Polly: If at all possible, you want to get the yeast under control with things that simulate the immune system without damaging the liver. Such an agent is the specific transfer factor that Hugh Fudenberg, MD is working with. Transfer factor “educates” the immune system to express its Th1 (T-cell Helper type 1) response. The Th1 immune response is needed to control viruses, protozoa, and fungus.
Transfer factor is a component of mother’s first milk (colostrum) that provides immune system messenger molecules. If a transfer factor is “specific,” that means it contains immune components specific to a particular pathogen. For example, if you have a particular strain of yeast overgrowth, a specific transfer factor product could be made that targets that strain of yeast. However, I don’t know of any products that target different strains of yeast that are available to the public at this time.
There are only a few companies producing transfer factor at this time. Maureen posted that she had good luck with the ProHealth 4Life brand. 4Life is a multi-level-marketing company, website http://www.4-life.com The 4Life company even makes a gel for use on the skin. Here is another company that sells transfer factor, http://www.immunesupport.com phone 1-800-366-6056. In order to get a good effect when using a general transfer factor, a lot must be used. (This can get expensive.) Kenneth A. Bock, MD, prescribes 3 tablets, taken three times per day (a total of 9 tablets), of 200 mg for his autistic patients. Results are seen after a few months.
(2009 update: 4Life transfer factor now has both the original “Classic” formula and a new “Plus” formula. The classic formula is derived from milk. The Plus formula is derived from both milk and eggs. The Plus is stronger. So, you start with the classic, work up to 9 pills a day, and then gradually move over to 9 pills a day of the Plus. I’ve heard annecdotal stories of miraculous healings with this dose. Note, a little each day over a long period probably won’t work half as well as a lot taken in a shorter period. With the higher dose, your body has a better chance of clearing an infection.)
For those who have hepatitis, AIDS or chronic fatigue, take a look at the specialized transfer factors available from the Natural Health Consultants. Phone 888-852-4993 and website http://www.naturalhealthconsult.com/Mono…actor.html
Shelley, since you are using the drug Kutapressin, you might find this article interesting,
http://virtualhometown.com/dfwcfids/medi…valry.html
It is about Dr. Cheney‘s work with CFIDS. The article talks about Kutapressin and Isoprinosine (Imunovar) helping the body to kill viruses and at the same time shifting the immune system away from the Th2 side towards the Th1 side. (High Th2 contributes to allergies; low Th1 contributes to yeast overgrowth.) Other products were listed that shift the immune system this way. These are
Pine Cone extract,
carried byVibrant Health, phone (800) 242-1835 http://members.aol.com/GreenVib/black.html
Heparin (prescription)
This laboratory does the appropriate testing and has several articles on Heparin. http://www.hemex.com
formula 560 transfer factor,
carried by http://www.immunitytoday.com phone 888-217-2200..
Undenatured whey may be important for some people since glutathione depletion moves the immune system from the Th1 side to the Th2 side. [6] (However, don’t use whey or cysteine if you are copper poisoned. Also, sometimes cysteine will increase yeast growth. It should be used with caution if you are mercury poisoned. I don’t like the idea of using the cheap whey products that are not undenatured.)
Mycology Research Laboratories Ltd sells a mushroom to professionals called Coriolus or Yun-Zhi that shifts the immune system back from the Th2 to the Th1 side. Website http://mycologyresearch.com . An article by this company mentions that Th1 function is lowered by excessive exercise, deprivation of sleep or food, and/or exposure to carbamate and organophosphate insecticides.
Shelley: Polly, yes, I haven’t looked at this specifically, but I know of his research on this. It is very exciting. I took Kutapressin for about a year and a half. It got me out of the sore throat all-the-time thing I think. Now, because of Cheney’s Th1 shifters research, I am trying 4Life Transfer Factor. Boy does it make me feel terrible! Patients of Cheney say that this reaction is good. It is the best way to know that it will hit a “home run”…Dr. Cheney’s advice is that if it affects you that strongly, then take the transfer factor once a week all day, and then try to build up the use to 2 times a week etc. So, these days I “make myself sick” on Mondays!
Polly: That is very interesting about your reaction to the ProHealth’s 4Life transfer factor. I tried the same brand and didn’t notice a thing with it. Yet that could have been just due to the fact that I was fairly healthy when I tried it and I wasn’t using a lot. This article is an interview with the president of Chisolm Biological Laboratory. In response to a question about people feeling worse on the transfer factor, he said,
“One feels worse because the immune system recognizes these antigens and successfully addresses them. These dead and dying antigens are in the blood stream, which causes one to feel badly. However, taking a macrophage activating product, like Beta glucan, can circumvent this response quite a bit.”
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/sho…fm?ID=2996
He suggests using about 1 to 2 grams daily of beta glucan. After you have been on the transfer factor for a month, you might be able to stop it for a while. Then three months later, use it for 5 days. This is how long the immune system remembers it. Their company also makes a product that is specific for Epstein Barr Virus and HHV-6A called ProHealth’s ImmuneTransferC. Their competitor makes transfer factor 560 to combat these same viruses, but they use a different process to create the transfer factor. At this point in time, they have no data to indicate which of these products is the most effective.
A note of caution about plant sterols and sterolins: Beta-sitosterol, the main plant sterol, can shift the immune system from Th2 towards Th1. For this reason, it has shown some promise in the treatment of HIV infected individuals. [7] These plant sterols/fats are being advertised as health promoting. In small quantities, they probably are. However, there must be a better answer. Beta-sitosterol is considered a phytoestrogen/hormone disrupter. It has been shown to alter the reproductive systems of rabbits and fish. [8]