INSTANT
CURE OF THE COMMON COLD
by Walter Last
There is an intimate connection
between lactose as in milk products and the common cold. Earlier biochemists
must have known something that modern biochemists have forgotten and the
medical profession has never known when they named oxidized galactose 'mucic
acid'. I found this out 30 years ago while researching health problems related
to lactose.
Lactose or milk-sugar consists of one
molecule each of glucose and galactose linked together. Glucose, of course, is
our main muscle fuel. Babies need galactose as an important building block of
the brain, the central nervous system and several proteins. Because of our
bigger and more complex brain mother's milk is even higher in lactose than
animal milk to ensure that the baby obtains sufficient galactose.
In later life, very little galactose
is needed and this can easily be synthesized from other sugars. Therefore, most
of the ingested galactose is converted to glucose in the liver and used as body
fuel. However the amount that can be converted is rather limited, even in a
healthy liver.
This conversion is a slow and complex
process requiring four different enzymes. One of these enzymes is sometimes
missing from birth, giving rise to a condition known as galactosaemia. In this
case continued milk-feeding leads to a build-up of galactose in the baby and
causes cataracts, cirrhosis of the liver and spleen, and mental retardation.
If the liver is not healthy or fully
functional, it is even less able to convert galactose. This fact has sometimes
been used as a clinical liver-function test. If galactose is injected into
someone with a defective liver, most of the galactose will be unused and will
show up later in the urine.
Mucic Acid
Unfortunately, under normal conditions
only part of the galactose is expelled with the urine. If there is a deficiency
of protective antioxidants, then the rest is mainly oxidized to galactaric
acid, commonly known as mucic acid. Mucic acid is dangerous to health because
it is insoluble. The body cannot let it build up in vital areas and block organ
functions or blood circulation. Therefore, it forms the mucic acid into a
sticky suspension in water, called mucus.
Thus mucic acid is a main component of
pathogenic (disease-producing) mucus.
This is very different from endogenous
mucus which the body secretes to protect the surface of its mucous membranes,
or which is produced in response to the irritation caused by microbes and
inflammations. Mucus can also be produced due to high fat levels in the lymph
fluid, and may be noticed as a 'lump' in the throat. But none of these have the
acid-irritating properties of mucic acid.
The really important difference
between mucic acid and endogenous mucus is as
follows: endogenous mucus is produced on the outside of the mucous membranes to protect them from damaging
environmental influences, while mucic acid is
dissolved in the lymphatic fluid. It accumulates on the inside of the mucous membranes and wants to get out.
It is the chief function of the
lymphatic system to remove a dangerous substance such as mucic acid from areas
of vital importance and transport it to the organs of elimination. It is too
dangerous to dispose of through the kidneys, or with bile through the liver, as
it would block their outlets, but it has a special affinity for the mucous
membranes that line the insides of our body openings. Of prime importance, are
the lungs, the respiratory tract and the hollow head spaces, the sinuses and
the Eustachian tube (a passage between the mouth and the inner ear).
Mucic acid may also accumulate in these
hollow spaces and block their outlets until external factors help to sensitize
the mucous membranes sufficiently to allow the mucus to pass through. This is
relatively easy in young individuals and those who are over-acid or with a poor
sugar metabolism as they have high levels of histamine and inflammatory adrenal
hormones. Even minor irritations of the mucous membranes, be it from cold air,
dust, air pollution, pollen or germs, will sensitize these to let some of the
mucic acid flow out.
Such mucus cleansing may be
experienced periodically as a cold, hay fever, wet cough or running nose. In
others, the accumulation of mucus, which provides a favourable breeding ground
for germs, causes chronic infections in specific areas such as the sinuses, the
middle ears, the respiratory tract and the lungs. This may result in a
permanent trickle of mucus through the affected mucous membranes.
With a high lactose intake, the lymph
channels and lymph glands are usually congested with mucic acid as well. This
allows influenza and other infections to spread from the sensitized mucous
membranes into the mucus-filled hollow head spaces and into the lymphatic
system, causing lymph gland swellings and inflammations.
I have found in many people that the
number of colds, influenza and other respiratory infections can be varied at
will from none to several per year just by varying the lactose intake. Mucic
acid congestion is also the dominant cause of ear infections or glue ear and
hearing problems, mainly in children, and especially in Aboriginal children who
seem to be inherently very low in the liver enzymes required to convert
galactose to glucose.
