Natural Sources is a shadowy-looking company that specialises in supplements derived from bovine products. Although Natural Sources supplements are on sale from a wide range of retailers including iHerb a global supplements retailer, we can find little out about this manufacturer.
Natural Sources Raw Pituitary is a general health supplement that some people say may have a nootropic effect. Others seem to believe it increases breast size or helps treat chronic fatigue syndrome. The truth is that it will not do any of those things. There is simply no evidence that taking bovine pituitary glands in supplement form will improve the workings of your own pituitary gland. In addition the FDA warns against consuming bovine pituitary gland tissue as a health risk.
This supplement increases the risk of contracting CJD a fatal brain disease caused by brain tissue transmitted from cattle to humans. Less serious side effects may include itchiness, facial flushing, nausea, tachycardia, diarrhoea, insomnia, high blood pressure or vivid dreams.
Natural Sources Raw Pituitary is not expensive. Buy from the iHerb website and it costs just $6.99 for 50 capsules enough for between 25 and 50 days’ supply depending on how you take it.
UK customers can buy it from the iHerb website for just £5.66 and other currencies and delivery to most countries across the world is also available.
US customers can also buy via Amazon for $12.58.
We do not rate Natural Sources Raw Pituitary at all. Although some people may actively search out supplements containing bovine pituitary gland because some alternative practitioners recommend it for all types of issues, there is zero evidence to prove it will work in any way that is described. Taking a bovine pituitary gland extract to improve your own pituitary gland function is totally unproven and unnecessary and all the health advice is to avoid eating brain tissue from other species.
Although the risk of CJD may be low, this brain disease can lie dormant in the system for many years. The FDA advise that you should definitely avoid consuming bovine pituitary tissue and this combined with the lack of information about the origins of the animals used in this supplement makes it one to avoid. Natural Sources Raw Pituitary is inexpensive but we certainly would not take it if they paid us.
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Natural Sources Raw Pituitary is a general health supplement that is supposed to improve the way your pituitary gland works so may have an effect upon mood and mental functioning.
The pituitary gland is a small gland that is very important for the distribution of hormones in the body and is situated at the base of the brain. It secretes hormones that affect many bodily functions including sleep patterns, mood, sex drive, the metabolism via the thyroid hormones, mental alertness and aging.
Natural Sources Raw Pituitary contains vitamins and minerals including zinc, magnesium and B12 which are all important for your brain health. However the key ingredient is a ‘synergistic complex’ composed of bovine pituitary tissue and American ginseng.
Some people believe that taking bovine pituitary tissue in supplement form can improve the function of your own pituitary gland but we admit to experiencing a real ‘yuck’ reaction when we first saw this ingredient in the list.
We are not just being squeamish in our reluctance to consume a supplement derived from bovine brain tissue. After all many of us eat meat and consume animal products on a regular basis and we don’t have a problem with that.
The problem is that consuming brain tissue can spread diseases between species. Most notably Mad Cow disease or the human form of it called of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease or CJD. We will look into this more fully later in the review.
Take 1 -2 capsules daily following a meal.
Natural Sources Raw Pituitary is one of thousands of supplements on sale from I Herb a global company specialising in nutritional supplements of all types. I Herb was founded in 1996 in Moreno Valley, California, and has gone on to become a major nutritional retailer stocking many different brands.
Despite this supplement being on sale from I Herbs, we cannot find any information about Natural Sources. We find this especially worrying given that many Natural Sources supplements contain bovine tissue including Natural Sources Raw Thyroid and Natural Sources Raw Adrenal.
There are no claims in the advertising about what Natural Sources Raw Pituitary is actually supposed to do for you. This is not unusual with these types of health supplements. The claims are usually left to the people who are actually searching for them after carrying out their own research.
Some people believe that bovine pituitary gland will help increase human growth hormone levels. Others that it will help improve the symptoms of chronic fatigue and improve mental clarity. Some people believe that it will increase the size of their breasts.
There are all sorts of crazy claims associated with taken glandular supplements like this and the product information mention none of them.
However according to the product information,
Raw tissue concentrates are made from toxin-free lyophilised (freeze-dried) glands from animals grazed on rangelands known to be free of pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics or chemical additives.
We don’t find this claim very reassuring. There is zero information about Natural Sources as a company so we don’t really know if this is true. How can we really tell if this concentrated offal ingredient really lives up to these spotless claims?
In addition there are real concerns about consuming animal brain tissue. It can contain infectious and undetectable proteins called prions that can lay dormant in your brain before triggering a chain reaction where new prions are formed.
