Shelly Albaum
May 20, 2018
TL;DR: If it weren't enough that Elysium Health gets an "F" from the Better Business Bureau (Update: Now C+) and has been sued for patent infringement, here is one overwhelming reason to avoid them:
The same NR-PT ingredients in Elysium's Basis -- Nicotinamide Riboside and Pterostilbene -- cost less and don't require a subscription lock-in if you buy your PT from Amazon and your NR from Amazon,
Starting February 2019, you do best buying the NR directly from TruNiagen.com, which is the only licensed manufacturer, where you can get $30/bottle and 300mg/dose, instead of Elysium's $40-60/bottle with 250mg/dose.
Here is what one remorseful Elysium customer wrote in a comment on this blog:
Wish I did my due diligence. That was an expensive mistake. As stated in the article, you can get the same ingredients far cheaper online at Amazon or in vitamin stores! I would not recommend Elysium for that reason. I guess what seems borderline scam to me is that they will not cancel the remainder of the 6 month subscription. They say they "Can't". Hmmm. Yeah Elysium could do that without much trouble at all.
I NEVER want to do business with a company that pressures you to sign up for a long-term subscription and then won't let you cancel.
So on Amazon you can get NR for $50/bottle or $225 for 6 bottles, with Prime shipping, Amazon Smile donation, and you are getting it directly from the manufacturer and patent holder (not pirated goods), with no subscription, no auto-renew, and amazon's no-worries return policy. THAT is a no-brainer. Or get down to $30/bottle with a subscription from TruNiagen.com.
If you ALSO want pterostilbene, that is also available on Amazon. Basis contains 50mg of pterostilbene per pill. On Amazon, you can get pterostilbene in any quantity you want and in any strength you -- 50mg, 100mg, or 150mg -- with no subscription.
So regardless of whether you think Elysium's Basis is pirated or counterfeit (ChromaDex owns the patent for it, and Elysium does not have a license to sell it), or whether you want an extra 50mg of NR, or whether you don't like Elysium's business model, or whether you don't trust Elysium's scientific advisory board, or whether you don't like it that Elysium is in a state of perpetual litigation over their only product, it's just cheaper, easier, faster, and simpler to get NR directly from the manufacturer (ChromaDex) or via Amazon. And you can add pterostilbene from amazon at the same strength as in Basis for $7.50/month if you want.
For those who don't like Amazon, ChromaDex sells NR directly from TruNiagen.com. And as of February 2019, TruNiagen.com has better pricing than amazon does for multi-bottle and subscription orders.
If it's called "Niagen," then the product is manufactured by ChromaDex, and if it is called "Tru Niagen," then you are buying from ChromaDex.
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2. Basis v. Niagen Comparison Chart
4. Why I tell all my friends to take Nicotinamide Riboside