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.

So what about gut bacteria and immune health, amid all this?  This is where inflammation comes in, which we’ve also covered here.  Begley states: “…the precise way in which gut bacteria affect weight is a matter of intense dispute. The idea that different bacteria extract more or fewer calories from the food we send their way, as Gordon’s studies suggest, is only one possibility. Another possible explanation is that gut bacteria contribute to obesity (as well as to type 2 diabetes, which often goes along with being overweight) by altering the immune system. The idea here is that gut bacteria interact with intestinal cells in a way that causes them to secrete cytokines, molecules that can cause low-grade inflammation. This inflammation can, in turn, trigger insulin resistance (the mark of type 2 diabetes) and increased appetite, which is an effective way to put on weight.”

See more on this in Wired and in a drug industry trade. Also, an interesting Q&A in the Wall Street Journal Health Blog has some additional angles.

Maybe this is the core secret on why some people can eat anything they want every day and never gain an ounce.

“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.

1. many chronic conditions and;
2. immune response that is out of balance.

In fact, many experts deduce that disproportionate immune response is the underlying driver of inflammation, so therefore, immune balance may help mitigate a number of health symptoms.  One paper terms it, “chronic activation of innate immunity.” That means your  immune system is constantly amped up, even when it doesn’t need to be. Hence, inflammatory conditions.

Anything you can do to help balance immune response–diet, exercise, sleep, EpiCor supplementation, may help counter such chronic inflammation.

"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!

A baked potato, for example (no salt and butter, with skin) has an estimated glycemic rating of 29, according to Nutrition Data, a great Web tool to quickly analyze nutrition value of all kinds of foods, including packaged food products.  That 29 is toward the low end of the glycemic scale, better than, say canned, sweetened cranberry, which scores a glycemic rating of 48.

By the same token, we’re now seeing foods rated on their “anti-inflammatory” qualities through an Inflammatory Factor (IF) rating.  A food with a negative IF number is considered as contributing to cellular inflammation in the body. A positive IF number means the food has low or anti-inflammatory properties, actually reducing inflammation. The IF index system was created by nutrition researcher Monica Reinagel. High inflammation in the body can mean an over-aggressive, unbalanced immune response and can lead to chronic health problems. Therefore, high-inflammatory foods can trigger an adverse immune response.

That baked potato has a bad IF rating:  -179. That cranberry is doubly bad, with an IF of -354.

My question: What about foods that have an outstanding glycemic index value, but a terrible IF number? Or vice versa? One example is one of my favs: McDonalds’ Fruit ‘n’ Yogurt Parfait: a very good 12 GI, but a not-so-good -76 (mildly inflammatory) IF.  Should I err on the side of a high GI or a high IF?  Any thoughts out there?

• 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)

The companies are doing this not because the science is conclusive, but because they are tired of the hassle from consumer complaints and requests to get rid of the stuff, according the the story.

Indeed, many experts say some research suggests HFCS may add to belly fat more than other sugars, but there’s no proof HFCS is processed in the body much differently than cain sugar or concentrated fruit juice sweeteners.  A WebMD story said other countries that don’t consume many products with HFCS are still experiencing rising rates of obesity and diabetes. The problem is that people today are simply eating too much food and too many calories from foods with processed sugar, no mater what the form of sugar.

An old boss of mine, a Ph.D  plant biologist, said that there’s only one simple equation for weight loss and weigh management: calories in vs. calories out. Everything else is just a little fine tuning.

As for immune health, reducing sugar (a pro-inflammation agent), no matter what form, can make a difference in immune health, let alone weight.

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.  

Wouldn’t it be great if they walked into the doctor’s office, and had their up-to-date Google Health profiles– their records of prescriptions, supplementation, vaccines–on their I-Touch ready for the doc to download and view. And any additional services the doc provides would be added to the record at the time of service. This very simple information transfer could reduce the chance for diagnostic errors, drug interaction hazards or misappropriated diet and exercise recommendations.

After taking a few minutes to finally peruse Google Health, I’m wondering if this health service platform could not only be a difference maker in preventive health, but also a difference maker in health care cost reduction, outcome improvement and service delivery efficiency (er…commonly known as health care reform).

Google Health is much more than maintaining Web-enabled health records.  It’s a suite of services ranging from personalized consultation with world-class physicians to competitive drug pricing options, doctors on demand, even clinical trial participation opportunities for testing new drugs.

I’m sure these added service options will only expand. Wouldn’t it be great if there could also be a supplement advisory service, helping consumers sort out the good stuff from the bogus material, and providing personalized guidance on total nutrition and lifestyle. “Hmmmm, let’s see Mr. Maltby. Your serum results indicate you have an active, balanced immune response, a low level of inflammation, but you need to get off the couch more often, especially now that March Madness is over, and work up some sweat and pulse rate by walking or jogging a few times a week. And lay off the chocolate. I know the research says it has health benefits, but you’re overdoing it, according to your food diary and your blood workup I just viewed on your account profile. I’ll see you again online in 6 months.”

I’m sure that can happen now in many online locations. But when it’s all packaged under House of Google and linked to Google’s growing, distributed health databases, it could take cost-efficient, preventive health to a new level.