A little info digging on my part came up with some interesting theories–even a little research–on how and why we give off our natural scent, before the Old Spice is applied. Seems the immune system and its state of health might play a role.

One report–which sounds pretty legit on the surface but doesn’t cite any real sources–says a poorly functioning, even overactive, immune system interacting with the bacteria it’s fighting may cause body odor.

Another article says immune system genetics create a scent that is noticed by women much more so than men. The more divergent a man’s immune genetics are from a woman’s, the more attracted she may be to him. That’s nature’s way of fortifying offspring with the most robust, diverse and adaptive immune system possible.  Hmmmm. I don’t know, especially when “sniff tests” of shirts were used to gather data. But, crazier things have happened.  Another piece also cites the immune sniff theory as well, plus gets into everything from ovulation to foods to ethnicity as contributors to body scents.

I also just read a theory that in cultures where people don’t shower every day–and hence probably have a stronger odor than us American hygiene freaks–healthier, more balanced immune systems and overall better health may prevail. Those people are not washing away bacteria every day, and therefore are giving their immune systems fuel to exercise themselves and build up better function and performance. Kind of dovetails on the hygiene hypothesis.

So hey, Old Spice guy, keep up the good work. God knows between garlic, bacteria, immune cell genes, gender-based olfactory sensitivity, we’ll need your help.

Now look at me. Now look away.

I know that we’re (generally) not scientists here. But before you give this post the heave-ho and move on to another Web page, just give this a chance. The papers each are given a brief summary that really helps you quickly get the main points of each piece of research.

And just to make it even easier to grab onto, I’ll give you my summary of each summary for the top seven.

1. An enzyme involved with cell “signaling” may be linked with autoimmune disorders.
2. Some stem cells may be able to tailor their offspring to fight certain diseases.
3. New role for “memory” cells – they can do more than recall earlier infections that trigger their activity
4. Immune cells residing in the gut may attack certain bacteria first…then back off and call a truce.
5. Certain immune cells that “hunt” for invaders may be able to switch between random scavenging and a directed, planned attack.
6. Making more “killer cells” out of T-cells.
7. Processes for creating a new kind of “helper” cell may hold clues for inflammation that comprises allergic reactions.

These are just seven of scores of papers published each year detailing the complex relationships and communication among various classes of immune cells.  Imagine the health benefit when all of the these cell communities work in balance and proper proportion.

The answer is….I don’t really know. Certainly, a weak immune function can contribute to skin problems. This same source also says that sunlight on the skin can trigger “immune system cells to come to the skin surface to repair any UV damage that occurs in response to sunlight…If we don’t damage it too much, the skin pretty much takes care of itself.” I like that.

On the other hand, in keeping with the immune balance tenets, one paper suggests that suppression of immune response in the skin after sun exposure may be a good thing. Over-reactive immune response in the skin can lead to various skin problems. Yet on the other hand, too much immunosuppression–perhaps caused by large amounts of UV light that damage the suppressor cells that normally would be suppressing– may lead to malignant and pre-malignant  lesions.

So who the heck knows. I think the better balanced you are, the better your chances to stay healthy in the sun as long as you don’t overdo it.

1. I’m a coffee addict, at least during the work week. 5-6 cups a day is easy for me.
2. The whole field of brain health, especially the impact of brain function on other health conditions in the body, is of growing interest to researcher and consumers.
3. The data showing benefits of coffee on health just seems to be growing and growing. It apparently has a huge antioxidant profile.
4. The role of brain function in immune health, and vice versa. Some recent evidence shows there is an actual presence of immune cells in the brain that may act as an early warning system for brain abnormalities long before symptoms appear.  And, to the converse, mental function may, in turn, impact how the immune system responds to a host of health issues throughout the body, not just in the brain.

