In last month’s issue, I told you about highly intelligent microbial substances called biofilm. These “bugs” prevent many people from getting their chronic fungal or bacterial infections under control. An overgrowth of gastrointestinal biofilms is the reason why thousands of people either don’t get well or why they continue to relapse.

I explained just what biofilms are and mentioned that there was a three-part program your doctor can help you with that can destroy these seemingly invincible substances. If you relate to the information in this article, I suggest you read last month’s article and show it to your doctor. If you’ve given your copy away or misplaced it, you can read it on my website.

While I wish it was possible for you to follow this program on your own, this is one case where a doctor is a necessity for getting a key ingredient in the antibiofilm protocol. If you don’t have someone who’s willing to work with you to get your biofilm colonies under control, I’ll help you find someone who will.

The biofilm solution, step one

Biofilms are a major factor in antibiotic resistance in part because they live in a protective environment. So the first step is to break down the biofilm’s protective cage. It’s very much like a fortified city. To break it down, you need to use a combination of specific digestive enzymes, chelating agents, and natural antimicrobials. They disrupt the substances that form biofilm. Once you have compromised the biofilm, you need other nutrients to repair the intestines that the pathogens damaged.

The pathogenic bacteria in biofilm weave a protective matrix out of polysaccharides and proteins. These substances then attract metals and nucleic acids. So the first step is to damage this matrix, making penetration possible. Unless and until you do, there’s simply no way any antibiotic or other antimicrobials can destroy the pathogens within the biofilm.

What can break down this matrix? Enzymes.

Don’t think that you can pick up any enzyme or enzyme formula at your local health food store and start feeling better. Even if it’s strong. You need specific enzymes that are effective in binding to the cellulose in biofilm’s matrix, and others to attach themselves to minerals and protein. It takes the right enzymes in the correct potency taken over the right length of time to get results.

Dr. Stephen Olmstead, an MD at Klaire Labs, has researched biofilms for nearly a decade. He’s developed a combination enzyme formula that penetrates biofilms’ matrix, allowing antimicrobials to then kill off pathogens like H. pylori, Klebsiella, C.difficile, Candida albicans, MRSA, and others. It’s called InterFace™ and InterFase Plus™.

Begin with InterFace

Pathogenic biofilms can hide anywhere, from the sinuses to the large intestines. InterFace is a combination of eight enzymes specifically chosen for their ability to break down biofilms throughout the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In addition, this formula also is available with Disodium EDTA. Both formulas are effective in disrupting biofilm made by various pathogens.

Calcium, magnesium, and iron are minerals essential to our health. They’re also essential to the formation of biofilm. Disodium EDTA binds to calcium and magnesium in the biofilm matrix, making them more permeable. Lactoferrin effectively binds to iron. But you should avoid it if you have a dairy sensitivity.

Antibiotics and antimicrobials: step two

Penetrating pathogenic biofilm isn’t enough. You also need to stop biofilm from multiplying, and you need to destroy some of the existing pathogenic biofilm. This is when and where antibiotics, antifungals, and antimicrobials come in. They may be anything from antibiotics to natural antimicrobials, such as the berberine found in golden seal root, oregano, and green tea extract.

But you’ll need to take enough of the right herb — or antibiotic — long enough to destroy biofilms’ pathogens. This means working with a knowledgeable health care practitioner to make sure you’re taking the antimicrobials that can best fight your particular bacteria or fungi. If he or she doesn’t know how to design a protocol for you, I’ll tell you shortly how to find someone who can.

Re-establishing your gut health: step three

Various probiotics (friendly bacteria) help reduce colonies of pathogens within biofilm in the GI tract. Not all probiotics are effective against all pathogenic bacteria. Prebiotics, which are foods for healthful probiotics, stimulate the growth of some of these beneficial bacteria. It’s vital to increase the good bacteria while decreasing the bad guys.

The prebiotics and probiotics you take to help reduce biofilm need to be the specific ones known to work with your particular pathogens. Your doctor can get some of this information in an article Dr. Olmstead wrote in the Townsend Letter (October 2009) and from Dr. Olmstead, at Klaire Labs.

Your next step

So, what should you do if you suspect your health problem is complicated by an overgrowth of pathogenic biofilm, knowing that your doctor probably hasn’t even heard about this problem? Different pathogens and the composition of their matrixes need different and specific, protocols. This is where Dr. Olmstead comes in.

