Hello,

I can't quite reconcile myself with the one-sided emphasis on the effects of GFSE without warning about the flip side of using these products, where the effect of GFSE is, according to studies, due to the contained chemicals and not from the grapefruit seeds themselves. Have you ever come across this information, see the article (very well sourced)? What do you think about it? https://bolavebrisko.cz/extrakt-z-grepovych-jader/

Thank you.

This issue is a bit more complex and not as black and white as presented in the cited article. Generally, the risk of containing undesirable substances is significantly higher in non-organic products, and consumers should always keep that in mind when choosing food and dietary supplements (the legislation is set up to only check the content of certain hazardous substances—meaning the fact that a food product is commonly sold does not guarantee it is entirely safe). Fortunately, these trends are gaining strength in Western civilization, though not as noticeably in the Czech Republic as in some neighboring countries. Additionally, while we generally discuss harmful substances, many of them cannot be avoided even in organic production. It also always depends on the specific substance being monitored (because we are aware of its existence including its undesirable effects)—for example, just a few years ago, the presence of microplastics in the environment was not even considered, now they are almost ubiquitous, with a relatively unknown impact on health.

Furthermore, in food research, if you focus in one direction, you always accumulate a large amount of information, and it may seem as if you are uncovering the truth, whose essence is, however, strongly relative. A typical example can be vitamin C, which is one of the most researched substances ever—if you focus on studying it, you find that studies can be divided into two groups, where the results of one contradict the other (the same is true for coffee and many other foods or substances). This is because they are scientific studies, and science is essentially based on a process of questioning, which it perceives and presents as the driving force of development (knowledge).

The assertion that GFSE products are risky due to certain chemicals is, of course, an indisputable fact, but this issue applies to the vast majority of non-organic products. Such information should thus serve as an impetus to realize that far from everything that legislation approves for sale is truly healthy and safe, which should rightly lead to an effort, not to reject, but to seek out quality products.

These considerations are certainly not meant to downplay the severity of the undesirable effects of the contained harmful substances but to find the right stance on the issue. Again, an example—when buying mustard (or other foods), a good number of manufacturers use sorbates and benzoates for their preservation, where these substances practically destroy all living things, including intestinal microbiota (pathogenic and probiotic). It's curious in practice that nobody questions this, yet the concentration of both substances has such significant antibiotic effects that the product in question essentially exhibits "infinite" microbial stability (purity).

If you focus on studies that researched the antibiotic effects of bioflavonoids in GFSE, you'll find that individual bioflavonoids do not boast this effect, but as a complex, they do exhibit these properties. Additionally, they have the ability to suppress the activity of pathogenic, not probiotic cultures, which contradicts the claims of the studies discussed here, which point out that only the chemicals found in these products have antibiotic effects. However, this discrepancy is normal in science; therefore, individual studies are always taken with some caution, and meta-analyses, which have a much greater explanatory value, are presented as authoritative. The issue here is that they require a sufficient number of completed studies, which despite relatively rapid development in practice, are not always available.

If you want to work with dietary supplements, you must accept that you are at risk of buying a product that is not entirely safe, which applies to all plant and animal materials. Unfortunately, there is no certainty that you will choose the right one, only a percentage probability of a reasonable choice by adhering to all known and practically applicable rules (choosing organic products, observing the manufacturer's behavior regarding the promotion of its effects, monitoring portals dealing with food composition analysis - www.bezpecnostpotravin.cz, www.nebezpecneleky.cz, www.potravinynapranyri.cz, etc.).

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