Tag Archives: inflammation

Serrapeptase & Your Health

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Serrapeptase: an Enzyme That Treats Inflammation, Arthritis, Scar Tissue and More

Serrapeptase an Enzyme You Should Not Be Without

14th August 2015

By Dr. Michelle Kmiec

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

The use of enzymes therapeutically is not a new concept, and has been widely accepted for its healing properties in both traditional and modern medicine.

Serrapeptase is a proteolytic enzyme, which means that it breaks down protein into smaller components (peptides and amino acids) that the body can re-use. It is derived from the digestive system of the silk worm, which regurgitates serrapeptase to break free from its cocoon.

Scientists in India first began to research the enzyme to see how it could be used therapeutically in the human body. From the start, they were astonished to realize that serrapeptase is a very powerful anti-fibrotic enzyme, with applications for the treatment of  inflammation, arthritis, scar tissue and much more.

What Does Serrapeptase Do?

Realizing that serrapeptase is anti-fibrotic was an interesting discovery because many health conditions are the result of abnormal thickening or scarring of fibrous connective tissue, a condition known as fibrosis.

Fibrosis is any disease where excess fibrous growth is present. This includes a wide range of conditions and health issues, including the following:

  • Plaquing of the arterial walls (atherosclerosis)
  • Fibrocystic breasts
  • Uterine fibroid tumors
  • Scarring after injury
  • Scarring after surgery
  • Cystic Fibrosis; affecting the exocrine glands (secreting glands; mucus, hormones, etc.) of the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines.
  • Blood clots; due to the fibrin in blood

The action of serrapeptase doesn’t stop there. It is an effective enzyme against inflammation in all its forms. In other words, inflammation of the joints, the digestive system as well as other organs.

This is because serrapeptase breaks down the dead tissues and excess fibrin, thus eliminating the body’s defense mechanism which is known as inflammation. The body is then able to clean out the burdensome dead tissues and fibrin growths, allowing for the healing process to begin more effectively.

Inflammatory health conditions that serrapeptase is effective against are:

  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Serrapeptase, by helping the body eliminate dead tissues and fibrin growths, is extremely beneficial to those suffering from autoimmune disorders such as:

  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Psoriasis
  • Allergies
  • Cancer

Serrapeptase in these cases, not only breaks down the dead fibrin tissues, but also serve as a healthy alternative to NSAIDS (aspirin, ibuprofen), and powerful steroids that are sometimes used for pain control.

Conditions That Have Been Helped by Serrapeptase

  • Pain (of all kinds)
  • Arthritis
  • Arterial plaque
  • Headaches caused by inflammation
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Lupus
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Psoriasis
  • Emphysema
  • Bronchitis
  • Pulmonary Tuberculosis
  • Asthma
  • Sinusitis
  • Eye conditions caused by inflammation
  • Injuries and trauma
  • Post operative scarring
  • Inflammatory bowels diseases
  • Cystitis
  • Fibroid tumors
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Fibrocystic diseases
  • Varicose Veins
  • Cardiovascular diseases
  • Subclinical chronic inflammation; premature aging

Dosages

Regarding the conversion of mg and IU for serrapeptase, the answer is not that easy. There appears to be a different standard of conversion depending on what company you choose to buy from. There is some research that has used the ratio of mg of serrapeptase which equals 20,000 units of activity, however not exclusively.

There has also been research done with 200 mg or 20,000 IU.

With this in mind, it would be best to not try to compare the two, but rather stick to one measurement or another.

The dosage varies depending on the condition you are trying to address or if you are simply using the enzyme for maintenance purposes.

Dosages range from:

  • 30 mg – 1000 mg
  • 10,000 IU – 100, 000 IU

In either case, taking 1 – 2 per day is typical for maintenance or for minor ailments. The therapeutic dosage can be as high as taking the max dosage (either 1000 mg or 100,000 IU. Keep in mind that this does not mean that they are equivalent) for up to 30 pills per day for the lower potency and dosages taken 1 -2 times per day for the higher range.

There doses seem to be the concern regarding the “blood thinning” properties of serrapeptase, so let’s clarify what is really meant by “blood thinners”.

Technically, the blood cannot get “thin”. What happens when you take something that acts to “thin the blood”, like an Aspirin or something stronger such as Coumadin, is that the blood becomes less sticky, so the blood can then flow more freely. The blood itself has not changed, but rather the mechanism that allows (or disallows) for free flow has. This is a subtle concept, but an important one.

