Another great product from NOW -- Aloe Gel in a convenient softgel form. (Avoid oral products containing Aloe Latex, which has potential risks if ingested regularly.) Helps with digestion, reduces acid reflux, and helps smooth out my blood sugar levels. The criticism: I know NOW tends to list rather high dosages for many of their products -- often with good reason -- but in this case the suggested dosage is oddly WAY too high (two softgels three times a day). Doing that is not only unnecessary, it would reduce the product advantages of convenience and low price, not to mention adding a lot of calories!

After much experimentation I have found that the combination of one NOW Maitake extract gelcap plus one Solgar Blueberry *Leaf* extract, taken before a meal (ideally 10-15 minutes) pack a punch for me in preventing blood sugar spikes in either direction (ie., high earlier or low later). Especially helpful for higher-carb meals. One Maitake extract gelcap taken alone doesn't accomplish much for me in this regard (though it may certainly have long-term benefits; while one Blueberry Leaf extract gelcap taken alone definitely helps, but not nearly so well as when combined with the NOW Maitake extract. The downsides are that this makes a somewhat expensive herbal combination if taken multiple times a day (though cheaper at iHerb than anywhere else!); and that both extracts also contain whole-herb powder -- which may add to the benefit, but whole-herb powder can sometimes contain a bit of lead or cadmium, even with deservedly reputable brands like these...probably not enough to worry about, but I do like to keep it in mind when significantly increasing whole-herb intake.

Great product, based on actually raising my Vitamin D levels (25-hydroxy). After I bought these I saw the “how much do you need to raise your D” formula by the Vitamin D council and it was clear that 7,000 IU would be more appropriate for me, so I then also bought the similarly-formulated Country-Life 1,000 IU softgel product and take two of those at the same time as one of these. Based on the studies, I try to take my D with a meal every day, especially one containing fat. For reasons I won’t go into, I retested my 25-hydroxy D at one month instead of the intended three months, and my level has already gone up from 20 to 40! Based on previously seeing my levels go *down* after 1 month on 1,000 IU of a dry D product taken at night, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it is working. I can’t say I feel any different (at least not yet). And VERY IMPORTANTLY, I am monitoring very closely for any possible D-induced increase in my serum calcium, as having elevated (or even near-elevated) serum calcium generally confers MUCH more serious health risks than having below-range D. So far so good on that count, though, but since my serum calcium’s in the high-9’s already I need to be careful. Once I’m where I want to be on the D (ideally about 50 or 60), my “dilemma” will be figuring out how much to take ongoing to sustain that level instead of either continuing to increase or dropping back down.

Chromium polynicotinate -- and specifically the trademarked ChromeMate version contained in this and other products bearing their logo -- is the ONLY Chromium I would trust for both effectiveness AND purity. Nice that it’s so economical. I do wish all brands using GTF would take that moniker off the label, as it confuses people into incorrectly thinking GTF denotes a specific type of Chromium.

UPDATE: Should have updated this awhile ago. I've been taking this quite awhile and it's an excellent product, but the fact that is buffered means that some of the elemental magnesium is actually from non-chelated magnesium oxide. So it's less of a value than it would appear. So I've downgraded from five stars to four. So nice to find an Albion-sourced Magnesium Glycinate product with 200mg capsules. I take 400mg each night, and don't have to down 4 capsules at once as I did in the past. One thing I CAN'T say is that this -- or any other magnesium product -- makes me go to sleep any easier, as many people report. But that's not why I buy it -- I just want to try to keep my blood levels of this vital electrolyte higher. Also, Glycine has its own benefits for the body.

No combination is going to be the EXACT mix desired, and in the exact doses desired, but these come pretty darn close to what I personally want at ONE (not two) per day. Certainly closer than anything else out there, and believe me, I've searched! And while it has lots of good stuff -- including full-dosed B's that happily allow me to do away with my separate B supplement -- it is not one of those scary, indiscriminate "let's mix in everything but the kitchen sink" formulas. Virtually no calcium, but I like to handle that separately, and besides calcium tends to overwhelm other ingredients and make for huge pills. No K, but that's one that deserves a separate supplement, which I am already using. The amount of potassium is small, but you can't get much more than that from a supplement, anyway. There are a couple things in here where I's like to get the amount that's in two caps -- e.g. chomium polynicotinate and lutein (though the amount of lutein in just one pill is still pretty generous), but as I said NOTHING can't match my wished 100%. Anyway, really glad I found this, and hope they don't start "new and improve"-ing it with gimmicks. (I understand they did recently up the D dosage, but that's OK except for someone who has high or very-high-normal serum calcium and thus must be very careful NOT to take D or calcium supplements except under a doctor's supervision. Life Extension commendably includes a warning about this on the bottle.)

