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Updated on August 10, 2023
Article Summary
If your loved one has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), then you’re likely always on the lookout for anything that might make them more comfortable. Whether it’s a specialty diet, a new drug, or a new mode of social skills training, there are countless possibilities to explore. But few of these possibilities can address the root causes of autism, which aren’t fully understood by medical science. Furthermore, few therapies can address multiple dimensions of autism. However, research suggests that therapies aimed at helping to maintain a normal inflammatory response in these individuals might help.*
Although the underlying cause of ASD is unclear, researchers now believe that ASD is associated with an unbalanced inflammatory response in the brain and in the gastrointestinal tract.
Multiple ASD symptoms—including behavioral symptoms like irritability and selective feeding—might be caused by this circumstance. This means that if an individual with autism can achieve a more balanced inflammatory response in their body with the right nutritional supplement, then a broad range of interconnected symptoms might benefit.* Although a variety of nutritional supplements might potentially help maintain the body’s normal inflammatory response, there is one nutrient that can be supplemented that is particularly promising for individuals with autism: glutathione.*
Glutathione provides a compelling approach as a natural remedy because of its powerful and safe antioxidant effects.* All cells in the body produce glutathione, making it a fully natural, biocompatible nutrient that can be supplemented without the risk of experiencing serious side effects or negative reactions.*
Furthermore, glutathione affects different inflammatory response pathways within cells than over-the-counter drugs, meaning that glutathione can be used in conjunction with such drugs without the risk of dangerous drug interactions.* More significantly, glutathione supplements promote the ability of cells to protect themselves from things that cause an unbalanced inflammatory response in the first place, like oxidative stress, making glutathione supplementation a particularly exciting possibility.*
Oxidative stress occurs when the body’s cells are exposed to things that damage DNA, like inhaled smoke or ultraviolet light. When the body encounters oxidative stress, glutathione molecules in the cell react with the foreign molecules that are the sources of the oxidative stress, preventing them from adversely affecting healthy cells.* In the process, the cellular glutathione is consumed.
This means that the more oxidative stress a person experiences, the more glutathione their body will expend to protect them. In general, sources of oxidative stress are ubiquitous, and most exposure to oxidative stress has few negative consequences. The body also rapidly recycles glutathione, ensuring there is always enough on hand to deflect potential damage. If, however, the body doesn’t have sufficient stores of glutathione to protect itself, then harm is likely to occur.
When cells detect oxidative stress and are unprotected by glutathione, an out of balance inflammatory response can occur. Patients with autism appear to have unusually high levels of oxidative stress in both their brains and their gastrointestinal tract, which helps to explain why they experience so much unbalanced inflammatory response in these areas. This additional oxidative stress isn’t connected to additional exposure from environmental factors; because individuals with autism are no more likely to be exposed to UV light or cigarette smoke than anyone else, some researchers suspect it might be caused by inefficient glutathione synthesis or recycling.
Indeed, studies have found that individuals with autism have lower levels of free glutathione in their brains, which could explain the elevated levels of oxidative stress.* It also means that their bodies are chronically dangerously short on a primary main tool to otherwise help maintain a normal inflammatory response in their brains.*
Although the mechanism causing this deficiency is unclear, researchers have shown that it is feasible to replace the missing glutathione with a glutathione nutritional supplement, thus helping to maintain the brain’s normal inflammatory response and providing multiple benefits to the user.*
Maintaining a normal inflammatory response is critical for individuals with ASD, because an imbalanced inflammatory response can cause significant discomfort that has broad-reaching implications for overall well-being. In the gastrointestinal tract, for example, an imbalanced inflammatory response can lead to constipation, bloating, and pain, which can cause both emotional and behavioral disturbances in response to the physical discomfort. Meanwhile, an imbalanced inflammatory response in the brain can contribute to behavioral difficulties even more directly; it can cause reduced functioning of the brain, leading to lower cognitive performance and greater sensitivity to unwanted tactile sensations, a common symptom of autism.
In fact, the relationship between the brain’s inflammatory response and autism symptoms was initially discovered in mouse models of autism, which exhibit more skittishness and more rapid withdrawal from tactile sensations when they experience this circumstance.
By helping to maintain a normal inflammatory response, glutathione supplementation has the potential to help respond beneficially to the burdensome symptoms of ASD and improve overall quality of life on a daily basis.* Autistic individuals might find they are able to communicate more effectively and experience less anxiousness when their levels of oxidative stress are lower.* Likewise, they might be less bothered by unpleasant sensations than they would be otherwise, allowing them to avoid distress and be soothed more easily.* In other words, by helping to maintain a normal inflammatory response throughout the body, glutathione might help autistic individuals experience positive physical and emotional changes.*
For caregivers who are interested in a natural remedy that can address autism symptoms, glutathione supplementation can be an exciting new option.*
However, choosing the best supplement is essential for optimizing the benefits of glutathione. Selecting a glutathione nutritional supplement from a trusted manufacturer, such as Tesseract Medical Research, ensures you are receiving a supplement that has been calibrated specifically to support the body’s ability to control oxidative stress.* For many, this nutritional support can be an invaluable addition to a comprehensive remedial plan, ultimately enhancing the lives of the entire family.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing bioavailability and absorption, and micro-dosing of multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Visit our website for more information about how Tesseract’s products can help support your neurological health.*
Updated on August 3, 2023
Article Summary
Curcumin nutritional supplements are immensely beneficial, in theory. After all, curcumin is renowned for its antioxidant effects, its support for the cardiovascular system, and its ability to promote optimal immune function.* But despite widespread use of curcumin nutritional supplements, many users have reported their disappointment with the products they’ve purchased, leading many to wonder, “Do curcumin supplements work?” Today, that concern is changing, because curcumin supplements formulated for high bioavailability are entering the market and opening the door to significant benefits. For individuals who don’t know the story behind curcumin supplements, however, knowing which curcumin supplement to purchase can still be a shot in the dark.
To truly determine what differentiates a good curcumin supplement from an ineffective one, we talked to Al Czap, the founder of Thorne Research and Tesseract Medical Research. Czap has worked for more than a decade to formulate a curcumin supplement that will give its users the results they desire to optimize their health and wellness. As a result, Czap is a recognized leading expert on the past, present, and future of curcumin as a nutritional supplement and its therapeutic potential. With Czap’s advice, consumers can finally find a nutritional supplement that helps them obtain the true potential of curcumin.
Although curcumin nutritional supplements are relatively new, the use of curcumin in other forms is an ancient practice. Curcumin is derived from the turmeric root, which is a common spice present in curry. “In the East, people have been using turmeric root as a flavoring and a spice for thousands of years,” Czap explains. However, the flavor of turmeric wasn’t its only draw; people who consumed turmeric as part of their diet seemed to experience fewer problems associated with old age.
