One of the paramount challenges of living in the twenty-first century is maintaining a healthy immune system. Chronic illness including autoimmune diseases, arthritis, Crohn's disease, Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, autism, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, allergies, environmental sensitivities, mental illness, heart disease, and chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia syndromes are on the rise. The current methods offered by conventional medicine are grossly inadequate in both treating and preventing these conditions. To find more effective methods one must look to the periphery of health care and research where there are some exciting advances being made that address this challenge.
There are a number of theories postulated on the cause of the rise of chronic illness. Number one is that we live in an environment of increasing chemical toxicity. Our foods are grown with herbicides and pesticides and are highly processed; our drinking water is contaminated by industrial and agricultural waste and the chemicals we use to purify our water supply contain by-products that are harmful to our health; the air that we breathe is polluted by many sources including green house gases; and we are exposed to environmental stress from man-made radio frequencies (RFs) and electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The second often sited cause of the rise of chronic illness is the overuse of antibiotic drugs that destroy healthy microorganisms or bacteria in our gastrointestinal tract essential for maintaining a strong immune system. A third factor referred to as the "hygiene hypothesis" postulates that our immune systems are weak or suppressed because of our overly hygienic and sanitized environment and lack of early childhood exposure to infectious agents, parasites and symbiotic microorganisms. A fourth more controversial cause of modern chronic illness is the "weaponization" of naturally occurring microbes that began during World War Two with the development of biological warfare resulting in "super bugs" like the bacterium Borrelia burgdorfericause that causes Lyme disease and mycoplasma fermentens which can cause neurodegenerative disorders.
Common sense approaches to maintaining a healthy immune system include avoidance of antibiotics and pharmaceutical drugs, eating a diet that consists primarily of organic whole foods, drinking purified water, exercising regularly, and acquiring stress management and relaxation skills. This however may not be enough to prevent or reverse chronic illness.
The nutritional supplement industry is rife with claims that a healthy diet alone cannot supply the necessary antioxidants and nutrients for maintaining good health and that we should supplement our diet with supplements but the jury is out on this claim. When we consume nutritional supplements we often interfere with the body's own natural balance. Taking a particular supplement every day will eventually result in the body producing less of that nutrient itself. This may explains why people initially feel better when they initially take nutritional supplements and then over time the supplements seem to become less effective. Alternative health practitioners promote the practice of various detoxification regimes employing the use of herbs and other substances, special diets, fasts and colonics as a means of cleansing the body of toxins. There is not much scientific evidence that these regimes are effective in treating chronic illness. To read about my experience with this go to my post "Detoxification". http://fibrofriends.typepad.com/fibro_friends/2009/05/detoxification.html
The human gastrointestinal tract contains billions of beneficial bacteria that aid in the digestion and absorption of food and protect the body against microorganisms that cause infection. These microbes are said to out number our cells by as many as 10 to 1. When a person takes antibiotic drugs both harmful and beneficial bacteria are killed. This can lead to an unhealthy microbial balance in the gastrointestinal tract and a weakened immune system. Probiotics are live microorganisms that purport to improve a person's beneficial microbial population or microbiome. They include various strains of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Lactobacilus acidophilus that are obtained from foods and cultured milk products such as yogurt. The benefits of eating fermented and cultured foods with these bacteria have been observed for centuries. Today many people take supplements that are supposed to contain probiotics but most of these products do not have active cultures in them. A recent study from Bastyr University found that commercial probiotic products typically do not contain the bacteria listed on the label, are contaminated with other microoganisms and are often completely dead. http://www.bastyrcenter.org/content/view/664/. The majority of beneficial gut bacteria is anaerobic and can thrive only within the colon, another reason why probiotic supplements are not that effective in supporting the immune system.
Researchers Rob Knight and Jeff Leach launched the American Gut Project, a large scale investigation in association with the Human Food Project to study the microbiome of tens of thousands of individuals. The project is "crowd funded" allowing individuals to have their microbes sequenced for a donation as small as $99. Participants provide information on diet, lifestyle and health conditions to help researchers uncover patterns between these factors and the makeup of their microbiome. To learn about participating in the project visit https://www.indiegogo.com/americangut.
