There's gotta be a supplement down there somewhere

I was at my doctor’s office recently for a check up. He asked if I take any vitamins or supplements. Among the 6 or so I take, I mentioned EpiCor, and told him its impact on my allergies, cold/flu experience, etc.  I thought he might say, “Really? Tell more about it…” etc.  Rather, he just kind of gave a little snicker and told me to see the receptionist on the way out.

My doc is a osteopathic physician, so I kinda thought he might appreciate some dialog on supplementation. But I guess not. Heck, he probably had 25 other patients to get to before noon, so he really didn’t want to chat for an extra minute or two about immune balance vs. boosting or probiotic effect or other stuff like that.

Hopefully, my experience is not what most docs think. One survey by the Council for Responsible Nutrition from a couple years ago shows that a majority of doctors…specifically cardiologists, orthopedists and dermatologists–recommend supplementation to patients and many of those doctors take supplements themselves.

Maybe my doctor, a family practice physician, isn’t as steeped in condition-specific supplementation knowledge as the specialists, and that’s why he was a bit dismissive. Who knows?

Which brings me to my hands-down best picture choice: The King’s Speech. It was one of the best films I’ve seen in years. It will be one of my all time faves. One of my neighbor’s friends who I see at parties from time to time, and who was an actor in his previous career (played Dr. Patrick Ryan on the Ryan’s Hope soap opera in the 70s and 80s) said the King’s Speech was flawless in every regard. That’s good enough for me. And I agree.

The movie stirred up a nice brew of positive feelings in me:  admiration for stellar acting performances; admiration for the historical story behind the movie; immense respect for the lessons of perseverance and triumph under enormous pressure; and overall feelings of pride and contentment for the tried and true happy ending that the film pulled off so brilliantly. And I reflect on that movie still, from time to time.

Maybe that’s the reason I’ve stayed so healthy this winter. Hah!! Why you ask?  Because the continual summoning of those good feelings may be helping fortify my immune performance. I’m half jesting of course, but I’m also a bit serious about the impact that positive emotional health can have on immune performance.

Of course, I’ve written here about the other side of the film viewing experience; fear and horror. Actually, that can help immune response as well. See my Paranormal Activity post.

1. Immune-related problems like cold or flu are something you can’t avoid.
2. You just have to give it time to get over a cold or flu. A week to 10 days. Maybe take some over-the-counter remedy to help with fever, congestion, etc.
3. If you want to try some kind of supplement, just pound down a lot of Vitamin C or zinc to boost your immune system. That’ll help get you over the crud a little quicker, or may help you avoid it altogether.

These all have some level of credence, but I think science has now shown there is a forth leg of this stool, one that may outweigh the others in terms of scientific validity and actual experience:

4.  Balance of immune function through natural, nutrition-based modulation of the spectrum of the classes of the body’s immune cells; the aggressive cells and the passive/suppressor cells. This includes the influence of gut microbiota in a wide swath of immune-related conditions, influenced by probiotic and prebiotic effects of nutrition intervention and long-term regimens.

A very good overview of the immune system and natural approaches to immune health management and balance vs. symptom treatment was recently published this month. It’s a little lengthy but worth the read.

And how about this for an expert description of immune balance: “It is not the microbes—or germs—themselves that cause infection, but rather the failure of our immune system to keep the relationship between body and microbe in balance.” That’s from a 2006 book by Drs. Ronald Klatz and Robert Goldman called Infection Protection. The book was summarized this week on a site called Vision.org.  Vision describes itself as a place where world events and news are discussed from a spiritual perspective without being preachy or proselytizing. Katz and Goldman are two highly degreed medical doctors who are leaders in the “anti-aging” movement. I prefer to call it healthy aging, myself. I don’t think the body quits aging, but it can be done with greater care and health in tact, so that the quality of life in later years is better, and the downward slide before expiration is much less protracted and miserable.

AgroLabs specializes in “liquid nutrition.” You should see their product lineup. Everything from cranberry omega 3 to wheat grass to aloe and others. Many times, liquid delivery systems are better absorbed by the body and are also preferred by many people to swallowing pills. I see the number of supplement tabs and capsules I take each day and think that it would be a lot easier to just down a shot.

From time to time I like to round up some of the more notable Twitter chatter on immune health that I’m seeing out there. My Twitter handle  is ImmuneDude. And my comments to some of these tweets are in italics:  Here they are:

RawHealer @ImmuneDude EpiCor is amazing! One of my favorite immune boosters!  (I agree, Raw, but it’s “balancing,” not boosting.)

