• 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.

So, now its on to the holiday food season. And there’s plenty you can do to give your immune health a fighting chance in helping you survive the aftermath of Black Friday and head into December ready to take on those crud-inducing pathogens. One great immune support asset is food. And fresh from the site Truestar Health is a list of nutrients that can help with immune support. I’ve added a little commentary on how you might work them into your  holiday meals.

Vitamin C. Yes, it’s a good immune nutrient, but science shows overloading with C doesn’t fend off colds and flu. So don’t add two dozen orange slices to every glass of punch. But, some citrus or apples added to salads and deserts wouldn’t be a bad bet.

Vitamin E. The Alpha- (or α-) tocopherol form of Vitamin E is the best for human dietary absorption.  Nuts, seeds and vegetable oils are good food sources of E. So load up the Chex Mix with almonds, cashews, and pecans. And don’t be afraid of olive oil or cannola oil when making those Hanukkah matzo balls.

Omega 3s.  This is the essential fatty acid found in fatty fishes, flax and nuts. Break out that smoked salmon.  Albacore tuna with a little Christmas ginger glaze would also do the job.

And, if you consume alcohol over the holidays (naaahhh, never) red wine might be the better bet. A lof of research shows that alcohol intake hampers immune response. Red wine, however, has been shown to not suppress immune response, at least in mouse studies. It doesn’t necessarily help, but a Univ. of Florida study showed red wine did not suppress production of white blood cells in mice, compared to the same amount of alcohol consumed as ethanol.

The balance thing.

The story went on to say that healthy people who live the right lifestyle have no need for immune boosting supplements. They’re immune system is as strong as it will ever get, and no supplement will improve it.

Now, rewind to last week. I went on a tour of Embria Health Sciences’ manufacturing facility in Iowa last week.  I had requested a tour for a social media colleague of mine who happens to run Smarty Pig, one of the great social media success stories  to date.  He was interested in the story behind Embria’s immune balance ingredient made at the plant, EpiCor (which I have taken for two years now and which supports this blog). Every time I hear a presentation from the Embria executive and technical staff during these kinds of meetings, I learn something new.

One question that was asked of Embria senior scientist, Dr. Stuart Reeves, during the presentation was: “Is there any one is this day and age who wouldn’t need or benefit from immune supplementation or some form of additional immune health support? ” Stuart had an interesting answer. He said if someone were born today on a farm or in a rural area where there was a good dose of dust and pollen present in the air, where they were living with a variety of animals–in the house, with a dirt floor–from birth on and exposed to diverse mix of animal dander always floating around, if they drank well water with a nice brew of microbial matter, and if they ate lots of unprocessed fruits and vegetables, preferably raw, and if they got 9 to 10 hours of sleep every night, and also lived a pretty stress-free life with lots of outdoor sunshine exposure each day, their immune system would most likely function just fine with no help needed.

But, who lives like that? Moreover, who is born in that environment?  For decades now, people in the western world have been born in sterile hospitals (which most certainly is a good thing for both mom and baby), and have come home to relatively clean households with modern hygienic conditions. While the modern environment may reduce germ and virus exposure, it also prevents exposure to common pathogens and harmless airborne particulates such as pollen that can train the immune system at an early age to produce an appropriate, proportional response to something that enters a person’s system. With nearly all people in developed countries now not born into this more primitive lifestyle, immune systems don’t get tested early in life, and therefore are likely to function erratically when the body does call on its immune defense against a microbial threat years down the road.

So, with that, the point is that our modern environment means we live cleaner, but we also are, in general, much more susceptible to troubling health conditions because our immune systems don’t know how to respond when the first threats arrive.  I truly believe supplementation, along with healthy diet, exercise and sleep, can make a big impact on correcting this imbalance.

You know when a defensive back makes a great tackle? After the hit, the d-back might start taunting the guy he just tackled. Maybe even try to rough him up a bit more. Perhaps a couple of his teammates come over to join in. Then, before a good hit turns into a damaging penalty for the team, some level-headed teammates come over and pull the taunters away from the victim and move them back to the huddle or sideline. The tackler accomplished the mission, but was in “overkill” mode, yet was then buffered and deactivated by intervening friendly forces before something good could turn into something bad.

Some new research is now showing how two components of the the body’s immune system work the same way, that is, if there is balance in the immune system and not endless immune “boosting.”

Researchers and Brown University and McGill University in Canada have published new findings in the Journal of Experimental Medicine illustrating how the aggressive T-Cells in your immune biochemistry attack a virus, but are held back from overdoing it by “natural killer” cells (NK cells).

