Our immune system is the pillar of our health. Paradoxically, it is often attacked by modern medicine which multiplies its vaccination campaigns and antibiotic-based treatments. And when the immune system is out of whack, the only solution is cortisone treatment with frightening side effects.
Natural medicine offers us elegant and effective solutions
Immunity is probably the most important resource of our body. However, each individual remains vulnerable to numerous viral diseases, bacterial or parasitic infections. Worse, some serious diseases such as AIDS, cancer and autoimmune diseases involve this aspect of our health. It is therefore extremely important to take good care of one's immune system and to correct the slightest dysfunctions, which can be of two kinds: either a weakness or an excess.
Weak immune system: repeated infections
Various factors can cause a progressive exhaustion of our immune system. These include, in particular, an unbalanced diet, lack of sleep, stress, family or social tensions, and aging.
The weakening of our immune system will result in persistent fatigue but more importantly in increased susceptibility to infections such as frequent colds, strep throat, herpes outbreaks, or repeated urinary tract or vaginal infections.
Current medicine does not offer any solutions to boost a weakened immune system. It is content to treat infections with frequent antibiotic treatments and prevent them with large vaccination campaigns, with the result that the immune deficiency worsens. I am thinking in particular of the many mothers who visit doctors' offices or hospitals with "well-vaccinated" children but who regularly fall ill to the point of needing antibiotics almost every month. What a relief for these mothers when they discover the existence of natural medicine!
The immune system, a very complex machine
One way to boost one's immune system is to increase the activity of natural killer cells (NK cells - NK cells), which are lymphocytes found in the blood and lymphatic tissue. These NK cells are able to destroy infected cells as well as cancer cells. While these NK cells play an important role in immunity, they are not the only ones because the immune system is relatively complex and requires the involvement of other cells such as T-cells. These are cells made in the marrow but must undergo maturation and programming in the thymus to become:
- CD4 cells (CD4 helper) that orchestrate the immune response by activating other immune cells and stimulating the production of antibodies by B cells.
- into CD8 cells (CD8 supressor) whose role is to stop the activity of the killer cells by signaling the cessation of the attack.
Any substance capable of decreasing the number of CD8 cells relative to the number of CD4 cells will increase the ratio of CD4/CD8 with a consequent increase in the ability of the immune system to defend itself against invaders (viruses, bacteria and parasites). It is this famous CD4/CD8 ratio that is monitored so closely in AIDS patients, where a decrease in this ratio indicates an unfavorable evolution of the disease.
A 3rd important player in the immune system involves immunoglobulin A (IgA)which is primarily secreted by the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, and gastrointestinal tract. IgA thus plays an immune role in the respiratory and digestive regions by protecting the surfaces of these mucous membranes against invasion by pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Its presence in colostrum (liquid secreted by the mother's breasts just after the birth of the child, before milk secretion begins) is the main explanation for the anti-infectious properties of colostrum in newborns.
Immune stimulants and natural antibiotics
Many natural substances have demonstrated beneficial properties for the immune system. Herbs such asechinacea (echinacea) or ginseng or mushrooms such as shitake or Maitake are sold in health food stores for their immune-boosting properties.
Many nutritional supplement companies sell grapefruit seed extract, a true natural antibiotic. A human study consisted of verifying the changes in immunity after a treatment with this product. So blood tests of people treated with the product were compared with those of a control group.
The treated group increased their CD4/CD8 ratio in such a way that there was an estimated 2-3 fold gain in immune system activity against viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells. No pro-immune substance has ever demonstrated such results.
The study also showed an increase in the power of natural killer cells.
Another interesting parameter of this study wasthe increase of IgA levels in saliva and tears which means an increased immunological protection of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat which are usually the gateways of pathogenic organisms into our body.
Finally, the absence of toxicity and side effects was demonstrated. Also, the product does not oppose the growth of friendly bacteria of the intestinal flora.
The product can be used in children from 5 years. The dose is 1 capsule per day.
The immune system runaway: allergies and autoimmune diseases
Allergy is a phenomenon of hypersensitivity, a disruption by excessive response of the immune system against the presence of agents called allergens such as dust mites, certain pollens, animal hair, certain foods or chemicals.
The immune system can also sometimes attack our own cells or structures in our body. Normally, the immune system recognizes the constituents of the body in which it functions and does not attack it. When it is disturbed in excess, autoantibodies are produced against the organism to which it belongs, causing the appearance of autoimmune diseases.
No to cortisone
Faced with an immune system that functions in excess, conventional medicine proposes a cortisone-based treatment that will put our immunity under a bell, including our defense system. Patients with allergies or autoimmune diseases will see their symptoms improve but at the expense of their health. They will develop more frequent infections, osteoporosis, fluid retention, high blood pressure, diabetes, glaucoma and increase their risk of developing cancer.
Moducare, modulator of the immune system
It is a mixture of sterols and sterolins (a kind of vegetable lipid extracted from maritime pine) in a proportion of 100:1. This formula was first marketed in 1974 in Germany after its beneficial effects in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were established. Two years later, the same mixture was marketed for rheumatoid arthritis.
In 1989, Professor Patrick Bouic and his colleagues at the Stellenbosch University School of Medicine in Capetown, South Africa, discovered that the product had a modulating effect on the immune system. The results of their work, published in the International Journal of Immunopharmacology (1996, vol. 18, no. 12, pp. 693-700), eventually led to the patented product called Moducare®.
Taken orally at a rate of 3 capsules per day away from meals (30 min before or 1.5 hours after meals) both stimulates desirable immunity (our body's defense) while decreasing the undesirable immunity found in allergies or autoimmune diseases. The dose for children under 2 years of age is 1 capsule per day and 2 capsules per day between 2 and 12 years of age.
The product is not a drug: it does not interfere with any metabolic process of the patient. Rather, it is a catalyst or messenger that initiates a correction of immune system imbalances or maintains the balance if it is adequate.
As part of the treatment of autoimmune diseases, I always combine taking 3 capsules of Moducare with 6 capsules a day 5 days out of 7 (stop on weekends for example) of EAP-Calcium, a mineral transporter that acts as a cell protector, a sort of shield protecting the cell from immuno-aggressions.