A friend described to me her visit to
an Aboriginal school in Central Australia: " Pretty much all the children
had glue ear, and thick green running noses; as they didn't own hankies it was
very obvious. In every classroom the teacher was provided with a special
microphone as at least 80% of the children were believed to have hearing loss.
It was very sad to see - and preventable if they were allowed to return to the
bush and their bush food!!! Many processed foods these days have hidden skim
milk added, even to things that don't need it - you have to read the fine
print."
In most cases it is not a lactose allergy but a galactose overload that is responsible for this
excessive mucus. While in the case of those suffering from cow's milk allergy
somewhat more lactose may be tolerated when it comes from goat's milk, in most
individuals the lactose in goat's milk or in tablets will be equally as
mucus-forming as that from cow's milk. If commercial products with added
lactase (the lactose-splitting enzyme) are being used by lactase-deficient
adults, then this is likely to generate more mucic acid congestion and other
health problems in these individuals.
The
Common Cold
It is generally said that without
treatment the common cold lasts on average 7 days and with treatment it lasts
about one week. This light-hearted quip hides the enormous health damage caused
by the common cold, or more specifically by its treatment. It is estimated that
the common cold accounts for about 40% of time taken off work and millions of
school days missed by children each year. But this is only the tip of the
iceberg. The main damage is caused by antibiotic treatment. While not as
excessively used at present as it was in the past, it is still quite common
despite the medical knowledge that it is not effective against viruses that
cause the cold. The rationale used to be that patients wanted something to be
done, and also that it may prevent a potential bacterial co-infection of the
lower respiratory tract.
As the common cold is the most
frequent infectious disease in humans with the average adult contracting two to
four infections a year and the average child getting between 6–12 colds, it is
obvious that this amounts to a huge overall prescription of antibiotics. I
regard this widespread use of antibiotics as a main cause of diseases in our
society (see www.health-science-spirit.com/medicaldisease.html). This is due to the disruptive
influence of antibiotics on our intestinal flora with a resulting overgrowth of
pathogenic microbes, especially Candida and other fungi. These factors are the
basic underlying cause impairing our immune system, and leading to asthma,
allergies and autoimmune diseases as well as contributing to the development of
cancer, especially of the blood and lymph system.
According to medical theory, the nasal
mucus congestion of the common cold is caused by the rhinovirus, and elaborate
rituals have been devised to stop or minimize its transmission between
individuals. Once I was warned by a friend, who was a medical doctor, not to
come close as she had a cold. I told her that is not how it works and that I
cannot "catch" her cold. To prove it I asked her to blow her nose and
give me the wet tissue. I then wiped that into my nostrils, and sure enough, I
did not catch her cold. I also believe that when we cannot catch a cold, we
cannot catch influenza either. In the 30 years since I became aware of mucic acid I have not had influenza.
The only commercial remedy that has
shown a real effect in shortening the common cold is zinc, and most effective
is zinc acetate as patented by George Eby (www.coldcure.com). Each lozenge releases 18 mg of zinc and needs to
be dissolved in the mouth. You can make zinc acetate by dissolving zinc
oxide in vinegar. But there is a non-commercial remedy that is even more
effective than zinc lozenges, and that is the sugar cure.
The
Sugar Cure
Keep a teaspoonful of sugar in the
mouth and move it around slightly until it is dissolved after a minute or two,
then spit it out and take another teaspoonful. Fine sugar is best for this
purpose as it dissolves faster. Continue with this for several hours until the
cold symptoms, such as mucus congestion of the nose and sinuses, have
disappeared and you can easily breathe through the nose. This also tends to
remove any headaches and other discomfort.
I have found that a heavy cold can be
stopped in about 4 hours using this method - a light cold may require less
time. For influenza or other persistent mucus congestion this may have to be
repeated for several days. The sugar draws mucus dissolved in lymph fluid into
the mouth and so gradually clears the head spaces. As a precaution, if you feel
that you are susceptible to getting colds, or if you have a runny nose or other
congestion of head spaces, you may use the sugar cure for one or two hours and
repeat it once a week or as required.
