Balanced Immune Health

I recently posted a piece (last Tuesday) on a media tour supposedly featuring Dr. Stuart Reeves. Well, I got it all wrong.

Jim Morelli

The tour is still happening (with updated appearance dates below), but the topic and featured expert are not what I originally wrote and posted. Here’s the real scoop.

The media tour will discuss the Medicine Cabinet Makeover. It’s an overview of what every medicine chest in American homes should have in it.  It will cover basic product needs involving kids health, nutritional supplements and natural alternatives,  year-round health and first aid, cold and flu remedies and more.  EpiCor, the immune balance supplement, may also be talked about.

Jim Morelli, a health journalist who does work for CNN and WebMD and  who is also a pharmacist, will be the featured interview source for the tour.

Here is the interview schedule:

• Mon., Feb. 8: Albuquerque, NM (KOB/NBC)
• Tues., Feb. 9: Milwaukee, WI (WTMJ/NBC)
• Wed., Feb. 10, Richmond, VA (WTVR/CBS)
• Thurs., Feb. 11: Washington, DC (NewsChannel8)
• Fri., Feb. 12: Hartford, CT (WTIC/FOX)
• Mon., Feb. 15: Grand Rapids, MI (WXMI/FOX)
• Tues., Feb. 16: Fresno, CA (KSEE/NBC)

Make sure to tune in if you live in these areas.

Filed under: Balanced Immune Health, EpiCor, Immune Balance, Media, Nutrition, Supplements, immune | Leave a comment

Anyone who’s made an effort to stay awake lately can tell you happy days are hardly here again. The unemployment picture seems to be as frozen as the street-plow-built ice wall at the bottom of my driveway. Health care policy continues to be an intractable battle. Foreclosures are still happening at a high rate. Budgets everywhere are stretched to the breaking point.

Yet, a couple of national consumer polls taken recently shows there may be an uptick in people’s outlook on their lives and well being. The Gallup organization recently posted the results of its ongoing American Well-Being Index. The index, started in 2008, charts people’s attitudes in several basic categories of home and work life.  Overall, the Well Being index for 2009 stayed flat, at a basis score of 65.9, no change from 2008. Within the overall score was a big 5-point rise in Life Evaluation, a measurement of people who say they are either thriving, suffering or locked somewhere in between. Other sub-segments of the survey showed small, fractional drops in physical health, emotional health, and healthy behaviors, and a significant 2.2% drop in work environment.

Another poll, the Consumer Reports Index, also showed some improvement in several sections of the study. The CR Stress Index in January 2010 came in at 59, down from 63 in December 2009. While anything above 50 is considered more stressful than a year ago (and under 50 less stress than the previous year), that downward motion is good. Maybe it’s simply the hope of a new year vs. the culmination of a crappy 2009 coupled with December holiday stress. Like the Stress Index, the CR Sentiment Index also improved, rising to 44.1 from 41.8 the prior month, the first significant uptick since June 2009. When the index is greater than 50, more consumers are feeling positive about their situation. When it is below 50, more consumers are feeling worse.

While these poll numbers remain in difficult territory, maybe we’re turning a corner. And, with stress levels impacting immune system health, maybe people are feeling a bit better physically as well. Of course that’s no reason to stop fortifying your immune system with immune balancing habits and nutrition. While balanced immune health may help offset physical illness in times of stress, it may also help when people are feeling good. You know, overdoing the eating and drinking, exercising too hard, partying and not sleeping.  You need your immune system in sync no matter what your frame of mind.

Filed under: Balanced Immune Health, Immune Balance, Immune System, Stress, Stress-Related Illness | Leave a comment

Yesterday, through some Twittering, I came upon a fellow Tweep, Dr. Scott Olson, ND, who offers a web-based

God, don't make me give up sour gummy worms!

nutrition program called “30 Sugar Free Days.” The idea is that changing your diet to focus on low glycemic-index foods–those whose glycemic index is below 50 and ideally closer to zero–can start making a difference in how you feel within 30 days.

With two high school kids at home and two career parents in our house, it’s safe to say we probably buy too many convenience foods. We always look for low sugar, low fat, low sodium, but as the glycemic index guidance tells you, sometimes packaged foods that are low in fat and  sodium with reasonable calories can still be viewed by the body as though they’re sugar (e.g. many cereals, breads, pretzels, even some fruits).  Other foods like chocolate, beef or red wine, are low glycemic foods that are favorable to the body, from a sugar standpoint.

