Thank you for signing up to the Period Pain Trial. Thanks from us and from 900 million women aged between 15 and 25 and 1.2 Billion women aged from 30 to 50 years. We want to look at the effect of eating about 3g of dry seaweed every day. We have women in a number of countries participating. We will be in contact with you shortly
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What are the next steps?
- We’ll send you the first 6 weeks of seaweed capsules (180)
- We’ll also send a blood pressure machine so you can test your blood pressure. The instructions are in the box. We will be asking you to provide your weight, height and waist measurements. (You will need a tape measure!)
- We ask you to fill out the first survey. It is about your current health, period pain in the past. It is detailed and asks physical and psychological questions.
- Take 4 capsules per day. We suggest 2 at breakfast and 2 at dinner.
- At 4 weeks we ask you to do a followup survey.
- We’ll then post out the next 6 weeks of capsules.
- At 8 weeks and at 12 weeks you do another questionnaire.
- You can withdraw at any stage
Is the product Philippines FDA or Australia approved?
In the Philippines the product does not need FDA approval as it is not a medicine but is undergoing registration and will be available over the counter in drug stores. It is pure, clean and just dry seaweed. Grown at farms in the waters off Samal Island it is harvested, brought quickly to a drying processing center and immediately dried to about 20-30-% moisture. It is then transferred to a registered nutraceutical contract production company in Davao who further dries the product to 5%, mills it to reduce to small particles then packages the powder into capsules.
Who Sells Seaweed?
It is sold and distributed from Seaweed for Humanity, Inc from the Philippines so you are entitled to purchase and receive it. It is not a “traditional food” in Australia, UK, USA or New Zealand but is in the Philippines. It is just Food. Food for Health.
Is it safe?
Yes, it is just seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii ) and the same that you can buy in most wet markets throughout the Philippines, Indonesia, or Malaysia. However even if you wanted to it is very hard to buy good clean seaweed, every day at a consistent price and have it in your refrigerator (ref) or out where it can spoil. We make it easy. It is just dry seaweed.
What Safety Checks
We check each batch for heavy metals (bad for health if in the water or the product and the levels are within or lower than the regulations.) We check each batch for biological contaminants as per established food processing guidelines. (HACCP / ISO22000) If any contamination – out it goes. So you can be assured the product is safe to consume.
Was this a clinical trial?
This was not a clinical trial. This was a field trial designed to give us enough information to properly design a clinical trial. In a clinical trial some participants get the real product, and some don’t. In many clinical trials the people in charge of the trial don’t even know who got the real product. In this trial everyone gets the product and we are assessing the results to see if there is enough evidence for us to go to a full clinical trial.
However it is still important to us that you answer all the survey questions and report accurately – we all get a better report that way.
Is the survey confidential?
ABSOLUTELY. This is a key consideration of this survey. We have appointed a medical researcher to be the survey project manager. Her name is Lea and you can contact her directly to discuss any of the issues. She is the only person who will have information on the name and the # of any participant. The survey is designed to keep this information confidential by only using the # of the capsule supply as the ID point. We already have individuals. This is about the “general” case.
Is this local or global?
We are already selling the product in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, UK and the Philippines. Women with dysmenorrhea are in every country, and in some countries are subject to further pain including social and religious prejudices. This product is produced using global standards of testing, processing and packaging. Currently packaged in a gel capsule for ease of consumption but it is available as powder (with smoothies, chocolate or bread).
Whats the Retail Cost?
The cost is about $US1.00 per day with free shipping.
What are the benefits?
The first customers had their painful periods go from a 8 or more to a 3 or less.
Is Seaweed Good Food?
Seaweed has been eaten in the Philippines for hundreds of years. Many studies over the decades show seaweeds contain many helpful compounds to aid our health. Seaweed extracts all these compounds from the seawater it lives in as it grows and matures. Vitamins, minerals, and prebiotics all play a part.
Vitamins and Minerals
Seaweeds contain lots of minerals especially potassium (K), zinc (Zn), Iodine (I), Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg) and Iron (Fe). Check the label for some of the RDA figures.
Contains vitamins – C, A, B1, B3, B6, and some of these are up to 20% of RDA
Seaweed has anti-inflammatory compounds identified.
Other Benefits of Seaweed
These contribute to a great result in pain and inflammation reduction. For some of the benefits check out the top 20 that customers have told us.