The best-known example of this was in the UK with the incidence of Mad Cow Disease or BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) which led to Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, or vCJD in humans.
All cases of CJD worldwide have resulted from the consumption of prion infected beef products. Worryingly it can take years for the disease to develop, even when tissue comes from cows which are BSE free.
There is no evidence that taking bovine pituitary tissue will have any beneficial effects at all. Taking bovine pituitary gland tissue in supplement form to improve your own pituitary gland function sounds more like voodoo than it does medicine. This practice is just plain ill informed and risky.
Although some people believe in the benefits of so-called glandular medicine as a type of alternative treatment, there is zero evidence that it will do you any good.
The FDA has warned against supplements and products containing bovine tissue and considers pituitary gland tissue to be a high risk for health.
Serving size is equal to one capsule.
Synergistic Complex (Pituitary Tissue and American Ginseng) (80 mg):
Other Ingredients:
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Customers have not mentioned particularly troublesome side effects although some people have reported that this supplement causes vivid dreams.
Other potential side effects may include:
The greatest risk to health comes from the increased risk of developing a brain disorder such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease a degenerative neurological and fatal condition. Even though this risk may be small, health experts recommend you avoid supplements containing bovine pituitary tissue.
Caution:
Not suitable for individual under 18. Avoid if you are pregnant or breast-feeeding. Consult a doctor before taking any over-the-counter supplement.
There are a few customer reviews posted on the I Herbs website. None of them look very convincing. Sadly most people seem to have underlying medical conditions and are clutching at straws in the hope of getting some relief.
This customer was trying it out but gaining no effects,
I can report no discernible effect from having used this product for about two weeks now. Hoping that there will be a positive effect with continued use. I have chronic fatigue syndrome and had hoped for more energy and better sleep. I might try an additional bottle to give it a chance to work.
This person hoped it would help multiple health issues.
I have bought it to myself as preventive measure, because as a child I was very sick, beginning from 7 months of age as a baby. I know that some functions of my body was not OK, so I want to strengthen everything that I can. Firstly, I have bought it for my growth (HGH). Even when it is too late for me to grow taller (I am 31), but I want not to begin get smaller after 10–15 years because due to various ailments people begin to have these problems. Also I wanted to balance my blood pressure, to have healthy breasts, female organ functions, thyroid gland function, convert food into energy, to have water and osmolarity regulated in the body, temperature regulation, pain relief. I am not feeling any good or bad symptoms when taking it. I just believe that it is good to buy it for ourselves sometimes and that’s it.
Another customer with chronic fatigue system has also tried it,
I have CFS. Taking Raw Pituitary, I get to REM sleep and have vivid dreams – like when I was well. But I only take half a capsule; put the rest in an empty capsule for the following night. These are strong. Take about 40 mins prior to sleep.
A couple of reviewers are using this supplement to increase their breast size, such as this reviewer claims,
I use these for breast growth. It works on the idea of like supports like. The pituitary gland is essential to breast growth. If it is not performing top speed then your time and efforts to increase your breast size will be wasted. It also controls growth hormone. Without enough growth hormone you will not increase your breast size. So it is kinda like this no matter what you take it will not work if the pituitary gland is not happy…
We are struggling to believe anything about this last comment.
There is no money-back guarantee on offer with this supplement.
You can but Natural Sources Raw Pituitary Gland from the I Herbs website where it is available to numerous different countries. It is also on sale via Amazon USA.
Containing ingredients that have been clinically tested and boasting a 30-day money-back guarantee, OmniMind is quickly rising to the top of the nootropic world.
Find out why people are choosing OmniMind to achieve advanced brain performance, and why it's our editor's top pick.
Read the Nootropic Watchdog OmniMind review here.
Disclaimer: Our reviews and investigations are based on extensive research from the information publicly available to us and consumers at the time of first publishing the post. Information is based on our personal opinion and whilst we endeavour to ensure information is up-to-date, manufacturers do from time to time change their products and future research may disagree with our findings. If you feel any of the information is inaccurate, please contact us and we will review the information provided.
True enough, wikipedia says bovine and porcine pituitary hormones are not active in human beings. Therefore in this case you correct and “Raw Pituitary” will have little to no effect.
I’m unhappy they don’t break out quantities on multiple ingredient supplements and it seems the only way to contact them is via snail mail.
However I challenge you to review other products in their lineup. Try their Raw Thyroid and Raw Adrenal and tell me THESE don’t work.