According to the lead author of the study in an interview, “‘The work reveals two important aspects of NK cell biology, the first piece being understanding how to keep NK cells instead of losing them,’ said (Christine) Biron, the Esther Elizabeth Brintzenhoff Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry (at Brown). ‘The second is that if you can keep them around, they have an important regulatory function to limit adaptive immune response. If you don’t have them during long challenges, your adaptive immune system response could go unregulated and lead to death.’”

Yeesh, that’s kind of heavy. But, still, it drives home the message of immune balance, and how it can contribute to long-term health. So keep those NK cells around so they can make sure the T-cells do their job but don’t but don’t get too jacked up and go into immune boosting overdrive. That’ll result in a lot more damage than a 15- yard penalty and a first down.

Wow. That would be like living on Planet Vulcan. Spock would love it. (If he could love).

Also included is a list of supplements:

54. Vitamin C: Vitamin C is crucial to helping your immune system and preventing colds and the flu.
55. Garlic: Garlic is an age-old supplement used to prevent sickness.
56. Grapefruit seed extract: Grapefruit seed extract is a natural antiviral and antibiotic.
57. Zinc: Zinc is another supplement that can help prevent illness when taken regularly.
58. Emergen-C: While the benefits of taking Emergen-C after you start feeling rundown are still unknown,
taking a regular Vitamin C supplement can keep your immune system strong.
59. Ginger: Add ginger to recipes or tea to boost your immune system.

I would also add: supplements containing the ingredient EpiCor. If nothing else, EpiCor has among the deepest well of science supporting its immune balancing function. Let’s get some “balance” in there and get beyond all the boost, boost boost.

Some archived information on this blog about inflammation and immune health is here.

It’s such a refreshing story to read when compared to the recent spate of trouble some prescription drugs have encountered when promoted or used for off-label applications to “treat” a variety of conditions for which the drug was not intended.

As the story points out, food and supplements don’t work the same as drugs. Drugs are created to provide a relatively fast therapeutic effect.  Food and supplement regimens can also make an impact on health conditions, but they take time and persistence and commitment to stick with the program. But the results can be compelling and even dramatic.

Many dietitians are proponents of  “food-only” solutions for condition-specific health problems. I remember Dr. Jeff Blumberg, a leading antioxidant researcher at Tufts University and a big food proponent as well, telling a conference of nutrition industry experts that “you need both. You need food and supplementation.”  To get enough of a certain nutrient to spur a change in serum content of that nutrient delivered to the body, one might need to eat 5 big servings a week of fish for DHA or 3 big bowls of romaine lettuce a day for chromium or manganese. That’s just not practical or real for the everyday Joe or Josephine.

See the Tribune/Times story here.

Research suggests beta glucans may play a role in cancer tumor suppression and in other health conditions where aggressive immune response is called for. So why am I bringing up beta glucans in this blog? Maybe it’s simply that such immune system stimulation kind of, maybe, perhaps, throws a wrench into the benefit of immune balance.  An executive team member at a client company passed along some studies showing beta glucan delivered in vitro (petri dish cells) may cause immune response fatigue, where immune cells’ repeated exposure to beta-glucan might actually diminish their assertive function. That kind of got me interested in reading more.

Read this from Web MD: “Medications that decrease the immune system (Immunosuppressants) interact with BETA GLUCANS. Beta glucans increase the immune system. By increasing the immune system beta glucans might decrease the effectiveness of medications that decrease the immune system.Some medications that decrease the immune system include azathioprine (Imuran), basiliximab (Simulect), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), daclizumab (Zenapax), muromonab-CD3 (OKT3, Orthoclone OKT3), mycophenolate (CellCept), tacrolimus (FK506, Prograf), sirolimus (Rapamune), prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone), corticosteroids (glucocorticoids), and others.”

“Do not take more than 15 grams per day by mouth and do not use it for longer than 8 weeks.”

In other words, beta glucan can counteract medications and other measures that people adopt to suppress immune response when needed. It’s kind of like all killer cells all the time, which, in the immune balance world, can be detrimental to overall health. Beta glucan might be helpful for concentrated seasonal defense, but I wonder about year-round use and the impact on other health areas when taking a direct immune stimulant every day.

See the video below for a basic overview of the immune system and some warnings on immune stimulation. Warning: he goes into some product pitch at the end, and I’m not at all familiar with it, so no, I don’t endorse it. But his commentary up front seems legit.