beta-glucan fiber Archives - Amazing Health Advances

How to Treat Canker Sores

AHA Publisher — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 07:00:22 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutritionfacts – Vitamin C, turmeric, beta-glucan fiber, and vitamin B12 are put to the test for recurring canker sores (aphthous ulcers). Canker sores can be “a painful and often recurrent inflammatory process of the oral mucosa,” the lining of our mouths. Similar to other chronic inflammatory conditions, DNA damage due to oxidative stress caused by free radicals is thought to play a role. Normally, free radical production is balanced with antioxidants, but if the concentration of free radicals gets too high and our antioxidant enzymes and the antioxidants we get in our diet “cannot compensate for these radicals, the balance changes in favor of the oxidants”—that is, in a pro-oxidant direction. This can lead to oxidative damage within our body. Does that mean that people who experience recurring canker sores—also known as recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS)—have fewer antioxidants, more oxidation, and more DNA damage? Yes, yes, and yes. As you can see in the graph below and at 0:51 in my video Best Supplement for Canker Sores, they exhibit more pro-oxidants and more oxidative stress in their bloodstream, lower antioxidant status, and more DNA damage. This suggests it might be possible for antioxidants to help improve the DNA damage caused by recurring canker sores, but you don’t know until you put it to the test. Sixteen boys and girls around age 12 with recurring canker sores were given a whopping 2,000 mg (2 g) of vitamin C a day. That’s considered the tolerable upper daily limit for adults before you start getting diarrhea, and 1,200 mg may have that effect on a 12-year-old, but it’s all about risks versus benefits. How did they do? As you can see in the graph below and at 1:33 in my video, 15 out of the 16 kids cut the number of canker sores they were getting at least in half. In the three months before they started the vitamin C, they had averaged four canker sores each, but in the three months they were on it, they each had less than one on average. When they stopped the vitamin C for another three months, the ulcers started coming back. Then, when they once again added the vitamin C, the canker sore rate dropped again. What about directly applying antioxidants, like a turmeric gel? Let’s find out. A turmeric gel containing 2 percent curcumin, the yellow pigment in the spice turmeric, was swabbed directly onto canker sores twice a day and “significantly reduced pain intensity and size of the aphthous ulcer [canker sore] compared to placebo,” which was a gel containing no active ingredient. Okay, but wouldn’t it be nice to see a comparison to an active treatment from an independent research group, rather than this study without an active treatment that was funded by the curcumin gel manufacturer? Yes, and here we go. This randomized clinical trial compared a generic 2 percent curcumin gel to a prescription steroid gel and found that the curcumin worked just as well. This provides “strong evidence that [topical] curcumin gel can be used as an effective and safer alternative to steroids in treatment of RAS.” You may remember I’ve previously discussed that topical honey beat out the same steroid for both ulcer healing and pain reduction, as you can see in the graph and at 2:46 in my video. So, if you’re going to use something topically, honey seems better, but what if, instead of a topical application, you just want to swallow something like vitamin C but want something that doesn’t give you diarrhea? Thirty-one patients with recurring canker sores were split into two groups and received either 20 mg a day of placebo or yeast beta-glucan fiber, which is the amount found in just an eighth of a teaspoon of brewer’s yeast or nutritional yeast. As you can see below and at 3:17 in my video, the placebo group experienced no significant change, whereas ulcer severity in the yeast group was cut nearly in half. So, now you have another useful alternative. If it’s all about antioxidants, can’t you just treat recurring canker sores by eating a plant-based diet high in fruits and vegetables? That hasn’t been put to the test, but keep in mind a plant-based diet could also make things worse if one is not ensuring a regular reliable source of vitamin B12 through supplements or fortified foods. For example, a 30-year-old women had recurring canker sores for four years. She ate few animal products and didn’t supplement with vitamin B12, so she became B12-deficient and began experiencing weakness, tiredness, numbness, and tingling. She was immediately started on vitamin B12, and her deficiency symptoms got better. Her canker sores also improved and she experienced “a rapid and complete recovery” within weeks of starting vitamin B12 after years of suffering. We’ve known since the 1970s that vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to canker sores—so much so that it’s recommended