So I’m giving it a shot, just to see what happens in a month. Some people doing this 30-day program have written that  after a couple weeks they begin getting some jitters or headaches, which the Doc says is a sign of withdrawal from a sugar-laden diet. Wow.

That also got me to wondering how sugar affects the immune system. There are scores of sources out there that tell you sugar reduction is one of the biggest things you can to do improve immune health. But what exactly does sugar do to immune cells?

A good summary hereillustrates how elevated blood sugar can depress the normally aggressive response of neutrophils, immune cells that are first-line attackers of pathogens. This alters the “aggressive” end of the immune balance spectrum, disrupting the natural balance status important for healthy immune function.

One active writer in the Wellsphere online health community–to which I also contribute–says sugar can decrease an immune cell’s ability to vanquish a bacterium by 50%.

I’m looking forward to this low sugar adventure.

Filed under: Bacteria, Balanced Immune Health, Immune Balance, Immune System, Nutrition, immune | Leave a comment

Every so often we see a report published that basically says:  “It’s a myth that vitamins and supplements actually work.”  The report makes sweeping claims that vitamins and supplements “don’t add years to lives, don’t prevent disease and may actually cause more health harm than good.

The most recent assault on supplemental nutrition is in Slate online.  There have also been similar rants from Gina Kolata, a noted science and health reporter at the New York Times. And several published studies have also suggested the same. One study several years ago proclaimed Vitamin E taken in concentrated dosages may be linked with heart failure and higher risk of early death. Yeeesh. That study was done on a bunch of sick people.  Not a cross-section of healthy/unhealthy people. What would you expect?

If the health benefits of supplements are so abysmal and have been for years, why is the supplement industry continuing to grow at 7% annual clip to revenues of well over $20 billion?  Has the market been fooled that badly? Are people that stupid? Are the health benefits people are realizing just placebo effect and not real?

I recalled seeing a Newsweek story several years ago. It’s republished on this site. The piece queried 5 leading nutrition and health researchers from Harvard to Berkeley on what supplements they take themselves. They do take supplements, many types to supplements. From calcium to folate to Vitamin D. And most take a multivitamin.

And one recent study by the nutrition industry’s leading trade group found that the vast majority of doctors and nurses take supplements themselves, from multivitamins to fish oil, flax, green tea and soy. They use supplements for everything from general health to immune support, joint health, pain relief, and bone health. They also recommend supplements to their patients at pretty much the same percentage clip.

People just need to remember that they are called supplements, not food replacements. They can add to a nutritious diet. And no quality supplements (save for the number of quack products out there) make any claims about treating or preventing disease or making people live longer.  At the most, they support healthy body functions and general health when taken as directed (not in massive, toxic, off-label amounts).

Filed under: Immune Balance, Immune System, Nutrition, Research, Supplements, Uncategorized, immune | Comments (2)

Thought I’d post a brief roundup of some worthwhile immune health stories and updates I’ve come across recently:

• The Nashville Tennessean has a great column published this past week on immune system balance and the “dirt” exposure school of thought on immune system development. Good perspective and anecdotes.

• The Omaha World-Herald ran a story last Thursday on the possible return of H1N1. A new term was introduced, at least to me: “cytokine storm,” as in “some young people with H1N1 flu were sickened by their immune systems’ overreactions to the virus. That syndrome, called a ‘cytokine storm,’ can fill the lungs with fluid, among other problems. Cytokines are groups of molecules secreted by the immune system.”

• Vancouver would seem to be the most stress-free place in North America. Great scenery, beautiful city and architecture, moderate weather. I spent a little time there en route to an Alaskan Cruise. At one point it was known at the the city with the most outdoor sports enthusiasts in the Western Hemisphere.  Still, the Vancouver Sun published a piece yesterday on the Price of Stress. The story is a good tutorial on immune balance and stress.

• This Today Show video (below) has some good tips that address bacteria and inflammation, both of which are directly connected to balanced immune health.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Filed under: Bacteria, Balanced Immune Health, Dirt, Flu, Germs, Hygiene Hypothesis, Immune Balance, Immune System, Inflammation, Nutrition, Sports/Exercise, Stress, antibodies, immune | Leave a comment

I’m seeing some local news stories this week announcing an oversupply of H1N1 vaccine, available free in most places, and being distributed to anyone and everyone, not just kids and young adults. In Iowa, there some 60,000 doses available right now and more in the supply chain. The Iowa state epidemiologist has stated that nearly 50% of the state population still has not been exposed to H1N1 through vaccines or natural exposure. Some are speculating on a potential second wave of H1N1.