Since research seems to suggest different benefits for different types of "K," this is a good "hedge your bets" combo. Because some of the amounts seem on the high side, and because K is (I believe) fat soluble, I am currently only taking this every other day. I decided to start it when I started taking Vitamin D to raise my lowish D levels, as research suggests K2 may be able to keep any increases in calcium out of the arteries and in bone instead.

UPDATE: Now that NOW has unfortunately switched to Cassia Cinnamon like "everyone else," my original review that follows and my 5-star rating no longer apply... Even though this variety is “true” Cinnamon, rather than the Cassia (aka Chinese and Aromaticum) used in many of the studies and products (and more likely to show up on your spice rack), it seems to be working a lot better better at lowering my glucose. I read an interview with one of the original USDA researchers, and he said that “they all work” with regard to the various Cinnamon species. Caveats: (1) It’s still early and I recently started another supplement, so I can’t be 100% sure the effect is all due to this product or will last (though early indications are VERY “thumbs up”); and (2) Based on Now’s label recommendation I’m taking a higher dose than I had been of the Cassia. Regardless, taking whole-herb Cassia made me a bit uncomfortable because that variety has a relatively high level of coumarin (NOT “coumadin”), which is quite toxic in lab rodents and *may* also be toxic to susceptible humans in large or sustained doses. Cassia extracts (water-based only) are virtually coumarin-free since it’s not water-soluble, but unfortunately water-extracting also removes the potentially beneficial cinnamaldehyde oils (e.g.cardiovascular, anticancer, mildly sedative). But Cinnamomum Verum, used in the Now product, is naturally low in coumarin, so this whole-herb product provides a way to get full-spectrum benefits including cinnamaldehydes while keeping the coumarin low. I just wish they’d offer a double-sized capsule for us men who don’t have a purse for carrying around tons of capsules and pills when eating out...there some are several other things I need to take before meals besides just this! Because of this, my real rating is 4.5 stars.

Seems to work quite nicely for my GERD (although it would have been interesting to see if the same were true back when I weighed a lot more and my GERD was thus more severe). I like the fact that it's not something you gave to take so often, and that it's so economical! Also, I really trust Jarrow for purity. I do wish the gelcap was smaller so that it would be easier to carry around. Also some of the other uses of Limone, e.g., as a solvent, are a tad disconcerting (see the Uses and Safety sections for Limone in Wikipedia).

Based on some personal research, I bought this for uses other than anxiety/stress/diet, and it didn't fit the bill. But I offered it to a friend as a last-ditch try for something that might help him sleep through the night. Getting to sleep wasn't his problem (he uses a sleep medicine), but rather length and quality of sleep were the problem, especially since he has been going through a particularly anxious period. I frankly didn't expect the Relora to help him, since I had previously suggested trials of 5HTP, theanine, and magnesium glycinate, and none had helped. Well, surprise! With one Relora at bedtime (along with the med and maybe-unnecessary 5HTP), he says he now sleeps through the night. Waking way too early and then being unable to get back to sleep are no longer a problem. Furthermore, he says his constant bad dreams are now gone as well! Just goes to show that everyone's different, and as a sleep-aid Relora is working wonders for my friend. Worth a try if you're having similar problems.

3.5-MONTH UPDATE: Not only is the Solgar Blueberry Leaf extract still helping a great deal, but after much experimentation I've found that adding one NOW Maitake mushroom extract gelcap to one Solgar Blueberry Leaf extract gelcap before a meal provides even better (and slightly cheaper) glucose modulation than two Blueberry Leaf extract gelcaps. See my review under NOW Maitake extract for more detail. Disclaimer: Review based on one trial thus far. But I read about some human studies in which Blueberry Leaf (NOT fruit), and in particular chlorogenic acid, seems to have substantial post-meal blood-sugar modulating effect when taken before the meal. Well, based on my first trial, with the kind of high-carb meal that would normally spike my sugar, it's looking good! It peaked about 30 points lower than it normally would, and came back toward fasting levels a lot quicker -- but without any reactive hypoglycemia! I'm so glad that someone came out with Blueberry Leaf, and that thankfully it was a trusted brand like Solgar and standardized for chlorogenic acid. I took two caps before that meal, but I'm going to try using just one for most meals as I typically wouldn't ingest that high a simple-sugars load at my body at once. Also, I want to stay on the conservative side when using an herb that hasn't been that well studied. I'm confident it will prove safe, but there isn't yet enough study to be 100% sure.

I've been buying the 180-cap version of this from iHerb for quite awhile now. It's definitely a quality product, but understand that "buffered" means that it's not 100% chelated magnesium. Instead, the chelated magnesium glycinate is mixed with an unspecified amount of simple magnesium oxide. That probably explains how they're able to fit a full 200mg in a capsule of this size. Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Glycinate advertises "NOT buffered," but the disadvantages for that one are that it's tablets instead of gelcaps, and that it contains Bioperine (black pepper extract) which I'm wary of.