sesquioxide. We then worked with a Berkeley chemist to develop a testing protocol to confirm the purity of germanium sesquioxide. The past twenty years have only deepened my conviction that germanium is a nutrient of enormous value. Presently, we are working with an oncology group in Arizona on a double-blind study of germanium’s impact on energy status in cancer patients.*

What does the future hold for Allergy Research Group?
The past 27 years have been an incredibly rewarding scientific and personal adventure. I look forward to many more years of investigation of science and healing as tools to support, enhance and inspire as many people as possible through new, innovative Allergy Research Group products.

We’ve got some really exciting new products coming, many of which are equally, if not more exciting than what we’ve done in the past. We will be gradually introducing these products over the next few months.