There are many things that can impede blood flow such as:

  • Platelets sticking together
  • Clotting
  • Plaquing
  • Inflammation

With the use of serrapeptase, any of the above can be remedied and the research has proven it. However, the question is…will serrapeptase interfere with a drug therapy being used to “thin the blood”?

There appears to be no concerns with taking serrapeptase at the lower dosages. The really cool thing about this enzyme is that whether you take lower doses or higher doses, you will ultimately achieve the same effect. One just takes a bit longer than the other.

If you are concerned regarding any interactions, please consult a knowledgeable doctor. I say knowledgeable because this enzyme has a great deal of research supporting it, so if your current doctor dismisses the idea of trying serrapeptase, he/she is giving an opinion without having read the research. If that is the case, please seek out a healthcare professional who is open to all methods of healing — especially non-pharmaceutical methods that have been shown to be effective for your overall health!

Remember, there is only one you… it is your right to be in control of your health!

frm:    http://wakeup-world.com/2015/08/14/serrapeptase-enzyme-treats-inflammation-arthritis-scar-tissue-more/

Garlic & Inflammation

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Garlic Prevents Inflammation, a Cause of Varicose Veins. How to Make Garlic Oil.

Posted on by Anya V

Screen Shot 2015-02-12 at 11.51.23 AM

Many Americans have some form of varicose veins.  Processed food,  lack of physical activity, obesity, nutritional deficiencies and prolonged sitting or standing can burden the veins.

Varicose veins are blood vessels that have become enlarged and tortuous. Varicose veins usually happen in the legs and is associated with chronic inflammation and poor circulation. You must de-flame the body to reduce and eliminate varicose veins.  Garlic is a great remedy for varicose veins. It can break down the protein content in the body and distribute it evenly. This increases the protein supply to the lower limb region.

How to make Garlic oil to Treat Varicose Veins Naturally

Ingredients:

  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 3 oranges
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Finely slice 6 cloves garlic, put them in a clean jar with lid, then add the juice of 3 oranges and  2 tablespoons olive oil

Allow to  sit for 12 hours before you use it.

Shake well before use

In the evening, pour several  drops of garlic mixture on fingers, and rub it on the areas of concern  with a circular motion.  Put a plastic bag and wrap the legs with bandage or a warm cloth. Repeat every night.

from:    http://livingtraditionally.com/garlic-prevents-inflammation-cause-varicose-veins-make-garlic-oil/#more-5313

On Diet & Treatment

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Pharmacy Exposed: The Most Dangerous and Over-Prescribed Medications

Written By:

Rob Kress, RPh

Pharmacy Exposed: The Most Dangerous and Over-Prescribed Medications

As a pharmacist I am very encouraged with the growing sentiment of our culture, that yes, we are in an over-medicated society, and medications are often unnecessarily prescribed and don’t come without consequences.

 “The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”

-Albert Einstein

I like to believe that we are heading towards the different levels of thinking to avoid what I believe is the next great issue of our time – being poisoned by pharmaceutical drugs. So let’s begin rethinking some of the pro-pharma practices which are taking us in this direction.

In a previous article I spoke of the 100 year haul of industrialized medicine, and how we need to approach health care from a different perspective. Part of this new approach must be related to shunning the narrow minded symptom management approach of prescription therapy, avoid treating side-effects of medications with more medications, while searching to address the root cause.

I firmly believe that the majority of medications prescribed today could be avoided via diet, lifestyle, mind-body, and natural medicine. This would avoid the side-effects, drug-to-drug interactions, drug induced nutrient depletions, and the financial drain that comes with uncontrolled prescribing of medication therapy.

Where there are thousands of drugs on the market, in the coming posts I am going to focus on what I believe are some of the worst offenders based on how common they are utilized and the problems they can lead to. Of course there are valid indications where drug use is appropriate and needed, although what I will be delving into are the instances of over-used medications in which there are often better options.

Medications can be sneaky, they might not cause a major side-effect now, and instead they whittle away, weaken your body, opening the door to a cascade of health issues.

The first class of drugs I want to speak about is in the family of antacids, Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI’s.) You will recognize the family of proton pump inhibitors by medications such as Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium, Protonix, Dexilant and others. These can be found in both over the counter and prescription medications.

