Why Have We Written This Book?

Hyaluronan improves health. It is that simple!

Dr. Douglas Kiburz is an orthopedic surgeon. He is devoted to the well-being of the people in his life—his family and his patients.
Even though surgery and prescription medications are the tools of his profession, he always looks for ways to help his patients solve musculoskeletal problems that do not involve surgery or prescription medication. He co-developed the over the counter hyaluronan (abbreviated as HA) supplement, HA-TOPSHELF, because of his commitment to people’s health. Hyaluronic Acid is a profoundly important molecule for nearly every cell in our bodies.

In addition to being an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kiburz is a dog, cat, and horse owner. Several years ago, he observed that veterinary preparations of HA benefited his animals. (Stay tuned for more on Dr. Kiburz’s beloved animals.) Based on his observations in his animals, Dr. Kiburz began to investigate whether HA also would be a safe and efficacious over the counter dietary supplement for his human orthopedic patients. Here’s the cat’s meow, woof or whinny, depending on your favorite pet:

HA is a beneficial supplement for all mammals, so you, your mother, your favorite great-aunt, and your pets will all benefit from adding it to their diets.

Dr. Kiburz has used peer-reviewed scientific and clinical evidence to develop and produce an over the counter HA product that he feels confident recommending to his patients. In his research, he discovered that high molecular weight (1.6 to 1.8 megadaltons, abbreviated MDa) HA is more beneficial than lower molecular weight (1.4 to 1.6 MDa) HA. For example, in the world’s longest-lived mammal, the naked mole-rat, high molecular weight HA is believed to contribute to their long lives by protecting the mole-rats cells from stress-induced cell death, which is believed to be a major contributor to aging (Cyphert, et al., 2015; Takasugi, et al., 2020). (We will tell you more about these interesting animals later.) In the immune system, there are indications that high molecular weight HA contributes to controlling both the beginning and ending of immune responses (Safrankova, et al., 2010). Dr. Kiburz also learned about how to formulate a high-quality HA product. Hyaluronic Acid products must be stabilized somehow to prolong their shelf lives. Neutral pH and colloidal silver, which has anti-bacterial effects, increase the stability of the high molecular weight HA. Colloidal silver is the preferred preservative for HA compared to another commonly used preservative, sodium benzoate, which has been associated with cancer. Also, powdered HA products have longer shelf lives than HA products that are in solution at the time of purchase.

The purer the Hyaluronic Acid, the greater the health benefits. There is no reason to dilute HA with gluten, soy, yeast, artificial flavors and colors, GMO substances, and sugar. These unnecessary substances add nothing to the benefits or stability of HA products. HA products that lack these unnecessary molecules also are preferred for people who are sensitive to or want to avoid these ingredients.

Unfortunately, after learning all these lessons, Dr. Kiburz was not able to find an existing HA product that satisfied all his quality specifications, so he created his own product. Working with a team of physicians, pharmacists, and chemical engineers (the “HA Team”, as they came to call themselves), Dr. Kiburz developed HA-TOPSHELF, to help his orthopedic surgery patients heal and maintain wellness. He also gives the product to his family, his horses, cats, and dogs. To provide the best quality HA product for his patients, family, and animals, the HA Team deliberately developed the product to contain a powdered, high molecular weight HA that is stabilized with neutral pH and colloidal silver. The product is free of gluten, soy, yeast, artificial flavors and colors, GMO substances, and sugar. Each bottle’s label provides directions for adding water to make our HA solution into the “freshest” HA product available.

After reading this book, the HA Team would be pleased if you would consider purchasing and trying HA-TOPSHELF. However, it is more important to us that you understand why high molecular weight HA is so important to your health. If you decide to add an HA product to your health regimen, we’d like you to have objective information to use in order to make an informed selection of your HA product.

The purpose of this book is to describe the scientific and clinical evidence that supports our conviction that high quality, high molecular weight HA is an essential health supplement that will benefit peoples’ health. In this book, we focused on only those claims of benefits that could be substantiated with peer-reviewed clinical and basic science research reports. Along the way, we have included some human-interest case studies (a case study is an evidence-based story), to illustrate how real people and their pets have benefitted from HA.