“They had a lower incidence of joint problems, it also provides cardiovascular support, and it’s good for wound healing,*” Czap continues. The medicinal properties of turmeric root prompted researchers to investigate further with the intent of turning its active ingredients into drugs—but they soon found that unlocking curcumin’s potential would take much more work than originally anticipated.
Turning curcumin into an effective nutritional supplement has taken the better part of a hundred years of effort. Part of this effort was to identify how turmeric was capable of improving the health of people who consumed it in their diets. “In the 20th century, because they figured out the active component of turmeric was curcumin, you didn’t need to eat a pound of curry to get your curcumin,” Czap says. This provided a clear path toward operationalizing curcumin: manufacturers only need to isolate curcumin from the turmeric root and package it in supplement form. But isolating curcumin from turmeric wasn’t the only challenge researchers had to overcome to produce an effective nutritional supplement.
Although the taste of turmeric might be prized in cooking, curcumin’s flavor acted as a major barrier to its use in supplement form. This is because the isolated curcumin would retain the spiced flavor of turmeric, which made even encapsulated supplements unpleasant for users who disliked its taste. “If you took curcumin and put it in juice, it’d be pretty nasty,” Czap says, speaking from personal experience.
To complicate matters further, small amounts proved to not be efficacious, according to Czap, “You had to take quite a bit to achieve a therapeutic amount.” Furthermore, even when users could manage to consume a considerable amount of curcumin, they didn’t always experience the desired beneficial effects. Their bodies appeared to process curcumin too inefficiently for it to be of use, leading many to reject curcumin as a possible natural remedy.
Supplement manufacturers responded by using new formulations of curcumin which sought to improve its bioavailability but ended up struggling with palatability yet again. “They made a liposomal form that is more well-absorbed than regular curcumin, but it tasted horrible,” Czap says. “The liposomal products are typically recommended to be held under the tongue for five or ten minutes. As you can imagine, the formulation never became popular because the taste of it was absolutely wretched.” In other words, solving the bioavailability problem didn’t solve the tolerability problem, and the only way forward was to develop a supplement that could accomplish both.
In the 2010s, after decades of investigation, researchers finally found the missing piece of the puzzle needed to produce a curcumin supplement that was both palatable and effective. “The researchers discovered that curcumin itself is not what affects the body,” Czap explains. “Rather, your body must first break down the curcumin in the liver before it achieves its active form.” More specifically, researchers found that the liver would metabolize curcumin into an active byproduct that can subsequently benefit the body’s tissues. That active curcumin byproduct metabolite is called tetrahydrocurcumin.
By discovering that tetrahydrocurcumin is responsible for the beneficial effects of curcumin,* researchers finally realized why a user needed to take so much curcumin to realize its efficacy: the body couldn’t convert curcumin into tetrahydrocurcumin quickly enough and the tetrahydrocurcumin was cleared from the bloodstream too rapidly for it to have its beneficial effects on the body’s tissues. By isolating tetraohydrocurcumin, it became possible to bypass the liver’s conversion process and introduce the tetrahydrocurcumin directly into the body. Significantly, this also meant that the minimum amount necessary to experience beneficial effects could be significantly minimized.
“Tetrahydrocurcumin is the workhorse,” Czap says. “If you compare how effective a person’s body is at absorbing curcumin versus tetrahydrocurcumin, the tetrahydrocurcumin is 3.5 to 4 times more effective than the curcumin.” As such, both clinical research and patient anecdotes typically report significantly better benefits when taking a tetrahydrocurcumin supplement versus taking a curcumin supplement. Finally, Czap had the tools he needed to make an effective curcumin supplement.
With fresh research in hand and an abundance of experience with the pitfalls of the legacy curcumin supplements, Czap’s team turned tetrahydrocurcumin into a working supplement that enables consumers to experience the multiple benefits of curcumin.* However, Czap’s new tetrahydrocurcumin supplement doesn’t rely solely on the tetrahydrocurcumin for efficacy; rather, the tetrahydrocurcumin is combined with an advanced delivery system designed to optimize bioavailability. As Czap says, “Tesseract Medical Research is the only company that takes tetrahydrocurcumin and puts it into a molecular trap and makes it ready for release at the right time.”
Although the promise of a tetrahydrocurcumin supplement has only started to reveal itself, research suggests it can be beneficial for individuals with a wide range of health concerns.* And while clinical trials describing curcumin’s efficacy remain forthcoming, Czap has witnessed how his tetrahydrocurcumin supplement is already transforming the lives of its users for the better.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in the proprietary science of proven nutrients and unrivaled smart delivery, making them the most effective for supporting cardiovascular health and musculoskeletal health.*
Article Summary
Everyone relies on their body’s ability to regulate blood sugar, trusting that their endocrine system will compensate for their level of physical activity, consumption of food, and need for metabolic energy so they can maintain a state of activity and health. However, even individuals with a healthy endocrine system can experience high or low blood sugar levels, leading to a host of health complications. Indeed, deviant but asymptomatic blood sugar levels caused by diet, anxiety, or seemingly benign genetic factors can inflict silent damage on the heart and liver, making blood sugar a major contributor to cardiovascular disease and early death. Maintaining a healthy blood sugar level is therefore a core concern for the maintenance of good health and wellness.
Individuals with disorders of blood sugar regulation are at a high risk of significant damage and might face acute health crises as a result of deviations of blood sugar. As such, individuals with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, or a metabolic syndrome learn to carefully regulate their dietary glucose intake. Meanwhile, individuals with type 1 diabetes or advanced type 2 diabetes must provide their endocrine system with pharmaceutical support, such as insulin infusions to avoid crises.
Keeping blood sugar at a steady and healthy level can be extremely challenging.
For otherwise healthy individuals who want to maintain a healthy blood sugar level, a growing number of experts in the scientific community believe that nutritional strategies that support healthy blood sugar levels, particularly berberine supplementation, might be beneficial.
The human body is constantly influenced by a multitude of factors that impact blood sugar, including diet, activity level, and stress level. Under ideal conditions, the body uses endocrines to compensate for the impact of these variables and minimize blood sugar fluctuation, thereby ensuring there is enough glucose present for cells to perform their jobs.
The most important of these endocrines is insulin, the primary hormone responsible for lowering the level of blood sugar. Insulin prompts cells to use glucose and save whatever is left over in storage molecules called glycogen.
