"Boosting Immunity"

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

One regularly sees claims similar to the title of this thread and there was a particular brand of dog food that made this claim a couple of years ago.

Such a vague and broad claim is obviously highly suspect, but can someone say whether there are respectable techniques for measuring immunity in a way that would support such claims even if the marketing departments then get too excited and over-extrapolate the results. I suspect there may be grains of truth to these claims in some cases or trading standards would be able to suppress them at will.

 

[Capsid]

You can measure antibody and T cell responses quantitatively and these can increase when a pathogen has been encountered or following vaccination. But I think the claims you refer to are more aimed at innate immunity where there may be a (tenuous) effect on activating immune mediators such as cytokines. I've not seen any good studies that would support the premise that boosting innate immmunity would help in fighting off an infection.

 

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

What I've assumed is that these claims are each based on an in vitro study, when what would really matter would be efficacy shown in a trial of resistance to a real infection, but the in vitro study would be just sufficient as a fig leaf to cover a claim relating to something as ill-defined as "immunity".

It's almost a converse to the average "miracle cure for cancer" story that appears in the media after a lab somewhere drops a new drug (bleach, perhaps) on a neoplastic cell line and kills the cells, which obviously shows that it would work and be selective and safe in the whole animal/patient.

 

[Rolfe]

.... there was a particular brand of dog food that made this claim a couple of years ago.

Are you talking about that Iams advert that asserted that the 7-year-old cat had the immune system of a 2-year-old? They were done by the ASA and had to withdraw the advert.

I asked about it on the AltVetSkept list some time ago, and was immediately given a link to the relevant ajudication page online, however my email filing cabinet is corrupted at the moment (CompuServe are supposed to be phoning back....) so I can't dig it out.

Rolfe.

 

[Capsid]

Yes that's the nub of it, what do they mean by immunity?

 

[Kumar]

What Is Immunotherapy?

Immunotherapy (also known as biologic therapy) is treatment that uses certain parts of the immune system to fight disease, including cancer. This can be done by stimulating your own immune system to work harder or by using an outside source, such as manmade immune system proteins.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_4X_What_Is_Immunotherapy.asp?sitearea=ETO

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/eto_1_3_Immunotherapy.asp
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/c...mmunotherapies_and_Adjuvants.asp?sitearea=ETO
If these links can you tell anything.

 

[Mojo]

Are you talking about that Iams advert that asserted that the 7-year-old cat had the immune system of a 2-year-old? They were done by the ASA and had to withdraw the advert.

I asked about it on the AltVetSkept list some time ago, and was immediately given a link to the relevant ajudication page online, however my email filing cabinet is corrupted at the moment (CompuServe are supposed to be phoning back....) so I can't dig it out.

http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/non_broadcast/Adjudication+Details.htm?adjudication_id=33735

We really ought to be looking out for any woo advertising making unsupported claims so that it can be submitted to the ASA. They're very hot on this sort of thing.

 

[Capsid]

http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/non_broadcast/Adjudication+Details.htm?adjudication_id=33735

We really ought to be looking out for any woo advertising making unsupported claims so that it can be submitted to the ASA. They're very hot on this sort of thing.

Interesting read. From the article;

They said they had carried out a recent study that proved adding a combination of antioxidant nutrients to a puppy's diet could enhance puppies' immune responses including the production of antibodies to vaccinesThey said they had carried out a recent study that proved adding a combination of antioxidant nutrients to a puppy's diet could enhance puppies' immune responses including the production of antibodies to vaccines

So an in vivo test was conducted and it seems immunity was boosted. I'd like to see the raw data though.

You know I might prefer the immune system of an older person straightaway rather than have to go through the education process of catching all those colds.

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Leading immunologists believe oral ingestion of Beta 1,3/1,6 Glucan (extracted from the cell walls of baker’s yeast) is the best way to safely support your immune system. However not all Beta Glucans are created equal. To be truly active, the delicate Beta 1,3/1,6 Glucan molecule must be extracted fully intact.


...IMMUTOL®, made with highly purified Norwegian Beta-1,3/1,6-Glucan, is now considered the most powerful natural immune supporter in the world—up to 200 times more effective than Echinacea and mushroom extracts!

http://www.immunocorp.com/

Buy two, get one free.

 

[Kumar]

There can be many frauds/trials, as many may want to earn the most due to "modern hungers/greed status" alike addictions as sugar hunger to diabetics. This may be effecting our bodies or our immunity in both ways.We may not be able to resist it unless, we become "natural in our lifestyle".

