Posted by Dr Wilson's Adrenal Fatigue Team on Tue, Dec 08, 2009
Dietary supplements play a very important role in adrenal fatigue recovery. They not only speed it up but are also often necessary for complete recovery to take place. There are specific nutritional supplements that have significant restorative effects on the adrenal glands, which is why Dr. Wilson recommends them as part of the adrenal fatigue rehabilitation program and the emphasizes the absolute necessity of taking them regularly.
Vitamin C
Of all the vitamins and minerals involved in adrenal metabolism, vitamin C is probably the most important. In fact, the more cortisol made, the more vitamin C used. Vitamin C is so essential to the adrenal hormone cascade and the manufacture of adrenal steroid hormones that before the measurement of adrenal steroid hormones became available, the blood level of vitamin C was used as the best indicator of adrenal function level in animal research studies. Vitamin C is used all along the adrenal cascade and acts as an antioxidant within the adrenal cortex itself.
Humans do not have the ability that most animals have to convert blood glucose into vitamin C. Therefore, we must obtain our vitamin C from an outside source. Food sources of vitamin C and bioflavonoids include highly colored vegetables and fruits such as green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, peppers and oranges – with the highest amounts of edible vitamin C found in sprouts (sunflower sprouts, alfalfa or clover sprouts, and all the sprouts of any seed or grain). Extracts from certain sour fruits such as the Kakadu plum, Camu Camu, rosehips, acerola and Indian gooseberry have also been used for their extremely high vitamin C content. In most plants, the younger the plant, the more vitamin C it contains per milligram of plant material. However, the amount of vitamin C in commercially available in foods is not sufficient to support the adrenals during stress or during the recovery phase. So if you are experiencing adrenal fatigue, it is essential that you take a supplement containing sufficient vitamin C complex during the whole recovery period and extra vitamin C when you start to become fatigued or ill.
Vitamin C, as it occurs in nature, always appears as a composite of ascorbic acid and certain bioflavonoids. It is this vitamin C complex that is so beneficial, not just ascorbic acid by itself. Bioflavonoids are essential if ascorbic acid is to be fully metabolized and utilized by your body. The ratio of bioflavonoids to ascorbic acid should be approximately 1:2; that is, 1 mg. of bioflavonoids for every 2 mg. of ascorbic acid. Bioflavonoids basically double the effectiveness of ascorbic acid in your body and allow its action to be more complete. The kind of vitamin C you use makes a difference. Vitamin C is much more than ascorbic acid.
Most ascorbic acid in supplements is synthesized from corn syrup, and some from cane sugar or beet sugar. This does not mean that corn syrup and sugar contain any vitamin C, they do not. It simply means that these are the raw materials most commonly used to commercially manufacture vitamin C. Some people are sensitive to the source from which the vitamin C is derived. If you are sensitive to corn, try taking a vitamin C supplement derived from sago palm or beets instead. Sago palm and beet sources of vitamin C seem to be tolerated well by most people.
Because vitamin C and bioflavonoids are water soluble and quickly used up or excreted from your body, they are best taken in an integrated, sustained-release form that allows your body to gradually absorb these nutrients over several hours. This minimizes the amount that is lost in your urine and maximizes the supply to the cells where they are needed. During stress your body burns up many times the daily requirement of vitamin C. The quantity of vitamin C required varies by person and by stress level. As stressful events increase, the need for many nutrients, but especially vitamin C, also increases.
To find out how much vitamin C your body requires, try a very simple test called the Vitamin C Loading Test. On day one, take 500 mg. of ascorbic acid plus an additional 250 mg. every hour until your bowel movements become somewhat loose and runny. Once you have achieved this level, reduce your ascorbic acid by 500 mg. and add approximately half the amount of bioflavonoids so you have a 2:1 ratio of ascorbic acid to bioflavonoids. This is usually the amount of vitamin C your body needs at this time. The most common point for this to occur is about 2,000 to 4,000 mg (2-4 grams) of ascorbic acid for people with adrenal fatigue, but I have known people that required 15,000 to 20,000 mg. (15-20 grams) a day in order to reach this point. Typically, the more chronic and severe your illness, the more vitamin C is necessary.
