OPENING PAGE    CONTACT US   HEALTH EDUCATION SITES   ONLINE ORDERS     
                        

The above enables you to navigate all things here at MBA

                                  ELLAGICA           ELLAGICA      

  There is much important Health Improvement content here.  Please take your time. 
     It will benefit your health knowledge!   

In this article we will discuss how viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasitic affect human health,  and what we can do to protect ourselves from them.  If it were a virus, we would simply have to let it run it's course, and if it was a bacteria, one would have to decide on whether or not to give some antibiotics.  There are literally thousands of different types of bacteria and viruses that make people get sick, and each of them would need to be addressed.      Luckily, the answer was much easier.

It turns out that there is a single ingredient with the ability to directly attack almost every infection known to man, and it's found in the most unlikely places --- the humble raspberry.  We'll talk more about what this ingredient is and how it works, but first, let's start with a little biological lesson.

It is currently accepted that man rests firmly at the top of the food chain.  Unless we wander into the African jungle to be confronted with  a lion, or go swimming in the mid Atlantic and come face to face with a Great White shark, we fear no animal.  Even in these cases, we have technology to make us safe.  We have guns to shoot lions and steel cages should we wish to close to a man-eating shark and live to tell the tale.

The invulnerability to other life forms is however an illusion.  There are millions of creatures that have been feeding on us,
and often killing us  since the dawn of time.  I'm speaking of course not of large and fearsome beasts with claws and fangs
but the tiniest of God's creatures.  This is about viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.

Throughout human history, we have been at war with these infective microbes.  They have colonized us, living in our skin, our lungs, our intestines, and our internal organs.  Our bodies have become their homes and their food source.  Early man could not attack these creatures the same way he could attack a tiger or a pack of wild dogs. 
                                                                 New strategies had to be devised.

The discovery of fire and the subsequent cooking of our food was our first technological advance and major victory in our war against microbes.  Parasites and bacteria were unable to survive the high temperatures of our cook fire and so we became somewhat protected against parasitic infections of the intestines and bacteria like e coli.

The next advance was the observation that eating certain plants could help the body rid itself of certain infections.  This body of knowledge was first learned by watching what plants sick animals would eat to regain their own health and represents the true origins of modern medicine.

The next advance was the domestication of cats (yep, CATS) --- Cats helped us by hunting down the rats and mice that were attracted to the food and garbage of our settlements.  In communities where cats were unknown, rat and mouse populations grew unchecked and were impossible to eradicate.  The rats and  mice themselves were not the problem.  Certainly they were a nuisance, but the real danger they represented came from the infections they carried. 

            In 1347 the Black Plague, a disease carried by rats and mice, killed 1/3 of the population in Europe.

Better sanitation, plumbing and refrigeration were the next major advances in our war against microbes.  Piles of garbage in early human settlements attracted swarms of flies and other disease carrying insects.  Instead of human waste and refuse being thrown out of the  window into the streets, indoor plumbing and garbage removal services were instituted. 

This resulted in the decrease  in the number of these disease carrying insects in and around our homes and places of work.  Hot and cold running water made clothes and bedding easier to wash on a more regular basis minimizing the mites and molds that made our blankets their staging ground for their nightly assault on our skin.  Finally, refrigeration first thought the use of river ice and finally modern refrigeration systems slowed the growth of mold and bacteria on our food. 
                            All of these advances moved us forward again.

The most recent major advance was the discovery of antibiotics by Alexander Fleming in 1929.  By observing that certain molds killed certain bacteria, he was able to discover penicillin.  This led to both a deeper understanding of bacteria in
general s well as an entire industry dedicated to searching out new and more effective ways to kill bacteria.

We've come a long way in our understanding of microbes and our  abilities to deal with them and modern man lives in a mostly disease free state.  Still, the question remains, can we do better?  Can we decrease the number and severity of childhood infections?  Can we prevent or shorten the length of a common cold?  Can we rid ourselves of the chronic infections that make their homes in us?  Can we win the war against microbes that was started so long ago? 