Acid reflux and heartburn are very common complaints that lead to countless doctors’ visits, missed days of work, and billions of dollars spent in diagnosis and treatment, much of which could be avoided.

In allopathic medicine the standard answer to treating acid reflux has been to neutralize, reduce, or block the natural hydrochloric acid (HCL) production in the body, and PPI’s are often the first line of treatment.

Proton pump inhibitors inhibit the production and release of hydrochloric acid, thus drastically wiping a needed acidic environment, which plays a critical role in digestive health. This might serve a short term purpose in healing or reducing the irritation of an ulcer, although an acid free environment is not how your digestive tract is designed to operate.

A symptom such as acid reflux is often a sign of a greater problem brewing, and thus by quieting the symptom you could be ignoring a much greater issue, or even creating a new one.

What many people do not realize is that a large portion of people who suffer from heartburn and acid reflux do so due to too little hydrochloric acid (HCL) production and secretion, not too much.  This is contrary to the commercials for the “purple pill”, and what I believe has become one of the biggest deceptions in marketing by mainstream medicine.

Hydrochloric acid production and secretion can be suppressed due to lifestyle, diet, and stress.  This is why the recommendation of taking apple cider vinegar often helps to relive acid reflux since we are adding an acid to the system. Not having enough hydrochloric acid can lead to insufficient digestion of foods, leading to the symptom of heartburn.
We need hydrochloric acid, it serves a great many purposes. Hydrochloric acid acts as a primary defense against food borne pathogens and helps promote a healthy microbial balance. (Good bacteria (probiotics) –vs. – yeasts, bad bacteria, and even parasites).

If we are low on hydrochloric acid production or secretion, we set the stage for infections to take over. This leads to the killing off or overwhelming the good bacteria in the digestive tract since good bacteria has trouble surviving the altered pH of an over-alkalinized environment. This opens the door for bad bacteria, yeasts, and molds to proliferate; thus you can see how long term antacid treatment could be adding insult to injury.

In fact, a recent study was released showing that proton pump inhibitors may increase the chance of Clostridum Difficile Diarrhea (Often referred to as C. Diff or CDAD) by 65%, and that’s when only taken for a few months.

In decreasing the hydrochloric acid, the use of proton pump inhibitors can lead to an inability to digest critical nutrients. Hydrochloric acid helps the body digest, absorb and assimilate proteins and calcium.  Proton pump inhibitors can also directly deplete nutrients including magnesium and vitamin B 12, which has lead researchers to suggest that long term use of PPI’s can influence or predispose someone to osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.

What are the alternatives?

If you take an acid reducing or neutralizing medication under the direction of your physician, do not stop taking the drug without talking to your physician. Where I do believe there is a very real problem within the over-prescribing of such medications, in many instances they could have a valid indication, and discontinuing them can lead to a host of other problems.

There are a number of natural options for reflux and heartburn, as well as complementary therapies which we could look at for getting rid of bad organisms such as bacteria, viruses, yeast and parasites which don’t belong.  For this conversation I would like to stick with the foundational elements of (1) diet, (2) supporting the digestive process, (3) recolonizing good bacteria, (4) sooth and promote the integrity of the digestive lining, which can all help support common digestive symptoms of gas, indigestion, acid reflux, heartburn, diarrhea and constipation.

There are many dietary issues which can lead to the symptoms of heart burn, although I find that food intolerances and genetically modified foods (GMO’s) are two of the worst offenders for a wide array of digestive disorders. As far as intolerances go, you can have an intolerance or allergy to any food, although dairy and gluten are at the top of my list.

Glyphosate is the herbicide which is used on GMO seeds and it kills organisms such as weeds by disrupting what is known as the shikamate pathway which is present in plants and bacteria. The good bacteria that is in your gut also contains the shikamate pathway, and this is where GMO seeds can be detrimental to your digestive health. I have personally seen, when people incorporate a GMO free, all organic, plant heavy diet, issues of acid reflux can often disappear in just a few weeks.

Reason would suggest supplementing with hydrochloric acid (HCL), which is often a great option, although due to issues such as known or unknown digestive ulcers or even people taking medications such as anti-inflammatories and steroids, I like to consider a more conservative approach first.

In stimulating and supporting the digestive process we are looking at supplements such as digestive enzymes, including amylase, which helps digest sugars, protease to digest proteins, and lipase to help digests fats.

