When Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard thought he had pulled a leg muscle in
December 1994, he started taking a common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)
to relieve the pain. Such drugs - which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and
acetaminophen - are available at any pharmacy without a prescription.
Within days, Bouchard found himself in a life-or-death struggle with the
so-called flesh-eating bacteria, known more formally as Streptococcus Group A,
or Streptococcus pyogenes. Antibiotic treatment failed, and to stop the rapidly
spreading infection, doctors had no choice but to amputate Bouchard's leg. Was
there a connection between the NSAID and his infection?
The association between NSAIDs and the flesh-eating bacteria might have
seemed odd, but it was far from coincidental. Some doctors now suspect that
Bouchard's body held its own against a strep infection until he began taking the
NSAID. The drug, which reduces inflammation, suppressed the activity of
Bouchard's white blood cells. That allowed the strep bacteria to run rampant.
Obviously, not everyone who takes NSAIDs develops a life-threatening
infection. A dangerous strain of bacteria must be present and other factors,
such as stress and poor diet, also increase a person's susceptibility.
NSAIDS may increase your risk of other infections, according to Dennis L.
Stevens, MD, an infectious diseases specialist at the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center in Boise, Idaho. The same class of drugs may help set the stage for toxic
shock syndrome, a potentially deadly Staphylococcus infection linked to
super-absorbent tampons. These tampons can alter the bacterial environment of
the vagina, and NSAIDS (often taken to relieve menstrual pain) can give
disease-causing bacteria a deadly edge.
Antibiotics Can Weaken Immunity
NSAIDS have become part of an unparalleled assault on our immunity. But they
are not the only drug that interferes with our ability to fight supergerms and
other bacteria.
Antibiotics, the very drugs prescribed to fight bacterial infections, also
impair the body's immune system. This paradoxical effect was first reported in
1950, but dismissed because researchers couldn't confirm their finding. Then, in
1972, researchers at the Baylor School of Medicine, Houston, re-discovered that
some antibiotics prevented white blood cells from attacking and killing
bacteria.
Tetracycline-class antibiotics may be the worst offenders in this regard, but
erythromycin, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, and netilmicin also throw a chemical
wrench into the immune system.
Gerhard Pulverer, MD, and his colleagues at the University of Cologne, have
figured out at least part of the reason. Some species of bacteria, which
normally reside in the intestine, produce protein-like peptides that stimulate
the immunity of their animal and human hosts. Antibiotics destroy both
beneficial and disease-causing bacteria and, in doing so, temporarily stop
production of these immune-stimulating peptides. This could be why people taking
antibiotics are especially susceptible to infections from Salmonella and E. coli
in food.
Other Immune Attackers
NSAIDs and antibiotics aren't the only assaults on our immunity and ability
to fight infections.
Researchers have known for more than 30 years that common dietary sugar
reduces the ability of white blood cells to capture and kill bacteria. Sugar
makes white blood cells sluggish within one hour of consumption, and studies
have shown that the resulting immune depression lasts at least five hours. Sugar
is added to almost every processed food - even to some brands of salt - which
means the body has little if any time to re-establish normal immunity.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) - largely from vegetable oils - can also
play havoc with the immune system. Over the past 50 years, people have decreased
their consumption of saturated fats, replacing them with PUFAs. Yet PUFAs
interfere with the ability of white blood cells to fight infections. In one
study, PUFAs suppressed immunity so much that researchers were able to prevent
organ rejection among kidney-transplant patients!
Pesticides also suppress your ability to fight infections. Although
researchers have traditionally studied the neurological and endocrine effects of
these chemicals, which are sprayed on fruits, vegetables, and grains, they are
now weighing their impact on immunity. Dioxin, a component of many pesticides,
is well established as an immune toxin. But pesticides in general depress
activity of white blood cells, B cells (which produce antibodies), and T cells
(which appear to orchestrate the immune system).
Defending Against Supergerms
The most common sources of supergerm infections are very close to home. The
deadly E. coli 0157:H7 strain is now common in beef, particularly hamburger,
although thorough cooking will kill it. Having surgery in a hospital increases
your risk of contracting a serious infection. A study at a respectable Canadian
hospital recently found that almost half of the women undergoing caesarean
sections developed post-surgical infections. And in day-care centers,
antibiotic-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common cause of ear and lung
infections.
Your immune system is your first line of defense against these and other
infections, and the biochemicals that constitute your immunity do not come out
of thin air. Their source is ultimately your diet, a fact that is often
forgotten. Just as nutritional deficiencies impair the immune system, you can
boost your immunity by increasing your intake of these nutritional building
blocks.
Start with a good overall diet that emphasizes fresh natural foods. Freshness
translates into higher vitamin levels, whereas processing reduces vitamin
levels. Organic foods are particularly worthwhile because they do not contain
immune-toxic pesticides. Two recent studies have confirmed that organically
grown foods actually contain higher levels of vitamins and minerals than do
supermarket foods - providing more of the nutritional building blocks needed for
immunity. There's nothing unusual about organic foods - until modern pesticides
were developed during World War II, that's everyone ate.