This is why Dr. Wilson designed a special vitamin C supplement for people experiencing stress and adrenal fatigue. It contains an optimal amount of vitamin C in a 2:1 ratio with bioflavonoids plus important trace minerals that are necessary to healthy adrenal function and also balance the pH of vitamin C’s acidity so it’s easier on your stomach. All of these nutrients are delivered at a steady rate through an advanced integrated sustained release that optimizes their availability.
Posted by Dr. James Wilson on Mon, Nov 16, 2009
The human immune system is a magnificent and well-coordinated network of cells, organs, glands, and physiological processes. Nearly every cell, organ and tissue in the body is involved either directly or indirectly in the immune process. A portion of this elaborate network of immune defense is functional at birth (innate immunity) and the rest develops as the body interacts with the environment (acquired immunity).
Once the immune response has been suppressed to any significant degree, either by illness or by drugs such as corticosteroids, recovery is challenging and often requires extended time and treatment. Immune suppression adversely affects every system in the body.
As a researcher in immunology and as a practicing physician, I have investigated the science as well as the clinical data for many "immune enhancers." In the process of looking for the best among the many, I developed a set of performance criteria for their consistent evaluation. They are as follows:
1) Capable of deep action - able to make fundamental changes in immunity
2) Capable of sustained action - effectiveness does not dissipate or decrease with continued use over time
3) Produce broad immune stimulation
4) Enhance both humoral and cellular immunity
5) Effective in both acute and chronic conditions
6) Dose dependent
7) Versatile - beneficial for a number of health conditions
8) Safe and effective for all ages
9) Reliable - consistent quality, producing same effects time after time
10) Non-toxic
11) History of use in humans
12) Manufactured with high quality controls
13) Compatible with all medications
14) Easy to use
15) Few or no side effects
16) Improvement evident by both clinical observation and lab results
17) Economical
18) High user compliance
My goal has been to find substances that meet all the above criteria. One of the most promising I could find with a scientific basis for immune enhancement was the use of Lactobacilli cell walls and cell wall fractions. Of the various combinations commercially available, the cell wall fractions of specific strains of Lactobacillus bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) appear to be the most potent.
The results of studies and historical use of dead L. bulgaricus cell walls and cell wall fractions clearly demonstrates the broad clinical effectiveness of enhancing the body's own defenses. In the presence of the dead L. bulgaricus cell wall fractions, the immune system is stimulated to become more responsive even though these cell wall fractions are harmless and not pathogenic.
Because of both the specific and general beneficial effects of dead L. bulgaricus cell walls and cell wall fractions, they have been shown to be effectively boost immune function in a broad range of acute and chronic clinical conditions. These include many upper and lower respiratory ailments such as bronchitis, pneumonia, tonsillitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, COPD and bronchial asthma, and even infectious conditions that are a result of treatment resistant bacteria or are of viral origin (Pedan '99). No bacterial resistance has developed, nor is it expected to be a factor because this mechanism works by strengthening natural immune responsiveness rather than acting directly on the pathogenic organisms.
Other Factors Contributing to Immunity
No matter how effectively a therapy supports immunity, lifestyle has a decisive influence on the outcome of that therapy. If nutritional intake is not sufficient, or air and water quality is poor, sleep is inadequate or of poor quality, or stress levels are too high, recovery cannot be expected to be either rapid or complete. Taking care of these problems may require dietary and habit change, allergy testing, nutritional supplements, environmental improvements, fitness training and psychological or stress management counseling before more focused therapies can produce the desired results.
As mentioned earlier, every cell, tissue and organ is involved in the immune process. Every factor that contributes to the vitality of the immune system is important to regaining or maintaining good health. As the cold and flu season is upon us, it is important to not only look for the best immune enhancers, but also to take personal responsibility for creating a healthy body to house a strong immune system.