Recolonizing good bacteria through probiotics is imperative, even in a healthy digestive tract where symptoms are not prevalent.  I recommend high quality probiotics which have been tested to ensure that they will stick to the intestinal linings and actually colonize in the digestive tract.

To repair, sooth, and support the integrity there are a number of great natural ingredients including DGL (deglycyrrhizinated licorice), aloe, slippery elm, marshmallow root, and glutamine, to name a few. These ingredients can be found in combination or individual supplements, and as always, choose only high quality supplements from companies with transparency and integrity at their core

from:    http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/pharmacy-exposed-most-dangerous-and-over-prescribed-medications?page=2

Eating Away Inflammation

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Inflammation: Tame This Silent Killer With Simple Food-Based Solutions

Inflammation31st January 2014

By Carolanne Wright

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

The bane of health, chronic inflammation, is at the root of most disease. Cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cardiovascular troubles and periodontal issues are all influenced by an overactive inflammatory response.

Fortunately, we have a powerful ally against inflammation residing in our kitchen. Through select foods and dietary adjustments, we can subdue this unruly beast and create a solid foundation for a healthy future.

The Primary Culprit: Poor Food Choices

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury, helping to heal damage throughout the system. And yet, this mechanism can lead to serious illness when left unchecked.

Dietary choices are the number one trigger for an exaggerated inflammatory reaction – especially sugary, high-glycemic and processed carbohydrates. Poor-quality fats like those found in meat and dairy, as well as trans fats in refined vegetable oils, are also problematic.

In the scholarly paper “Control of Systemic Inflammation and Chronic Diseases – The Use of Turmeric and Curcuminoids”, researcher Stig Bengmark observes:

“The world suffers an epidemic of both critical illness (CI) and chronic diseases (ChDs), and both groups of diseases increase from year to year, and have done so for several decades. It is strongly associated to the modern, so-called Western, lifestyle: stress, lack of exercise, abuse of tobacco and alcohol, and the transition from natural unprocessed foods to processed, calorie-condensed, and heat-treated foods.

“There is a strong association between reduced intake of plant fibers and plant antioxidants and increased consumption of industrially produced and processed products especially dairy, refined sugars, and starch products and ChDs. Heating up foods such as milk (pasteurization) and production and storage of milk powder produce large amounts of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and advanced lipid oxidation end products (ALEs), known as potent inducers of inflammation.”

Be that as it may, just as the diet can exacerbate inflammation, specific foods can also heal it.

Edible solutions

A number of foods offer exceptional protection against inflammatory reactions. For instance, sulfur compounds found in garlic, and polyphenol antioxidants in green tea, both successfully discourage excessive inflammation. [1][2]

Golden-hued turmeric is another example. In laboratory tests, the anti-inflammatory characteristics of turmeric are effective in mitigating skin, lung and neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cataracts and intestinal diseases. [3]

Healthy fats are also important. As an outstanding source of omega-3 fatty acids, sardines, fish oil supplements and wild-caught salmon, or vegetarian options like hemp seed, flaxseed and walnuts, provide the building blocks for healthy inflammation levels. [4][5][6] Moreover, oleic acid in olive oil supplies a good measure of anti-inflammatory omega-9 fatty acids. [7]

Don’t forget to add a bit of spice to your life. Over 25 years of research on ginger has established the herb as one of the foremost anti-inflammatory foods around. A study in the Journal of Medicinal Food discovered that two ginger extracts, Zingiber officinale and Alpina galanga, inhibit several genes responsible for inflammatory reactions. [8]

And Karen Lamphere, MS, CN, recommends a dash of heat. “Some of the most potent anti-inflammatory vegetables are peppers and the spices derived from them, such as cayenne pepper. All chili peppers include capsaicin (the hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it has), which is a potent inhibitor of substance P, a neuropeptide associated with inflammatory processes.”

Over and above dietary choices, lifestyle options such as reducing stress, detoxifying and exercising regularly contribute to lower inflammation levels too. In the end, sidestepping the risks of this silent killer is a straightforward daily task when armed with whole foods and healthy habits.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2014/01/31/inflammation-tame-this-silent-killer-with-simple-food-based-solutions/

Cancer, Inflammation, Chemo, and Questions

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How Tumors Exploit Gut Flora to Fuel Growth, and the Surprising Finding that Chemotherapy Boosts Resistant Cancer

October 24 2012

By Dr. Mercola

Could your gut flora play a role in cancer growth? According to recent research, the answer is a tentative yes.

