Strategies for Swine Flu Prevention Management

By Frank Ervolino, LAc, ND

Due to the current outbreak of swine flu, many patients are concerned about their risk of contracting this potentially deadly virus. There are simple steps one can take for maximizing a patient's protection against contracting the illness. These include:

More importantly, however, are the natural, antiviral approaches. As with any illness, the immune system is the front line of defense against disease, or more specifically, Lymphocytes are the body's main line of defense against viral infections. The T and B cell line of lymphocytes need antigen presentation to become active. An antigen is a protein or polysaccharide that is present in the blood and prompts the generation of antibodies in the blood. The lymphocytes then react to the antibodies. Many viruses and bacteria have evolved to find ways to get around antigen/antibody detection. To compensate for this we have another form of lymphocyte called the natural killer or “NK” cell.

NK cells are known for their ability to recognize and destroy virally infected cells and tumor cells. The NK cells do not need antigen/antibody presentation to be active against viruses. One attractive feature of NK cells is that they do not have the characteristic "lag" phase that T and B lymphocytes need for clonal expansion to be effective. NK cells are clearly more effective earlier against viral infection and show a capacity for limiting the spread of a virus early on in the disease process while the T and B cells have to recruit and clone before becoming effective.

One of the best ways I have found to quickly stimulate NK cells is by use of a hybridized mushroom extract called AHCC. AHCC is an alpha glucan that stimulates the NK cells in a dose dependent manner to fight viruses, bacteria and tumor cells. In a study published in the November, 2006, issue of the Journal of Nutrition, titled "Supplementation with Active Hexose Correlated Compound Increases the Innate Immune Response of Young Mice to Primary Influenza Infection" AHCC supplementation:

The conclusion reached by the researchers was that "Bolstering innate immunity with dietary bio-actives may be one avenue for improving the immune response to primary flu infection."

One commercially available AHCC product that is manufactured to high quality standards is ImmPower-AHCC, available through many distributors such as Emerson Ecologics. Further research on AHCC's effectiveness on influenza is listed below.

Also, essential oils are useful as well as they have broad-spectrum anti-viral properties, and they enter the body quickly. The best oils for this are oregano, rosemary, and thyme. To use them one should take one ounce of carrier oil such as jojoba, almond or grape seed oil and add 5-7 drops of each of the essential oils to the carrier oil. You can rub it on your chest like you would use a vapo chest rub or use the oil to coat the inside of your nostrils. Coating the inside of your nostrils with a medicated oil is a great way to avoid getting sick on an airplane since the air conditioning of a plane can dry out your nasal passages and cause them to crack, allowing the virus to enter through the cracks.

Let's not forget that over half of the immune system is located in the gastrointestinal tract as GALT or gut associated lymphoid tissue, so this means that keeping your intestinal flora healthy can improve your immunity against viruses. This has been shown to be true in recent research studies. Lastly let's not forget the herb Andrographis (Chuan xin lian) which is shown to reduce the severity and length of viral illnesses when taken post-infection. Then there are always the retained pathogen formulas such as Yin qiao san, Huang qin tang, San ren tang, Huang qin qing dan tang, Qing hao bie jia tang and others, but that could be an article unto itself!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have to keep this threat from reaching a full-blown pandemic.

Summary of Recent Research On AHCC and Anti-viral Activity

Nutr Res. 2009 Feb;29(2):139-43.
Low-dose supplementation with active hexose correlated compound improves the immune response to acute influenza infection in C57BL/6 mice.
Nogusa S, Gerbino J, Ritz BW.
Department of Biology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

This study showed that the NK cells response to influenza virus was enhanced by AHCC supplementation and was dose-dependent. It also showed that even at low doses of AHCC the NK cell response to the influenza virus was improved. The larger the AHCC dose the greater the increase in survival and reduction in the loss of body weight during an influenza event.

J Nutr. 2009 Mar;139(3):598-602. Epub 2009 Jan 13.
Oral administration of active hexose correlated compound enhances host resistance to West Nile encephalitis in mice.
Wang S, Welte T, Fang H, Chang GJ, Born WK, O'Brien RL, Sun B, Fujii H, Kosuna K, Wang T.
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.

This interesting study looked at the ability of AHCC as an immunotherapy against the onset of West Nile Virus for which there is no treatment or vaccines for humans. The study used young and elderly mice as a model. This correlates to the most susceptible human populations in a viral pandemic. They concluded that "Overall, our data suggests that AHCC enhances protective host immune responses against WNV infection in young and aged mice. Dietary supplementation with AHCC may be potentially immunotherapeutic for WNV-susceptible populations."

J Nutr. 2006 Nov;136(11):2868-73.
Supplementation with active hexose correlated compound increases the innate immune response of young mice to primary influenza infection.
Ritz BW, Nogusa S, Ackerman EA, Gardner EM.
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. bwr24@drexel.edu

This study was interested in identifying agents to enhance the immune response to primary virus infection in response to the emergence of H5N1 avian influenza and the threat of new or adapted viruses in bioterrorism. It examined AHCC's ability to increase natural killer (NK) cell activity, and survival in response to infection with influenza A (H1N1, PR8). Their conclusion was that "These data suggest that AHCC supplementation boosts NK activity, improves survival, and reduces the severity of influenza infection in young mice. Bolstering innate immunity with dietary bioactives may be one avenue for improving the immune response to primary flu infection."

Nutr Rev. 2008 Sep;66(9):526-31.
Supplementation with active hexose correlated compound increases survival following infectious challenge in mice.
Ritz BW.
Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. ritz@drexel.edu

This recent study looked at the effects of AHCC supplementation on survival and the immune response to a variety of infectious agents, including influenza virus, avian influenza virus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. This is a wide spectrum of infective diseases. Their conclusion was that "Supplementation with AHCC appears to modulate immunity and increase survival in response to acute infection and warrants further investigation." This seems to imply that the activation of the immune system by AHCC imparts a broad spectrum immune response.