On the other end of the spectrum, Europe is launching an investigation in charges that the whole H1N1 pandemic scare was a fraud fueled by pharma companies eager to cash in on vaccines and related medical products. That’s kind of hard for me to buy, but film follows:

From the world of nutritional supplementation, it’s probably good to review a statement issued late last year from leading nutritional products trade groups warning that any supplements or non-prescription health products claiming to ward off or “treat” H1N1 is patently misleading and should be pulled off shelves. Totally agree on that one. I’ll continue with my immune balance supplementation, knowing that I’m helping support my general immune health but not insuring anything at all in terms of H1N1 avoidance or refuge from any other disease for that matter. Here’s the statement published in NutraIngredients.com:

Four major US supplement trade associations have issued a joint statement reaffirming an earlier condemnation of companies marketing dietary supplements as treatments for swine flu or H1N1.

They said they were not aware of, “any scientific data supporting the use of dietary supplements to treat the H1N1 virus (popularly known as “swine flu”), and recognize that federal law does not allow dietary supplements to claim to treat any diseases, including H1N1.”

The four groups: The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA); the Natural Products Association (NPA); the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN); the United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) – along with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA) – condemned dietary supplements marketing in the H1N1 area.

The groups noted that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have issued 147 warning letters since May to companies marketing products

These products include air filters, face masks, shampoos as well as food supplements.

The groups recommended:

* Marketers and retailers of dietary supplements not stock or sell any supplements that are presented as treating or curing H1N1
* Marketers and retailers not to promote any dietary supplement as a cure or treatment for H1N1

Whilst condemning the practice, the groups noted that there are many dietary supplements that, “have much to offer in terms of enhancing general immune function.”

“However, therapies for the treatment of swine flu should only be recommended by qualified healthcare professionals or public health authorities,” they said.

Filed under: Balanced Immune Health, Flu, Immune Balance, Immune System, Nutrition, Supplements, Video, immune | Comments (2)

Anabolic steroids have been so widely discussed in the past 10 years, it’s hard to remember when sports and steroids

Duh! It's a drug, not a supplement, folks.

weren’t cohabitating together.  From Major League Baseball to Olympic sports to high school athletics to…gasp!…professional golf, steroid use, whether proven, admitted, suspected or denied, has permeated almost all sports discussion.  Heck, I even remember the East German and Soviet women athletes in the 60s and 70s looking and sounding like men–and winning every medal in sight–due to steroid intake.

And with the steroid controversy has come a lot of conversation about side effects. Pretty much everyone has likely heard about “roid rage” that can accompany prolonged, intensive steroid use. Acne, kidney malfunction, and heart problems are other significant risk factors.

What about immune function?

The messages I’ve seen out there are mixed. Some information resources range from bizarre to informative. For example this passage from TeenBodybuilding.com (that just doesn’t seem right to me) says this about steroid use:

“Immune system side effects — This is probably one of the only side effects that can lead to an advantage if the proper precautions are necessary. Steroids greatly strengthen your immune system making it easier to recover and prevent illness. The only way to use this to an advantage would be to not let yourself get tired out, because that makes you dependent on your immune system. The bad side effect to this is, once you stop taking steroids, you get run down (tired out), and you get pretty sick. So, like most good things, they only last a while.”

So what is a young kid to make of that? Go ahead and roid up. It’s good for your immune health.

Let’s see what’s said about anabolic steroids from a medical source: “High doses of anabolic steroids can have significant effect on immune responses. In one study anabolic steroids were shown to significantly inhibit the production of antibodies in mice. They have also directly stimulated the production of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1b and TNF-a , but had no effect on IL-10 or IL-2 production. And corticotropin production in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after viral infection was significantly inhibited. Interferon production in human cells was also inhibited (17).

Fearradez et al. (22) studied the effect of high doses of anabolic steroids on activity of immune cells in cultures of rat spleen and thymus lymphocytes. They reported impaired lymphocyte mobility and an inhibition of mitogen-induced proliferative response of 90 percent. They also showed that endurance training, as opposed to high-intensity training, counteracted the negative effects. ”

Actually, depending on the type of steroid used, steroids can deliver immunosuppressive or immunostimulating response. Steroids have many legitimate, medical therapeutic roles beyond just quickly building muscle mass with which to hit 75 home runs in a season. Summarizing from a very good overview page (from a source NOT promoting body building steroids):

“There are two types of steroids present within the body. Corticosteroids are produced in the adrenal gland located above the kidney. These hormones include aldosterone, which helps regulate sodium concentration in the body, and cortisol, which plays many roles in the body, including serving as part of the body’s stress response system and decreasing inflammation. Common corticosteroid medications, like prednisone and prednisolone, may be taken by mouth or by injection and may be used to treat diseases like asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus to decrease inflammation when it is part of the disease’s process. The use of steroid ointments and creams on the skin, like triamcinalone and betamethasone, is common in the treatment of dermatitis.