Given the imperfect nature of the body’s blood sugar regulation mechanisms, individuals desiring to maintain a healthy blood sugar level can benefit from supplementing their body’s regulatory systems.Such individuals might want to make lifestyle changes to avoid an unhealthy level of blood sugar from developing or use a natural therapeutic, such as a nutritional supplement or other natural remedy. Although there is no single food or nutritional supplement that is ideal for all individuals, there are a number of potential solutions.
The grifola frondosa fungi, also known as the “hen of the woods” or “maitake mushroom”, is an edible mushroom that has been used for a variety of purposes in traditional Chinese medicine. Now, researchers believe it can provide natural support for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Thus far, studies have been promising; one 2015 study in rat models, for example, found that maitake consumption has significantly positive results on blood sugar metabolism.
Although comparisons between rat models and human patients are imprecise, maitake mushrooms added to a person’s diet would likely be a beneficial tool for maintaining a healthy blood sugar level. For individuals who dislike the flavor of the mushrooms or who would prefer more control over the amount consumed, mushroom extract capsules might be a good alternative.
Despite a long history of human consumption for both nutritional and medicinal purposes, large clinical trials documenting the mushroom’s glucose regulatory effects in healthy patients remain forthcoming. Given an abundance of positive data in animal models, however, subsequent research will likely elucidate the safe use of maitake for the purpose of healthy blood sugar regulation.
Although the evidence for maitake is compelling, clinical research suggests cinnamon can provide an even more effective benefit for maintaining healthy levels of blood sugar. A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Investigation found that individuals who consumed 3 grams of cinnamon powder per day over the course of four months had healthier fasting glucose levels than the study participants who consumed a placebo. Other studies have had even more promising results; one trial found that participants who consumed 1 gram of cinnamon each day for 40 days experienced better results in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels compared to the participants who consumed a placebo.
This means that daily cinnamon intake could be a way of helping to maintain already healthy levels of blood sugar.
It is important to note that the quantities of cinnamon shown to produce beneficial effects are far larger than what most people would be comfortable consuming in their typical diets. As a result, encapsulated cinnamon supplements are preferable. Cinnamon-scented feces and gas appear to be the only consequences of consuming cinnamon in the quantities necessary to benefit blood sugar, and no opposing hormonal reaction has been found.
Cinnamon and maitake might be effective at decreasing blood sugar, but they aren’t the only viable options for natural blood sugar regulation, nor is lowering blood sugar the only concern for patients. Rather, the real health goal is to keep blood sugar within a narrow range at all times. For this purpose, berberine might be the best therapeutic candidate.
Berberine is a compound found in barberries, turmeric, cork, and certain cultivars of poppy. While berberine was originally used in ancient Chinese medicine as a natural anti-inflammatory, recent analyses have focused on berberine’s ability to alter cellular metabolism. By altering cellular metabolism, berberine might be the blood regulation tool which patients have sought.
Berberine is exceptionally effective as a blood sugar regulator because it can reverse insulin resistance and restore the body’s ability to regulate blood sugar. A seminal 2010 study found that berberine was as effective as first-line pharmaceutical treatments like metformin for lowering blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Significantly, berberine retained its effectiveness in patients with hepatitis B or hepatitis C-induced liver damage, who are often more difficult to treat because a compromised liver might not be able to process medications as efficiently as those who are healthy. In these patients, berberine also reduced liver enzymes associated with liver malfunction, indicating that it was beneficial for their livers independently from its beneficial effect on blood sugar.
Researchers have a working model for how berberine can cause these beneficial effects: unlike therapeutics or supplements that prompt insulin secretion, berberine reduces the quantity of excess chemical energy in liver cells. In one study on rate models of type 2 diabetes, this led to a decrease in blood glucose levels of over 50%. Meanwhile, non-diabetic rats who were given berberine maintained healthy blood sugar even when fed high-glucose diets.
The mechanism that berberine utilizes means that berberine might also be useful for raising low blood glucose levels, which could have multiple health benefits for patients. Researchers suspect that this effect might be due to interference with the efficiency of cellular energy generation. When cellular energy generation is highly efficient, excess glucose is more likely to occur because less glucose is needed for a given amount of cellular function.
When cellular energy generation is less efficient, however, the reverse is not necessarily true; if energy generation requires more input to accomplish the same amount of work, cells might run at an energy deficit, prompting the liver to liquidate adipocytes into soluble glucose. Thus, berberine has the potential to lower pathologically high blood sugar levels while also raising low blood sugar levels in patients with healthy diets. This means that healthy patients could regulate their weight more effectively.
Given pervasive stressors and rich sources of glucose in the modern environment, patients need every bit of help they can get to keep their blood sugar at levels suitable to their long-term health. Current research suggests that berberine might be the most significant new blood sugar regulation therapy to be discovered since insulin infusions and could provide significant benefits to patients with diabetes as well as those without any known health problems.
Depending on how healthy a patient’s liver is, berberine’s beneficial effects can persist for as long as 20 hours, meaning that a once-per-day dosing schedule is sufficient for most patients. When taken once per day, berberine is safe to take for at least 12 months. There aren’t any documented reports of berberine overdoses, but patients should stick to less than 5 grams per day consumed orally because it hasn’t been tested for long-term use beyond that amount.
However, some patients, including those with endocrine disorders, metabolic disorders, liver disorders, blood disorders, and cardiovascular conditions should be aware of potential side effects, including low blood pressure and inhibition of red blood cell recycling. For patients with metabolic disorders, these side effects are of less concern than berberine’s primary effect of regulating blood sugar, which might or might not contradict medications they are taking for the same purpose. As such, patients seeking to start berberine to help their body regulate its blood sugar levels should only do so while in consultation with their doctor.
As more critical questions regarding berberine are answered by clinical trials and other scientific research, its promise as a natural blood sugar regulator becomes more clear. Indeed, for some patients, berberine might become a replacement for the current crop of pharmaceuticals used for blood sugar regulation. Given berberine’s mild side effect profile and high efficacy as a blood sugar-regulating agent, it seems inevitable that larger clinical trials will only spur its popularization.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in the proprietary science of proven nutrients and unrivaled smart delivery, making them the most effective for supporting endocrine health.*
Updated on June 29, 2023
Article Summary
For individuals struggling with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastrointestinal distress can become a way of life. When conventional treatments fail to provide effective symptom management, many find themselves becoming accustomed to arranging their schedules around their symptoms and living in a state of persistent discomfort. Often, these symptoms not only take a heavy physical toll, they also affect emotional well-being and body image. Thus, the resulting damage of IBS can be far-reaching and complex, significantly diminishing quality of life. But it doesn’t have to be that way, thanks to a number of innovative nutritional supplements.