What’s the Next Stages?
This is the first part of our studies to be continued over the next 2 years to find out the scientific answers to these questions. Many companies have tried to extract useful compounds from seaweed, but we know that the whole food is better than individual compounds.
Side Effects
There are few side effects from eating seaweed.
- Your microbiome changes and there may be smells for a few days as your stomach gets used to the extra fiber. We recommend to start slow for you tummy to adjust to more fiber.
- Your nails may grow stronger
- Your hair may grow faster
- If you have an auto-immune disease we suggest introduce seaweed slowly. Maybe 1 capsule per day for a few days, then build up slowly to 4 per day.
How is the seaweed Grown?
Seaweed is grown sustainably in clean water. It is formally organic certified. We have implemented plate to gate tracking systems. Seaweed is grown from cuttings on ropes in the ocean. Our seaweeds are harvested at 45 days and we think this means they have optimal healthy content.
Why Whole Food, Not Extracts?
Professor Lindsay Brown from University of Southern Queensland says that extraction of individual compounds is in error. We are better to eat the whole seaweed product with all its goodness complete.
Has This Been Done Before?
This is the first trial of its kind about seaweed that we know about anywhere in the world. While we know the Philippines / Japan / Korea / China / Indonesia have eaten seaweed for hundreds of years. However consumption is a lifestyle driven process. It is not consistent and the quality and quantity varies. We know real benefits come from regular consumption of this great food, at a minimum level over a period of months and years. You can only consume like that with a packaged product.
How long is the trial?
Please take capsules for 90 days. This covers 2 to 3 cycles. We will be able to get results which are not just restricted to a single cycle but will show a trend. It is important that you fill out the interim survey as well as the initial one so we can get continuous information for our study.
Who is the company?
The company is Marine Algae and is really two companies. The Australian company is providing research, science and marketing expertise and the Philippines company is providing farming, processing and distribution facilities. Dr. Hugh Butler PhD runs the Australian arm of the business and Gray Goodwin the Philippines arm. Gray (an Aussie) has lived and worked in Davao for 13 years and has a family in Davao.
Seaweed for Humanity
We have established a not-for-profit Foundation and are planning to support many Filipino fisherfolk with fair prices and fair trade dealings in the purchase and processing of our product. We expect this to continue and expand as our business matures.
Survey is so detailed. Why?
We are trying to get a lot of information so that when we come to the clinical trial we will have a very clear idea of what information we need to get evidence or confirmation of our feelings about the benefits of seaweed in addressing the problem of Dysmenorrhea. Unfortunately, dysmenorrhea is a very badly neglected area of medical science and millions of young women (2.1 billon world wide) have been left to fend for themselves with only pain killers and in many cases nothing else – to deal with the dislocation of their life due to the effects of Dysmenorrhea. We sincerely hope you can work with us to find a solution. Groups such as Australian Pelvic Pain Foundation do great work to raise the profile.
Project Manager?
Mrs Lea Sterling is running this project for Marine Algae. She is a mother of three, Teacher, and Science Researcher who is passionate about Women’s Health and Wellbeing. Lea holds a Bachelor of Science (Double major in Biochemistry/Physiology), Bachelor of Music Education and Graduate Diploma in Psychology. She has also partly completed a Masters of Scientific Studies and Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry). With training in both medical ethics and counselling, Lea brings a humanistic approach to her professional work. She has acted as a consultant to business across the health, finance and education sectors. In her role as a researcher at Marine Algae. Lea is aiming to complete a Doctor of Philosophy in Women’s Health. This project is part of that work.
Period Pain Trial Thanks
- Your answer to our survey will assist us in planning a larger formal clinical trial late this year.
- Your answers will help 0.9 Billion women worldwide aged 15 to 29 who suffer from dysmenorrhea.
- Your answers may help a further 1.2 Billion women aged 30 to 50
- We will send you summary results of the data we collect at the conclusion.
There may be opportunities for you to participate in the full clinical trial but we will advise you in due course.
In the meantime, we have a special deal for you to try for a month, just for the cost of postage. Why not? Even the postage is refunded if it does not work for you. What is there to lose. Head to this page for more info
Questions? Call or email
Questions? Call Hugh on +61414757540, or Lea +61 413 746 962
In the Philippines call Dale (0917 714 4503 or Messenger)