Show of Support

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

 

HSI e-Alert - Show of Support

Tue, 08 Feb 2005 11:59:00 -0500

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Show of Support

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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February 08, 2005

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Dear Reader,

 

" Question: What nutritional support is documented for hepatitis C? "

 

That question comes from an HSI member named Kaylie. In her e-mail,

she didn't elaborate, so we can only imagine that Kaylie, or someone

she cares for, is one of the 4.5 million Americans afflicted with

hepatitis C, the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the U.S.

 

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop calls hepatitis C an even

graver threat to our public health than HIV and AIDS, because this

infection can lead to cirrhosis (a debilitating liver disease) and can

even transform into primary liver cancer.

 

But to answer Kaylie's question: Yes, there is nutritional support for

this dangerous condition.

 

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Blood simple

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Hepatitis C is caused by a virus, which is spread by contact with

contaminated blood or organs. According to the Centers for Disease

Control, you're at increased risk of hepatitis C if you received a

blood transfusion or a solid organ transplant before 1992; if you

received a blood product for clotting problems produced before 1987;

if you have ever been on kidney dialysis; or if you have existing

liver disease. The disease can also be contracted though illegal

intravenous drug use, tattoo and piercing equipment, and, rarely,

through sexual contact. If you think you may be at risk, ask your

doctor for a blood test to check for infection.

 

If you are infected, your doctor may recommend alpha interferon

injections - alone or in combination with ribavirin, an antiviral

medication. But this treatment comes with the risk of considerable

side effects. Alpha interferon can cause flu-like side symptoms,

depression, hair thinning, and can lower the production of white blood

cells and platelets. Ribavirin is known to cause severe anemia and

serious birth defects. And there have also been reports of people on

combination alpha interferon/ribavirin therapy having suicidal impulses.

 

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C versus C

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For an alternative to alpha interferon, I called on HSI Panelist Allan

Spreen, M.D., to address Kaylie's question about documented

nutritional support for hepatitis C.

 

Dr. Spreen started off by noting that " the rub " is the word

" documented " . Medical journals have not promoted research on

nutritional strategies to address hepatitis C. So with the caveat that

we still don't have mainstream documentation, here are Dr. Spreen's

suggestions:

 

" Fred Klenner, MD, showed decades ago (along with Robert Cathcart, MD)

that ultra-high-dose intravenous vitamin C can kill any invader,

bacterial or viral. However, nobody would look at their research and

therefore wouldn't call it 'documented'.

 

" In more 'doable' dosages (and non-IV), the 2 biggies that I'd be

using would be milk thistle extract (silymarin) and NAC (n-acetyl

cysteine). They are amazing supplements, but again documentation is

subject to debate (although NAC is used intravenously in emergency

rooms for toxic overdoses).

 

" Olive leaf extract and grapefruit seed extract (not grape seed) are

both anti-bacterial and anti-viral...very little question there if you

know where to look (Citricidal has a whole book on the grapefruit seed

issue). "

 

In Dr. Spreen's opinion a patient with hepatitis C has nothing to lose

by using these supplements because, " there are NO drugs effective

against hepatitis C (period), and all the above-mentioned supplements

are almost devoid of side effects and/or toxicities. "

 

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Mushroom immunity

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To Dr. Spreen's list I would also add an immune system booster called

Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC).

 

In the January 2000 HSI Members Alert we first told you about AHCC,

which is made from hybridized Japanese mushrooms and has been shown to

increase the activity of natural killer cells by as much as 300 percent.

 

At the AHCC Research Association's 8th symposium in Sapparo, Japan,

researchers presented studies and individual patient cases indicating

that AHCC can successfully address hepatitis C and other liver

diseases. At that symposium, a doctor from the Centers for Integrative

and Complementary Medicine in New York reported that AHCC had helped

hepatitis C patients drop their viral load by as much as 89 percent in

as little as four months. And in a Japanese study, 40 hepatitis

patients treated with AHCC experienced more energy and appetite,

increased platelet counts, and a halt in the progressive development

of cirrhosis.

 

In that January 2000 Members Alert we also told you about an AHCC

product called ImmPower-AHCC, which is available through the Harmony

Company (theharmonyco.com). If you have hepatitis C, talk to your

doctor or a healthcare professional before beginning a regimen of AHCC

or any other dietary supplements.

 

For complete details about AHCC, HSI members in good standing can

search the online archives at www.hsibaltimore.com for complimentary

access to all previous Members Alerts.

 

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....and another thing

 

If the class of pain-relief drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors was a

luxury cruise ship, it wouldn't be a stretch to compare it to a famous

vessel that didn't quite make it across the Atlantic on its maiden

voyage in 1912.

 

Since Merck & Co. voluntarily pulled its arthritis drug Vioxx off the

market last October, we've seen new information come to light about

potential heart attack risk associated with Celebrex.

 

Now Bextra has joined them in the lifeboat. (Cue " Titanic " theme song:

" My Heart Will Go On " .)

 

Late last month, Kaiser Permanente (KP) - the largest not-for-profit

managed-care provider in the U.S. - announced that doctors in the KP

system would observe a " moratorium " in prescribing Bextra until

further tests demonstrate its safety.

 

Kaiser Permanente is an HMO network that serves more than eight

million patients nationwide. This is the first time KP has blocked the

use of an FDA-approved drug.

 

Someday, when the history of the FDA's rise and fall is written, the

chapter on the sinking of COX-2 inhibitors may mark the moment when

the general public began to realize that the FDA is not the reliable

watchdog that many once believed it to be.

 

If you're suffering from arthritis and wonder which way to turn now

that COX-2 inhibiting drugs and non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs

(NSAIDs) are proving to be too dangerous, see the e-Alert " Gut

Feeling " (1/31/05) for a review of safe and natural alternatives for

managing joint pain. A complete archive of e-Alerts can be found on

the HSI web site at hsibaltimore.com.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

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Sources:

 

" Kaiser To Stop Dispensing Painkiller Bextra " The Associated Press,

1/30/05, usatoday.com

 

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