You May Wish to Protect your Innards......

[Guest guest]

Well, I'm just barely up and walking and still on wobbly legs after an episode

of what looks

like some sort of INTESTINAL FLU. I assumed I'd gotten FOOD POISONING but today

as I

reconnected with the world I heard the news that " IT'S GOING AROUND " . What I got

was a

fever that hovered at 102+ for 48 hours with higher spikes every few hours,

profound

diarrhea, profound malaise, and almost complete collapse. It happened to strike

me as I

was doing outside work during the hottest weekend of the year which no doubt

exacerbated the onset and may have extended the sick period. My good wife, once

again,

nursed me through the crisis.

MORAL OF THE STORY: As it so often happens, and in spite of good intentions,

I GOT

CAUGHT off my regime!!! I've been taking PROBIOTICS religiously for over 2 years

(and

intermitantly for decades) virtually not missing a day all the while. I also

take daily doses

of DIGESTIVE ENZYMES along with my vitamins and minerals. As a result, I've not

even had

a cold much less anything stronger and I'm pretty sure I've been exposed to many

bugs

and many potential food poisonings. About 2 weeks ago I was traveling and ran

out of

probiotics and didn't take the time to refill. Duh. I know better too.

SO, JUST IN CASE...

I'd recommend protecting yourself with some probiotics, good lacto-fermented

food,

some coconut oil, some cod liver oil and good, good food. This variation of

virus (or

whatever it is) is nothing to fool around with. Let it pass your door!

Will, the Sadder but Wiser

[Guest guest]

Light bulb goes on! I started last week taking probiotics because I am about to

start a kill off with antibiotics. That bug has been through my house, and so

far, I am the only one who has not gotten it. I had some stomach cramping, and

that was it a few days ago. Everyone else, same was you Will, fever, cramps,

runs etc. And it hangs on for many days.

And I was wondering if the probiotic would help. Now I know.

But what about afterwards? Will taking probiotics help them recover quicker?

Can I give it to kids? I have pearls and primal defense. (And for anyone

interested, pearls is giving away free samples if you go to their web site).

Carol F

[Guest guest]

Sure, Carol the SECOND best time to take probiotics is either during an episode

or after you

had it. The place I used to work at recommended a double dose (10 billion)

daily for 2

weeks and then a regular dose of 5 billion daily.

Those viruses cause a virtual wipe-out of the beneficial gut flora. It's like

New Orleans after

the hurricane and your body is wide open to secondary pathogens. You gut may

also be

ravaged with holes that allow you to absorb partially-digested allergy particles

as well as

endotoxins (from pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and many others) that are

normally not

absorbed. Those endotoxins are what can throw the patient into shock, kill the

kidneys and

other organs and may cause death. I took about 20 enzyme capsules throughout

each day to

help neutralize these potential toxins.

Will

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the explnation Will.

Does anyone know if probiotics at 5 billion a dose is safe to give to kids?

Carol F

[Guest guest]

Safety is never the issue with probiotic numbers, it's efficacy. You want to be

sure to give

your children a version designed for CHILDREN because they have subtly different

digestive

organisms.

Always go with the manufacturers recommendations. If their literature or website

doesn't

explain this detail to you, there is a great chance they don't know or don't

care. Skip them

and go on to the next good brand The best one I know if (and it's also not

expensive) is the

DDS Jr. which is available at healthfood stores and coops.

When Consumer's Guide actually tests probiotics, which they do frequently, most

of the El

Cheapo brands (that may not actually be cheap) have terrible CFU logs.

Will

[Guest guest]

Thanks Will for the heads up about the bug...always grateful to get

advance warning with a nasty one. This past flu season I had given

my kids a TCM herbal remedy, Viracool from www.liferising.com, which

was very effective in reducing fever and enabling my daughter to keep

food and fluids down. I've also heard very good things about

sambucol (sambucus) on other lists, though I haven't tried it

yet...this is an interesting article:

http://www.nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?n=65394-razei-bar-

sambucol-bird-flu

Sambucol fights bird flu virus in lab

By Dominique Patton

Black elderberry extract may reduce flu symptoms

Berry extract fights West Nile virus

Elderberry's health benefits

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All news for January 2006

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26/01/2006 - Sambucol, a standardized extract of black elderberry,

has been

found to

fight the avian flu virus H5N1, revealed British researchers last

week.

A team at Retroscreen Virology, an institute associated with the

University of

London, said

that the extract was at least 99 per cent effective against the H5N1

virus and

significantly

neutralized the infectivity of the virus in cell cultures.

Dr Madeleine Mumcuoglu, the Israel-based developer of Sambucol, said

the good

results

confirmed her earlier findings on the product, which is currently

marketed

around the

world as a natural supplement for fighting common flu.

" It is active against lots of different types of flu viruses and I

did my PhD on

its effect on a

non-virulent strain of bird flu so the results did not surprise me, "

she told

NutraIngredients.com.

" But I'm very happy with these results, especially as the work was

done by Dr

Oxford,

a reputable specialist in flu, " she added.

Dr Mumcuoglu stressed that the results could in no way demonstrate a

benefit for

humans

infected with the bird flu strain that has killed more than 70

people, mostly in

South East

Asia, since the outbreak began in 2003. Nor will she be able to test

it in a

human trial.

But she is looking into starting an animal trial using ferrets, which

have

similar flu

symptoms to humans.

Dr Mumcuoglu added that bird flu is still a lower threat than common

flu,

thought to kill

about 25,000 people in the UK alone each year through complications.

While the new bird flu results might boost sales of Sambucol, it is

the evidence

from two

human clinical trials on human flu that has created a significant

market for the

product.

The double blind, placebo-controlled studies - the first done in

Israel, and the

second in

Norway - both found that people who took the elderberry supplement

got rid of

flu in half

the time of the placebo group, or after two to three days compared to

about six.

Dr Mumcuoglu says Sambucol blunts the haemaglutinin spikes on the

outside of

viruses

and stops them from entering cells where they reproduce, cause the

cell to

explode and

allow the virus to continue invading the body.

An in vitro study has also shown Sambucol to be effective in

increasing the

production of

four inflammatory cytokines, suggesting that the supplement may have

an immuno-

stimulatory effect and therefore be worth taking all year round to

prevent flu

and other

disease.

Jerusalem-based Razei Bar Industries now produces more than 1.5

million bottles

of

Sambucol syrup, with average growth of 10 per cent each year.

" I didn't invent anything, " claims Dr Mumcuoglu. " Elderberry has been

known from

the

beginning of time. What people didn't know is what the active

ingredient is, how

to keep it

intact and how to formulate to keep it active. "

This active substance has not been patented to protect the firm's

market. While

several

copycat products are available in healthstores, Razei Bar says it has

tested

several of these

and found none of the active ingredient.

The new laboratory results were presented at a press conference held

in the

Royal Society

of Medicine, London last week. Another trial is now underway at

Hadassah Medical

Organization Ein Kerem in Israel

Glad you're on the mend Will and thanks again for the heads

up...think we may have been exposed this evening and am starting to

get reports that it's going around NW MN too.

Not holding my breath,

Randi

[Guest guest]

I was wondering if there was something going around! My youngest (13

months) got what Will was describing. She had the fever and was very

lethargic. Her fever even got to 105 once! She had it for 48 hours

and now is fine. My second youngest was just slightly warm (99

degrees). My 8 year old is now vomitting. Any suggestions on staying

healthy?

Kristi