Cultured (or fermented) foods, from yogurt to sauerkraut, provide armies of
beneficial bacteria that strengthen your body's defense against disease-causing
bacteria. Such foods - along with so-called probiotic capsules - prevent
Salmonella and other undesirable species of bacteria from gaining a foothold in
your intestine.
Eating plenty of garlic helps as well. Garlic contains a number of
well-documented antibacterial substances. It also possesses more than 70
sulfur-containing compounds that help the body make other immune-stimulating
compounds, including cysteine and glutathione. While garlic probably should not
be used as a replacement for antibiotics in a serious infection, it does help
build a healthy immune system, and that might keep you well enough to avoid
antibiotics.
Enhancing Your Immunity
Beyond diet, several nutritional supplements can jump-start your immune
system and stimulate its ability to effectively fight infections.
Vitamin C is probably the best known "alternative" remedy for the common
cold, influenza, and other infections. In an analysis of 21 vitamin C studies,
Harri Hemilä, PhD, of the University of Helsinki, found that 1 gram daily was
the minimum helpful dose of vitamin C for fighting colds, and 4-6 grams daily
reduced the length of colds by one-third.
Vitamin C also helps the immune system fight more serious infections,
including mononucleosis and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Although HIV
infections are so far incurable, high doses of vitamin C do improve well being
and extend life expectancy, according to the clinical experiences Robert
Cathcart III, MD, of Los Altos, Calif.
Vitamin A was termed the "anti-infective vitamin" back in 1928, and for
respiratory infections it is often superior to vitamin C. High doses of vitamin
A have dramatically reduced the childhood death rate from measles (which is a
respiratory infection) in developing nations, and the World Health Organization
has been a strong advocate of its use. It is also helpful in treating
respiratory syncytial virus infections, which are common in children. The key to
preventing an overdose is using high but brief doses of vitamin A. Taking 50,000
to 100,000 IU daily for two days is usually sufficient. Beta-carotene and other
carotenoids also boost immune function, but they do not provide the immediate
benefits of vitamin A.
Selenium deficiency in people and animals triggers a dangerous mutation in
the coxackievirus, which ordinarily causes infections comparable to the common
cold. It's likely that deficiency of selenium and other nutrients causes
mutations in other viruses. Researchers are investigating whether similar
mutations, caused by nutritional deficiencies, lead to new strains of influenza.
Recently, Will Taylor, PhD, of the University of Georgia, theorized that the
HIV and Ebola viruses have a huge appetite for selenium. He believes they spread
in the body when cells stores of selenium are depleted. Interestingly, soil
levels of selenium are low in Zaire, which is where both viruses originated.
Other nutrients important to immunity include coenzyme Q10, the B-complex
vitamins, vitamin E, and N-acetylcysteine.
In sum, your best ongoing defense against supergerms is supernutrition. Eat a
diet rich in immune-stimulating vitamins and minerals, cultured food products,
and garlic. Take a high potency vitamin and mineral supplement, plus extra
vitamins C and A as needed. At the same time, lower your intake of sugar and
PUFAs, and use drugs like NSAIDS and antibiotics prudently.
Follow these steps, and the odds are your worst encounter with supergerms
will be in reading newspaper headlines.
References
Beck MA, et al., Nature Medicine, May 1995;1:433-436.
Farbman KS and Barnett ED, Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, July
1993;12:613-614.
Forsgren A and Gnarpe H, Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases -
Supplementum,1982;33:115-120.
Hemilä H, Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases, January 1994;26:1-6.
Henderson E and Love EJ, Journal of Hospital Infection, April 1995;29:245-255.
Pulverer G, et al., Pathologie Biologie, October 1993;41:753-758.
Seachrist L, Science News, October 7, 1995.
Smith BL, Journal of Applied Nutrition, 1993;45:35-39.
Sommer A, Journal of Infectious Diseases, May 1993;167:1003-7.
Taylor EW, et al., Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Aug. 19, 1994;37:2637-2654.
Taylor EW and Ramanathan CS, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 1995;10 (3-4):
131 138.
The information provided by Jack Challem and The Nutrition Reporter™
newsletter is strictly educational and not intended as medical advice. For
diagnosis and treatment, consult your physician.
Learn more about building your immunity in...
The Natural Health Guide
to Beating the Supergerms
Jack Challem is the coauthor, with Richard P. Huemer, MD, of The Natural Health
Guide to Beating the Supergerms, published by Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster in
May 1997 (352 pages, $14.00). Although written for the consumer, the book
contains more than 700 references of value to researchers and clinicians. The
book is available from Barnes & Noble, Border's, and other book stores, and it
can also be ordered through your local health food store.
Learn more about the latest research on vitamins in...
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