to consider B12 deficiency any time a patient has with recurring canker sores. In fact, a number of nutrient deficiencies may contribute. A study compared the lab tests of those with recurrent canker sores to those without and found that more than half of the canker sore group showed evidence of hematinic deficiencies—that is, blood-forming nutrient deficiencies. In contrast, less than one in ten in the non-canker sore group exhibited these deficiencies. In this case, we’re talking about iron and folate deficiency in addition to vitamin B12 deficiency. When the study participants were given supplements, their canker sores improved and this was more pronounced among those who had no family history of canker sore problems. You can see how vitamin and mineral supplements might help people who are deficient, but might a supplement like vitamin B12 help people who are not vitamin B12 deficient? Apparently so. As the title of the study states, “cyanocobalamin”—the most common form of supplemental B12—“may be beneficial in the treatment of recurrent aphthous ulcers [canker sores] even when vitamin B12 levels are normal.” The researchers took a group of 72 patients with frequent canker sores and gave them vitamin B12, regardless of what their levels were. Ninety-six percent of the participants got better regardless of whether they started out vitamin B12–deficient or with normal vitamin B12 levels in their blood, as you can see below and at 5:37 in my video. In this case, there was no control group, though, so we don’t know how many would have gotten better without the vitamin B12 supplement. In addition, the researchers injected the vitamin B12, and injections can have an even greater placebo effect than pills—especially with something like a syringe of vitamin B12, which has a striking mad-scientist-looking ruby red color, as you can see below and at 5:57 in my video. If only there were a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral vitamin B12 for canker sores. And, here we go. In this case, 1,000 micrograms of sublingual vitamin B12 were taken every day for six months. It took five months, but, eventually, the duration of canker outbreaks, the number of ulcers, and the level of pain were significantly reduced, “regardless of initial vitamin B12 levels in the blood.” So, whether you are vitamin B12–deficient or not, B12 supplements seem to help. By the end of the study, twice as many in the vitamin B12 group appeared to have been cured. The researchers concluded that “vitamin B12 treatment, which is simple, inexpensive, and low-risk, seems to be effective,” but don’t forget that it appeared to take months before it started working. In another randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of a vitamin B12 ointment applied directly to the canker sores, a significant reduction in pain was demonstrated within only two days compared to placebo, regardless of whether the participant was vitamin B12–deficient or not. Here’s a link to the video on the remarkable honey results I mentioned: Flashback Friday: Topical Honey for Canker Sores. Key Takeaways A canker sore can be a painful and recurring inflammation of the lining of the mouth, and DNA damage from oxidative stress caused by free radicals may play a role. Antioxidants typically balance free radical production, but oxidative damage within the body can result from changes in a pro-oxidant direction if free radical concentration gets too high and our antioxidant enzymes and the antioxidants we get from food consumed cannot compensate. People with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (recurring canker sores) exhibit more pro-oxidants and more oxidative stress in their bloodstream, lower antioxidant status, and more DNA damage. A daily 2,000 mg of vitamin C resulted in 15 out of 16 kids with recurring canker sores cutting the number of ulcers at least in half. After stopping the vitamin C, the canker sores began reappearing and then dropped back down after the C was re-added. A generic 2 percent curcumin gel worked just as well as a prescription steroid gel, and a topical honey also beat out the same steroid for both ulcer healing and pain reduction. Taking a daily dose of the amount of yeast beta-glucan fiber found in an eighth of a teaspoon of nutritional or brewer’s yeast also nearly halved ulcer severity, while those in the placebo group experienced no significant change. Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to canker sores, as can hematinic (blood-forming nutrient) deficiencies. The most common form of supplemental vitamin B12, cyanocobalamin, may benefit individuals with recurring canker sores—even with normal B12 levels. When taken sublingually, though, it may take months before it starts significantly reducing the duration of canker outbreaks, the number of ulcers, and the level of pain. Directly applying vitamin B12 ointment to canker sores, however, was found to reduce pain significantly in only two days, compared to placebo, regardless of previous B12 status. To read the original article click here.