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) is a term for the medical procedure of transplanting normal bacterial flora obtained from the stool of a healthy donor and infusing it via an enema or colonscope into patients suffering from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) caused by damage to the microbiome by antibiotics. FMT has proven to be highly effective in resolving the symptoms of CDI, which include diarrhea, cramping and urgency. The procedure is extremely safe and now is being extended to treat other chronic health conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, neurological conditions and autoimmune diseases. Leading research on FMT is taking place at the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Sydney, Australia. http://www.probiotictherapy.com.au/ Changing people's bacteria may prove to be an one of the best strategies in the treatment and prevention of chronic illness and the use of FMT and related treatments is expected to grow significantly in the future.
Not only does the gastrointestinal tract have its own immune system, it also has its own primitive brain referred to as the "second brain" or enteric nervous system. 95% of the brain's serotonin is made in the bowel and we have more nerve cells in our gut than in our spine. Independent scientist Dan West has been working for over 20 years developing supplements, which he calls "Human Probiotics" that can restore healthy microflora in the gut. Microbes are sourced from the saliva of healthy young women, animals and plants; and fed various chemicals. Dan prescribes custom supplements containing amino acids and peptides taken no more than once a month to his clients. He thinks that the supplements can affect receptors in the gut and the brain, correct methylation problems, restore serotonin levels, improve brain function, promote emotional and physical balance and improve genetic regulation.
The location of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract may be as important to one's health as the actual make up of the microbes. Gut bacteria normally live in the large intestine or colon of the gastrointestinal tract but when they migrate into the small intestine they can cause a chronic infection called Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth or SIBO. Bacteria in the small intestine produce excess gas and interfere with normal digestion. The bacteria produce endotoxins that overwhelm the liver's detoxifying capacity resulting in a condition of toxemia that can cause a host of symptoms including heightened sensitivity to pain, malabsorption of nutrients critical for mitochondrial function, impaired muscle metabolism, neurological and cognitive symptoms. SIBO is very common in persons with chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia syndromes due to low production of stomach acid, slow gut motility, low thyroid and adrenal function, and food poisoning. SIBO is diagnosed with a lactulose breath test that measures hydrogen and methane gases and is treated with specific antibiotics. For more information visit: http://www.siboinfo.com, read "A New IBS Solution" by Dr. Mark Pimentel and go to my post http://fibrofriends.typepad.com/fibro_friends/2014/07/small-intestine-bacterial-overgrowth-a-complication-of-chronic-fatigue-and-fibromyalgia-syndromes.html.
Helminthic therapy is the use of human adapted parasitic worms known as helminths to treat hyperinflammatory disorders including allergies, irritable bowel diseases, Crohns, asthma, and multiple sclerosis. It has been observed that the incidence of these disorders is significantly lower in less developed countries. Parasitic worms have coevolved with human beings and secrete compounds that keep our immune system in balance and prevent it from overreacting. Helminths are also thought to interact positively with the beneficial bacteria in our gut. Some scientists believe that the extinction of parasitic worms in the human digestive tact has left us vulnerable to new epidemic diseases. The solution is infestation of helminths. A growing body of research indicates that helminthic therapy can cure chronic inflammatory disease. http://helminthictherapywiki.org/wiki/index.php/Helminthic_therapy_and_fibromyalgia
Sometimes rediscovering health treatments of the past can lead to improvements in our health today. Turpentine and petroleum distillates like kerosene have been used since ancient times for the treatment of diseases. Both were used as a cure-all by American farmers, slaves and seaman in the eighteenth and ninetieth centuries, and are still widespread in poor areas of Eastern Europe. The oil of turpentine is composed of hydrocarbons as is kerosene, which appears to suppress Candida, viruses, fungi and cell wall deficient microbes while not harming normal gut bacteria. These substances have been used for the treatment of infectious and autoimmune disease as well as cancer. Dr. Jennifer Daniels, MD has developed a successful "Candida Cleaner" using doses of teaspoons of 100% pure gum spirits of turpentine mixed with a teaspoon of white sugar taken for short periods several times each year. An interesting article on the therapeutic use of kerosene and turpentine was written by Walter Last http://www.health-science-spirit.com/kero.htm