Probiotic supplements are often the first option to come to mind when considering nutritional supplements for IBS and, indeed, many individuals do turn to probiotic supplements in their search for assistance with IBS. However, despite decades of research, there is no consensus within the scientific community on whether or not probiotics are beneficial for IBS. Therefore, researchers have increasingly begun to turn their attention toward more innovative nutritional support as they seek to discover the best supplements for IBS. Of the nutrients currently under investigation, curcumin and berberine stand out for their potential for providing safe and natural nutritional support for a range of IBS symptoms.*
Although many consumers might not be familiar with curcumin, it could be a powerful tool in the ongoing response to IBS symptoms. Curcumin is a type of curcuminoid, which is a group of natural compounds that originate from the turmeric root. Significantly, there is now reason to believe that curcumin supplements could provide nutritional support for a number of common IBS symptoms, including bloating and discomfort while defecating.* These benefits are likely due to curcumin’s ability for helping to maintain a normal level of inflammatory response in the gastrointestinal tract and providing nutritional support to the gut microbiome.*
In a 2016 clinical trial, researchers found that curcumin supplementation might help reduce gastrointestinal distress and diminish the negative impact of IBS on patients’ quality of life.*
After taking a curcumin supplement every day for a month, the study participants with IBS reported a 68 percent reduction in their daily experience of abdominal distress.* In contrast, patients who took the placebo reported only a 27.1 percent decrease in daily abdominal distress. Additionally, 25.9 percent of patients who were given the curcumin reported having at least one symptom-free day each week at the end of the trial*—a significant improvement compared to the 6.8 percent of the participants taking a placebo who reported the same.
Curcumin also helped improve body image, a critically important yet typically under-addressed aspect of IBS.* This might have resulted in part by curcumin’s beneficial effect on bloating; over the course of the study, the participants taking the curcumin supplement experienced progressively fewer incidences of abdominal bloating, eventually reporting bloating 50 percent less frequently than before they started the supplement.* The curcumin cohort also had less discomfort while defecating.* On a 100-point IBS symptom severity scale, the curcumin cohort exhibited an average of 13.6 points lower than the placebo cohort, indicating a significant improvement. These clinical results are encouraging, particularly because they suggest multidimensional physical and psychological benefits that might enhance overall wellness.*
However, because curcumin is but one of several similar nutrients that vary in terms of their efficacy, consumers might find they experience better results with a tetrahydrocurcumin supplement owing to its superior chemical properties. When the liver processes curcumin, it converts the curcumin into tetrahydrocurcumin, which can then deliver its therapeutic benefits throughout the body; however, the liver is slow to process curcumin.
As a result, there is often not enough tetrahydrocurcumin circulating in the bloodstream to achieve significant benefits when a standard curcumin supplement is being taken. Tetrahydrocurcumin, on the other hand, because it is processed quickly by the liver, means that tetrahydrocurcumin is likely to be more beneficial for IBS because it is more bioavailable and can reach a higher concentration in the body in a shorter amount of time, increasing the possibility of meaningfully effective results.* As such, individuals who are interested in exploring the possibilities of curcumin for IBS might wish to seek out a nutritional supplement that contains tetrahydrocurcumin.
In addition to the potential of using curcumin for the nutritional support of IBS, berberine might also offer a new path toward symptom management. Berberine is a plant-derived dye with a number of beneficial medicinal properties. Although historically berberine has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for other reasons, modern medical science indicates that its ability to help maintain a normal inflammatory response in the body is a more relevant benefit for individuals with IBS.*
By helping to maintain a normal inflammatory response in the gastrointestinal tract, berberine could have a beneficial effect on the bacterial populations in the microbiome.* While questions remain about how exactly berberine exerts these beneficial effects, research in animal models suggests that berberine is a powerful therapeutic in the making.
Importantly, berberine has been proven to be helpful for IBS in preliminary clinical trials.* In a 2015 clinical trial, participants who took berberine every day for 8 weeks experienced 64.6 percent less abdominal distress than the participants who took a placebo.* Furthermore, participants who were taking berberine reported they felt the need to urgently defecate less than half as frequently as the placebo group.*
However, the benefits were not confined solely to specific symptoms; the berberine participants reported an 18.2 percent increase in quality of life.* In other words, those participants experienced a greater sense of wellness both physically and emotionally, going beyond individual physical phenomena to having a more holistic healing effect.*
Based on these promising results, more clinical trials investigating the potential benefits of berberine are likely on the horizon. If subsequent research can confirm efficacy and clarify optimal usage, berberine might play an increasingly significant role in providing nutritional support for IBS in the future. However, high-quality berberine supplements are already available, and consumers might find that using the study’s protocol of 400 mg once daily gives them the nutritional support they need.*
Although IBS is notorious for being difficult to treat, those who have this condition shouldn’t lose hope, particularly as advanced nutritional supplements are beginning to indicate their potential. With the clinically-demonstrated benefits of curcumin and berberine in providing nutritional support for IBS,* consumers have more options to choose from and new opportunities to achieve their health and wellness goals.
Some individuals might need to implement more than one supplement-based regimen before they experience the benefits they are looking for; ultimately, the only way to know which supplement will be helpful is to try them. By selecting safe, natural supplements backed by credible evidence and produced by a trusted manufacturer, individuals with IBS can confidently take the next steps on their journey toward health and wellness.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in the proprietary science of proven nutrients and unrivaled smart delivery, making them the most effective for supporting gastrointestinal health.*
Updated on June 22, 2023
Article Summary
At a time when alternative medicine is becoming mainstream, many consumers are interested in exploring the possibilities of using nutritional supplements. Unfortunately, most consumers often don’t feel equipped to differentiate between high-quality products and inferior variations—and recent scandals involving the discovery of harmful substances in a number of nutritional supplements only make the lack of confidence worse. In part two of our series on how to choose a nutritional supplement, we explore the world of supplement ingredients, including which ones to avoid and why finding a supplement manufacturer you can trust is essential.
Lack of efficacy is typically the biggest problem that consumers face with choosing a nutritional supplement. If the ingredients are not efficacious, then the body is unable to effectively use the ingredients, which means the supplement can’t produce the desired therapeutic effect. When a consumer fails to see results, they may increase the amount they are taking, only to again see no benefits and potentially experience an increased risk of having an adverse side effect. In some cases, the consumer might conclude that the category of supplement doesn’t work for them. But that isn’t necessarily the case—they could just need a supplement with a slightly different type of ingredient.
