The concept is very applicable to how the immune balance agent in EpiCor is produced; taking the common saccharomyces cerevisiae cell, applying precise, proprietary fermentation technology and natural growth factors, and capturing and precisely drying the fermentate  to a potent natural bioactive compound that improves human health. As with the Newsweek story, the EpiCor story is one of  adding innovative processes and proprietary technology to a naturally-occcuring compound that results in a unique, efficacious health application.

A key difference between the two is that there is no genetic engineering with EpiCor. And EpiCor is a natural, food-grade ingredient, not a pharmaceutical. Still, the similarities are striking, as they say.

(Editor’s note: During this football bowl season we figured why not go wide and go deep. So Embria Health Science’s Dr. Stuart Reeves has thrown a long ball: an great overview of a meta-analysis of how stress can impact immune health. As you’ll read, there are so many long-term implications for physical health when psychological factors enter into a person’s life. Anyone who wants to read the whole study can click here)

Many of us are under stress at the moment, due to the credit crunch, fear of job loss and the recession. Did you know that such stresses can adversely affect your immune system? I an extensive survey of published studies, Suzanne Segerstrom and Gregory Miller showed stress can affect both sides of the immune system. “Threats” that do not require a physical response (e.g., academic exams, public speaking, and chronic stress) may therefore have physical consequences, including changes in the immune system. More than 300 studies have been done on stress and immunity in humans, and together they have shown that psychological challenges are capable of modifying various features of the immune response.

In the studies they use five categories of stressors:

Acute time-limited stressors involve challenges such as public speaking or mental arithmetic.

Brief naturalistic stressors such as academic examinations, involve a person confronting a real-life, short-term challenge.

In stressful event sequences, a focal event, such as the loss of a spouse or a major natural disaster, gives rise to a series of related challenges. Although affected individuals usually do not know exactly when these challenges will subside, they have a clear sense that at some point in the future they will.

Chronic stressors, unlike the other demands we have described, usually pervade a person’s life, forcing him or her to restructure his or her identity or social roles. Another feature of chronic stressors is their stability—the person either does not know whether or when the challenge will end. An example of a chronic stressor is suffering a traumatic injury that leads to physical disability.

Distant stressors are traumatic experiences that occurred in the distant past yet have the potential to continue modifying immune system function because of their long-lasting cognitive and emotional results. Examples of distant stressors include having been sexually assaulted as a child or having witnessed the death of a fellow soldier during combat.

Their analysis shows that chronic stress is linked with both with reduced disease resistance (inadequate immunity) and diseases linked with excessive immune activity (allergic and autoimmune disease). This shows that chronic stress shifts the balance of the immune response. The most well-known model suggests that chronic stress elicits simultaneous enhancement and suppression of the immune response by altering patterns of immune messenger molecules, thus unbalancing the immune system.

If you have been watching television lately you have probably seen that over 70% of the human immune system is located in the wall of the gut – the GALT – the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue. In one sense the “reason” the GALT is present is to prevent invasion of pathogenic bacteria, as might be expected. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that gut bacteria (natural and probiotics) and the GALT “talk” to each other, and one can directly and indirectly influence the other.

Probably the most abundant antibody produced in the body is gut-associated secretory IgA. Originally, it was thought that its role was to attach to foreign and pathogenic bacteria and cause them to be passed out of the system. It is now becoming clear that it also has a major role in maintaining the balance of the normal gut flora.

So finally, if you are still with me, we get to why a healthy, balanced immune system can be an aid to a healthy digestive system. Keeping the appropriate levels of secretory IgA present in the gut can help keep the gut bacterial population in balance, and still have enough left over to repel pathogens. When there are pathogenic attacks, a balanced immune system will repel the attack, without going overboard on the inflammatory response. They are linked – a healthy gut can help keep the immune system healthy, and a balanced immune system can help keep the gut healthy. Who helps whom the most will depend on a host of factors, but anything that stresses the immune system can have a bad effect on general digestion.