Sugar held in the mouth does not
damage the teeth as it is too concentrated for bacterial activity, just like
pure honey applied to wounds. It is only after one stops the sugar cure,
and remaining sugar gets sufficiently diluted in the mouth that it will
encourage bacterial growth, but by then one can rinse the mouth with water.
Someone who cannot or does not want to use sugar may also try salt instead, or
mix salt with sugar, or use honey.
The effectiveness of the sugar cure
shows that it is not the rhinovirus that is the main factor in triggering a
cold but rather the presence of mucic acid congestion. This is also confirmed
by findings that some individuals are carriers of this virus without getting a
cold, while in others cold symptoms may be triggered by cold air without the
presence of viruses.
While antimicrobial treatment may ease
any symptoms attributable to the virus, as with zinc acetate, it does not stop
the typical mucus discharge of a cold until the congestion has been cleared.
Nevertheless, with a heavy cold, influenza and other respiratory infections it
may be beneficial, in addition to the sugar cure, to use an antimicrobial such
as MMS or Lugol's solution for a day or two before
switching to high doses of vitamin C.
Using the sugar cure periodically is
especially important for elderly individuals who are or have been regularly
using milk products and now have a respiratory disease, hearing problems such
as deafness, or eye diseases such as cataracts or glaucoma, or poor blood
circulation to the brain and dementia, or a combination of any of these. As
they are no longer protected by frequent colds they either need to avoid
lactose-containing products or regularly use the sugar cure. With chronic
congestion of the head spaces and respiratory system it is advisable to use in
addition other home remedies for draining mucus, such as postural drainage, nasal
irrigation and steam inhalations.
Related
Diseases
Mucic acid is the underlying cause of
some related diseases, especially affecting the respiratory tract, the sinuses,
and the inner ears. In this context frequent colds may be seen as a safety
valve which prevents or averts more serious health problems due to the
accumulation of mucic acid.
Asthma and sinus congestion seem to
result mainly from a combination of mucic acid accumulation and sensitivity to
moulds as caused by intestinal dysbiosis (overgrowth
of the intestinal tract with pathogenic microbes). I remember a patient who was
fond of yogurt and, for health reasons, prepared it from skim-milk powder. This
produces yogurt with a much higher lactose content than yogurt from full-fat
milk. When I persuaded her to use somewhat less yogurt and prepare it only from
whole milk without additional skim-milk powder, her asthma disappeared for
good. The asthma-causing skim-milk yogurt provided approximately 50 grams of
lactose per day, while she was asthma-free on whole-milk yogurt with about 5 to
10 grams of lactose daily.
Lung irritation caused by accumulated
mucic acid also means that the lungs are more prone to be affected by food
allergies and chemicals. This could result in inflammatory swellings of the
bronchial tubes. The mucic acid sensitized mucous membranes of asthmatics also
react strongly to air pollutants such as smoke, pollen and sulphur dioxide.
Mucus congestion in the lungs allows bacteria to infiltrate. Some strains of
these bacteria convert sugars into alginic acid -
another type of sticky mucus. Commonly, where there is intestinal dysbiosis
combined with Candida overgrowth, the linings of the lungs can become
sensitized to airborne moulds. Also dead teeth may induce mucus congestion.
With all lung diseases mucic acid congestion must be strictly avoided.
A runny nose can usually be stopped
simply by avoiding milk and yogurt. The same underlying cause may lead to hay
fever in certain individuals, with pollen taking on the role of the rhinovirus
in irritating the mucous membranes inside the nose. In this case the sugar cure
may need to be used repeatedly even after avoiding lactose intake.
Influenza is similar to a heavy cold,
but with a much stronger viral infection.
I believe the main reason for this stronger infection is the overacidity
and more extensive mucus congestion of the lymph system which now provides a
breeding ground for the influenza virus. A main effect of this is the depletion
of the body stores of vitamin C which then causes the feeling of exhaustion
along with muscular aches and pains. Therefore, in addition to the sugar cure,
use 10 grams or more of vitamin C and, in case of vomiting and diarrhoea,
plenty of juices or other fluids that supply potassium and sodium. With all
infections it also helps if there is a good supply of the minerals magnesium,
selenium, iodine, and zinc.
