Re: secretin does not / description (long)

[Guest guest]

Yeah...that Placebo is great stuff... it improves practically

everything at least a little bit.

Secretin in the gut is helpful, but apparently just injecting it (or

however they are doing it in this studies) just isn't cutting it.

Has something to do with the timing of it in digestion. Also, I

remember long time ago andrew was making the connection between how

secretin might help in the gut and how No-Fenol helps. I need to

look that up again. There were some really good links. Maybe just

injecting secretin doesn't work as well, needs to be induced by the

body naturally at the right time.

Here is a description I wrote from my own understanding:

Secretin

When the stomach acid enters the small intestine, the hormone

secretin is released by the small intestines (duodenum). Secretin

has a couple of functions. One of the primary tasks is to signal the

pancreas to releases pancreatic juices into the intestines. This

fluid contains digestive enzymes and bicarbonate. The bicarbonate

raises the pH of the small intestine. The higher pH helps the

digestive enzymes to work more effectively. Remember that the

pancreas tends to release just enough bicarbonate to neutralize the

amount of acid coming from the stomach. Some opioids, as well as

other causes, may decrease gastric acid production. Lower quantities

of stomach acid entering the intestines decrease the release of the

hormone secretin. The reduced amount of secretin may then throw off

any other functions that secretin may perform in the body, including

digestion further compounding the problems. Secretin therapy may be

a round-about way of getting digestive enzymes into the intestines

and functioning well, at least in part.

If opiate peptides or other sources are blocking the pathway, the

stomach could be signaling the body for more gastric acids to start

proper digestion but it never arrives. The lower stomach acid may

not be activating the pepsin in the stomach and food is not well

digested. This allows more insufficiently broken-down food to enter

the intestines. It may also lower the quantity of enzymes sent to

the intestines. On the other hand, if gastric acid production is

just fine but something else is hampering the release of

bicarbonate, then the very acidic contents of the stomach go into

the intestines where they remain acidic. Then acid is in the

intestines, animal (human) digestive enzymes are inhibited if not

outright deactivated, food is not broken down, the intestinal lining

gets `burned,' not a pretty situation.

Giving secretin directly has provided some improvement to a few

people, but it fails to be effective for many others. Initially,

secretin was credited for helping three children with autism with

gastro-intestinal problems as well as giving improvement in behavior

(Horvath et al 1998). However, many following studies with much

larger groups of children showed no significant improvements with

secretin (e.g. Sponheim, Oftedal, and Helverschou 2000; Carey et al

2000; Heisler 2002; Owley et al 2001 included 56 children;

et al included 65 children). Secretin has also been expensive.

It might be the secretin was producing positive results in some by

aiding digestion. This may explain some of the discrepancy in

results. Not all children would have the same degree of gut injury

or digestive response. It could be the added secretin did not

stimulate enough bicarbonate production in some, or even if there

was more bicarbonate, the timing may not be right to improve

digestion or intestinal health. The research of Horvath in 1999

supports this possibility. Of 36 children with autism, 75 percent

showed an increase in the amount of pancreatico-biliary fluid output

after intravenous secretin administration. The majority of children,

although not all, did show greater pancreatic fluid production with

secretin. So although supplementing with secretin stimulates

pancreatic fluid production in most people, that is only the first

step. How effective that increase in fluid is would be dependent on

other factors, such as the natural digestive enzyme content, the

bicarbonate content, if it hits the digestive cycle at the right

time, if leaky gut or inflammation is present disrupting digestion

and nutrient absorbtion farther along the line, or something else

the secretin could not directly affect.

Giving enzymes directly could be doing what this aspect of secretin

is accomplishing only doing it in a more efficient, direct, and far

less expensive manner. Digestive enzymes might also clear out

peptides and thus remove their adverse affect on stomach acid

production. In addition, enzymes may promote gut healing and an

increase in nutrient availability.

If the situation is too much acidity in the stomach, taking 1/8 to

1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, the plain baking soda most people have

in their kitchen cabinets, after eating may help a great deal.

Bicarbonate is the foundation of most antacids and several ulcer

formulas. I fill empty capsules with baking soda and keep them on

hand. Putting the baking soda in a little liquid or food will also

work. This helps with reflux, sour stomach, nausea, and other

uncomfortable effects from eating. Some say this in itself can help

digestion and overall health tremendously (and the price is right!)

.