       Let's look at the different kinds of microbes we face and see what can be done about them.

        The Four Major Classes of Infections are Viruses, Bacteria, Fungi and Parasites.

Let's begin with viruses.  Viruses are among the most dangerous infections that we, as a species, have to deal with.  Unlike other microbes that are typically spread by vermin or insects, viruses can spread directly from human to human through a sneeze or cough.  Smallpox killed 50 million people last century and influenza another 100 million in the 1918 outbreak alone.

 Now with overpopulated cities where people are in close proximity and given the ease of international travel, a major viral pandemic would be much worse.  According to the Center for Disease Control, if another major influenza pandemic were to occur today, estimates are for  billion dead.

While researchers work furiously to develop antiviral drugs, a truly effective broad spectrum antiviral mediation still eludes them.  Still, we don't need to look to the apocalyptic to see the effects of viruses.  Viruses are vastly underestimated as a cause of chronic disease today.  It's not just the millions who currently suffer from viral infections such as Hepatitis C, Aids, and Herpes that are affected, but the average man and woman on the street.

Everyone without exception is infected with the Epstein Barr, Cytomegalovirus and herpes viruses.

Most people are strong enough to keep these viruses from being much more than a low-grade nuisance, but they slowly eat away at our vitality taking advantage of us when we are tired or under the weather.  They are among the many opportunistic infections that wait for us to let our guard down.

What use also generally unknown is that many of the conditions currently considered to be genetic in nature are in fact
viral in origin.

How does this  mix up happen?  Firstly, viral infections are virtually impossible to detect, so unless you know exactly what you are looking for you will likely miss them.  Secondly, viral infections also have the ability to cause genetic mutation.

In some cases, the genetic mutation that a scientist points to as the cause of a virus he cannot detect.  Many people today who are told that they have an incurable genetic disease actually have a very curable viral infection.

If you are dealing with disease of unknown or genetic origin or are just feeling run down, odds are you're dealing with a virus.  Even though modern medicine has yet to come up with a truly effective broad-spectrum anti-viral medication, there is a natural way to directly attack viruses.

First, you need to understand a little about how viruses work.  Unlike all the other life forms, viruses are unable to reproduce on their own.  Viruses reproduce by commandeering the machinery of our own cells, turning them into virus making machines.  Our own cells end up making the very viruses that make us sick.

While this is a very clever strategy for the virus, it does have one exploitable weakness.  In order for a virus to reproduce and make us sick, it must first enter a cell.  As long as it stays outside a cell.  This is where we should focus.  How can we keep a virus from entering a cell in the first place?  It turns out that many viruses use an enzyme called integrase to get inside of our cells.  If we can inhibit the integrase enzyme, then many viruses won't be able to get inside our cells to reproduce.  If we can inhibit the integrase enzyme, we can inhibit a good percentage of viruses.  Since integrase is not a human  enzyme, inhibiting it is harmless to us.

                                            Now back to our friend the  RASPBERRY.

Ellagic acid, a compound made from raspberries does just what we are looking for in our fight against viruses.  Ellagic acid is an integrase inhibitor.  We take Ellagic acid, we will be able to inhibit many viruses, known and unknown, from entering our cells and reproducing.  Rather than focus on any one virus and how to stop it, Ellagic acid focuses on a key enzyme many viruses share.

Now let's turn our attention to bacteria.  The antibiotic revolution made once feared diseases like tuberculosis, staph and strep manageable and often curable.  Well, at least they used to be.  Massive overuse of antibiotics in hospitals and in livestock management has given rise to the superbug.  The superbug is antibiotic resistant and very aggressive.  The very bacteria we thought we had beaten are now making a comeback and threatening to wreak havoc around the globe.  Right now 2 billion people in the world, or roughly 1/3 of the world's population has tuberculosis, and antibiotic resistant staph and strep run unchecked through our hospitals, often infecting and sometimes killing patients who come in for routine operations.