Leukaemia may well be another
consequence of a lymphatic system that is badly congested with mucic acid. It
is especially striking that the incidence of leukaemia among 2-3 year olds is 4
times greater than that of 1 year olds and nearly 10 times greater than that of
19 year olds (http://seer.cancer.gov/publications/childhood/leukemia.pdf).
This closely matches the use of cow's milk for these age groups as well as the
reduced need for galactose as children grow older.
A key problem with cow’s milk may be
the lack of enzymes due to pasteurization. It may not be a coincidence either
that Nathan Pritikin, famous for his much-publicized diet to prevent
cardiovascular diseases, developed leukaemia. The original Pritikin diet was
very high in skim-milk products. I suspect that mucic
acid also contributes greatly to lymph cancer. Galactose overload is also
linked to cancer of the ovaries.
Leukaemia stands in between the acute
mucus-related infections of childhood and the chronic degenerative diseases
that commonly develop with advancing age. Because our metabolism and immune
system slow down as we become older, our mucous membranes tend to become rather
insensitive. As a result, mucus release through colds and runny noses becomes
rare, and most of the mucic acid remains stored in the body. This may then lead
to respiratory disease, deafness, cataracts and possibly dementia.
Even infants may develop cataracts
when they cannot convert galactose to glucose. Therefore, galactose overload is
also an important cause of cataracts in adults. Besides cataracts, there are
other diseases that are usually considered to be typical for the aging body,
but that may occur prematurely in infants with galactosaemia. These include
liver degeneration, edema and reduced memory, dementia
or senility, the latter being equivalent to mental retardation in infants with
galactosaemia.
Mucus congestion may also contribute
to degenerative lung diseases such as emphysema. Sometimes the lungs simply
fill up with mucus. A young man once died in my presence because his lungs and
breathing passage were filled with sticky mucus. He literally drowned in it.
With each breath I could hear the air bubbling up through the mucus. Not
surprisingly, he was of indigenous (Maori) descent.
The
Medical Hygiene Hypothesis
Modern medicine has invented the
hygiene hypothesis to explain the greatly increased incidence of infections,
allergies and autoimmune diseases in contemporary society. This says that the
reason for this dramatic increase is our rather sterile way of living, with
children being no longer exposed to the full range of environmental microbes so
that they can build up an immunity to them in early life. While there is some
truth to this, the main reason is more likely to be iatrogenic - caused by the
medical system.
When the intestinal flora of a baby or
its mother has been damaged by antibiotics or by being raised on pasteurized
milk, then the immune system is so compromised that exposure to a lot of
different pathogenic microbes will only make the condition worse. Therefore,
the massive amounts of antibiotics used over the decades in the treatment of
the common cold and related respiratory infections will be a key reason for the
present steep rise in allergies and autoimmune diseases. This goes hand in hand
with the medical promotion of pasteurized cow’s milk, and especially of
high-lactose skim milk products, as desirable food.
In contrast, the success of the sugar
cure in protecting us from the common cold and possibly influenza and
respiratory infections shows an important principle of natural medicine: if we
remove the cellular metabolic waste on which infectious microbes thrive, then
they cannot take hold in a body and cause an infection. Alternatively we may
say infections are nature's attempt to heal the body by using microbes to
reduce its cellular waste piles.
How much Lactose is Safe
to Use?
Most of the world's adult population -
with the exception of the Caucasian race - cannot split lactose into its two
components - glucose and galactose. Commonly after the age of three, production
of the lactose-splitting enzyme lactase declines, and this can cause
indigestion and diarrhea if the diet contains appreciable amounts of lactose.
This condition is known as lactose intolerance. However smaller spaced-out
amounts may still be tolerated as intestinal bacteria may split or digest some
of the ingested lactose.
Lactose intolerant people can tolerate
lactose better if fermented milk is used, as in the form of yogurt or kefir,
where the lactose is partially split by lactic-acid bacteria. Alternatively, a
lactose-splitting enzyme or lactase is now commercially available and may be
added to milk. However, lactose intolerance is only a minor problem compared to
the much more serious health problems caused by galactose. Lactose intolerance
actually appears to be a wise precaution of nature rather than a regrettable
accident, because it helps to protect us from the great danger of galactose
overload as most Caucasian adults and older children who can digest lactose are
unable to use galactose efficiently or dispose of it safely.
