From:
Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia & Environmental Illness, by Burton
Goldberg
Immunocal®
: Immune Nutrient from Milk Protein One of the most important
substances required by the immune system for optimal functioning is
an amino acid complex called glutathione. However, supplementation
is made difficult by the complexity of the body's system for delivering
glutathione to cells.
Canadian
researchers figured out a way to deliver glutathione effectively
in the form of a natural milk protein supplement called Immunocal®
Glutathione is a tripeptide, a small protein consisting of three
amino acids (glutamin acid, cysteine and glycine) bound together.
The substance functions as a principal antioxidant, scavenging free
radicals and toxins such as lipid peroxides that would otherwise
damage, even destroy, cells. It accomplishes this valuable task
by working with an enzyme called glutathione peroxidase.
Further,
glutathione regulates the activities of other antioxidants such
as vitamins A, C, and E. However, when the body is suffering from
oxidative stress, supplies of glutathione become depleted. Oxidative
stress is a condition in which the body is unable to detoxify itself
completely and is overrun by free radicals because antioxidants
are depleted.
Oxidative
stress affects the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems, and it
may underlie many of the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue.
Glutathione exerts another protective and scavenging role in concert
with the liver, the body's primary organ of detoxification and internal
cleansing. In the liver, glutathione combines with toxins, carcinogens,
and waste products as a way of more effectively securing their elimination
from the body. In addition, glutathione helps red blood cell membranes
and other cellular proteins maintain their structure, and aids the
production of leukotrienes, immune system cells crucial for working
against inflammation. But glutathione also has an important role
in supporting the activity of white blood cells called lymphocytes
(the key players in the body's immune response) as well as antibodies
(specialized immune defense cells). In fact, for lymphocytes to
do their job, glutathione must be present. The tricky fact about
glutathione is that you can't simply take in more glutathione as
a supplement; it must be made INSIDE the cells. In other words,
glutathione doesn't enter cells directly; rather, it must be made
within them by precursors.
Recognizing
this biochemical fact, Canadian researchers developed Immunocal®
in 1993 to deliver to the cells the necessary PRECURSORS for glutathione.
In the course of researching dietary protein sources capable of
boosting the immune system,[Dr.Gustavo Bounous, M.D., of McGill
University in Montreal, Quebec, discovered the substance which later
became Immunocal® .
Today,
Dr. [Gustovo] Bounous serves as the medical director of Immunotec
Research, the manufacturers of Immunocal®
, located in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada.
Immunocal®
is a natural food supplement consisting of concentrated milk protein
powder containing unusually high amounts of glutathione precursors,
according to Immunotec Research. " Immunocal®
promotes optimal functioning of the immune system by sustaining
normal levels of glutathione and glutathione precursors in the lymphocytes.
Glutathione, acting as the cellular antioxidant, allows for a full
immune response," says Immunotec literature.
Immunocal® contains concentrates
of three substances in the whey portion of milk (serum albumin,
alpha-lactalbumin, and lactoferrin). These contain a large quantity
of cystine, an amino acid breakdown product which is a more usable
form of cysteine (the amino acid precursor of glutathione). Studies
have show that cysteine levels tend to be the rate-limiting factor
(the biochemical bottleneck) in maintaining the ideal level of glutathione.
The problem with cysteine (both a protein building block and an
antioxidant) is that it is found in only trace amounts in a limited
number of foods, including raw egg whites, milk, and meats. If the
body is under immune stress, as happens with a viral infection,
dietary sources may not be sufficient to produce enough glutathione.
If you isolate cysteine and take it in large quantities, however,
it can be toxic.
Rapidly
metabolized (burned up, digested by the body), cysteine is unusable
as a dietary supplement. Immunocal®
solves this problem because it contains cystine, which is to say,
cysteine in a more practical form. This form is readily released
during digestion and transported to target cells, where it can be
broken down into cysteine. Once in the cells, the cysteine can then
be used as raw material for the synthesis of glutathione, the goal
of all this biochemistry. For example, proper amounts of glutathione
enable white blood cells (lymphocytes such as T cells, B cells,
and natural killer cells() to reproduce in order to make antibodies
or to attack foreign substances directly.
Five
hundred liters of fresh, raw cow's milk are necessary to produce
one kilogram of Immunocal® ,
according to Immunotec. It is produced using a gentle process and
low temperatures to preserve the biological activity of the proteins.
Recommended
dosage is one pouch (10 g) of Immunocal®
daily. Here you add the powder to 4 to 6 ounces of milk, water, or
juice and shake gently to mix.
There
are no reported side effects from using Immunocal® ,says Immunotec.
Immunotec's
Immunocal® : Makes Scientific Sense
