Gelman said that among other wellness products, he takes EpiCor. That portion of the clip (below) starts around the 11:15 mark. Give it a look!

• The Times of India has an interesting little list of “fun facts about your immune system.” Among them: “A study of 100 men conducted by researchers at the medical school of the State University of New York at Stony Brook finds that ‘positive events of the day seem to have a stronger helpful impact on immune function than upsetting events do a negative one.’ Furthermore, the study revealed ‘having a good time on Monday still had a positive effect on the immune system by Wednesday;’ the negative immune effect from undesirable events, however, lasts only one day.”
• The ubiquitous Dr. Joseph Mercola offers up a lengthy explanation (with copious citations) on why walking barefoot on the ground may positively impact your immune response.  Worth the read.
• A very good read on the Huffington Post is from Joe Robinson on job stress and health. He calls the current work environment, where legions of employees are on edge about job security and whose desk drawers look like a small pharmacy with all the OTC remedies tucked inside, “a national health tragedy.” Here’s one particularly gripping passage from his column: “More than three-quarters of the 956 million visits to physicians every year are estimated to be the result of stress-related problems. Want to dramatically cut health care costs? Start here. Three-quarters of visits to doctor’s offices at, conservatively, $100 a pop = $71 billion.” Makes sense to me.

Pow! Supplements to the rescue!

about how vitamins or supplements are basically worthless, producing expensive urine, etc. Some reporter or expert looks at some metadata and concludes that because supplement takers don’t live longer  than non-supplement takers, supplements must be ineffective.

For that, I offer 2 things: 1) my own story  2) a CNN report from yesterday.

As for me, I continue to experience a life with very few allergy symptoms (and nearly no cold/flu episodes at all)  after now taking a daily EpiCor for three years. Also, I was at the eye doctor last week. He told me my retinal and macular health was excellent, absolutely no eye health issues at all. I told him it must be my lutein intake. He was a little amused, telling me that all the nutrition I need I can get by eating a healthy, fruit-and-vegetable-laden diet. And he’s right. It’s just that I know I cannot and will not eat a large bowl of spinach every day to get the lutein needed to maintain macular pigment density in my eyes. Hence, quality lutein supplementation may be a way to “supplement” lutein intake. Is there absolute proof lutein is THE reason for my good eye health (vs. genetics, lifestyle, etc.)? No. Is there absolute proof  EpiCor is keeping my immune system balanced and efficient so as to alleviate allergies, colds and flu? No. Will I stop taking lutein and EpiCor? No. If I think it may be helping, and it’s safe and natural, I’ll continue taking it.

CNN yesterday ran a story on vitamins and supplements. The report says half of all Americans take a vitamin or supplement, spending $27 billion a year on them. The story says supplements don’t have to prove safety or effectiveness (false…there are manufacturing, safety and labeling restrictions imposed on supplements by the FDA), and that it’s folly to think supplements can replace a healthy diet. Hello??!! Who has ever said that?? That’s why they call them “supplements,” not “nutrition replacements.” To give you a little more of what you might be missing in your daily diet from time to time. So, getting past these straw men and false arguments, the CNN story actually linked to a Consumer Reports story (CR is another traditionally anti-supplement media voice) which lists…hold on to your hats…11 supplements you should consider taking. I thought I was going to pass out. A positive, constructive story on supplement benefits.

Bottom line: supplement consumption in the U.S. is increasing for a reason. Medical people or marketers who are beholden to drug companies need to face that fact. People are using supplements because they perceive that there is a benefit somewhere. True, a number of people may buy a product on a whim, not knowing anything at all about it or what it actually may or may not do. But many doctors, eye doctors, naturopaths and consulting nutritionists take supplements themselves and recommend them to their patients. And many patients and docs research the heck out of a supplement before taking or recommending it. So, there is a place for supplements in this world. And as the price tag for health care increases and the offsetting benefits of prevention become more profound, that place will likely continue to grow.

