Could a Saline Spray Stop the Spread of Flu, TB, SARS?

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent   

WASHINGTON - Monday November 29, 2004 (Reuters) - Simply inhaling a saltwater spray could help prevent the spread of diseases including flu and tuberculosis, U.S. and German researchers reported on Monday.

They found a saline spray, administered using a device called a jet nebulizer, reduced the number of germ-spreading droplets by as much as 70 percent for six hours. 

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites), could provide a way to help control epidemics such as the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that spread globally and killed many health care workers trying to help patients.

The findings might also help control any global influenza pandemic, which almost all health experts believe is coming and which could kill millions.

The researchers noted much more study was needed before a saline spray device could be marketed to prevent the spread of diseases.

Gerhard Scheuch of Harvard University and colleagues there and at biotechnology firms Pulmatrix and Inamed tested 11 volunteers, giving them the oral spray and then measuring how many particles they released when coughing.

"Viruses known to spread from humans and/or animals through breathing, sneezing, and coughing include measles, influenza virus, adenovirus, African swine fever virus, foot and mouth disease virus, Varicella zoster virus (chickenpox), infectious bronchitis virus and smallpox, among others," they wrote. Bacteria spread in airborne droplets include anthrax, Escherichia coli and tuberculosis.

Scheuch's team noted some people produced many more little droplets or bioaerosols [germs] than others -- something also seen by investigators of the SARS outbreak that spread from China to cities around the world, killing 800 people. Such "super-spreaders" were responsible for several clusters of the often deadly viral infection.

That may mean that about half the population generally may produce more than 98 percent of all disease-spreading droplets, the researchers said.

"We found a sharp demarcation between individuals who are 'high' and 'low' producers of bioaerosols, small droplets of fluid exhaled from the lungs that may carry airborne pathogens," said David Edwards, a professor of biomedical engineering at Harvard, who worked on the study.

"Roughly half our subjects exhaled tens of bioaerosol particles per liter, while the other half exhaled thousands of these particles. The number of exhaled particles varied dramatically over time and among subjects, ranging from a low of one particle per liter to a high of more than 10,000."

They noticed that when volunteers breathed with their mouths open, as some people do habitually and which cold sufferers often must do, more droplets were spread than when they coughed or sneezed.

  After the volunteers inhaled a salt spray via the nebulizer for six minutes, those prone to producing the most droplets saw a reduction of as much as 70 percent, the researchers said.   

The saline seems to affect the surface tension of fluid inside the lungs, they found. Surface tension is a physical property of fluids that allows some bugs to walk on water, for instance, and that causes water to form droplets. [End of article]

We offer this article as yet another example of the benefits of salt.  For those wishing to partake of a saline spray we offer Sea Breathe and Sea Breathe Silver, along with convenient and economic refills.  You can find these wonderful products in the Personal Care section of your shopping cart.

Go With The Grain

Whole Grains are the seeds of plants that belong to the grass family. This seed, also known as the kernel, is made up of three key parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

A whole grain can be a single food, such as oatmeal, brown rice, barley, or popcorn, or an ingredient in another food such as bread or cereal. Whole grains include whole wheat, whole oats/oatmeal, whole-grain corn, popcorn, brown rice, whole rye, whole-grain barley, wild rice, buckwheat, bulgur (cracked wheat), millet, quinoa, and sorghum. Other less common whole grains include amaranth, emmer, farro, grano (lightly pearled wheat), spelt, and wheat berries.

Whole grains may be eaten whole, cracked, split, flaked, or ground. Most often, they are milled into flour and used to make breads, cereals, farinas, and other grain-based foods. Regardless of how they are handled, whole grains, or foods made from whole grains contain the three essential parts and naturally occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed.

When a grain is refined, most of the bran and some of the germ is removed, resulting in losses of fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E, trace minerals, unsaturated fat, and about 75 percent of the phytonutrients. Examples of refined grain products include white breads, pasta, crackers, white rice and corn flakes cereal.

“Whole grains are much more than a vehicle for fiber” says Joanne Slavin, a professor of nutrition specializing in whole-grain foods at the University of Minnesota. Research demonstrates that the health-promoting benefits of whole grains are attributed to more than just fiber. Slavin explains that these health advantages are largely associated with the “package” of nutrients in whole grains. “The individual components of whole grains have an additive and synergistic effect. It's the combination and interactions between components that we believe provide the protection against disease. Whole grains are an example of how the whole (grain) is often greater than the sum of its parts,” says Slavin.

Research reported at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) International Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer, by Rui Hai Liu, M.D., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Cornell University shows that whole grains contain many powerful phytonutrients whose activity has gone unrecognized because research methods have overlooked them.

Despite the fact that for years researchers have been measuring the antioxidant power of a wide array of phytochemicals, they have typically measured only the "free" forms of these substances, which dissolve quickly and are immediately absorbed into the bloodstream. They have not looked at the "bound" forms, which are attached to the walls of plant cells and must be released by intestinal bacteria during digestion before they can be absorbed.