Disrupting biofilm is simple, but tricky, especially since there are no tests to accurately determine the presence of pathogenic biofilm overgrowth. However, symptoms often disappear with this three-step antibiofilm program. The good news is that Dr. Olmstead is available to speak with your doctor and help design a protocol specifically for you. There is no charge from Dr. Olmstead for his services.

You need to take all of the supplements in this three-step program concurrently for at least two weeks. Some may need to take them as long as three months, or longer. You’ll need someone knowledgeable to help you understand what to take and for how long. You can obtain the InterFace enzymes and probiotics appropriate to your condition from your doctor through Klaire Labs. The ones you need to take depend on the type of pathogens you have.

Show this article to your doctor and ask him or her to call Dr. Olmstead at Klaire Labs (888-488-2488) for further information.

I know that this is a more complicated program than those I usually give you. But just think. It could be the solution to your chronic GI problems that can’t be corrected by any other method.

I suspect that over time there will be more refinements and perhaps simpler programs to deal with biofilm. As soon as I hear about them and check them out, I’ll let you know.

Petrova, Olga E., and Karin Sauer. “A Novel Signaling Network Essential for Regulating Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Development.” PLoS Pathogens, 2009; 5 (11): e1000668 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000668.

Braz J Infect Dis. 2008 December;12(6):526-30.

Darvish, Dr. Nooshin K. “The Antibiotic Complicated,” 28/02/09.

What to Do If You Have These Dangerous Carcinogens in Your House

I recently went house hunting with my niece, Heather, and her fiancé. We walked through one house with a good floor plan and began to notice what needed to be done. The kitchen needed appliances, the kitchen cabinets were too low, and one bathroom needed work. It all seemed do-able to them, but I disagreed.

I had detected a dangerous problem that they had overlooked. The house reeked of stale cigarette smoke. They had noticed this smell, but had dismissed it as just being a minor problem that they could easily eradicate. They were wrong. It was a more serious problem than they realized.

We all know that first-hand smoke is what you inhale when you are the one who is smoking cigarettes. And that second-hand smoke is what you inhale from someone else’s cigarettes. But few people have heard about third-hand smoke. And it can have deadly consequences.

Third-hand smoke is the residue that sticks to walls, floors, and carpeting in cars and buildings. But third-hand smoke is not just smelly. It can cause respiratory problems, heart disease, and cancer.

In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that third-hand smoke causes 3,000 deaths from lung cancer in non-smokers ocur each year. I’m sure you’ve heard of people who died from lung cancer who weren’t smokers. If you live with or around a smoker, even if he or she only smokes outdoors, your health is at risk.

Here’s why:

When tobacco smoke clings to walls and other surfaces, it’s not just a matter of unpleasant odors. This third-hand smoke is carcinogenic. And it’s difficult to remove. You can’t just wash the walls and ceiling. Nor can you just air out a house. Improved ventilation may decrease the odor from stale smoke, but it doesn’t eliminate its health risks.

What about ozone generators and indoor air filters? The EPA says that cleaning indoor air with any known methods can’t remove all pollutants from smoke or other sources. These pollutants consist of a complex mixture of gasses and fine particles that are components of smoke. One reason you can’t remove them all is because the nicotine in indoor smoke can change into a carcinogen.

When nicotine from cigarette smoke sticks to a surface, it reacts with nitrous acid — a common indoor air pollutant — to produce potent carcinogens. You need both nicotine residue and nitrous acid to form these dangerous cancer-causing chemicals called TSNAs (tobacco-specific nitrosamines). The second-hand smoke that wafts in the air from one cigarette contains around 100 nanograms of TSNAs. But when the nicotine and nitrous acid join on surfaces, the combination creates several hundred nanograms of TSNAs per square meter..

Reducing indoor air pollution

The main source of indoor nitrous acid comes from unvented gas appliances. So you have to make sure your gas heater and gas stove are well-ventilated. In fact, your whole house should be ventilated to prevent a buildup of indoor pollutants. This can reduce half of the problem.

Avoid contact with smokers whenever you can, even if they smoke outdoors. Nicotine residues stick to their skin and clothes. These pollutants follow the smoker into your home or car where they remain and can contaminate all surfaces.

Whenever possible, avoid exposing babies, children, and older adults to second and third-hand smoke. They are at the greatest risk for getting smoke-related health problems, including asthma and bronchitis.

One final note: The only way to get rid of the carcinogen in a building is to replace all of the carpets, wallboards, and flooring. This can cost you tens of thousands of dollars. Fortunately, Heather and her fiancé didn’t have to worry about this. Someone who didn’t know about the dangers of third-hand smoke out-bid them for the smelly house.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/178555.php.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov.

