Dear Colleagues:
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The May 2000 edition of Nutrition Action Healthletter had a cover story called "When Antibiotics Stop Working - Magic Bullets Under Siege". It was on antibiotic resistance, which we are all away of. It spent a good part of the article on helicobacter, which many of us treat and we talk about it in our seminars as being a major cause of ulcers, stomach cancer, etc. As we have taught, the article has acknowledged that helicobacter is the leading cause of bacterial food-borne diseases in the US and that you are most likely to get it from chicken. We always take people off poultry during our treatment of it (we typically use SF734 by Thorne Research 1 800-228-1966 at a dose of 1-4 x daily - each meal plus bedtime for 3-6 weeks). We find some people after having it once are much more susceptible to re-infection and it is better if they continue to abstain from all poultry including eggs. The article goes on to state there are 2 million cases yearly and hundreds of deaths. The traditional MD's treatments of choice has been Ciprofloxacin, but in the last ten years the ciprofloxacin resistant cases has gone from 1-2 percent to 21 percent (this has been due to this class of antibiotic being used in poultry feed). Helicobacter grows in chickens' intestinal tract and is spread by fecal material to other chickens (you know how they are stacked on cage upon another so contamination is rampant). It spreads to the surface of the meat in the slaughtering process and it is estimated that 40-95 % of all chickens on the supermarket shelves are contaminated. You can get it if the poultry is undercooked, but typically, even if cooking well, it can be spread. For instance you place the raw chicken on your countertop or cutting board and 5 minutes later you cut your lettuce and the lettuce which you eat raw becomes infected. This can of course also happen in restaurants. In my own clinical judgement and AK analysis I have found many 'organic' chickens to also be infected. I have found a much lower incidence in kosher poultry, possibly due to the salting process. Anyone with upper GI symptoms, acute or chronic, I screen for the need of SF734 (typically under the magnet over the stomach and/or small intestine). I have seen chronic thoracic problems clear up in some cases I treated for helicobacter.
While we are on the topic of the spread of microbes, if I have a "parasite case" that does not clear within 3 weeks, I always check the spouse and water samples (look pre and post filter if they have filtration) and often find one of these to be the culprit. Pets can also be occasionally involved. The same is true for bacteria not clearing regularly "Fungal" problems not clearing are also often due to the spouse not being treated, though often too, it is due to an airborne mod/fungus problem in the house, car, or place of work that must be addressed. Some patients have contracted a variety of microbes from frequenting the various hot springs throughout the SW.
Personally I have found with my arsenal of products I use to help with various infections (SF734, Artecin, Olive-X, Lactobacillus Sprogenes - all Thorne Research 1 800-228-1966 and Hydrastis, Juglans, Picrasma, Scutellaria Baicalensis, Larrea by Eclectic 1 800-332-HERB), I almost never (less than 1%) find a patient that doesn't respond (99%) in the toughest cases we sometimes have to switch products midstream to be optimally effective. Part of the key is being a good detective and taking care of causative factors (air, water, etc.) Part is also treating food sensitivities and nutrient deficiencies simultaneously; part is our desensitization procedures. Part is using AK to help find the right products to use.
In that under 1% that do not optimally respond - it is typically a resistant parasite and adding an essential oil like lemongrass orally and rectally, often does the trick. Again it is exceedingly rare I have to resort to this but since some of you will ask, I do 3 drops in water 3 times daily plus 3 drops once daily in a one pint retention enema. Over the years I have had to resort to lemongrass oil 4 times, tarragon once, and spearmint once. This includes one case of ulcerative colitis that responded very well. Again these were used after doing our usual protocols that did help tremendously, but did not totally resolve the issue.