In the body, the molecules of a supplement’s active ingredient need to be in a format that the body’s cells can process, and the molecules need to be in the vicinity of those cells before being processed. If the molecules of the supplement’s active ingredients aren’t in an acceptable format, then the supplement won’t have its intended physiological effect. In scientific terminology, such a supplement would be said to have low bioavailability. Bioavailability refers to the quantity of a substance that cells can use after the substance enters the body and makes its way into the bloodstream.
In the first part of this series, we explored the importance of bioavailability and some of the methods nutritional supplement manufacturers use to enhance bioavailability, such as specialized additives and delivery systems. Sometimes, however, ingredients alone are sufficient to evaluate whether a supplement will have adequate bioavailability. If a consumer uses a supplement with suboptimal ingredients, then it is as if they had ordered a glass of water and been given a glass filled to the brim with ice.
The ice is technically water, but it isn’t the liquid format they intended to purchase or that is most useful to them. With nutritional supplements, however, the differences are often more subtle and difficult for the consumer to identify.
Vitamin C, for example, has two primary molecular forms: levo (L-ascorbic acid) and dextro (D-ascorbic acid). The levo form is the biologically active form of vitamin C and is found in many foods and nutritional supplements, where it exhibits high bioavailability. In contrast, the dextro form of vitamin C is much less bioavailable; in fact, some researchers suggest it is not nutritionally relevant in any meaningful way due to its low bioavailability.
In addition, there is a multitude of other vitamin C variations, including mineral ascorbates, vitamin C combined with bioflavonoids, ascorbate combined with vitamin C metabolites, and ascorbyl palmitate, and there is evidence to suggest there might be significant differences in bioavailability between them. The end result: how effective a vitamin C supplement will likely be is determined by which specific form of vitamin C is being used.
Although the efficacy of active ingredients is a significantly more common concern in supplements, some ingredients might present risks to the user’s health or cause tolerability issues. Consumers need to pay attention to whether any of the product’s filler ingredients are allergens or might trigger sensitivities. This is particularly true for individuals with a gluten allergy or sensitivity, because many nutritional supplements contain wheat-derived ingredients. Less common allergens, like egg albumin, soybean oil, and mustard seed-derived ingredients, can also be problematic and even dangerous.
Most consumers don’t have the time to extensively research the various brands of nutritional supplements, verify ingredients, or double-check safety features. This means that consumers need to find a manufacturer they can trust to make the right decisions regarding ingredients and educate them about why the ingredients they use are effective and safe.
Today, some cutting-edge manufacturers carry a range of high bioavailability supplements that contain only hypoallergenic and non-toxic ingredients—even when doing so contradicts their industry’s norms. One of the most powerful examples of this reality comes from Tesseract Medical Research and their approach to curcumin supplements.
Much like vitamin C, a curcumin supplement can vary dramatically in efficacy depending on the manufacturer. While many consumers take a curcumin supplement to help maintain normal levels of inflammation in their body, curcumin suffers from naturally low bioavailability due to the amount of time it takes to be processed via the liver into a format the body can use. As the liver slowly breaks down curcumin, it leaves behind a metabolite molecule called tetrahydrocurcumin. The molecules of tetrahydrocurcumin subsequently enter the bloodstream, where they are fully bioavailable. In other words, tetrahydrocurcumin is the constituent of the curcumin that is responsible for curcumin’s therapeutic benefits.
An hour after a consumer takes a curcumin supplement, the tetrahydrocurcumin begins to be filtered from the bloodstream and incorporated into the urine or feces at a steady rate.
However, because the liver can only break down a small amount of curcumin at a time, a standard curcumin supplement doesn’t produce enough tetrahydrocurcumin in the bloodstream to have a noticeable effect. By the time the entire amount of curcumin ingested has been converted by the liver into tetrahydrocurcumin, much of the tetrahydrocurcumin that was converted earlier has been eliminated from the body. Essentially, the supplement can’t work.
Tesseract corrects for this natural disadvantage of curcumin by offering a curcumin supplement that contains only tetrahydrocurcumin. Because a tetrahydrocurcumin supplement doesn’t have to be converted by the liver before producing the intended effect, it is far more bioavailable and far more effective. Additionally, Tesseract’s products are hypoallergenic and gluten-free, ensuring that consumers can safely integrate them into their daily health and wellness regimen.
The differences between curcumin and tetrahydrocurcumin supplements underline the importance of trusting the right supplement manufacturer. Manufacturers that invest the resources necessary to create innovative, evidence-based solutions designed to produce better outcomes are more likely to give consumers the safe and efficacious results they’re looking for. The creation of a tetrahydrocurcumin supplement embodies the approach necessary to provide consumers with functional supplements built with high-quality ingredients. For consumers who are wondering how to choose the best quality supplement, the answer might ultimately lie in finding the best quality manufacturer.
Tesseract Medical Research is dedicated to exploring topics around bioavailability and modern insights on foundational medicine impacting consumers desirous of enhancing their gastrointestinal and neurological health.
Updated on May 5, 2023
Article Summary
Finding and sticking to a diet that helps minimize irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms can be a tedious and uncomfortable undertaking. Because there’s no known cause of IBS—nor a cure—individuals typically experiment on their own, trying out a range of restrictive diets in the hope that one will contain the right combination of foods. Too often, each experiment ends in disappointment, because symptoms aren’t responded to. Meanwhile, prescription medications are not suitable for everyone, nor do they offer a durable solution for the full range of symptoms patients might experience. As such, diet remains a primary site of potential intervention, and patients continue their search for symptom management.
While the medical community has yet to develop a consensus regarding the best diet for irritable bowel syndrome, there are promising options. Preliminary evidence supports at least three separate dietary interventions as being helpful for patients: curcumin-augmented diets, high-fiber diets, and gluten-free diets.
For individuals whose IBS symptoms remain uncontrolled by other dietary interventions and therapies, these diets might offer new hope for addressing their symptoms. However, they should not necessarily be used in isolation; combining high-fiber and gluten-free diets with curcumin supplementation could provide superior nutritional support.*
Curcumin-Augmented Diets
Derived from the root of the common spice called turmeric, the botanical constituent known as curcumin is a compelling option for individuals who are seeking a dietary intervention that can provide nutritional support for their IBS symptoms.* Curcumin has a long history of human use, and because it is commonly consumed when eating foods spiced with turmeric, is presumed to be safe.