Four Ways to Reduce Knee Pain From Arthritis

Joan was visibly upset with me. All I had done was tell her that exercise was vital to her heart health. Her diet had improved, but she hadn’t even gone for a walk in the past two weeks. ‘What was going on?’ I asked. Didn’t she realize how important exercise was to lower her risk for heart disease?

Tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. “I can’t,” she said. “My knees are so painful that at times it’s difficult to walk around my apartment, much less go for a brisk walk like you suggested. I heard what you said at our last appointment, but my arthritis won’t let me do what I need to do.”

Joan knew that the arthritis pain in the knees often comes from inflammation. Most people just take NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or natural anti-inflammatory products, such as turmeric. But she knew that just reducing inflammation wasn’t going to lead to the solution she needed. It wouldn’t address the cause of her knee pain. Before we could find a solution, we needed to identify its cause.

The right shoes are not walking shoes

One important consideration is the load on your knees when you’re walking. A higher-than-normal load is a sign of the severity of arthritis as well as its progression. Shoes designed for stability and comfort — flat walking shoes — are, surprisingly, not the answer. They can increase the load on your knees by as much as 15%.

Choose flexibility over stability. The best shoes for your arthritic knees are flat shoes with flexible soles. Flexibility is the key. A recent study in Arthritis Care & Research said walking barefoot or wearing flip-flops puts less stress on the knees than walking shoes!

I say, go barefoot (or wear socks) in your home when you can. Flip-flops might make you flip and flop and fall. You might also look into H-Street shoes by Puma. They have flexible soles, which will reduce the load on your knees.

Are your legs the same length?

Most people have a slight inequality in leg length. This can cause knee pain. Even the difference of one centimeter can affect pain and swelling in the knee on the shorter leg.

If you have arthritis in just one knee, I suggest you see a chiropractor or osteopath who’s familiar with orthotics (shoe inserts) and heel lifts. A professional will be able to measure and balance your leg length with more accuracy than you can.

Strengthen your “frailty” muscles

Weak quadriceps, the muscles in your upper front thigh, can be a sign of frailty. You use them when you get up from sitting in a chair. If you can’t pull yourself up out of a chair several times in a row without using your hands, you may be getting frail.

In addition, weak quads contribute to painful knee joints. These muscles help keep your patella (knee cap) from moving from side-to-side and tracking abnormally when you walk (which results in inflammation). Stronger quads also protect against cartilage loss behind your kneecaps.

You can strengthen your quads by sitting in a chair and extending your legs out in front of you. Then raise and lower your legs slowly. There are machines in gyms that strengthen the quadriceps muscles, but don’t use them. It’s easy to put too much stress on your knees with machines and cause damage. So ask your doctor, or a physical therapist, for other exercises that are safe for you. Or practice sitting and standing without using your hands. You can treat your frailty and knee pain all at once.

The vitamin that helps knee pain

There’s a vitamin that influences muscle and nerve function. If you don’t have enough of it — and most people don’t — it can contribute to knee pain and loss of function. It’s none other than vitamin D.

One study found that 47% of participants with increased knee pain and difficulty walking had vitamin D levels lower than 30 ng/ml. But here’s the problem. Most medical professionals consider levels over 30 ng/ml sufficient. However, the Vitamin D Council, which has done and supported a lot of research, says we should have 60-80 ng/ml. This means that in light of the most recent research, the number of people who are deficient in vitamin D is much greater than 47%.
If you have arthritis in your knees, get your vitamin D level tested with a simple blood test. Then, if you’re low, take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 (the active form) each day until you reach 80 ng/ml.

All “itis” conditions are inflammatory

Inflammation is a symptom of an imbalance, not its cause. But while you search for the causes of your arthritis, anti-inflammatory drugs or herbs can be helpful. They reduce pain and deterioration.

The most potent natural anti-inflammatory formula I’ve seen, used personally, and given to my patients is Reduloxin (800-791-3395). You can begin by taking two capsules morning and night until you feel relief, and then just one capsule twice a day.

What about Joan? She changed her shoes to those with flexible soles, got fitted for a heel lift by her chiropractor, and began taking more vitamin D. Her pain has decreased and she is now able to add exercise to her weight-loss program. You can see the same type of results with just a few simple and inexpensive changes. Please let me know how this works for you.