NotOprah : 6 #Foods that boost your #immune system : apple, yogurt, zinc/beef, whey protein, garlic, carrots. (Balance, balance, balance!!!)

NotOprah :  Certain types of #bacteria boost the #immune #system. #Health #science http://bit.ly/9pji6p (I gotta follow this NotOprah.)

E_PenEbus_Unum Word to the wise: if something says that it “enhances digestive & immune health” stay away from it. Unless you want your tummy to rebel! (Now why do you say that, E Pen??  Do you have a wimpy gut?)

tweetinggenie Health: thank the universe for your own healing. Laugh, stress free happiness will keep you healthy. Immune system will heal itself  (I can dig that. However, very few people live a totally happy life totally free of stress. That’s where we need a little help to mitigate immune deficiencies due to stress.)

Thee_Gemma I gotta start takingg better care of myy health.. myy immune systems SUCKS. smh.  (Next time, plain English, please.)

yournutrition Probiotics; Healthy Digestion = Healthy Immune System – http://bit.ly/9zcxV #health #wellness

(Yes, yes!)

• One out of 20 people who are allergic to pollen has oral allergy syndrome, which means the immune system mistakes the compounds in certain foods for pollen proteins, says Sublett. Some foods — such as pears, cherries, peaches, apples, melons and nuts — cause breakouts or itching in the throat or around the mouth.
  
• Also, the average 1,500 square-foot home accumulates about 40 pounds of dust per year and contains about 40 million allergens.  Yeeesh! (Source: Sniffle Solutions).
• People who get allergic symptoms during the winter may be allergic to mold spores. Molds remain outside much longer than pollen, and may be indoors year-round. (Source: About.com, Allergy Fast Facts)
• A Johns Hopkins University study showed that “mite population and allergen levels decreased by 90% or more within a month of replacing mattress and pillow covers and treating bedding. (Source: Achooallergy.com)
• Your gut may be a big cause of sneezing. Upsetting the normal balance of microflora in your stomach and intestines can change your entire immune system, researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School report, intensifying your body’s response to common allergens like pollen or animal dander. According to scientists, our modern diet and increased use of antibiotics may be at fault. Safeguard your health with a diet low in sugar and high in raw fruits and vegetables, especially following treatment with antibiotics. (Source: Woman’s Day)

Rebekah Winquest

I’m glad to present a post below from Rebekah Winquest, who runs a blog called Just Good Energy. She markets several natural food products, and also does product reviews by using the products herself.  And she does a fair amount of research about the product she’s taking. Right now, she’s taking EpiCor for an extended period. Posted below is her first review. I look forward to reading what she says about the rest of her EpiCor journey.

“I recently wrote an article on the top 20 most recommended and popular supplements for 2010. Included in that list is a product called Epicor. I had not personally taken this supplement but heard a lot of feedback that it helped people’s allergies, immune system, frequency of colds, etc. I have been in contact with the company Embria Health Sciences, who created Epicor, and have been taking it daily for the past 2 weeks along with researching and learning about the science behind Epicor.

Epicor starts off as the simple yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae, otherwise known as baker’s yeast. It is given oxygen to grow and is then put through a specific and unique fermentation and drying process, also known as “yeast fermentate”. It is the fermentation process that creates this unique product. The result is a superfood in my thinking – a whole food supplement that provides the body with not only extra nutrients but potent antioxidants and the ability to help balance the entire immune system. Nutritionally Epicor provides vitamins, minerals, aminos acids, antioxidants, and even beta-glucans.

What is interesting to me is that Epicor helps to “balance” the immune system compared to “boosting” the immune system. Keep in mind that autoimmune disorders, inflammatory disease and even allergies are overexcited immune systems that attack itself so obviously someone in that position could not take immune stimulating supplements. If you think about it, most immune-related products on the market are all about building the immune system but rarely have I found one that focuses on bringing it to an ideal balance or neutral state. We want our immune system to be ready at any given time to strengthen, as with the flu, or back down if needed, as with allergies. This balance is ideal and Epicor seems to have found a niche in this arena.

Now to my experiences… As most of you know I eat extremely healthy, drink green superfoods daily, consume plenty of antioxidant-rich foods and superfoods, stick to organic, and eat about 70% raw alkaline foods. I rarely get sick or catch colds and viruses from others. Here is the catch… From the day I got pregnant 2 years and 11 months ago I suddenly for the first time had allergies. I had a runny nose and sneezed daily until the day my son was born. It was so bazaar because I had never had an allergy in my life and now I had a very strong reaction to dust, and all environmental pollutants and even pollen! As soon as I stopped nursing my son the allergies kicked in really strong again. I tried all of the natural remedies that I had studied but nothing worked.