Although researchers aren’t yet certain why curcumin is helpful for individuals with IBS, it’s likely related to curcumin’s primary mechanism of action and its role in supporting the gut microbiome.*
Simply consuming additional turmeric spice is unlikely to provide sufficient additional curcumin to be beneficial. Rather, research suggests that specialized nutritional supplements that deliver appropriate concentrations of curcumin could have a significant benefit.*
In a 2016 study, curcumin and fennel essential oil improved quality of life in individuals with irritable bowel syndrome.*
When comparing the study’s subjects who augmented their normal diets with curcumin versus those who augmented their normal diets with an inactive placebo, the curcumin group was 13.6 percent less likely to report that IBS interfered with their quality of life after the trial’s conclusion.* These results indicate that a curcumin-augmented diet might be a valid way forward for patients seeking a novel way of providing nutritional support for responding to their IBS symptoms.*
Other scientific literature supports the idea that curcumin is a promising addition to diets intended to manage IBS. A 2018 meta-analysis of five trials testing curcumin’s efficacy in IBS found that patients with IBS who took curcumin reported an increase in their quality of life.*
Nonetheless, in aggregate, the authors of the meta-analysis found that despite being effective for the majority of subjects, the variability of curcumin’s effectiveness was very high from trial to trial. Some trials exhibited significant benefit, whereas others only reported minor benefits. This can most likely be attributed to the fact that none of the trials used the same formulation of curcumin. The result of this variability meant that the authors of the meta-analysis couldn’t definitively state that curcumin was confirmed to be effective for IBS.
Taking available evidence into account, curcumin is likely to provide beneficial nutritional support to individuals with IBS,* but more research needs to be performed to clarify which formulations of curcumin are the most effective in the context of a diet designed to address IBS. It is important to note, however, that none of the existing studies found curcumin to carry adverse effects for IBS patients. As such, individuals who are interested in adding curcumin to their diet today should look for a curcumin supplements that has been designed for maximum bioavailability to optimize curcumin’s potential benefits for gastrointestinal health.*
High-Fiber Diets
A growing body of evidence suggests that diets that are high in soluble fiber are likely beneficial for IBS. In a 2014 systematic review published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers examined 14 clinical trials that had managed IBS with fiber-rich diets. Encompassing 906 patients in total, patients enrolled in the trials who ate fiber-rich diets were 14 percent less likely to experience any symptoms of IBS. However, meaningful symptom reduction was only associated with soluble fiber, suggesting that foods like broccoli, figs, bananas, onions, and almonds should be included in diets intended to manage IBS.
Notably, bran cereals, a common source of insoluble fiber, were not associated with symptom reduction. Older findings go even further, suggesting that bran and perhaps other insoluble fibers might be actively harmful for IBS patients. In a 1994 study of 100 patients with IBS who included bran in their diet, 55 percent of the patients reported that eating bran regularly made their IBS symptoms worse, whereas only 10 percent said that it improved their symptoms. This indicates that simply starting a diet with “high fiber” might be counterproductive if the patient consumes food products like bran, which are predominantly insoluble fiber rather than soluble fiber.
Critically, most fruits and vegetables—key sources of soluble fiber—contain a significant proportion of insoluble fiber as well. As a result, patients might have a hard time getting assistance with their IBS symptoms while undergoing a high-fiber diet depending on their level of sensitivity to the insoluble fiber that will be present in their food. But while these diets might not be suitable for every patient, they might offer significant symptom management for individuals who can tolerate a certain proportion of insoluble fiber.
Gluten-Free Diets
Currently, one of the most popular dietary strategies for individuals with gastrointestinal conditions is gluten-free diets. These diets contain only foods that have no wheat gluten or related substances, meaning that many common foods, like bread, are off-limits. In recent years, gluten-free diets have become somewhat of a fad and have been promoted as managing a broad range of health conditions, although robust evidence supporting most of these claims remains forthcoming. Although gluten-free diets are highly restrictive, they might provide symptom management for certain individuals who have IBS.
Although there is some evidence that gluten-free diets might be beneficial for IBS, there is no medical consensus, despite a considerable volume of research on the topic. This research is still ongoing, however; for example, a systematic review published in 2018 examined two clinical trials that measured whether gluten-free diets were beneficial for patients with IBS.
In these trials, strict adherence to a gluten-free diet reduced the risk of developing IBS symptoms by an aggregate 58 percent, indicating that gluten elimination could produce significant benefits. Nonetheless, the researchers conducting the review found that patients who ate a gluten-free diet in the two trials did not necessarily exhibit IBS symptoms when they were later exposed to gluten, casting doubt on the validity of the results.
Despite the lack of empirical evidence supporting a gluten-free diet for individuals with IBS, there are still compelling reasons for these individuals to avoid consuming excessive amounts of gluten. The connection between worsening IBS symptoms and increasing gluten consumption is firmly established, with a 2015 analysis of seven studies finding that gluten exposure significantly aggravated IBS symptoms of the vast majority of subjects in all seven trials.
Indeed, researchers found that anywhere from 30 percent to 90 percent of the subjects exhibited worsening symptoms when exposed to gluten in a meal. As the research currently stands, individuals with IBS should probably avoid consuming foods with high gluten content, although there is no guarantee that doing so will prevent every symptom because gluten is not the only factor that can aggravate IBS.
The Possibility of a Synthesis Diet for Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome
In light of the inconclusive evidence regarding the ideal diet for inflammatory bowel syndrome, individuals with IBS should look to new horizons to more fully address their symptoms. Using several diets in conjunction might be the best approach, because they might respond to IBS symptoms via multiple mechanisms. For some individuals, refraining from consuming excessive quantities of gluten, consuming more soluble fiber, and taking a high-quality curcumin supplement might provide the multi-dimensional nutritional support necessary to beneficially respond to their symptoms.*
Although there is no existing research that has investigated this synthesis of dietary strategies, an abundance of evidence suggests it could help individuals who have IBS by eliminating ingredients known to aggravate symptoms while supplying the body with the nutrients necessary to support gut health.*
Most importantly, the synthesis of a high-fiber and gluten-free diet supported by curcumin supplementation is safe and does not prohibit the consumption of any nutrient, vitamin, mineral, protein, or calorie source. This means that many individuals might be able to retain their preferred diet and merely make several modifications to ensure compliance with the necessary restrictions.
Choosing the correct supplemental form of curcumin is critical for this synthesis diet. Chemically, curcumin is the representative member of a group of molecules called curcuminoids. Certain curcuminoids, such as tetrahydrocurcumin, have greater bioavailability, making them easier for the body to utilize, and potentially leading to better results. As such, choosing a supplement with tetrahydrocurcumin could help individuals experience greater efficacy and optimal nutritional support.*
Regardless of the management strategy chosen, individuals with IBS can take solace in the fact that all potential dietary avenues of managing IBS are under intense scrutiny by researchers. Although a comprehensive diet that patients with IBS can use to stay symptom-free has yet to be developed, research is ongoing and advances are being made. In the meantime, patients with this condition should work with their doctors to create multidimensional management plans geared toward their individual needs and preferences.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing bioavailability and absorption, and micro-dosing of multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Visit our website for more information about how Tesseract’s products can help support your gastrointestinal health.*
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De Giorgio R, Volta U, Gibson PR. 2015. Gut. 65:169-178.