Shakoor, Najia, Mondira Sengupta, Kharma C. Foucher, Markus A. Wimmer, Louis F. Fogg, and Joel A. Block. “The effects of common footwear on joint loading in osteoarthritis of the knee.” Arthritis Care & Research, 2010; DOI: 10.1002/acr.20165.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/184225.php.

ScienceDaily, December 27, 2006.

NUTRITION DETECTIVE

Here’s another reason to avoid statins

Statins may be effective in lowering cholesterol. But, as I’ve told you in these pages, this may not be necessary in the majority of cases. And they also have a number of nasty side effects. These include mild-to-severe muscle pain or weakness, liver damage, digestive problems, and a rash or flushing. Now there’s another reason to avoid statins.

An Italian study published found that simvastatin reduces the ability of immune cells to kill bacteria and viruses. This has major implications for anyone with a chronic illness. And maybe even more important for anyone who wants to avoid them.

Here’s what this study found:

First, researchers used human cells from healthy donors. They treated some of the immune cells with simvastatin. Then they incubated both the treated and untreated immune cells with the common, and potentially lethal, Staphlocollus aureus. The cells they treated with the statin had two undesirable results.

They were less effective in killing and removing the bacteria. And they produced high amounts of cytokines. Cytokines trigger and sustain inflammation. As I’ve said many times, inflammation is at the core of most chronic illnesses. This includes cancer, heart disease, and illnesses ending in “itis” (bronchitis, arthritis, etc.).

These researchers then repeated this study using mice. The results were the same.

It makes no sense to take a drug you may not even need when it has so many unwanted side effects. And when those side effects are inflammation and a lowered immune system, my recommendation is to talk with a doctor of integrative medicine (www.acam.org) and find a safer alternative. I’ve written about many of them in past articles, which you can read for free on my website.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/180870.php.

Journal of Leukocyte Biology, www.jleukbio.org.

LETTERS

Q: Years ago, our daughter, who is gluten intolerant, had a nasty reaction (dermatitis herpetiformis) from a shampoo that contained barley water. When she stopped using that shampoo, her condition went away. Yet you say that using products with gluten topically is safe. Can you explain this? — D.C.F., e-mail

A: Yes, I can. There’s a difference between gluten intolerance, the inability to digest the gluten protein, and celiac disease, an autoimmune disease. People with gluten intolerance will not react to skin care products containing gluten. Usually, celiacs don’t react to topical exposure to gluten either, but it is possible.

Your daughter is not gluten intolerant. She has full-blown celiac disease. How can I say that? It’s simple. Dermatitis herpetiformis is a sign of celiac disease. In addition, your daughter appears to have that rare reaction to exposure to gluten that occasionally occurs in celiac. But you should know that even celiacs who are bakers, and who constantly inhale and touch wheat flour, don’t react to gluten unless it comes in contact with the intestines.

Q: I have a family history of osteoporosis, so I have been taking magnesium to bowel tolerance (about 3,000 mg a day). I also take calcium and vitamin D3. A recent colonoscopy revealed no polyps, but found I had melanosis coli – caused by laxatives. I don’t take laxatives but now am afraid to take magnesium. I also have diverticulitis. What can I do to improve my colon? – A.B., e-mail

A: I’ve advised taking magnesium to bowel tolerance to prevent osteoporosis for years. But I also cautioned against taking more than 1,000 mg of magnesium a day. The amount you’re taking is acting like a laxative. You have been unknowingly causing inflammation in your intestines.

It sounds like you need to heal an inflamed colon. Here’s what I suggest you take. Begin with a multivitamin like Women’s Preferred, which contains just 500 mg each of calcium and magnesium. That’s enough supplemental calcium; the rest should come from your diet.

Take up to 500 mg additional magnesium but no more. The added calcium and magnesium you need for strong bones should come from your healthy diet. That should include a little dairy, whole grains, and plenty of green leafy vegetables. Only use goat milk dairy products for now. It’s easiest to digest.

Avoid nuts, seeds, and bran. They are irritating to the intestines. Concentrate on healing your inflamed colon. An anti-inflammatory supplement like Reduloxin should be a big help.

There are two additional supplements I’d suggest to repair your colon: probiotics and Integrative Digestive Formula. You can find probiotics in any health food store, but you should get excellent results with Advanced Probiotics at a lower cost than other similar quality products. Expect to take it twice a day for a year or more.

Integrative Digestive Formula (IDF) is particularly important. It provides your body with the nutrients it needs to repair your intestines. This repair takes time, so be patient.