this confused me...

January 16, 2005

Maybe its the low fever, but this needs translgating for me. Is

this a herb based product or something chemical?

By Jack Challem

magazine

Are you ready for the flu and cold season?

It turns out that a little known dietary supplement may be your best

defense against symptoms of the flu and common cold. The supplement,

N-acetylcysteine (NAC), is a form of the amino acid cysteine and a

component of protein. It's also one of the most potent immune

boosters around.

Never heard of it? Virtually every hospital emergency room in the

country

stocks it as an antidote for acetaminophen (Tylenol®) poisoning.

Overdoses

of acetaminophen, a common analgesic drug, deplete your liver's

supply

of

glutathione, a powerful antioxidant, leading to liver failure. Large

supplemental doses of NAC restore liver glutathione levels and help

the

organ break down acetaminophen.

NAC has also been used since the 1960s as a " mucolytic " agent-that

is,

to

break down lung-clogging mucous in chronic bronchitis and other

respiratory

disorders. Rich in what chemists call " free sulfhydryl groups, " NAC

breaks

down the disfulfide bonds of mucous-in essence, thinning it out.

NAC Reduces Flu Symptoms

NAC has several key functions in the body. It is a precursor to

glutathone,

the principal antioxidant made in the body, meaning that NAC raises

glutathione levels. Like other sulfur-containing nutrients, NAC is a

powerful antioxidant. It also helps the liver break down hazardous

compounds-that is, after all, part of the liver's job.

Unlike pure cysteine, which can be neurotoxic in high doses, NAC is

completely safe. The " acetyl " part of the name comes from the fact

that

its

cysteine is acetylated. That means it is bonded to a molecules

called

an

acetyl group. " similar to the molecules that make up acetic acid, or

vinegar

Acetylatation increases absorption, stability, and safety.

Researchers have for years studied NAC as a natural cancer-preventive

compound. Glutathione levels are typically lower than normal in

people

with

cancer and other serious diseases. Given NAC's ability to boost

glutathione

levels and to clear congested lungs, one of these researchers

decided

to

test NAC on elderly men and women susceptible to flus and " flu-like "

symptoms.

Silvio De Flora, M.D., of the Institute of Hygiene and Preventive

Medicine

at the University of Genoa, Italy, enrolled 262 subjects in a

randomized,

double-blind study to test the benefits of NAC. The subjects were

given

either two placeboes or two 600 mg NAC tablets daily for six months

overlapping the wintertime flu season. All of the participants kept

a

daily

log of their health and symptoms, and some were tested for flu

antibodies.

While NAC did not prevent infection with flu germs, its effect was

" striking

" according to De Flora. Of the people with laboratory-confirmed

flus

who

were taking NAC, only 25 percent developed symptoms. In contrast, 79

percent

of the men and women taking placeboes developed clear-cut flu

symptoms,

according to De Flora's article in the European Respiratory Journal.

In

other words, NAC supplements reduced the likelihood of having flu

symptoms

by more than two-third.

Not everyone who gets sick during the winter, however, actually has

the

flu.

So De Flora and his colleagues looked at more general flu-like

symptoms,

including fever, headache, achiness, nasal discharge, cough, and

sore

throat

Again, the differences between people taking NAC and placeboes was

unmistakable. Month to month, over the flu and cold season, people

taking

NAC had anywhere from one-third to one-half the flu-like symptoms of

those

taking placeboes.

" An additional criterion for evaluating the severity of influenza-

like

episodes was the length of time in bed which, irrespective of the

age

of

patients, was remarkably shorter in NAC-treated subjects, " noted De

Flora.

In fact, in the 10 subjects suffering from influenza-like episodes

who

were

not bedridden, nine were under NAC treatment.

Overall, subjects taking NAC weathered their flu-like symptoms with

greater

ease. Most of the people taking NAC had mild flu-like symptoms, In

contrast,

a larger percentageof people suffered moderate and severe symptoms.

All of the subjects also underwent period immune function tests, in

which

antigens (noninfectious bacterial compounds) were applied to the

skin.

In

healthy people, these antigens trigger a noticeable immune response,

but the

study's elderly subjects responded sluggishly when De Flora began

his

study.

Retested after one, three, and six months , immune responsiveness-the

ability to respond to an infection-improved steadily among people

taking NAC

but not among those taking placeboes.