(Editor’s note: As the holiday season moves into full gastronomical swing, some basic tips on gut health and how it can make a difference with your immune balance might be in order. Dr. Stuart Reeves of Embria Health Sciences explains how the world of probiotics and prebiotics works. Stuart has teased us with this. Today he posts Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon.)

Probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics. There can easily be confusion about these terms. Although there are some general disagreements about definitions, it is generally accepted that:

• Probiotics contain “live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a beneficial health effect on the host” (World Health Organization). Basically this means that probiotics are a culture of live bacteria (usually) that can grow or metabolize in the gut and produce beneficial effects. Probably the oldest one around is yogurt, and there have been more and more suggested recently, and they are especially well thought of by consumers in Europe.
• A prebiotic is a component (usually a carbohydrate) that is normally indigestible by humans, but that nourishes or helps to stimulate the growth of either natural gut bacteria or added probiotics. Perhaps the best-known examples of prebiotics are the fiber inulin and also fructo-oligosaccharides. For prebiotics to work they need to be alive, so they are really only found in products like yogurts and carefully dried supplements.
• Synbiotics are combination compounds that give both pro and prebiotic effects.

Having got that out of the way, what has this to do with the immune system, you may ask, and the importance of balancing it? Well, for that you will have to tune in to Part 2, coming shortly.

Dr. Stuart Reeves

Wanna experience one of the most beneficial half hours of your life? Listen to Embria Health Science’s Stuart Reeves as he is interviewed about immune balance on a Latrobe, PA radio station.  Stuart hits the big points on immune health and quality of life, from colds and flu to stress and travel  to extreme exercise vs. moderate exercise. He also gives some great detail on how EpiCor is produced

Click here for the interview.

It seems that Windows Media Player works well for this.  If you need to grab it for your machine, download it here.

About.com has a forum on fibromyalgia, with a blog moderated by Adrienne Dellwo, a journalist who was forced to scale back her reporting career because of fibromyalgia.  This week her post talks about new research showing that an imbalance of cytokines–agents in your body’s immune system that both promote and suppress inflammation–may be a cause of sleep disruptions in fibromyalgia sufferers.

Not that everyone has fibromyalgia, of course. But such findings continue to illustrate the effects that lack of immune balance–from whatever cause–can have on everyday health and living.

But let us not forget this is the season when many marriage proposals will be made, rings accepted and summer wedding dates set.  So besides being the the start of a blissful winter and spring of romantic anticipation, it’s also the start of a frenetic period of planning, shopping, collaborating, fitting, coordinating, begging, measuring, worrying and fretting. The result:  immune health for brides-to-be – and for grooms-to-be if they are co-equal partners in the process (yeah, right) — can be ravaged.

So, here are some tips for maintaining health as the march down the aisle approaches. As you’ll see, immune health is important. Immune balance can help mitigate potential physical ailments that can emerge when stress levels from bridal registry disagreements or food and beverage sticker shock  go through the roof.

In addition, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, an industry group dedicated to the science and efficacy of quality supplementation, has developed a web resource for future brides. Called “Commitment to Health,” it lays out the case for nutritional supplementation and folic acid intake for women who are planning to have a baby. The crux of the site’s mission is the fact that a sound nutrition regimen should begin before conception to help support the delivery of a healthy baby.

Making the leap into matrimony and parenthood can be a big time stressor. Sound immune system function can help.

Fully half of all U.S. adults feel the use of pesticides and preservatives has caused increased food allergies. Nearly 2 of 3 say they first started using organic foods and produce to avoid pesticide, GMO, hormone and antibiotic exposure. The only problem I see is that organic food market growth and total share of food dollars don’t reflect these high response levels. Maybe organic is expensive enough that people try it, but don’t stick with it.

And, 7 percent of all U.S. adults say they take some kind of supplement (beyond a daily multivitamin) to address immune health needs. The top conditions for supplement intake are 1) cholesterol (9%),  joint health (9%), heart health (8%), osteoperosis (8%), arthritis (7%), digestion (7%) and energy (7%).   

Here’s the kicker: immune balance can positively impact nearly all of these health issues (save for osteoperosis).