Updated on April 13, 2023
Article Summary
As a developmental disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) implies a systemic, multidimensional, and interrelated set of symptoms that continuously affect individuals throughout their lives. As a result, many individuals with ASD require ongoing medical support.
However, even strict adherence to conventional treatments often fails to produce complete and durable relief, particularly when it comes to social withdrawal, deficiencies of communication, and impairment of executive functions. Although pharmaceutical and behavioral interventions can reduce the severity of these symptoms, many individuals will continue to struggle with them to some degree. This has left many individuals and caregivers searching for complementary options for dealing with autism that might provide much-needed assistance.
Unfortunately, many alternative options claiming to address ASD symptoms are not supported by scientific evidence, and some—like chelation therapy or hyperbaric therapy—can even cause harm. But there are promising alternative options. Although some of the most compelling alternative options are still investigational, early evidence suggests they could provide meaningful benefits for autistic individuals. Here, we take a closer look at three alternative options for dealing with autism and examine their potential: glutathione, secretin, and immunoglobulin.
Glutathione (GSH) is a powerful antioxidant produced by human cells. Glutathione’s potential to benefit ASD lies in its ability to mitigate the oxidative stress caused by free radicals.* On a molecular level, the glutathione present in cells has two states: oxidized and reduced. Reduced glutathione (GSSG) attracts free radicals and reacts with them, preventing them from harming cells.
After reduced glutathione has reacted with as many free radicals as possible, it transitions to the oxidized state, and cells can then safely decompose the free radicals and recycle the glutathione molecule. After recycling, the glutathione molecule becomes reduced again and can return to capture more free radicals.
Using glutathione as a complementary option in dealing with autism represents an exciting approach, because studies consistently show that individuals with autism exhibit high levels of oxidative stress.* That stress is likely a significant cause of an imbalanced inflammatory response in autistic individuals, especially in the context of brain health and the cellular damage caused by oxidative stress.*
This might, in part, be attributable to the fact that the natural production of glutathione is typically either impaired or otherwise inefficient in individuals with ASD. Indeed, a study published in 2012 found that glutathione level in the cerebellum of individuals with ASD was on average 44.6 percent lower than in healthy controls.
Research has hypothesized that a lower level of glutathione might be correlated to higher levels of inflammatory response and neuronal dysfunction.* In samples of post-mortem brain matter, for example, the deceased individuals with ASD exhibited 72 percent higher concentrations of biomarker molecules that signify oxidative-stress-based DNA damage.
Bolstering the level of glutathione via supplementation could be a viable way of supporting the body’s ability to fight oxidative stress and reducing the risk of damage to critical brain tissues.* Although no clinical trials investigating glutathione as a complementary option for providing nutritional support for ASD have been completed thus far, recent research results will continue to spur the development of glutathione supplementation as a prospective complementary option for dealing with autism.
Historically, glutathione has suffered from notoriously poor absorption, which has limited its therapeutic use. Today, however, advanced delivery systems, such as those introduced by Tesseract Medical Research, are enhancing bioavailability and making glutathione supplementation a viable complementary option.
Given the link between gastrointestinal dysfunction and autism spectrum disorder, chemicals that impact the gastrointestinal tract are thought to potentially affect a range of ASD symptoms. The reason behind this lies in the gut-brain axis, the bidirectional connection between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. Evidence suggests that dysfunction of the gut can contribute to neurological and behavioral ASD symptoms, while neurological phenomena might affect gastrointestinal health.
Secretin is a hormone that regulates the acidity of the gastrointestinal tract, giving it a critical role in gut health. As a result, researchers have long suspected it could be useful in correcting gastrointestinal deviations associated with ASD. Specifically, secretin therapy inhibits the production of stomach acids, which might address some of the gastrointestinal pain and diarrhea that individuals with ASD often experience. By acting beneficially on the gut-brain axis, this could, in turn, positively affect a variety of neurological and behavioral ASD symptoms.
However, one early investigation into the efficacy of secretin therapy in the treatment of behavioral ASD symptoms reported contradictory results. In the trial, the language abilities and repetitive behaviors of individuals were measured both before and after secretin administration.
While objective measurements of participants’ language and social abilities showed that a five-week course of once-weekly secretin therapy had no impact at any point in time, 70 percent of the participants’ caregivers believed the therapy had caused moderate to high improvements, and 85 percent wanted to continue with secretin therapy after the trial concluded. These results suggest that secretin might provide intangible benefits for individuals with ASD that caregivers experience—like higher levels of contentment or improved resilience to behavioral irritants—but that are not detected by standard clinical assessment tools. However, they could also simply be confirmation of the power of the placebo effect.
Despite positive reports from caregivers, scientific investigation into secretin therapy still has not clarified which aspects of ASD secretin might address despite years of study. A systematic review of 16 clinical trials investigating secretin therapy for ASD found that secretin therapy did not consistently improve the core ASD behavioral symptoms of social withdrawal, irritability, and communication deficiencies.
Additionally, while there is evidence that secretin does address gastrointestinal symptoms in some individuals, improvements are not universal. As a result, secretin is not regarded as an effective complementary option for dealing with autism within the scientific community.
Individuals with ASD have a high degree of autoimmunity, meaning that their immune systems are frequently activated by innocuous elements of their bodies. This activation subsequently causes an imbalanced inflammatory response, which is linked to many dysfunctions, such as irritability, social withdrawal, deficits in executive function, impaired digestion, and gut pain—all of which can be experienced by individuals with ASD.
In particular, individuals with ASD exhibit excessive quantities of white blood cells in their central nervous system. To manage the neural inflammatory response caused by these white blood cells via errant autoimmune activation, researchers suspect that using one of the body’s immune modulators—immunoglobulin—could be beneficial.
In the context of autism, immunoglobulins are antibodies that are not intended to tag any specific pathogen. The body produces immunoglobulins in high volumes at all times, and individuals with ASD are no exception. However, individuals with ASD typically produce fewer immunoglobulins in their brains than healthy individuals do.
While the extent of under-production is highly variable, it might be correlated with symptom severity; some research suggests that individuals who produce less immunoglobulin also experience worse irritability and social withdrawal. Although the cause of this correlation remains unknown, researchers are investigating the possibility of using immunoglobulin to improve symptoms.