Apitherapy is the medicinal use of products made by honeybees including bee venom, honey, pollen, royal jelly propolis, and beeswax. The use of these products in healing has existed for thousand of years and is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest. Bee Venom Therapy has shown to be very effective in treating a host of immune system dysfunctions including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic bacterial viral and fungal illnesses including Lyme disease. The venom contains a number of potent peptides, which are thought to be responsible for its anti-inflammatory and immune regulating effects. For more information: http://www.apitherapy.org/
Improving a person's digestion can go a long way to preventing and treating opportunistic infections. The stomach is the immune system's first line of defense. Its highly acidic environment ideally kills most of the germs we ingest. The problem is that it takes a lot of energy to produce the amount of stomach acid required to kill pathogens and persons with CFS, FMS, and other chronic conditions typically have low levels of stomach acid. Stomach acid also triggers the enzymes produced by the pancreas that are necessary to digest protein that the body needs to grow, repair and rejuvenate. Naturopathic physicians often prescribe a treatment for addressing low stomach acid where one takes hydrochloric acid capsules with meals, gradually building up the dose to a maintenance level. I personally have achieved the same results by drinking a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water before each meal. Additionally one may benefit by taking pancreatic or digestive enzymes in the form of nutritional supplements.
Oral Systemic Balance also known as Oral Systemic Biology is a therapy that employs oral appliances to help patients with oral function facilitating ease of breathing, speaking and swallowing. Developed by a TMJ dentist named Farrand Robson the therapy not only improves oral function but restores balance to the autonomic nervous system and resolves many chronic health disorders. When a person's air passage is compromised in any way the body accommodates for this with adaptations in posture and cardiovascular function. OSB doctors do not claim that they treat specific health conditions or diseases, rather they say that by restoring oral balance the body is perfectly designed to heal itself. This has been observed in people with a whole host of conditions including multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia syndromes, anxiety disorders, heart conditions and autoimmune diseases. I have personally experienced the most significant improvement in my health with OSB and it has impacted my immune system. Prior to treatment I was plagued by chronic intestinal infections and at one point was diagnosed with Lyme disease. Since undergoing OSB therapy and wearing appliances on an ongoing basis I no longer have these problems. For more information on OSB and my experience go to: http://fibrofriends.typepad.com/fibro_friends/oral_systemic_balance/
The work of Weston A. Price, DDS may provide an important clue to the relationship between oral balance and chronic illness. Price, a dentist began a series of investigations in the 1930's to study the health of populations untouched by western civilization. He studied sequestered villages in Switzerland, Gaelic communities in the Outer Hebrides, indigenous peoples of North and South America, Melanesian and Polynesian South Sea Islanders, African tribes, Australian Aborigines and New Zealand Maori and found in these communities beautiful straight teeth free from decay, wide faces with room for dental arches, and a lack of degenerative disease. When these peoples abandoned their traditional diet he found narrow faces, crowded and deformed dental arches, crooked teeth, tooth decay and chronic illness. Weston came to the conclusion that these changes were the result of nutritional deficiencies in the modern diet. Weston analyzed the traditional foods eaten by isolated peoples and found that they were rich in in water-soluble vitamins, calcium and other minerals from foods such as butter, fish, eggs, shellfish, organ meats and animal fats. The Weston A. Price Foundation is dedicated to continuing the work of Price through education, research and activism. (www.westonprice.org) Oral Systemic Balance is a means of addressing the anatomy of the mouth and throat that has been compromised by our modern diet.
A lot has been postulated about the role of genetics in the development of chronic illness and disease but I am not sure that genetic research will provide us with the tools to improve the genetics we are born with. In my opinion the three most important elements for a healthy immune system are: a diet of nutrient dense, unprocessed foods; good digestion and flora in the gastrointestinal tact; and oral balance in the air passage. Fortunately the treatments to accomplish these things are available today thanks to the work of some dedicated individuals. Their further development will mostly likely change the course of medical practice in the future.