Gut Reaction

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - Gut Reaction

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 07:00:00 -0400

 

 

 

 

HSI e-Alert - Gut Reaction

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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September 20, 2005

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

Are you in the market for a reliable way to help prevent catching a cold?

 

If you answered, " Sign me up! " I would first suggest you take a look

at the e-Alert " Gesundheit " (9/13/05), in which that old standby

cold-fighter vitamin C was shown (once again) to be effective in

reducing the frequency of the common cold. (Also be SURE to read

" ...and another thing " in today's e-Alert.)

 

But first we'll look at another preventive against respiratory tract

infections. It's a little off the beaten track compared to vitamin C,

but it works hand-in-hand with C supplements.

 

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Your own personal ecosystem

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In previous e-Alerts I've told you about the importance of probiotic

organisms.

 

In a healthy individual, these beneficial bacteria inhabit the

digestive tract in massive numbers, crowding out harmful bacteria,

aiding digestion, and supporting immune function. This healthy " gut

flora " produces valuable nutrients (including certain B vitamins and

omega-3 fatty acids), digestive enzymes like lactase, and immune

chemicals that fight harmful bacteria and even cancer cells.

 

But this critical ecosystem is fragile and easily disturbed. For

instance, some types of antibiotics can completely kill off the

beneficial bacteria in the gut. Steroid drugs like cortisone and

prednisone, as well as birth control pills and chemotherapy can also

upset your gut flora. In addition, poor nutrition or digestion can

impair the efficiency of intestinal bacteria, as can stress, trauma,

surgery, or parasitic infestation.

 

When the number or activity level of your good bacteria drops too low,

it opens the door for harmful bacteria to proliferate, allowing the

opportunity for diseases to develop.

 

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One, two, three punch

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So - could a probiotic supplement help prevent the common cold?

 

Researchers at the Institute for Physiology and Biochemistry of

Nutrition (IPBN) in Kiel, Germany, designed a trial to test the

cold-fighting effectiveness of a probiotic bacteria supplement,

combined with supplements of vitamins and minerals in doses similar to

those found in typical multivitamins. More than 475 healthy men and

women who had not received flu vaccines were randomly assigned to

receive a placebo or the probiotic and vitamin/mineral combo (to keep

things simple, we'll call it PVM).

 

Subjects received their doses every day for five and a half months

during the winter and spring, and each subject reported any symptoms

of respiratory infection. Researchers also monitored cellular immune

response in 60 subjects from each group before and after the

intervention period.

 

The IPBN team published the results in the July 2005 issue of the

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. They

found that respiratory tract infections were reduced by more than 13

percent in the PVM group compared to placebo.

Among those who developed respiratory infections:

 

* Symptoms were generally reduced by 19 percent in the PVM group

compared to placebo

* Influenza symptoms were reduced by 25 percent

* Number of days with a fever was reduced by more than 50 percent

 

Immune response tests showed a " significantly higher " response in the

PVM group, especially during the first 14 days of supplementation.

 

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Tending the gut flora " garden "

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Sufficient amounts of intestinal flora can be maintained through

dietary sources such as cultured products (like yogurt and kefir), and

lignans (like flaxseed, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli,

millet and buckwheat). But while the digestive tract can be

" re-colonized " by introducing enough good bacteria to overpower the

bad bacteria, dietary sources alone can't provide organisms in the

vast numbers required to correct an imbalance. For this, a

high-potency probiotic nutritional supplement is necessary.

 

In one trial, researchers sampled three-dozen probiotic products

bought at random from health-food-stores. Fewer than one in five of

the products sampled delivered the number of viable organisms

guaranteed on the labels, and several brands fell short by 90 percent

or more. One brand even contained harmful bacteria.

 

 

 

 

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....and another thing

 

" Dr. Pauling would've laughed out loud at either dose! "

 

That was the response from HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., to the

study I told you about in the e-Alert " Gesundheit " (9/13/05).

Researchers tested 50 mg and 500 mg of C daily on more than 240

subjects for five years. The results: Vitamin C (at the 500 mg level)

significantly reduced the frequency of common colds, but had no effect

on the duration or severity of colds.

 

Dr. Spreen's point: It's all about the dosage.

 

When I asked him to elaborate, he wrote: " I'm actually impressed that

such statistically significant results were obtained with a dose as

low as 500 milligrams. With high enough doses you can slam a cold (or

most any other viral or bacterial attack) dead in its tracks.

 

" That said, the issue becomes just what constitutes a 'high enough'

dose. When the body is stressed by such illnesses the need for

ascorbate doesn't go up...it goes way, WAY, WA-A-A-A-Y up. This has

been shown time and again by Pauling, Cameron, Szent-Gyorgyi,

Cathcart, Klenner, Riordan, Wright, and others, enough times that it's

rather suspicious that conventional medical researchers seem to miss

the real action so completely. Animals our size that synthesize their

own vitamin C (we don't - we're genetic mutants), produce dozens of

grams (we're talking tens of thousands of milligrams...a bit more

aggressive than a mere 500!) when stressed by viral or bacterial

challenge.

 

" The response of the body to vitamin C, once an illness has taken

hold, is called a 'threshold' response, meaning very little happens

until a high enough dose is reached...then everything happens - the

fever subsides, the organisms are killed, and the patient feels

better. That dose can be 100,000 milligrams or more for serious

challenges, and sometimes even needs to be given intravenously.

 

" However, the oral route is more interesting. Too much vitamin C by

mouth in a healthy (ie, 'non-sick') person causes gas and then loose

stools, proceeding to overt diarrhea. This can happen with as little

as 5,000-8,000 milligrams. However, a serious cold or flu IN THE SAME

PERSON can then permit the victim to ingest 20,000 mg, 40,000 mg, or

even more with no stool loosening, meaning they have not yet reached

the bowel limit for that illness. It's actually a way to evaluate (in

my opinion) just how bad the acute stress of the current illness is.

 

" Yes, you can shorten the length and severity of a cold AFTER you get

one, but you have to take enough vitamin C to do the job. This can be

up to several grams (1,000-4,000 milligrams) per HOUR.

 

" Dr. Pauling took 17,000 milligrams of vitamin C daily, when he was

NOT sick (though he didn't discover the idea until his later years). I

guess it finally killed him...at 93. "

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

 

 

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Sources:

 

" Effect of a Dietary Supplement Containing Probiotic Bacteria Plus

vitamins and Minerals on Common Cold Infections and Cellular Immune

Parameters " International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and

Therapeutics, Vol. 43, No. 7, July 2005, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

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