This is understandable.  Bacteria reproduce so quickly and mutate so easily that developing resistance to any particular antibiotic drug was only ever  just a matter of time.  What we need  is a way to stop all bacteria not just one type or another.  We need to find a way to stop bacteria at a level that they cannot mutate around.

The deepest level of any life form is its DNA.  Is there a way to affect bacterial DNA without harming ourselves?  It turns out that there is.  Bacteria like most life forms coil their DNA molecule into a very tight ball.  This coiling is  required to fit the sometimes 10 foot long DNA molecule into a tiny bacterial cell.  That's right, DNA can be up to 10 feet long, and it has to fit in
a cell 30 million times smaller than its length.

What would happen if we were to uncoil that DNA strand?  What if we could pull on it like the loose string on a knitted sweater?  You guessed it, the whole coil would unravel.  When the DNA is coiled up, the information is accessible, but in an uncoiled state, the DNA would be unreadable.  In this state, the bacteria wouldn't have the information required to run it's basic life processes.  In other words the bacteria die.

Here is an analogy to illustrate how  this works.  Imagine that you want to build your first house by yourself.  Having never done this before, you decide to go to the library to get some books on basic carpentry and architecture.  Unfortunately, when you  are there you find that a minor earthquake has knocked all the books off the shelves into a disorganized mess on the floor.

You know  somewhere in that mess are the books you need, but it would take months to find them.

It's the same when you unspool the DNA of a bacteria cell.  The information, in this case the DNA, is still there, but it is inaccessible and the bacteria dies unable to get the instruction on how to maintain it's basic life processes.

                                                         Is There a Way To Accomplish This Task  

Ahh the humble raspberry, it saves us again.  That same ellagic acid compound we can get from the raspberry
that kept the viruses from entering our cells also causes the DNA of bacteria to unspool.

It turns out that all bacteria use an enzyme called gyrase to keep their DNA coiled, and ellagic acid inhibits this enzyme.  Unlike antibiotics that only work on specific types of bacteria, ellagic acid inhibits all types of bacteria.  Further, since gyrase is not a human enzyme, inhibiting it is harmless to us.

Now let's turn our attention to fungi and yeast.  When people are infected with these microorganisms, they are literally molding like a piece of bread or cheese left in the cupboard too long. Molds have been only a minor annoyance in the last 50 years limiting themselves to ruining grain harvests and occasional toenail infection, but times are changing.  Toxic molds now commonly colonize houses and work environments getting into walls and ceilings and ventilation systems.  These molds can then transition into our lungs where they may be impossible to eradicate. Chronic intestinal fungal and yeast infections are also on the rise.  These intestinal infections bore holes in the mucosal membrane of the intestines allowing undigested proteins to enter the blood stream where allergic reactions ensure.

Medicine has antifungal and anti-yeast medications but the problem is that many of these are toxic to the liver and other organs.  Is there some part of the life cycle of these two types of infections that we can inhibit on without hurting ourselves?

It turns out that the same ellagic acid that stops viruses from entering our cells and causes bacteria to unravel their DNA also inhibits a key pathway in the life cycle of fungi and yeast.  Fungi and yeast are types of plants and so have a different type of cell wall than we do.  Whereas our cell walls are made up of proteins and fats, and are soft and pliable, their cell walls are made up of sugars, one of which is called Chitin. 

This Chitin  is made with the help of an enzyme called Chitin Synthase II, and fortunately for us, ellagic acid inhibits it.  Without the ability to produce Chitin, fungi and yeast cannot grow or reproduce, and given time, will die, and unlike common antifungal and anti yeast drugs, ellagic acid has no known toxicity to our own cells.  Since Chitin Synthase II is not a human enzyme, inhibiting it is harmless to us.

The last type of infection to address is that of parasites.  Many think that only third world inhabitants are at risk for parasites, but in fact virtually everyone has some degree of parasitic infestation.  Going to restaurants, owning animals or traveling abroad  virtually guarantees some degree of parasitic infection. For the most part,  parasites are happy to sit in your intestines and internal organs and slowly suck your blood.  While there are many parasites that can kill a person, most parasites would rather suck as much life out of their host as they can, without outright killing them. 

