Show of Support
**************************************************
I Used to Be Ashamed of What My Wife Was Doing for a Living
But everything changed after she made $111,240 from her “microbusiness”.
Microbusinesses can give you immediate income — not a fortune, but a solid, extra cash stream — plus, they can be accumulated, one after the other, so that one day they may be worth more than everything else you have put together.
Learn how to launch your own microbusiness for less than $100:
****************************************************
“Question: What nutritional support is documented for hepatitis C?”
That question comes from an HSI member named Kaylie. In her e-mail, she didn’t elaborate, so we can only imagine that Kaylie, or someone she cares for, is one of the 4.5 million Americans afflicted with hepatitis C, the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the U.S.
Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop calls hepatitis C an even graver threat to our public health than HIV and AIDS, because this infection can lead to cirrhosis (a debilitating liver disease) and can even transform into primary liver cancer.
But to answer Kaylie’s question: Yes, there is nutritional support for this dangerous condition.
——————————————–
Blood simple
——————————————–
Hepatitis C is caused by a virus, which is spread by contact with contaminated blood or organs. According to the Centers for Disease Control, you’re at increased risk of hepatitis C if you received a blood transfusion or a solid organ transplant before 1992; if you received a blood product for clotting problems produced before 1987; if you have ever been on kidney dialysis; or if you have existing liver disease. The disease can also be contracted though illegal intravenous drug use, tattoo and piercing equipment, and, rarely, through sexual contact. If you think you may be at risk, ask your doctor for a blood test to check for infection.
If you are infected, your doctor may recommend alpha interferon injections – alone or in combination with ribavirin, an antiviral medication. But this treatment comes with the risk of considerable side effects. Alpha interferon can cause flu-like side symptoms, depression, hair thinning, and can lower the production of white blood cells and platelets. Ribavirin is known to cause severe anemia and serious birth defects. And there have also been reports of people on combination alpha interferon/ribavirin therapy having suicidal impulses.
——————————————–
C versus C
——————————————–
For an alternative to alpha interferon, I called on HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., to address Kaylie’s question about documented nutritional support for hepatitis C.
Dr. Spreen started off by noting that “the rub” is the word “documented”. Medical journals have not promoted research on nutritional strategies to address hepatitis C. So with the caveat that we still don’t have mainstream documentation, here are Dr. Spreen’s suggestions:
“Fred Klenner, MD, showed decades ago (along with Robert Cathcart, MD) that ultra-high-dose intravenous vitamin C can kill any invader, bacterial or viral. However, nobody would look at their research and therefore wouldn’t call it ‘documented’.
“In more ‘doable’ dosages (and non-IV), the 2 biggies that I’d be using would be milk thistle extract (silymarin) and NAC (n-acetyl cysteine). They are amazing supplements, but again documentation is subject to debate (although NAC is used intravenously in emergency rooms for toxic overdoses).
“Olive leaf extract and grapefruit seed extract (not grape seed) are both anti-bacterial and anti-viralvery little question there if you know where to look (Citricidal has a whole book on the grapefruit seed issue).”
In Dr. Spreen’s opinion a patient with hepatitis Chas nothing to lose by using these supplements because, “there are NO drugs effective against hepatitis C (period), and all the above-mentioned supplements are almost devoid of side effects and/or toxicities.”
——————————————–
Mushroom immunity
——————————————–
To Dr. Spreen’s list I would also add an immune system booster called Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC).
In the January 2000 HSI Members Alert we first told you about AHCC, which is made from hybridized Japanese mushrooms and has been shown to increase the activity of natural killer cells by as much as 300 percent.
At the AHCC Research Association’s 8th symposium in Sapparo, Japan, researchers presented studies and individual patient cases indicating that AHCC can successfully address hepatitis C and other liver diseases. At that symposium, a doctor from the Centers for Integrative and Complementary Medicine in New York reported that AHCC had helped hepatitis C patients drop their viral load by as much as 89 percent in as little as four months. And in a Japanese study, 40 hepatitis patients treated with AHCC experienced more energy and appetite, increased platelet counts, and a halt in the progressive development of cirrhosis.
In that January 2000 Members Alert we also told you about an AHCC product called ImmPower-AHCC, which is available through the Harmony Company (theharmonyco.com). If you have hepatitis C, talk to your doctor or a healthcare professional before beginning a regimen of AHCC or any other dietary supplements.
For complete details about AHCC, HSI members in good standing can search the online archives at www.hsionline.com for complimentary access to all previous Members Alerts.
****************************************************
DO AS THEY DO, NOT AS THEY SAY
Athough many doctors are reluctant to “prescribe” herbal remedies and other alternative measures, did you know that they secretly are using them to protect themselves from the germfest they are faced with each day in their offices and hospitals?
In fact, doctors use these remedies to keep from catching infections. They use them to lower their cholesterol and protect their heart. They use them to get rid of aches, pains and stiffness. And they use them to prevent strokes, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Read on
Discover the health secrets your doctor won’t tell you!**************************************************
and another thing
If the class of pain-relief drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors was a luxury cruise ship, it wouldn’t be a stretch to compare it to a famous vessel that didn’t quite make it across the Atlantic on its maiden voyage in 1912.
Since Merck & Co. voluntarily pulled its arthritis drug Vioxx off the market last October, we’ve seen new information come to light about potential heart attack risk associated with Celebrex.
Now Bextra has joined them in the lifeboat. (Cue “Titanic” theme song: “My Heart Will Go On”.)
Late last month, Kaiser Permanente (KP) – the largest not-for-profit managed-care provider in the U.S. – announced that doctors in the KP system would observe a “moratorium” in prescribing Bextra until further tests demonstrate its safety.
Kaiser Permanente is an HMO network that serves more than eight million patients nationwide. This is the first time KP has blocked the use of an FDA-approved drug.
Someday, when the history of the FDA’s rise and fall is written, the chapter on the sinking of COX-2 inhibitors may mark the moment when the general public began to realize that the FDA is not the reliable watchdog that many once believed it to be.
If you’re suffering from arthritis and wonder which way to turn now that COX-2 inhibiting drugs and non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are proving to be too dangerous, see the e-Alert “Gut Feeling” (1/31/05) for a review of safe and natural alternatives for managing joint pain. A complete archive of e-Alerts can be found on the HSI web site at hsionline.com.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
****************************************************
KISS THOSE DIETING BLUES GOODBYE!
There is emerging evidence that two all-natural plant extracts can help you ignite your metabolism, promote your body’s natural ability to burn fat, encourage weight loss, and perhaps best of all it can help reduce stress and improve your mood! Now, boost your energy and wipe away the dieting “blues.” Over 5,000 men and women around the globe are using this scientifically proven method to help shed unwanted pounds. Without deprivation. Without starvation.
Here’s the plan truth. Diets alone don’t work!
****************************************************
Sources:
“Kaiser To Stop Dispensing Painkiller Bextra” The Associated Press, 1/30/05, usatoday.com