This story continues to show that, while  mind over matter is a legitimate, science-based health frontier, matter helping  mind (antioxidants and maybe caffeine) is also a way to make sure that the mind is a healthy mind so it can be at its best when it’s over the matter. Did I just make any sense?

findings from a laboratory study

The results of this study suggest that EpiCor delivers prebiotic benefits to the human gut. That means EpiCor helps promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut that experts say comprises around 70% of the the body’s immune defense arsenal. Beneficial bacteria do many things in the gut, from countering the populations of harmful bacteria,  influencing obesity and allergies, even communicating with the brain via nerve pathways. The EpiCor gut health observations, combined with earlier research showing its impact on balancing the activity of aggressive and suppressive immune cells, adds yet another layer of evidence to the body of science showing EpiCor’s fascinating role in improved, balanced immune health.

All I know is, it seems to work for me. I may not know exactly why, but I can feel it in my gut.

“He (a doctor interviewed in the story)  says that an allergic response is sort of a false alarm. Like an army launching an attack against a harmless enemy.  Somehow the immune system has gotten confused – and treats things like pollen, dust, mold or the proteins on the hair of your beloved pet as if they were a dangerous parasite or virus.”

That’s good. The story goes on to describe the hygiene hypothesis:  “The immune systems of non-allergic people detect ragweed and pet hair too- they just don’t sound the alarm.  The number of people with allergies in the United States and Europe has risen over the last several decades. One of the prevailing theories on the cause is that modern western societies are too clean.” Click the “hygiene hypothesis” category tag on the left column of this page.

But then, the story ends with a summary of treatments: OTC products like Claritin, cortosteroids, and homeopathic approaches such as allergy shots.

Too bad it did not discuss ways to balance immune response in the first place:  to retrain immune cells to let pollen pass and not attack it, thereby avoiding all the gunk that comprises allergic reactions.  Oh well, the world will catch on….some day.

The result of immune balance? The possibility of fewer sick days, fewer “dragging” days, fewer physical problems due to chronic stress’s impact on immune cells.

So what simple things can you do to balance and maintain your immune system?  Here are five:

1. Eat smart. Reduce processed sugar, increase fruits and veggies. The Mediterranean Diet is considered a very good immune health diet.
2. Get sleep. Research shows lack of sleep increases stress levels and weakens immune function.
3. Get exercise.
4. Wash hands often.
5. Take supplements containing 500 mg dosing of EpiCor. Human clinical trials show EpiCor balances immune response.

There you go. The Immune Balance Five. Go forth and do them.

The mind is an immune health amazement

medication for my allergies since I began taking an EpiCor supplement each day. How I’ve not had any serious cold or flu episode in that time, at least nothing that required more than some extra fluids and rest for a day or half day. How my kids have experienced significant reduction in missed school days since taking EpiCor.

Now, as a responsible health communicator, I cannot say that such supplementation has cured or treated anything.  To proclaim that, my experience and my specific  immune cell function would need to be studied and documented by outside researchers who could show causal cell activity that proved a mechanism of action that produced efficacious outcomes, and then observe similar results among thousands of other individuals, and then compare those results to thousands who took a placebo during the past two years, and thousands who took nothing. That study would need to be structured in a way that the results would be repeated at least 95 percent of the time (or higher) to demonstrate a confidence level that is statistically significant.

So, my experience is just that, my experience, and nothing more. There are some smaller clinical trials in which a number of participants experienced reduced cold and flu symptoms, but small trials are not considered definitive.

And what about my experience? Is it the EpiCor? Or is it something else that I’ve done in my lifestyle to improve my allergy/cold/flu experience? Am I washing my hands more often? Am I staying inside more and out of the outdoor pollen? Am I eating more immune-friendly foods? Am I getting more exercise? Is my stress level changed somehow? Who knows? I sure haven’t kept a journal of all these things.

One study that’s really intriguing shows that immune-related conditions might be mitigated simply by the power of the brain.

…”Scientists recruited healthy men and women and had them watch slide shows. All of the volunteers watched a 10-minute slide show about furniture; this was deliberately boring, to act as a control condition. Then a bit later, half the volunteers watched a fairly disgusting slide show, with images of skin lesions and oozing pox, in addition to garden variety sneezes and coughs. The other volunteers watched a slide show about guns–not just guns, but people brandishing firearms, and mostly pointing the weapons directly at the viewer.