I began taking 500mg per day (1 capsule) of Epicor 2 weeks ago and suddenly realized a few days ago that I had sneezed and blew my nose maybe 4 times in the past 2 weeks, even with the pollen-rich air outside. I don’t want to jump too far down the road and say that I am 100% cured because of Epicor, but I do know that I feel better with my allergies and the only thing I have done different is take Epicor.

I have researched further that Epicor is not only great for helping to prevent occurrences of colds and the flu but can also help with inflammation. I am going to write about my experience with Epicor again in 2 weeks, after taking it for 1 month total and am curious to see if the inflammation that I often experience in my sciatic will improve (also started after having my adorable son).

For those concerned about taking Epicor while having a yeast infection or candida overgrowth: They claim that there is no similarity between the yeast used to make Epicor and Candida albicans, which is the unhealthy yeast strain that can flourish in the body causing infections and candida.

I would love to take it for the remainder of the year and see how I feel – it can be taken year round. Stay tuned for more updates.

Reference: “Epicor, The Key to a Balanced Immune System” by Larry Robinson, PHD, Vern S. Cherewatenko, MD, Med and Stuart Reeves, PHD”

Postscript from Craig: Thanks, Rebekah.  Since EpiCor is a nutritional supplement, I’m betting the people behind the product won’t assert that the ingredient will cure or prevent anything. But I do know that mulitple placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials have demonstrated a reduction in allergy and cold/flu symptom severity and duration among healthy people who took EpiCor. Hope your experience is similar.  

So I brought up its site and signed on to a live chat with an Abbott nutritionist, Christy.  By the way, good job, Abbott, with your chat tool. It was fast and ready to go as advertised.

I asked about the new “ImmunBalance” label splash on the package. What’s behind it? Christy said it reflects the antioxidant benefit delivered through selenium and vitamin C (which were already in the product) plus newly added probiotics for balancing good and bad gut bacteria. According to many health experts, the gut microflora composition comprises up to 70% of the body’s immune system defense.   

Christy also said she’d check on whether any additional research using Ensure to measure blood or saliva immune cell changes exists and could be shared. I also told her it was interesting that Ensure was choosing to use the phrase “balance” instead of “boost,” which still seems to be the most common immune tag on packaging.

I’m glad Ensure is taking the enlightened, science-driven approach and promoting immune balance.  For sure.

Still, today I was scanning some of the industry news that’s recently been distributed throughout the supplement industry. Since I’m particularly interested in immune support, I’ve done some quick searching of what’s new in the market. All I can say is wow! There are now more immune support products than I can ever recall seeing in the past. Just a sampling, if  you’ll allow me:

PeakImmune4®, “an essential immune support dietary supplement that provides vital antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action.  The active ingredient in PeakImmune4 is Rice Bran Arabinoxylan Compound (RBAC). A polysaccharide dietary fiber derived from rice bran, RBAC is modified by an enzyme from Shiitake mushrooms using a patented biotechnology process.”  But to view any science, you have to order it from the Web site and say why you’re interested.  Not cool.

Immune Extra® is an “all natural, vegetarian, clinically-tested supplement containing Proligna®, a botanical extract derived from pine cones that optimizes your immune system.” Hmmm. And how many pine cones are typically in the humam diet? Actually, this product does put forth a good immune balance discussion and seems to have some respectable science behind it.

KalmCold – Its makers in India say the active ingredient “is said to increase appetite, strengthen digestion and diminish flatulence, hyperacidity and biliousness. It is also utilized for treatment of many conditions like bacillary dysentery, bronchitis, carbuncles, colitis, coughs, dyspepsia, fever, hepatitis, malaria, mouth ulcers, sores and tuberculosis. The roots and leaves have a reputation for being anthelmintic.”  But no published science to be seen.

Equilibrant. Nice name. Implies balance. No science posted at all. The ingredients look like a mish-mash of about everything: Vit. D, Vit. A, Calcium, Selenium, Astragalus Root Extract, Shrubby Sophora Root Extract, Licorice Root Extract, Shittake Mushroom Extract.

Immune health is a hot supplement category right now and growing hotter. For many reasons. That’s even more reason to make sure you’re a wise consumer when considering a supplement product.  Make sure the manufacturer is safe and qualified to be producing the product. Insist of solid science. If you’re not confident in judging research quality, find an expert and ask him or her to assess the science. Read all you can about the brand and ingredients. And consult your doctor before taking anything new and untested in your dietary regimen.