Our Story

 

Hello,

I'm Dr. Blythe Burton-Teed, Founder and CEO of BioHolistix.

For almost a decade, I struggled with fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, sleep issues, and body pain.  I thought that it was just from “mummy brain” and the interrupted sleep of parenthood.  Then, in 2020, things got worse. I got COVID, and weeks later I developed pre-syncope, which means that when I stood up quickly I almost fainted.  We initially thought it was long-COVID, but then, within a few months, I tore the labrum in my right hip and had an MRI confirm that an old injury in my shoulder was a tear that wasn’t healing.  I literally felt like I was falling apart.  And, in a way, I was.  

I was then diagnosed with a genetic collagen defect known as hEDS (hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), so the connective tissue that should have been supporting my vasculature and holding me together was failing to do its job.  Immediately, I began trying to support my collagen with supplements but was unable to tolerate any of the collagen products that I tried.  Collagen derived from "bovine" (cow hides and hooves), "marine" (fish scales), chicken cartilage, or eggshell membrane sources (yes, I have tried them all) felt like they were making things worse rather than better.  They left me feeling inflamed and fatigued with no signs that they were doing anything to help.  I knew there must be more to the story.  As a Naturopathic Medical doctor, I was trained to find and address the root cause of pathology. 

So, I got determined to learn everything that I could about collagen. I completed the Project ECHO EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) Physician training program, and I dug into the research. I learned about the little-known connection between collagen and a disorder called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome. After years of suffering, I finally identified a crucial, but not widely understood, clue to what was at the heart of my problem and that of many of the patients who had found their way to me by then --many of whom were also suffering with other symptoms of a collagen deficiency or defect, such as joint instability and pain, fatigue, brain fog, muscle pain, low blood pressure, poor vascular tone, POTS (positional orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), dysautonomia, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and other GI complaints, dry, brittle hair and nails, sagging skin and much more.  

I was slowly unearthing a vicious cycle that was keeping us inflamed, in pain, fatigued, and brain fogged.  In the process, I realised that I probably also had the not-very-well-known condition called MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome), so I got myself diagnosed and educated again. I was among the first group of doctors in the world to participate in the Project ECHO Mast Cell Diseases clinician training program.  Three of the key take-aways for me from that program were that: 1) mast cells, histamine, nervous system tissue, and collagen are all intimately related,  2) even a very small amount of ingested histamine can aggravate histamine intolerance, MCAS, seasonal allergies, and other inflammatory processes, all leading to further weakening of our collagen, and 3) the amazing team of specialist in the field are focused on gene therapy and palliative medications,  but few had yet focused on this nutritionally or through a preventive medicine lens.

Despite my deepening understanding of the collagen/histamine interplay, there was still no easy solution to offer my patients or myself.  There was no product on the market to help.  I’d found the metaphorical lock, but there was no key.  My patients and I needed a collagen product that did not yet exist—one without histidine (the precursor of histamine). 

At this point, I’d already worked tirelessly to unravel the health mystery that I’d suffered with for nearly a decade, but I realized that if I wanted a collagen product that wasn’t going to inflame me or my patients I was going to have to make it myself.  So, I set to work formulating, consulting a team of scientists, and, eventually, founding BioHolistix.

And, now, here at BioHolistix, we’d like to announce that we have finally created the key to unlock the solution.  We’ve made a collagen product for those who need it the most.  A product that won’t damage the thing that it’s supposed to be replenishing, our collagen. 

Collagen Boost Histamine-Free is:

  • Histamine and histidine-free
  • Patent-pending
  • Practitioner-grade/Pharmaceutical-grade
  • Plant-based blend of amino acids that mimics type 1 and type 3 human collagen (the two forms comprising over 90% of the collagen in our bodies).

We matched it exactly to human collagen (not cow, fish, chicken,
or eggshell) with one exception—we excluded the histidine. 

And, like no other collagen product on the market, we included Hydroxyproline.  It’s the third most prevalent amino acid in human collagen.  Research shows that its use alone prompts the body to make more collagen (Cao, S., et al, 2022), but it’s very expensive, so other manufacturers leave it out.  Our goal from the start has been to make the VERY BEST COLLAGEN PRODUCT IN THE WORLD, so we put it in.

And, no good collagen product can be without Vitamin C-- the collagen super nutrient-- which research shows contributes to normal collagen formation and cthe normal function of skin, blood vessels, bones, cartilage, and gums (Boyera N., et al, 1998), so we added not one, but two important forms.

And, as if that’s not enough, Collagen Boost Histamine-Free is also:

Vegan

  • We’ve used plant-based amino acids derived from corn to make it.

Clean

  • Free of anything that’s potentially harmful (gluten,
    dairy, soy, sweeteners, preservatives, fillers, excipients, bulking agents, and flow agents.)
  • Tested to ensure that our products are below EU and
    UK limits for heavy metals, yeasts, moulds, and harmful bacteria.

Potent

  • 4,400mg of pure collagen amino acids with no fillers.
    4-10 times the dose found in many collagen products.

Highly bioavailable and easily digestible with rapid
peptide formation 

  • In fact, using free-form amino acids instead of
    hydrolysed animal collagen makes our product absorb that much faster.  Your body doesn’t have to first break down the animal collagen into its constituent amino acids.  It can save vital energy and just absorb and assimilate our free-form amino acids immediately.

Pharmaceutical-grade

  • We only partner with manufacturers who are inspected by private and government agencies and have the high standard of a UK GMP certification and an ISO Class 8 Pharmaceutical clean room (one class higher than is required for supplement manufacturers).

Conscientiously-made

  • We use 100% renewable energy and a new label technology that allows for our glass (not plastic) bottles to be recycled. 

Formulated by me, a doctor with a genetic Collagen
Defect (hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome)

We thought of every angle, and we followed our ethos from the
start: 

Make the best product that we can – and do it without hurting the planet.

So, if you need collagen support, but you know or fear that histamine is a problem…

Come join the collagen revolution and feel better.

Be well,  

Dr. Blythe Burton-Teed

Founder and CEO, BioHolistix,

Naturopathic Medical Doctor

References:

Cao S, Xiao Y, Huang R, Zhao D, Xu W, Li S, Tang J, Qu F, Jin J, Xie S, Liu Z. Dietary Supplementation With Hydroxyproline Enhances Growth Performance, Collagen Synthesis and Muscle Quality of Carassius auratus Triploid. Front Physiol. 2022 Jun 1;13:913800. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.913800. PMID: 35721560; PMCID: PMC9198714.

Boyera, N., Galey, I., & Bernard, B. A. (1998). Effect of vitamin C and its derivatives on collagen synthesis and cross-linking by normal human fibroblasts. International journal of cosmetic science, 20(3), 151–158.
https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1467-2494.1998.171747.x