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Nutritional Yeast to Help Prevent Common Childhood Infections

AHA Publisher — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 07:00:56 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – The amount of beta-glucan fiber in just a dusting of nutritional yeast a day is put to the test in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for the prevention of common childhood illnesses. In 1989, the late Charles Janeway gave a presentation that was to revolutionize our understanding of the immune system. He proposed that we must have some ancient innate first line of defense. We had known about vaccinations for centuries and how our bodies can learn from past infections, but he figured that was not enough: Our body must have evolved some way to recognize foreign invaders the first time they invade. He proposed that the way our immune cells discriminate between self and “nonself”—that is, our own cells versus invading microbes—may arise from pattern recognition receptors; we’re born with the ability to “recognize patterns of microbial structure.” For example, there’s a unique component of fungal cell walls called beta-glucan (β-glucan) that naturally stimulates our immune system. Our own cells don’t produce it, but fungal pathogens such as Candida do. Candida is a type of yeast that can cause serious blood infections, so it’s good if our immune system recognizes it right off the bat. Of course, you could stimulate the immune system by injecting Candida into your veins, but then you also might die. Luckily for us, non-disease-causing yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which include baker’s yeast, brewer’s yeast, and nutritional yeast, have that same molecular signature as beta-glucan. The drug industry is capitalizing on this “powerful immunostimulatory response” to develop new anti-infection, anticancer therapies, but does it have to be injected into the vein? What happens if you just eat some nutritional yeast? I discuss this in my video Best Food to Prevent Common Childhood Infections. Our digestive tract is our largest point of contact with the outside world, with more surface area exposed than our lungs and skin put together, so it is not surprising that most of our immune cells are concentrated along the intestinal wall. They don’t just stay there, though. Once they’re tipped off to what’s happening in the gut, they can go defend other parts of the body. That’s why you can give an oral cholera vaccine, for example, and end up with cholera-fighting immune cells in your salivary glands, pumping antibodies out into your saliva to protect against infection. What if we sprinkled some nutritional yeast on our kids’ popcorn for a snack? Might that help marshal defenses throughout their bodies? Adults tend to get just a few colds a year, but the average schoolchild can come down with a cold every other month—and what can we really do about it? Modern medicine has little to offer for run-of-the-mill common colds. Nevertheless, doctors still commonly prescribe antibiotics, which can do more harm than good. “Clearly, there is a need for effective, safe, and inexpensive treatment…[and] β-glucan can be just the right solution.” You don’t know, of course, until you put it to the test. So, researchers performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of about a half teaspoon of nutritional yeast worth of beta-glucan in children who suffered from repeated respiratory infections. As you can see at 3:17 in my video, after a month, they found a significant increase in salivary lysozyme levels compared with controls. (Lysozyme is an important protective immune component of our eyes, nose, and mouth.) However, a larger follow-up study reportedthe opposite findings, an apparent drop in salivary lysozyme levels. And, although the researchers claimed this was “accompanied by pronounced improvements in the general physical health of tested individuals,” no such data were provided. The only reason we cared about the lysozyme levels, though, was because we were hoping it would result in fewer infections, but there had never been any such studies…until now. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed to see whether the beta-glucan in just a dusting of nutritional yeast a day would reduce the number of episodes of common childhood illnesses. “During the 12-week course of the study 85% of children in the placebo group experienced one or more episodes of infectious illness.” If you go to 4:19 in my video, I show this graphically: Eighty-five percent got ill in the sugar pill group, but taking just an 8th of a teaspoon of nutritional yeast worth of beta-glucans or even just a 16th of a teaspoon’s worth appeared to cut illness rates in half. And those on the yeast who did come down with a cold only suffered for about three days, compared with closer to nine days in the placebo group. The researchers concluded that by giving kids these yeast beta-glucans, we could “decrease the incidence and severity of infectious illness during the cold/flu season, alleviating some of the burden on parents of caring for sick children,” too. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Greger click here.

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