Findings published in the journal Nature1 report the discovery of microbial-dependent mechanisms through which some cancers mount an inflammatory response that fuels their development and growth. These findings provide new insight into how cancer cells can hijack your body’s inflammatory reaction by exploiting microbial-dependent immune cells.

tory at-a-glance

  • Researchers have found a microbial-dependent mechanism through which some cancers mount an inflammatory response that fuels their development and growth. They suggest inhibiting the inflammatory cytokines produced might slow cancer progression and improve response to chemotherapy
  • Probiotics tend to downregulate at least one of several cytokines involved in inflammatory processes, so probiotics may turn out to be an important player in helping to inhibit cytokine production
  • New research shows chemotherapy can damage healthy cells in such a way that they begin secreting a protein that not only protects cancer cells and promotes their survival, but also causes the tumors to be resistant to further chemotherapy treatment
  • Despite the 40-year “war on cancer”, drug-based “advances” are not making a dent in the rise of cancer prevalence, as the conventional approach fails to address lifestyle-related issues such as optimizing food intakes, lack of sun exposure, DNA-disrupting wireless technologies, lack of sleep, obesity, and chemical exposures of all kinds

from:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/24/tumors-exploit-gut-flora.aspx?e_cid=20121024_DNL_art_1

Allergy Epidemic Link to Antibacterial Products

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Rise in Allergies Linked to War on Bacteria

By Diana Gitig, Ars Technica

“Allergic diseases have reached pandemic levels,” begins David Artis’s new paper in Nature Medicine. Artis goes on to say that, while everyone knows allergies are caused by a combination of factors involving both nature and nurture, that knowledge doesn’t help us identify what is culpable — it is not at all clear exactly what is involved, or how the relevant players promote allergic responses.

 

There is some evidence that one of the causes lies within our guts. Epidemiological studies have linked changes in the species present in commensal bacteria — the trillions of microorganisms that reside in our colon — to the development of allergic diseases. (Typically, somewhere between 1,000 and 15,000 different bacterial species inhabit our guts.) And immunologists know that signaling molecules produced by some immune cells mediate allergic inflammation. Animal studies have provided the link between these two, showing that commensal bacteria promote allergic inflammation. But these researchers wanted to know more about how.

To figure it out, Artis and his colleagues at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine treated mice with a broad range of oral antibiotics to diminish or deplete their commensal bacteria and then examined different immunological parameters. They used a combination of five different antibiotics, ranging from ampicillin, which is fairly run of the mill, to vancomycin, which is kind of a nasty one.

They found that mice treated with antibiotics had elevated levels of antibodies known to be important in allergies and asthma (IgE class antibodies). The elevated antibodies in turn increased the levels of basophils, immune cells that play a role in inflammation, both allergic and otherwise.

This connection doesn’t only apply to mice but also to humans who have high levels of IgE for genetic reasons. People with genetically elevated levels of IgE are hypersusceptible to eczema and infections, and antibodies that neutralize IgE are used to treat asthma.

The antibiotic treatments and IgE did not act by promoting the survival of mature basophils, but rather by promoting the proliferation of basophil precursor cells in the bone marrow. Commensal bacteria limit this proliferative capacity.

That discovery is the real insight contributed by this paper. It has been well known for some time that IgE mediates allergies. But no one knew that bacteria living in the gut may use it to check the growth of immune precursor cells in the bone marrow. The finding might have wide-ranging implications and help us make sense of other chronic inflammatory disease states that have also been associated with changes in this bacterial populations. Commensal bacteria might impact these other inflammatory conditions — including cancer, infection, and autoimmune disorders — through this mechanism, as well.

Experts have puzzled over the enormous explosion of asthma and allergies in recent years, and been unable to pinpoint the cause. This paper suggests that perhaps the overuse of antibacterial products could be to blame.

Image: Janice Haney Carr/CDC

Citation: “Commensal bacteria–derived signals regulate basophil hematopoiesis and allergic inflammation.” David A Hill, Mark C Siracusa, Michael C Abt, Brian S Kim, Dmytro Kobuley, Masato Kubo, Taku Kambayashi, David F LaRosa, Ellen D Renner, Jordan S Orange, Frederic D Bushman and David Artis. Nature Medicine, published online March 25, 2012. DOI: 10.1038/nm.2657  

from:   http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/03/allergic-bacteria-disease/?intcid=story_ribbon