Between 1994-95, Seagate provided free samples of the shark cartilage 100 capsule bottles to anyone in the San Diego area that we could find that had joint pain or arthritis. (Most people with joint pain don’t bother getting a proper diagnosis and just live with the pain and occasionally take painkillers when it really becomes intolerable.) Seagate gave away hundreds of sample bottles in order to prove or disprove the claim that was circulating throughout the health food industry industry, that shark cartilage helps with joint pain.

The results were so good, that many of these people contacted the local chapter of the Arthritis Foundation, who then put us into contact with a rheumatologist, one of their key researchers, Dr. (”X” - he doesn’t want us to use his name), at UCSD Medical School in San Diego. Dr. X’ focus has been to find a natural food whose digestion would produce a simple protein similar in structure to the peptide that is secreted by joint cells when they are irritated. He believed in 1996 that Seagate Shark Cartilage might have this property. Unfortunately we did not have the $100,000 to begin funding that research at that time.

Dr. X’s theory was that when a joint is irritated, it gives off a secretion that includes a simple protein (peptide). This peptide is almost identical in structure to the E. Coli bacteria. In some people, the body’s immune system is unable to detect that this peptide is really not an infection. The body mistakenly sends a set of T-Cells (antibodies) to the site of this perceived infection, which is the area in and around the affected joint. These antibodies not only attack those peptides secreted by the joint but also attack the cells lining the joint, further causing their irritation and further break-down, causing the release of more of this peptide. This cycle continues with the joint slowly being destroyed by the body’s own immune system — an auto-immune malfunction.

Under Dr. X’s theory, a person could take an edible form of this identical peptide as a solution to their joint pain. The food-derived peptide would circulate throughout the body and allow for two things to occur: #1 It would divert the attack of the body’s T-cells away from the affected joint, allowing it time to heal and recover; and #2 over time, this exposure every day to the food peptide might act like an allergy shot – allowing the body to acclimate itself to that peptide and eventually stop reacting to that simple protein given off by the joint and ending the auto-immune attack by the body against that joint.

In the 15+ years that Seagate has been producing shark cartilage, most people taking it for joint pain, seem to feel a response within 2-3 weeks and are able to reduce and sometimes eliminate using shark cartilage within 4-6 months. Similar results have been reported by people also using shark liver oil. Shark Cartilage and Shark Liver Oil are classified as supplements and therefore Seagate is not allowed to make any medical claims.