Parasites are the largest, smartest and most evolved of the 4 infectious types and so it makes sense that they have the best survival strategy.  Unfortunately, most anti parasitic drugs have side effects worse than the symptoms of the original parasite itself.  Is there some way we can deal with parasitic infections without hurting ourselves in the process?

                                                  Again, Ellagic acid and the Raspberry come to Our Rescue.

While the exact mechanisms of how ellagic acid kills parasites is not fully known, it has proven itself against a number of different parasites.  Current scientific thought suggests it has something to do with Glutathione Reductase Pathway,
but that is beyond the scope of this presentation.

To conclude our discussion of how ellagic acid can be used to suppress viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeast and parasites.  There is one more condition that ellagic acid has shown positive results with that we will discuss here, and that is cancer.

In fact, if you look in the scientific literature, ellagic acid is better known for its ability to fight against cancers than anything else.  While there are several different ways in which ellagic acid both protects against cancer and helps fight against cancers that have already formed, the one we will address here is its ability to cause cancer to self-destruct.  The technical term of this is apoptosis.

Whenever a cell becomes cancerous, our DNA sends it a signal to self-destruct.  This is one of the most powerful safeguards we have in preventing cancer and it works the majority of the time.  Unfortunately, it only takes one cancer cell capable of blocking this signal for a tumor to form. It is specifically those cells that are capable of overriding the self-destruct signal from the DNA that continue to grow and eventually form tumors.  What ellagic acid does is too powerfully reinstate the self-destruct signal in cancerous and precancerous cells.  Unlike chemotherapy which damages healthy and cancerous cells alike, apoptosis, or cell self-destruction, only applies to cancer cells and other damaged cells that are no longer useful or safe to have in the body.

There are other ways in which ellagic acid supports the body in dealing with dealing with cancer including protecting our DNA from mutagenic chemicals. causing the growth cycle arrest of cancer cells, and protecting the cellular regulatory gene,
P53, but these are beyond the scope of this presentation.

Ellagic acid is truly a remarkable compound.  It inhibits viruses, bacteria, fungi, yeast and parasites.  It helps support the body in its fight against cancer.  It truly is the one thing that you would take with you to the proverbial deserted island.

I hope this information has been useful for you.

SPECIAL NOTE:  This site becomes part of what we covered in the following three sites;

                                 THE ORIGINAL INFORMATION

                                 SERIOUS HEALTH KNOWLEDGE

                                 ENDOSTEROL - INTRO

                                 SUPPOSITORIES - ANCIENT HEALTH CHAMPIONS

                                                              Additional notes Regarding cancer.

Summary:

Most chemotherapies ultimately rely on instigating the apoptotic process via damaging the cancer cells.

In cancers where apoptosis is inhibited, chemotherapies are less effective.

By instigating apoptosis, ellagic acid may  make effective chemotherapies more effective, and drug resistant cancers so ...

Anyone with cancer should take ellagic acid.  Anyone one on chemo should take ellagic acid to make the chemo more effective.  Anyone wishing to avoid cancer should take ellagic acid.

One concern with inducing apoptosis is increasing the risk of heart attack by reducing the point at which oxygen deprived heart cells commit apoptosis.

Ellagic acid has cardio protective qualities.

Ellagic acid can also stimulate blood clotting through fact 12 (Hageman factor).

Ellagica has pumpkin seed extract which specifically inhibits  factor 12 as well as bromelain,
Ginkgo and Nattokinase which are blood thinners.
 

Quercetin is also added as studies show it magnifies the effects of ellagic Acid.

Thank you very much for the time and the visit.

     OPENING PAGE    CONTACT US   HEALTH EDUCATION SITES   ONLINE ORDERS     
                        
              

Accessed   Times
Updated January, 2010