• A nurse writes a health column in the Concord (NH) Monitor about balance in the body. She believes “people who who receive naturopathic care usually have fewer acute illnesses because they have stronger immune systems and those with chronic illnesses see a lessening or even remission of their problems…The approach in naturopathic medicine is to help the body achieve and maintain balance and thus prevent further problems. Unlike mainstream medicine where drugs are primarily given to treat a specific symptom and are “anti- ,” the formulations used in naturopathic medicine are “pro- ” and used to balance the body.”   Hmmmm. That’s worth thinking about.
• An opinion piece in the Huffington Post about the heart touched on the idea that “positive emotions such as happiness, appreciation, compassion, care and love improve our hormonal balance and immune system response…”
• A great blog post here from an Albany, NY doctor: Mind, body, and immune function: Can your thoughts really be inflammatory?
• Ancient Jewish Medicine, no less, is the header for a story on the diet and exercise needed to maintain immune balance. Published in an online Jewish publication, it summarize much of what’s been written about on this blog.
• Here is a local news feature from Oklahoma on good immune health basics.

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.

The study examined the body of published research for several nutritional supplement compounds – Lutein, Calcium, Vit. D, Fish Oil. Based on a well-described methodology, the study’s authors predicted the dollar savings based on preventive benefits that could be realized if people who were ideal candidates (based on health/demographic profiles) to benefit from these ingredients would consume them as recommended by manufacturers.

The most recent study update came out this summer. Total cost savings are now estimated to be $24 billion. Gosh, I wonder what would happen if an ingredient such as EpiCor were to be added to the study. Could there be a monetary metric applied to reductions in cold and flu symptoms that are evidenced in various clinical trials? Dollars saved through less sick time from school or jobs could be one measurement. Who knows?

Stuart will wrap the topic into an interesting package of anecdotes and examples that anyone can understand. He does this very well, despite the fact he’s a scientist and researcher. I’m sure he’ll also expand on some the newer research involving immune balance and EpiCor, which we’ve also touched on here. Yet, we have not had Stuart’s original prose so eloquently breaking down the data into compelling scenarios and illustrations that make the science of immune balance hit home.

So I recommend tuning in July 19 or downloading the podcast later. You’ll need to register (free) to use the site and access the audio programs, but it takes about 30 seconds to do that.

Dr. Stuart Reeves

Here’s a radio interview you’ll want to listen to. It’s an interview with Dr. Stuart Reeves of Embria Health Sciences, talking about the human immune system and how immune balance works. The interview was recorded on KSTE 650 in Sacramento. Stuart discusses how EpiCor was “accidentally” discovered as a natural immune balancing agent for human health.

Stuart goes into some interesting detail about the manufacture of EpiCor, and how it was essentially stumbled upon as a human nutritional ingredient after employees in a facility that was producing a more basic version of the material for entirely different applications realized they hardly ever got sick, compared to workers in other divisions of the company.

Give it a listen, and see what you think.

Jim Morelli

The tour is still happening (with updated appearance dates below), but the topic and featured expert are not what I originally wrote and posted. Here’s the real scoop.

The media tour will discuss the Medicine Cabinet Makeover. It’s an overview of what every medicine chest in American homes should have in it.  It will cover basic product needs involving kids health, nutritional supplements and natural alternatives,  year-round health and first aid, cold and flu remedies and more.  EpiCor, the immune balance supplement, may also be talked about.

Jim Morelli, a health journalist who does work for CNN and WebMD and  who is also a pharmacist, will be the featured interview source for the tour.

Here is the interview schedule:

• Mon., Feb. 8: Albuquerque, NM (KOB/NBC)
• Tues., Feb. 9: Milwaukee, WI (WTMJ/NBC)
• Wed., Feb. 10, Richmond, VA (WTVR/CBS)
• Thurs., Feb. 11: Washington, DC (NewsChannel8)
• Fri., Feb. 12: Hartford, CT (WTIC/FOX)
• Mon., Feb. 15: Grand Rapids, MI (WXMI/FOX)
• Tues., Feb. 16: Fresno, CA (KSEE/NBC)

Make sure to tune in if you live in these areas.

CDC’s Flu Site – Updates from front lines on what’s happening with H1N1.

New York Times Health Guide – Well sourced and interesting reads on immune health developments, plus a world of other health editorial.

Cleveland Clinic – Solid information portal, plus you can sign up for online health chats.

Easy Immune System Health – Produced by an RN/and self-described functional medicine practitioner. A lot of stuff worth reading and interestingly packaged.

Immune System Info – Good information, generally. The only problem is the blog hasn’t been real active lately.

Wellsphere – I like this health community not only becauase I am now a designated “Pro” blogger on the site and am building my community there, but it has a ton of content from both health professionals and activists  that’s always being updated and commented on.

Eating Well – Great balance (pardon the pun)  of innovative healthy recipes and nutrition instruction, all well packaged and organized with nice visual appeal.

If others have some quality sites to recommend, please do so.