“The second group of steroids, the androgenic/anabolic steroids, are hormones made in the body to regulate the manufacture of testosterone in the testicles and ovaries. The androgenic part of testosterone is involved in developing the male sex characteristics, while the anabolic part is involved in increasing the amount of body tissue by increasing protein production. The pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, helps regulate testosterone production and hormone secretion. Growth hormone and FSH are among the hormones that stimulate testis and ovary function and are two of the many hormones secreted by the pituitary.”

Seems like treating steroids as a medical intervention product, not an everyday supplement, is the smart thing. Taking a substance that, by design, can greatly ratchet up or ratchet down your immune function is nothing to mess with as a daily dietary regimen. This video probably says all you need to know:

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A couple nights ago, I woke up at 2:00 a.m. with my eyes sealed shut. Sealed shut with gunk. I can’t remember when that had happened to me, if ever. It had come several days after returning from a trip to Florida, on a bus, with high school marching band students. (see earlier post). So I wasn’t all that surprised that I might get stuck with some nasty stuff. As the eye condition continued, I also got the bronchial junk going, the sinus stuff kicking in. Normally, in years past, I would have settled down for 10 days or longer of enduring this stuff, and probably gone to the doc after a week of suffering, knowing I couldn’t kick it by myself without getting the coveted Z-pack antibiotic. At the same time, my teenage daughters both would have also come down with the same thing, and been out of school for 2-4 days each.

Now, the immune balance supplementation science seems to be bearing itself out with respect to my experience. If immune balance doesn’t help ward off seasonal cold and influenza, it may help reduce length and severity of symptoms. The eyes are 90% cleared up after 24 hours. The bronchial crud made a very visible appearance, but has since receded in the past 36 hours. A mild cough did not balloon into a incessant hack and is not next to non-existent. I have not spent 5 minutes at the toilet coughing up gunk each morning and night. I’m sure sipping a couple of pear martinis at the neighbors’ house when this was starting didn’t help things, but I’m sure it wasn’t a game changer either way.

As for my daughters, one half-day at home for one of them has been it. The other is symptom-free so far. And throughout it all, no fever for anyone.  All in all, I’ll take this scenario any day.

Filed under: Flu, Immune Balance, Immune System, My Experience, cold, crud, immune | Leave a comment

As I write this, I am 2 days back from a trip to Florida with my kids’ high school marching and jazz bands. We took three buses with 119 students and some 15 adult chaperons.  We drove 27 hours each way, from Des Moines

A good time was had by all…

to Orlando, with stops at every McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Steak and Shake, and Arby’s in the Miwest and Southeast. We were in and out of buses while the temperature ranged from 0 to 20 something (even in Georgia!). And, of course, some girls and guys insisted on wearing shorts and flip-flops in sub-30 temps. Once in Orlando, we started in each day at 6:00 for breakfast at the hotel, and usually ended at midnight or 1:00. This wasn’t a vacation, it was an endurance marathon, especially at the Disney parks ( 4 parks in 4 days), where it got so crowded at Disney World they shut off the entrance gates for a while during a Monday afternoon. And of course, real food places at Epcot and other locales were booked full all day, so one had to rely on the famous $9.00 Disney burgers, or every kind of fried, breaded chicken shape plus fries.

So, between the nutrient-deprived diet, lack of sleep, close confinement with many bodies inside a bus for hours at a time, wildly swinging temperatures, days full of logistics and deadlines, and some truly bad burritos at Epcot’s Mexico, there was ample opportunity to get sicker than a  dog (and not Goofy). About 9 or so of our kids did come down with something, but were able to bounce back within a day.

As for me, I took a 7-day ration of supplements on the road with me, and also ate massive servings of pineapple, melon and orange juice every day for breakfast (and yes, a little bacon, biscuits and gravy and eggs).  I’m sure I didn’t drink enough water. I was fine the whole trip, yet when I got home I came down with some sinus inflammation and mild cough a day later. But those seemed to be dissipating within 18 hours or so.

…as was precious sack time when you could get it.

Filed under: Balanced Immune Health, Immune Balance, Immune System, Nutrition, Supplements, Travel, cold, immune | Leave a comment