Posted on February 17th, 2009 by Craig Maltby, Editor
My immune system ventured into the crud jungle…
…and emerged victorious (knock on wood…that hasn’t been disinfected by anti-bacterial wipes). If I were go
nna get hammered by the winter crud, it would have been now. Two people in my office have been hacking and wheezing for the past 3 weeks. And on top of that, I was at a Tweet Up gathering in Des Moines last week, where one guy who my wife and I were talking to seemed like he had the bubonic plague. Sneezing, coughing, no voice, and shaking hands all around the room. But so far I’m doing great.
And a first happened in our house. Both of my daughters began showing crud symptoms at the same time. Of course, this is prime-time winter crud season at school. However, neither of them went to the doc to get antibiotics. I can’t remember when that had ever happened; being able to bypass the Z-Pack when both are under the weather. The severity/duration of their symptoms stayed in check. One stayed home from school one day (she’s been taking colostrum), and the other (on EpiCor) didn’t take a day off.
February 17th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Point of clarification, what are the supplements you’re taking and what’s the difference between the two your daughters take? Bottom line, where do I buy it? Because at the end of the day, we all want to avoid, in your eloquent words … “the crud.”
February 18th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Sara, thanks for the questions. Allow me to dive in.
EpiCor is a branded, proprietary, natural ingredient found in various supplement brands. It’s what’s called a high-metabolite immunogen delivered in a dry fermentate form. What that means is that it contains a lot of naturally occurring phyto- and micro-nutrients–catechins, flavenols, polyphenols, amino acids, B-complex factors. These nutrients appear to interact with and modulate the body’s array of immune defense compounds so that immune response to invaders is proportional or balanced. Killer cells attack pathogenic invaders when they’re supposed to, and suppressor cells call off the attack when the threat isn’t severe. As we all can imagine, an under-aggressive immune response is a problem. But equally or even more problematic is an over-aggressive immune response. That can result in many forms of inflammation in the body, leading to a number of long-term health problems.
More on the immune balance story is at: http://www.embriahealth.com/epicor.asp
Here’s where to buy products with EpiCor: http://www.embriahealth.com/epicor_how_to_buy.asp
Colostrum is a nutritional supplement ingredient as well, available in a number of brands. Its bioactive ingredient is dried colostrum from lactating cows. Colostrum in its raw form is the nutrient-rich fluid found in the initial secretion of mother’s milk, both human and animal. Among many beneficial compounds, colostrum contains live antibodies that are essential in fortifying the immune system. Many colostrum takers insist on supplements containing colostrum from “first milkings,” since there is a much higher nutrient value. People who avoid bovine products may generally avoid colostrum, although colostrum products made with great quality control take their material from cows that are certified free of synthetic hormones and antibiotics.
More information on colostrum is at http://www.answers.com/topic/colostrum. Scroll down to the “Description” section. You can buy colostrum supplements from a number of online supplement merchants, and from health products specialty retailers.
As for what I take each day? 1) EpiCor 500 mg; 2) Vitamin D3 1000 mg; 3) Lutein, 6 mg; 4) Chromium (through chromium picolinate) 200 mcg; 5) Fish oil 1 g
Happy immuning, Sara!
February 18th, 2009 at 11:21 am
All good and valuable info, thanks Craig.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Craig, interesting about your daughters. I have 2 daughters at home and saw EpiCor at work first hand at home. I put them both on EpiCor because they kept passing ‘crud’ back and forth. When one came down with a full case of ‘the crud’, I found out she wasn’t being compliant with her EpiCor. Fortunatley, the other daughter was being a ‘Good Girl’! About a week later, Good Girl started to feel like she was coming down with ‘the crud’, but nothing materialized – very minor symptoms, which went away within about a day and a half and, best of all, she didn’t have to miss any school! Even better though is the story with my husband who has been on EpiCor for 3 years now. There’s a sicky in every family and he’s the one in ours! Every winter he got the ‘crud’ – sometimes 2-3 times! But since he has been on EpiCor he has stayed healthy! He hasn’t caught any ‘crud’ – and, well, you know, those girls still aren’t always compliant! Teenagers…you gotta love ‘em!
February 19th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Desiree: Tell hubby and Good Girl to keep up the good work. Tell Bad Girl she’s bad, bad, bad.
Hey, here’s an extra motivator. Tell Bad Girl that all the flavanols, B-vitamins, amino acids in EpiCor means her skin and hair will benefit as well. Here’s proof:
http://www.skincare-news.com/a-2592-Chew_on_This_Foods_that_Foster_Healthy_Skin.aspx
Thanks for sharing your family’s story.
December 14th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
What is crud exactly – tryin to find an actual definition and its seemingly impossible. What is this terrible ‘crud’ illness any ways?
December 14th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Here’s a description from The Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com):
When you turn into a walking snot ball you have “The Crud” You cough up mucus and your nose runs constantly therefor the use of the word “crud”.
You go to the office and you cough and blow your nose for an hour and a coworker asks “what’s wrong with you?” Yo respond, “I have the crud”.
From Merriam-Webster online: “a usually ill-defined or imperfectly identified bodily disorder.”
So, in general, I refer to it as that winter respiratory inflammation, cough kinda stuff, that may also include a fever and or flu-like symptoms.