The guns were important, because guns are very threatening–especially when they’re aimed at you–but they’re not related at all to disease or infection. The scientists wanted to rule out threat–any threat–as the cause of any immune response they measured. And that’s just what they saw. They drew blood from the volunteers before and after each slide show, and measured the levels of a cytokine called IL-6, a major fighter in the immune war. Those who had viewed the depictions of sickness showed a dramatic jump in IL-6 production–more than 23 percent. These same volunteers had no biological response to looking at furniture and–more important–the volunteers who looked at brandished weapons also showed no significant immune response.”

Many studies show reduced stress can improve immune health. Now this one shows fear of germs might also gird the immune system to work harder. Just goes to show how the mind/body connection is more powerful and mysterious than many realize.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Ben Franklin.

British temperance movement in the 1830s.)  I do like to prudently imbibe from time to time. With summer now here, the imbibing opportunities seem to grow exponentially: Friday after-work get-togethers, the summer holidays, baseball games at my local Triple A club, the Iowa Cubs. But, as good sense dictates, one must be selective and responsible in how he or she chooses to partake.

For the past few years, I’ve tried to steer toward quality vs. price in my beverage selections.  I’ve had this general understanding that rich and dark is the way to go, vs. light and clear spirits. Now, my hunch has been validated! And on two fronts.

First, on the broad research front. A 2007 paper in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that lite (ooops, I mean “light”) to moderate consumption of alcohol, especially polyphenol-rich beverages like dark beer or red wine may have a beneficial impact on overall health and immune health. At the same time, regular, chronic over-consumption of alcohol negatively overwhelms any health benefit and can damage immune health, not to mention liver function, brain function and the like. So let’s not get carried away with this.

But back to the good part. Above I mentioned “polyphenol-rich” drinks. What are polyphenols? They are plant-originated micronutrients that exhibit anti-inflammatory and possible indirect, antioxidant-like properties in the body. EpiCor supplements are full of them. So are fruits and veggies. And, certain beers, wines and spirits contain polyphenols. Many have termed polyphenols a class of antioxidants, but researchers might not agree with that definition. Either way, they seem to be really good for you.

In fact believe it or not, I just found a Web-based tool called the Phenol Explorer, managed by the French equivalent of our U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. The site lets you look up foods and see their polyphenol content, broken out in a million different ways. And, in the fine French tradition, wine, beer and Scotch are listed.

Red wine and dark beer appear to be chalk full of polyphenols. Scotch also has some polyphenols, but not as many or as large of amount as the former. You can even select from among 5 assay methods to view differing analyses, although not all foods/beverages have data available for all assays. Basic chromatography seems to be the one standard used for all.  God, I love the French.

So, go forward and choose your aperitif wisely. And remember, drinking a Guinness is not a substitute for eating spinach, apples and nutrient-dense nuts and grains. And it won’t, by itself, cure what ails ya. But it’s still a pretty good choice when 5 p.m. Friday rolls around. Which, here, is now about 4.5 hours away!

I try to follow those who appear to have some kind of  related health interest and tweet regularly (not every 10 minutes). They could be individuals, companies, health institutions, media and non-profits. I also like to follow those who don’t have 20,000 followers, but have a good balance of followers and followees, so that my tweets are not totally lost with most of them. I really like Tweeps who respond to direct messages and tagging, even if they disagree with me.  I try to make sure they are not people or firms just pushing products or services. If they are, they are unfollowed as fast as you can say “Spamalot.”

That said, if you are new to Twitter or about to sign up for an account, here are some good health Tweeps that you might start following:

http://twitter.com/Onespot_Allergy

http://twitter.com/HealthGal1103

http://twitter.com/Wellth

http://twitter.com/D3forU

http://twitter.com/RawHealer

http://twitter.com/dadairs

http://twitter.com/wendybattles

http://twitter.com/DrDrRose

http://twitter.com/Skinmdnatural

There are many more I could add, and will in the future. Happy Tweeting.