In concluding remarks, De Flora noted that NAC was not virus-

specific

and

could provide " broad-spectrum protection " to ease or eliminate

symptoms

of

infection, particularly in elderly and other people at risk for

contracting

the flu.

Increases Life Expectancy in AIDS

Further evidence of NAC's immune-enhancing properties comes from a

study of

patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), one

of

the

most deadly viruses. Geneticists Lenora Herzenberg, Ph.D., Leonard

Herzenberg, Ph.D., and their colleagues at Stanford University,

determined

that patients with HIV infections and acquired immune-deficiency

syndrome

(AIDS) had low levels of glutathione, and that declining of

glutathione

levels were a better indication of life expectancy than were a

decrease

in

CD4 immune cells. CD4 T cells are the immune cells targeted and

destroyed by

HIV.

The Hertzenberg's followed 204 AIDS patients for three years. Those

with

normal glutathione levels in their CD4 cells generally outlived

those

with

low glutathione levels. The Herzenberg's gave the AIDS patients

either

very

large doses of NAC-3,200-8,000 mg-or a placebo daily for six weeks.

Patients

taking NAC had increased blood levels of glutathione.

After this phase of the study, The Herzenberg's offered NAC to all

of

the

patients, and a majority took it for six months. Those who chose to

take NAC

supplements were " roughly twice as likely to survive for 2 years as

the

subjects who did not take NAC, " explained Leonard Herzenberg.

Several years ago, researchers at the Gaslini Institute, Genoa,

Italy,

investigated how NAC enhances the immune response. Giovanni A.

Rossi,

M.D.,

and his colleagues studied NAC's effect on two types of immune cells,

alverolar macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes, obtained

from

human

subjects. The macrophages were incubated by Staphylococcus aureus, a

type of

bacteria that causes strep throat and " flesh-eating bacteria "

infections.

When Rossi added NAC to some of the cell cultures, the bacteria-

killing

properties of the macrophages and leukocytes increased significantly.

Normally, these cells react so strongly to infections that many are

killed

in the process. With NAC, however, the enhanced germ-killing effect

of

macrophages and leukocytes did not result in greater self-

destruction

of

these immune cells.

May Help Prevent Cancer

NAC has also shown promise as a " chemopreventive, " or

cancer-preventing,

compound. Most cancers are caused by damage to deoxyribonucleic acid

(DNA),

which contains the genetic instructions for cell growth. Cancer-

causing

compounds attach to DNA via chemicals called " adducts. " NAC

decreases

adduct

numbers, according to an animal study published in Cancer Research.

Cancer cells also produce their own free radicals, which mutate DNA

and

signal other cancer cells to keep growing. A study, by Kaikobad

Irani,

Ph.D.

found that antioxidants, particularly NAC, block these cell-growth

signals

and might inhibit the activity of some types of cancers. In the

Journal

of

Cellular Biochemistry, the University of Genoa's De Flora wrote that

NAC

appears to possess all four requirements necessary for a cancer

chemopreventive agent to be used in humans: low cost; practicality

of

use

(oral administration); efficacy, as documented by eperimental data;

and

tolerability and very low toxicity, well established in 30 years of

clinical

use. "

NAC may also be of value in preserving muscle tissue in cancer

patients, as

well as people over overexercise. Wolf Dröge, Ph.D., an immunologist

at

the

German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, found that reasonably fit

men had

a " significant decrease " in muscle mass and an increase in body fat

after

eight weeks weightlifting. However, when the subjects took 600 mg of

NAC

three times weekly, their loss of body mass was almost completely

prevented.

In sum, NAC is a power immune booster that can protect you against

flu

symptoms other infections and maybe even lower your risk of cancer.

Furthermore, NAC supplements are extraordinarily safe, and

recommended

doses

generally range from 500-1,200 mg daily. Because NAC contains sulfur,

capsules have a strong smell. However, they generally do not cause

stomach

upset or bad breath.

The information provided by Jack Challem and The Nutrition Reporter™

newsletter is strictly educational and not intended as medical

advice.

For

diagnosis and treatment, consult your physician.

for more information contact jack@...

return to www.thenutritionreporter.com/ (The Nutrition Reporter

homepage)

you are at: www.thenutritionreporter.com/NAC-flu_and_cold_remedy.html

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