In societies that traditionally used
milk products, individuals were protected from galactose overload by a series
of defences. Commonly lactose content was reduced by fermenting, and making
cheese and quark and butter while discarding most of the whey. These
individuals had an intestinal flora that converted much of the ingested
galactose into energy. They had strong liver enzymes to convert any absorbed
galactose into glucose. Finally, on a traditional diet they would have had
sufficient antioxidants to minimize the formation of mucic acid, and instead
would just discharge any surplus galactose with the urine.
Most of these protective defences are
greatly reduced or no longer available in modern society. Therefore, preventing
excessive mucus accumulation in the body is much easier than trying to remove
it afterwards. It is a sensible precaution to reduce your intake of lactose to
an amount that does not cause mucus congestion or related problems. See Table 1
for the lactose content of some common dairy products.
TABLE 1: LACTOSE CONTENT OF DAIRY PRODUCTS
|
butter |
0.5% |
|
cheese, quark, cottage cheese |
0.1 - 4% |
|
goat's milk |
4.3% |
|
cow's milk |
4.9% |
|
yogurt and ice-cream (with skim-milk
powder) |
5 - 25% |
|
skim-milk powder |
52% |
|
whey powder |
70% |
With a lactose content of 52 per cent in
skim-milk powder, you may now realize how dangerous is the current fad of using
low-fat ice-cream, yogurt, cottage cheese and so forth, instead of full-fat
products. Such low-fat foods are made from skim-milk powder and may contain
three to five times as much lactose as the equivalent full-fat foods. Skim-milk
powder is also commonly added to a wide variety of processed foods, such as
bread and other baking products, sausages and margarine. Therefore read the
label and avoid foods that list 'non-fat milk solids' as one of the
ingredients.
I estimate that the average daily
amount of lactose that healthy Caucasian adults with good liver functions can
handle without the danger of long-term galactose overload is less than 10 grams,
or the equivalent of a glass of milk. The liver will be able to convert a
larger amount of galactose into glucose if lactose is ingested in several
spaced-out amounts rather than in one single lot. However, those who are prone
to mucus problems or who are afflicted with a galactose-related disease do well
to have a much lower or near zero lactose intake.
The traditional way of reducing the
lactose content of milk products is by fermenting with lactic acid bacteria.
This converts part of the lactose to lactic acid. The increasing acidity now
precipitates most of the protein, mainly casein, which forms into curd on top
and clear watery whey underneath the curd. The whey contains most of the
remaining lactose together with some dissolved whey protein and the growth
factor IGF-1. IGF-1 is implicated as a promoter of tumour growth, and
especially of hormone-sensitive tumours (e.g. breast, ovary, uterus, prostate).
If the curd is well drained and
preferably pressed down, then it contains very little lactose and IGF-1, as in
cheese and fermented cottage cheese, generally called quark. However in
Anglo-Saxon countries commercial cottage cheese is not fermented and often made
from skim milk, and therefore with a higher lactose content. However there is
no problem in using skim milk or skim milk powder when making properly
fermented quark. Even commercial yogurt may be made "safe" by
fermenting it at home in a yogurt-maker until curd and whey separate, and then
use only the pressed curd or quark.
While animal milk is the highest food source
of galactose, there are also some other somewhat surprising sources as can be
seen in Table 2. These may perhaps explain the incidence of colds in societies
that are not normally using milk products, although western-style processed
food containing lactose now seems to be worldwide.
TABLE
2: GALACTOSE CONTENT OF SOME FOODS
|
Dried
Figs |
4100 mg/100 g |
|
Honey |
3000 mg/100 g |
|
Celery |
850 mg/100 g |
|
Beets/Beetroot |
800 mg/100 g |
|
Grapes |
400 mg/100 g |
There is also the possibility that other
factors may predispose us to catching a cold by providing a suitable breeding
ground for the rhinovirus. A possible candidate is the combination of over-acid
tissue and lymph fluid with sensitivity to fungi or moulds. This should be
addressed if we want to improve our health. Nevertheless, I am confident that
for most individuals in western societies the key to the prevention of the
common cold and related diseases is by avoiding mucic acid formation through
the tight control of lactose ingestion.