Phenolics, powerful antioxidants that work in multiple ways to prevent disease, are one major class of phytochemicals that have been widely studied. Included in this broad category are such compounds as quercetin, curcumin, ellagic acid, catechins, and many others that appear frequently in the health news.

When Dr. Liu and his colleagues measured the relative amounts of phenolics, and whether they were present in bound or free form, in common fruits and vegetables like apples, red grapes, broccoli and spinach, they found that phenolics in the “free” form averaged 76% of the total number of phenolics in these foods. In whole grains, however, "free" phenolics accounted for less than 1% of the total, while the remaining 99% were in "bound" form.  In his presentation, Dr. Liu explained that because researchers have examined whole grains with the same process used to measure antioxidants in vegetables and fruits – looking for their content of "free" phenolics– the amount and activity of antioxidants in whole grains has been vastly underestimated. Evidence clearly points to an association between consuming whole grains as part of a low-fat diet and lower risk of heart disease. Low-fat diets rich in whole-grain foods tend to decrease LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.  Increased intake of whole grains and fiber in combination with a low-fat diet has been associated with managing risk factors accompanying diabetes. Whole grains appear to improve glucose responses and decrease insulin sensitivity.  Whole-grain foods may reduce the risk of cancer by a variety of mechanisms. Fiber and certain starches found in whole grains ferment in the colon to help improve gastrointestinal health. Whole grains also contain antioxidants that may help protect against oxidative damage. Some scientists believe that other substances in whole grains may affect overall hormone levels and possibly lower the  risk of hormone-related cancers like breast cancer.  Studies show that people who eat whole grains in place of fattier foods tend to weigh less and typically gain less weight over time than those who do not. In addition, whole grains may help to satisfy hunger for longer periods, resulting in people eating less.

The Wholefood Farmacy is proud to offer a wide variety of delicious, convenient meals and snacks that are rich in whole grains.  Our line of Farinas are all handcrafted using our custom whole grain blend that includes Cracked Wheat, Rye, Oats, Millet, Bulgur Wheat Brown Rice, and Quinoa.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are those nutrients in whole foods that keep diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer away. When you think about antioxidants, fruits and vegetables usually come to mind. But those aren't the only foods where these health boosting nutrients are hiding.  

New research shows that herbs and spices also pack a powerful punch when it comes to antioxidants. A USDA study looked at nearly 40 common herbs and spices to test their antioxidant activity. Oregano emerged as the leader of the pack.

Researchers found that oregano has 3 to 20 times more antioxidant activity than the other herbs studied. In fact, it has more than many fruits and vegetables. Oregano has 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries. But that's not the only herb or spice that can improve your health. Dill, thyme, sage, rosemary, ginger and even peppermint have high antioxidant levels too.

The main ingredient in curry is turmeric, from which a spice called curcumin is derived. Sally Frautschy, Ph.D., is a researcher from UCLA who has done extensive testing on curcumin. She says that “we accidentally found out that it blocks every single step in Alzheimer's pathogenesis and it kills nearly every cancer cell in the lab.”  In India, curry is part of the staple diet; they also have the lowest rates of Alzheimer's disease in the world. 

Marcia Herrin, R.D., a nutritionist at the Dartmouth Medical School says "practically every herb and spice that's been studied has some health benefit," herbs and spices are loaded with antioxidants, but we may not be getting those benefits as much as we could. Herrin says Americans don't use many herbs and spices compared to the rest of the world.

Researchers also say that many of these herbs are only absorbed by the body when they're eaten with fat, so recipes that include healthy fats, like those found in our own Heart of Gold, will help release the antioxidants.

Start with a sprinkle of Heart of Gold and then try oregano on broccoli; ginger on carrots; and basil, oregano, sage or thyme on tomatoes. Try mint on peas, chives and parsley on potatoes and use ginger, basil or oregano on squash.  Imagine dipping your whole grain bread into a healthy combination of Heart of Gold and oregano!

For many decades, science has been focused on understanding the mechanisms of disease so that drugs could be developed.  But the closer they look at disease, the more they see the complex, powerful  and protective nature of whole foods.

Ancient civilizations such as the Greeks and the Essenes knew the recipe for good health. They partook of pure air and water, sunshine, and wholesome, clean food.  Today, it seems that science has come full circle. They have arrived “back in time” ..... only to discover the future.

Over 100 years ago, many laughed as Thomas Edison was inventing the electric light, the first recorded sound, and the first motion picture.  His ability to envision the future was extraordinary. In the late 1800’s, as doctors were beginning to put their trust in drugs, Thomas Edison summed up his vision for the doctor of the future like this:  "The Doctor of the future will give No Medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease."

Welcome back .... to the future! 

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