Prof. Bassant Puri and VegEPA

I wrote a testimonial for the product VegEPA. This was written in Nov 2006. I thought I would include it here as the product is still very much part of my recovery programme. There have been lots of sceptics who have attacked Professor Puri's research on the VegEPA so before you read any further I would like to reassure you the Professor Puri IS NOT BEING PAID BY VEGEPA TO MAKE THE STATEMENTS HE DOES ABOUT THE PRODUCT. He has been falsly accused of this. Professor Puri is one of the few Dr's in the National Health Service that is wholeheartedly fighting the cause of those with ME. He is a kind and humble gentleman, a genious, and a compassionate human being. Please be reassured that HE ONLY RECOMMENDS VEGEPA AS IT IS THE ONLY PRODUCT ON THE MARKET THAT HE HAS FOUND TO WORK FOR M.E. PATIENTS. This is because it is the only DHA free EPA supplement and he has found high levels of DHA to aggrevate ME patients. Information in my testimonial will support me own personal experience of this.

"I started taking VegEPA about 6 weeks ago after reading the CFS/ME book by Professor Puri. I have had a severe case of ME for around 12-18 months. By severe I mean that I had to give up my career as a performing arts lecturer, I was unable to work, I had to give up my flat and become completely dependant on someone else to do even minor tasks for me. In fact, there have been times when I have been too weak to put my own socks on and when I have to crawl upstairs and go to the toilet. I have been so ill that I am under assessment for disability living allowance (a process which takes many months). Previously I danced and exercised every day, did yoga daily, and was very active and physical in my job as a drama lecturer. I was the kind of person that was always on the go, full of the joys of life and often described as "a fire ball of energy".

My story with regards VegEPA reinforces all the things that Prof Puri says about the product in his book. This is because six months before I started taking VegEPA I had my essential fats tested privately at Biolab in London and my omega 3 was extremely low. The Naturopath that tested me insisted that I try a non-vegetarian source of omega 3 (I have been vegan for many years), and recommended a product called Bioforce which is high in DHA and EPA. The product made me severely vomit, which backs up what Prof Puri says in his book about DHA for ME sufferers, although I didn't have this information at the time. I assumed that it was because I hadn't eaten fish for about 20 years and therefore had no ability to digest it anymore. I stopped taking the Bioforce and went to ask my doctor what he recommended I should take. He called essential fats "peripheral medicine" and claimed that it was my choice whether I took a vegan source or a fish source. He believed essential fats were only relevant in cases of heart disease! I therefore turned to an American product called Omega Zen 3. This claimed to be the leading vegan product on the market and I checked the research of the company who claimed that they had many cases of people being cured of omega 3 deficiency with their product. It was being recommended by a leading vegan doctor in America whom I had the greatest respect for. I took Omega Zen 3 for about 6 months. To purchase it in the UK it was £17.99 for 40 tablets which would last me about 13 days. This product is pure DHA from golden algae. It did not make me vomit like the fish product but it did not make a jot of difference to how I felt. I was just about to go and get my essential fats tested again when I came across VegEPA and Professor Puri's research. I decided to wait and try this product first as in reality I still had all the symptoms of essential fat deficiency, so it seemed a waste of money to test again.

I started taking the VegEPA and I had outstanding results. Within a week I started to sleep through the night. My cognitive function became clearer. I became much brighter, in fact, so much so that several people began to ask me "what are you doing, as you look much brighter?". I attend a training for naturopathic nutritionalists once a month for a weekend and this is the only thing that I manage to do at present. The weekend is usually a terrible struggle for me and often ends with me going home early. I made it through the whole weekend quite easily after a month on the VegEPA and even my lecturer commented on how clear, bright and mobile I looked. I am usually in such severe pain by the end of the weekend that I can barely get in and out of the chair, and I shuffle around the classroom, but after taking VegEPA for a month I could get up and down and walk around the classroom quite easily by the end of the Sunday. At the end of the Sunday afternoon we usually have an examination session and I am usually too ill to even be in class by this point, yet on 4 weeks of VegEPA I was actually able to volunteer to be the one being examined - something I'd usually be in far too much pain for normally. It was obvious that many people were quite suprised at my volunteering!

Similarly, my Aunt came to visit and the purpose of her visit was to help me around the house. My mum had been down to visit only 4 weeks before I started taking VegEPA as my day to day tasks had built up and I wasn't able to cope. However, when my aunt came down, just 4 weeks into taking VegEPA, it was a different story. We were able to go clothes shopping twice in Bristol city centre - something I haven't been able to do since I became really ill with ME. We went to the theatre in the evening - my first time since I have had ME - and I sat through the whole performance without paying for it the next day. I was also able to teach my aunt to meditate - the first time since I've been ill that I've been able to do anything for anyone else when previously my whole world had revolved around helping others.

So generally, since taking the product, the pain in my legs has subsided significantly. This pain was completely disabling. My cognitive function has improved, my outlook is brighter, and I have been able to deal with my depression and the emotional problems that ME has brought me. I have not had a panic attack or spiraled into negative thinking whilst taking the VegEPA in the same way as I was doing before I took the product.

It is also important to note that after the first month, I ran out of VegEPA so I had to ration my supplies until my new order came. This was only a couple of days as they always send the product at lightening speed, but I definately felt worse in those couple of days without the support of the product. Sceptics might say that this was phsychological. However, anyone with ME will know what I mean when I say that the pressure started to build up in the back of my head and I got that familiar flu like feeling back that signifies a return of symptoms. It is therefore vital to take the 8 - 9 capsules a day recommended by Prof Puri, and to do so consistently. This product really helps so it's importat not to take it for granted when you start to feel well again.

This is still early days for me. Last week I was examined by Dr Perrin, the leading chiropractor in the field of ME, who has been curing people of ME for 17 years. He outlined my physical symptoms of ME - I have a deformed spine between my shoulder blades, my lymphatic system is so blocked that it is pooling in my breast tissue and has formed hard lumps, and my cerebro-spinal fluid is not flowing properly and therefore not taking toxins away from my brain. He gave me a score of 4 (ten is well) and estimated that it would take 18 months to 2 years for me to get well again. It would be interesting if he had scored me before the VegEPA - I am quite sure I would have been at least a 3 (where 2 and 1 are completely bed ridden). I am now receiving treatment through Dr Perrin and it will be also interesting to find if the VegEPA speeds up his very skilled estimation of how long it will take me to recover - he also now recommends the product.

I would recommend VegEPA to anyone suffering from ME. As we all know, there is not one single magically cure for the condition, but this product has helped me control my symptoms so significantly that I feel like a human being again. It has given me hope. I feel different in a very positive way. In fact this testimonial itself is proof of my improvements. I have written it in an hour and a half when previously it would have taken me a week or more to get so much information down - the future is very bright!".

You will find more information on Prof Bassant Puri's research in his book: