Nickel Testing

 

Medications and supplements all contain nickel in varying amounts. In the majority of cases nickel is not included intentionally, but is a contaminant that is picked up during the manufacturing process. The international agreement that sets the upper limit for nickel in pharmaceuticals, ICH Q3D, doesn't account for nickel allergy; it is concerned with nickel toxicity and limits oral nickel to 220 μg per daily dose, which is absurdly high for systemic nickel allergy sufferers. Very few supplement manufacturers test their products for nickel content at all, so it's generally recommended to stop all unnecessary supplements. However, there are times when a supplement may be of interest or prescribed by a health practitioner. Without adequate testing, a lack of confidence in the safety of a product may prevent a patient from pursuing treatment, and even strain the relationship between patient and health care provider. We have therefore invested in the private testing of a handful of products, and share here the results for those products that tested well enough to be used daily by a systemic nickel allergy patient, or well enough to be used for a short time, barring other allergies and sensitivities.

 

We generally selected products that have fewer ingredients to increase the likelihood of success, since every additional ingredient has its own risk of nickel contamination. This may also be helpful for reducing the risk of a sensitivity to a filler ingredient, unrelated to nickel. We also factored in Canadian availability and cost where possible. A few initial tests were performed on Nootropics Depot products by Omnient Labs in Arizona, USA, but most samples were purchased in Ontario, Canada, between 2022 and 2024 and sent to Labstat International in Alberta, who provided an improved limit of detection. Be aware that each test is a snapshot in time and will not be exactly the same across batches (much like nickel in foods). Manufacturers may also change the formula or their suppliers without notice. As such, we've opted to present the results in terms of four "levels" as opposed to strict numerical values, hoping that any variation is small:

 

Level 1
   < 0.1 μg nickel per daily dose as listed on the product label
Level 2
   0.1 to 0.25 μg nickel per daily dose as listed on the product label
Level 3
   0.25 to 0.5 μg nickel per daily dose as listed on the product label
Level 4
   0.5 to 1.0 μg nickel per daily dose as listed on the product label
By this classification system, if you wanted to limit nickel from supplements to 1 μg per day, you could take 10 or more of the Level 1, 4 to 10 of the Level 2, 2 to 4 of the Level 3, or 1 to 2 of the Level 4. Although many of these are in Level 1 and 2 and should be safe, it is still important to be selective, adding new supplements one at a time while also being alert for non-nickel reactions to fillers. Products in Level 3 or 4 are best taken occasionally, or daily if they are prescribed. Following the bucket analogy, high priority items can probably be made to fit in your nickel bucket by limiting other nickel sources (within reason).

Multivitamins

Level 1
Pure Encapsulations PureGenomics Multivitamin, one capsule daily (result was below the limit of detection)

Vitamins

Level 1
NOW Foods Vitamin A&D, 100000 IU Vitamin A, 400 IU Vitamin D, once daily (result was below the limit of detection)
Pure Lab Vitamin C powder, 500 mg 1-2 times daily (up to 3 grams is still level 1)
Pure Encapsulations B-complex Plus, once daily
NOW Foods B1 (Vitamin B1 as thiamine HCl), 100 mg once daily (up to 2 daily is still level 1)
Ecological Formulas Allithiamine (Vitamin B1 as TTFD), 50 mg once daily (up to 5 daily is still level 1)
Natural Factors Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), 100 mg once daily (up to 3 daily is still level 1)
Natural Factors Niacin (Vitamin B3), 100 mg once daily (up to 3 daily is still level 1)
Nootropics Depot Cognizin Citicoline powder (Choline), 250 mg 1-2 times daily (result was below the limit of detection)
Pure Encapsulations Adenosyl/Hydroxy B12 liquid, 1 mL 1-3 times daily (twice kicks it into level 2)
Level 2
NOW Foods Biotin (Vitamin B7), 10000 μg once daily
NOW Foods Dry Vitamin E, 400 IU once daily
AOR Citicoline (Choline), 2 capsules 1-2 times daily (4 capsules kicks it into level 3)
New Roots Benfotiamine (Vitamin B1), 150 mg 1-3 times daily (twice is level 3, 3 times is level 4)
Level 3
New Roots Vitamin B5, 500 mg once daily

