• Nature May Offer Controlled Relief From Autoimmune Disorders: Cinnamon And Oregano To The Rescue

    Posted July 1, 2011: by Bill Sardi

    Autoimmune disorders affect an estimated 8% of the population, 78% of whom are women, says a Centers of Disease Control report. Many would dispute 8% is a low figure. One reason may be that not only is autoimmune disease, like many other broadly defined maladies, under-reported, but women with autoimmune problems may also be the most vocal in their cry for help.

    The most well-known autoimmune disorders are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, MS. Type I (childhood) diabetes and Hashimoto’s. For a list of diseases defined as autoimmune in origin, click here.

    The reasons for the high prevalence in women are unknown, but may have to do with women’s proclivity to drinking cow’s milk (more about this in a moment) to replace lost calcium during pregnancies and during menopause.

    The CDC report says “circumstantial evidence links autoimmune diseases with preceding infections.“ This is confirmed by laboratory research with animals.

    There is a growing body of studies pointing to an infectious origin for autoimmune problems and the successful use of long-term multiple antibiotics. You can read more about it here.

    The report points to two specific forms of bacteria that may trigger autoimmunity: mycoplasma and Chlamydia, both which are bacteria that reside within living cells. Mycoplasma reside in macrophages, white blood cells that respond to infection and inflammation, and would fit the definition of autoimmune since activation of the immune system would deliver mycoplasma at the same time. Both mycoplasma and Chlamydia are essentially intracellular parasites.

    The problem in treating these bacterial infections is that they are slow-growing germs that replicate faster when the immune system is compromised and antibiotics are only effective against one stage of their life cycle. A number of antibiotics have been successfully employed, including Doxycycline, Ciprofloxacin, Azithromycin, Minocycline, Clarithromycin, and Levaquin, and are often used in combinations. Certainly in animals, the long-term use of antibiotics has been demonstrated to quell autoimmune reactions.

    The reason cow’s milk is brought into question is because it often harbors, even after heat Pasteurization, a stealth bacterium known was paratuberculosis. Recent studies now link para-TB with Type I diabetes. This bacterium may attack the pancreas of milk-drinking children and render them instant insulin-dependent diabetics. A similar link has been made between Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid) and para-TB. A certain link between cow’s milk consumption of tuberculosis of the lung has already been made. Crohn’s disease is now most certainly caused by para-TB. Culpability of the dairy industry in the spread of infectious disease keeps the link between dairy products under wraps as there are no easy answers to this problem beyond over-use of antibiotics among animal herds and develop of more antibiotic-resistant strains of this mycobacterium.

    Cow’s milk, particularly raw milk, and even ground beef, may harbor para-TB. Para-TB can also contaminate drinking water as run off from dairy farms.

    Even following heat pasteurization, para-TB can be cultured in milk. It is a heat-resistant bacterium. One study found 2.8% of milk cartons in the US harbor para-TB.

    The good news is that there may be a breakthrough in understanding the origin of autoimmune diseases (immune system attacks the body) and a home remedy that may spell relief.

    Recently researchers in Great Britain, a milk-drinking country that has its share of autoimmune problems within its population, began searching for a natural alternative to prescription drugs which induce antibiotic resistance and makes autoimmunity an even more prolonged and chronic condition.

    These British researchers tested 18 natural molecules against para-TB. Cinnamon oil was very effective at inhibiting the growth of para-TB and carvacrol (the active ingredient in oil of oregano) and oil of oregano itself were, to a lesser extent, effective at slowing the growth of this noxious bacterium.

    The problem with cinnamon oil is that it is very pungent and difficult to tolerate on the mucous members with oral consumption. It would probably be better to consume cinnamon oil capsules or better yet, dry cinnamon extract. A number of companies make cinnamon extract capsules. Plain cinnamon powder would provide less of the active ingredient. Long-term use may hold autoimmune disorders in check. This still has to be proven in human studies, but if plagued with an autoimmune disorder, I wouldn’t be hesitant in trying cinnamon and oregano. – © Bill Sardi, Knowledge of Health, Inc. Not for posting on other websites.

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