With all this, how can we live better life & boost immunity, should be the prime goal of discussions on "Boosting Immunity". I was willing this topic to post(ref; my posts in other topic), but since BSM posted, I felt no need to post on sililar subject as happened by posting"Emotions impact Immunity" and "power of unmdicine"(BSM, are we having some cordinations in emotions/feelings now?). Should we not know/discuss first, what are energy boosters an whether these are contents of those/some commercial products?

So, how can we boost our immunity to cope with all modernizations, if some of these causing or can cause adversities in future to us or to our children?

 

[clarsct]

There can be many frauds/trials, as many may want to earn the most due to "modern hungers/greed status" alike addictions as sugar hunger to diabetics. This may be effecting our bodies or our immunity in both ways.We may not be able to resist it unless, we become "natural in our lifestyle".

And this means....what exactly? Are you comparing immune response with diabetes? I am tempted to label this a non-sequitur. No.(tm) Diabetic sugar responses have nothing to do with the immune response.

With all this, how can we live better life & boost immunity, should be the prime goal of discussions on "Boosting Immunity". I was willing this topic to post(ref; my posts in other topic), but since BSM posted, I felt no need to post on sililar subject as happened by posting"Emotions impact Immunity" and "power of unmdicine"(BSM, are we having some cordinations in emotions/feelings now?). Should we not know/discuss first, what are energy boosters an whether these are contents of those/some commercial products?

Hmmmm.
Maybe I ought to let BSM respond....

So, how can we boost our immunity to cope with all modernizations, if some of these causing or can cause adversities in future to us or to our children?

Are 'modernizations' something we must innoculate against? Is there a vaccine for such? Are you saying that modern living is to blame for medical problems? Perhaps, in the sense that you've lived long enough to worry about them.........

 

[Kumar]

What is correct/more practical--homeostatis( resistance to change), excesses or deficiencies?

 

[Eos of the Eons]

I'm trying to decipher Kumar's verbiage. It looks like he supports "immune boosting" to fight our "modern living"??

I have some "immune booster" I'd like to sell him, at a premium rate of course. You can't just take anything, it must be premium products that are produced properly.

Seriously though... One of the only preventions of diabetes is to not get obese by overeating. Other types aren't related to obesity, but there is no quick fix for those either. Our modern lifestyles...well, one byproduct is not enough exercise. No immune booster is going to fix that.

 

[clarsct]

Oh, Eos...we are ALL trying to figure out Kumar's verbage...or if he's using verbs at all...

So, Kumar...if we all lived in mud huts and ate raw veggies, would we be healthier?

 

[Eos of the Eons]

Oh, Eos...we are ALL trying to figure out Kumar's verbage...or if he's using verbs at all...

So, Kumar...if we all lived in mud huts and ate raw veggies, would we be healthier?

Of course we'd be "healthier". Minus the shopping centers and modern medicine though, you'd better watch that you don't catch any nasty bugs or break a leg (you must be well enough to hunt or gather food). You'd be all nice and skinny though, and at lower risk of getting diabetes.

Heck, we'd have a nice small population too, since most people don't live to 30 in those conditions. No more cancer! Heck, an average age of death only a couple of hundred years ago was just above 30.

1879 BIRTHS: Fifty-seven (thirty male, twenty-seven female). MARRIAGES: twenty-eight. DEATHS: thirty-nine (nineteen male, twenty female). CAUSE of DEATHS: Diphtheria ten. Consumption seven. Croup three. Kidney complaints three. Pneumonia two, other fourteen.
AVERAGE AGE OF DEATH 32.4
http://www.swantonhistoricalsociety.org/main/swanton_history.asp

Go back a little further, and we have:

The Blücher Church Register records that
1. The average life expectancy at birth (for those who survived the first week of
life) was 8 years 1 month! (This is impossible to comprehend for those who
live in a world with average life expectancy of around 80 today.)

2. 22% live births died in the first year of life

3. 44% died before the age of 5 years.

4. By the age of 8 years, the half-life (average life expectancy) of the population had been reached. (8 years 2 months = median age of death)

5. Average age of death (mean) was 22 years.

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/t/e/Ian-Stehbens/FILE/0032text.txt

I think these people even lived in houses, rather than huts.

 

[Badly Shaved Monkey]

So, how can we boost our immunity to cope with all modernizations, if some of these causing or can cause adversities in future to us or to our children?

No. The topic of this thread is how to define the "boost" to immunity that so many commercial claims make.

Maybe, you, Kumar, can tell me. Find a product making such a claim and show me the science behind it then comment on the validity of the claim. Google is waiting for you.