Minerals

Level 1
Pure Lab Copper Glycinate, 1 mg 1-2 times daily
New Roots Molybdenum, 150 μg once daily (2 is level 2, 3 is level 3)
Level 2
Pure Lab Calcium Hydroxyapatite, 250 mg Ca per capsule, 1-2 capsules 2-3 times per day (5 kicks it into level 3)
Nootropics Depot Magtein powder (Magnesium L-threonate), 2 g (144 mg Mg) daily (estimated, result was below the limit of detection so it could be as low as Level 1)
Pure Lab Magnesium Glycinate, 165 mg Mg per capsule, 1-3 capsules daily (2 capsules kicks it into level 3, 3 or 4 into level 4)
Level 3
Naka Platinum Heme Iron, 11 mg Fe per capsule, 1-3 capsules daily (2 is level 4, 3 puts it outside our range)
Level 4
CanPrev Magnesium Malate, 180 mg Mg per capsule, 1-2 capsules daily (2 is out of range)

Probiotics

Level 1
New Roots Acidophilus Ultra Probiotic, 11 billion CFU 1-2 times daily (twice kicks it into level 2)
Level 2
RenewLife Probiotic - BoulardiiMAX, 10 billion CFU once daily, or 1-3 times daily for antibiotic diarrhea (3 kicks it into level 3)
Pure Encapsulations Probiotic 50B, 50 billion CFU 1-2 times daily (twice kicks it into level 3)

Herbals & Other Supplements

Level 1
Pure Lab NAC, 600 mg once daily
Nootropics Depot CuroWhite powder (Curcumin), 250 mg once daily
AlliMax Garlic (Allicin), 180 mg once daily (2-4 is level 2, 5-8 is level 3)
Designs for Health Oil of Oregano, 60 mg once daily (2-3 is level 2, 4-7 is level 3)
Nootropics Depot Melatonin, 300 μg once daily (note the low dose; 4 capsules is level 3)
Level 2
Allmax Glutamine powder, 5 g once daily
Nootropics Depot Hesperidin powder, 500 mg once daily
Swiss Natural Digestive Enzymes - Solutions Digestion, 1-2 capsules 3 times daily (5 kicks it up to level 3)
Level 3
New Roots Berberine, 500 mg twice daily (2 capsules is level 4)
Salt Stick Vitassium, 1-2 capsules 3-4 times daily (4-7 is level 4)
Level 4
Nootropics Depot Creatine Monohydrate (powder), 5 g once daily

Non-prescription Medications

Level 1
Maximum Strength Pepcid AC, one 20 mg tablet every 12 hours

Empty Capsule

Level 1
NOW Foods 00 Gelatin capsules (on the order of nanograms of nickel per capsule, and the result was below the limit of detection)

 

Of the 40 products that we had tested, 10% contained over 1 μg nickel per minimum recommended daily dose, but none exceeded 2.5 μg. This suggests that the strategy of selecting products with minimal unnecessary ingredients was moderately successful in locating lower nickel options. However, without proper testing and regulation of nickel in supplements to the levels required for the health and safety of the allergic patient, it is hard to have confidence.

 

We have only tested one iron supplement to date. This is because we limited our testing to supplements having a higher likelihood of success. Iron deficiency or an iron-deficient diet may result in increased uptake of nickel, and supplementing with iron has been found to be helpful. However, iron excipients and supplements have been shown to be highly contaminated with nickel. More testing is needed for this important element, but the cost of undertaking the search is prohibitive due to the possibly large number of tests required to achieve success.

 

Please note that while we may add to this list over time, requests for product testing will not be accepted. Please contact Labstat or another lab near you to have your products tested.