A 2018 pilot study of 17 participants examined the impact of intravenous immunoglobulin on social responsiveness, maladaptive behaviors, and stereotyped behaviors. Participants were given immunoglobulin infusions once daily for 21 days for each cycle of treatment. In total, the study performed 10 cycles of treatment for one year. At the end of the study, researchers used a battery of clinical rubrics to assess the participants’ symptoms.
The broadest of these rubrics, the Clinical Global Impressions scale, found dramatic improvements in comparison to measurements taken at the beginning of the study. Before immunoglobulin therapy, participants exhibited an average of 4.8 points on the scale’s metric for overall behavioral symptom severity. After therapy, the average was 3.86 points—nearly a full point of improvement. Other metrics were also impressive. Before therapy, participants exhibited impairment of social interaction abilities rated at an average of 4.93. After therapy, the average rating was 3.79. In other words, immunoglobulin therapy significantly benefited the participants’ behavioral symptoms.
More research is needed to determine whether immunoglobulin therapy is safe for all individuals with ASD. However, current evidence suggests it is well-tolerated. While some participants in the pilot study experienced side effects like headaches, gut pain, and nausea, these side effects didn’t cause any participants to withdraw from the study. Nonetheless, researchers know little about how the immune systems of individuals with ASD differ from those in healthy individuals, meaning further investigation will be critical.
Glutathione, secretin, and immunoglobulin are at dramatically different stages of the research process as it pertains to their applications for benefiting individuals with ASD. Secretin’s moment in the spotlight appears to have passed after multiple studies failed to find clinical evidence of efficacy. In contrast, immunoglobulin therapy might enter widespread use if clinical trials continue to produce impressive results and its safety can be confirmed.
Glutathione is considered by many to have an important role as a complementary option for dealing with autism because of its ability to inhibit oxidative stress and to help maintain a normal inflammatory response in the brain, provided that it can deliver beneficial clinical results in forthcoming trials.* High-quality glutathione supplements formulated for optimal therapeutic benefit have already been introduced to the market by pioneering manufacturers such as Tesseract Medical Research.
As a result, practitioners and their patients can integrate cutting-edge complementary options in their treatment plans today, potentially allowing them to address ASD and enhance health and well-being.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing bioavailability and absorption, and micro-dosing of multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Visit our website for more information about how Tesseract’s products can help support your neurological health.*
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Updated on May 4, 2023
Article Summary
The gut microbiome might well hold the largest unexploited treasure trove of new discoveries for human health—and the first steps toward unlocking the microbiome’s secrets have proven to be immensely promising. In recent years, a flurry of new research has shed light on the possibility the gut microbiome holds the key to effective treatment of a broad range of health conditions due to its multidimensional role in key physiological processes. Indeed, supporting the microbiome is increasingly considered a critical part of managing everything from neurological issues to gastrointestinal health. Now, some researchers believe the gut microbiome might also have a role to play in supporting cancer treatment.
The gut microbiome is composed of billions of bacteria that live in harmony—or conflict—with the cells of the human gastrointestinal tract. The bacteria of the microbiome consume material the body can’t use and provide nutrients or chemical energy sources the body can use in return. In a healthy microbiome, the microbiota that provide highly efficient chemical energy are widespread, helping to maintain optimal gastrointestinal health.
In an unhealthy microbiome, the opposite is true, leading to production of inefficient chemical energy sources and subsequent subpar gut cell health. Recent research suggests the gut microbiome is responsible for far more than nutrient absorption.
“The gut microbiome is the strong foundation upon which individuals can build their health,” says Al Czap, founder of Tesseract Medical Research and pioneer in microbiome-focused therapies. While Czap is referring in part to broad support for optimizing overall well-being, he is also talking about the potential of employing the microbiome in supporting the treatment regimens of specific diseases. One of the most exciting areas of study is focusing on the possibility of manipulating the gut microbiome to improve cancer treatment outcomes due to the microbiome’s ability to participate in drug metabolism. Effective microbiome support is now within reach thanks to intensive research efforts.
New Research Suggests the Microbiome Metabolizes Many Therapeutics Directly
A growing body of scientific literature suggests the gut microbiome’s health impacts the absorption or metabolism of therapeutic drugs, opening the potential for optimizing therapeutic efficiency via targeted microbiome support. However, this does not necessarily involve the liver as the primary metabolic site.
According to a recent review published in Drug Metabolism Reviews, there is evidence the microbiome directly metabolizes many chemicals on its own via separate chemical processes than those in the liver rather than merely enabling the activities of the liver by altering absorption or by providing useful chemical precursors. This finding, while not contested, is a major clarification in terms of the canon of traditional pharmacology, where liver-based metabolism is nearly universal.
Traditional thinking said orally consumed drugs are first digested in the stomach, then diffused through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream via small capillaries. Once in the bloodstream, the drugs circulate until they reach the liver. The majority of drugs are active in the body until they reach the liver, where the enzymes of the liver metabolically break down the drug molecules into smaller molecules that are subsequently excreted. However, as the authors of the review point out, an increasing number of drugs are being found to be metabolized by the intestinal microbiota with the liver playing a secondary role.
Microbiota-driven metabolism relies on the enzymes of the bacteria in the gut rather than the enzymes in liver cells to metabolize drug molecules. After microbiota metabolize the therapeutic, metabolites of the therapeutic are secreted, making their way into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the metabolites then go on to provide their desired therapeutic effect. Drug metabolites can be subsequently metabolized and further removed from the bloodstream by the liver, leading to excretion from the body via the feces with the help of the microbiome as would occur with most liver-metabolized therapeutics.
While researchers now widely accept there are instances where the liver does not play a major role in drug metabolism, the majority of pharmaceutical science assumes these instances are rare. However, given recent discoveries about the microbiome, it is likely this traditional model of pharmacology is incorrect; the abundance of new research suggests the microbiome is often a substantial partner to the liver’s processing of incoming substances rather than a negligible minority and, in some cases, might be the principal actor.
New research thus seeks to identify the bacteria that are active participants in drug metabolism rather than minor players in drug excretion after the liver has performed the majority of the metabolic work. By exploring the microbiome’s role, new models of pharmacology will be able to deliver safer and more effective drugs—and possibly open up new frontiers of therapy in the process.
The Microbiome Can Make or Break Cancer Therapies
Quantifying the role of the microbiome in the efficacy of therapeutics is a process of determining which bacterial species can impact the metabolism of which therapeutic chemical. Researchers formerly struggled with a similar yet distinct challenge: quantifying the beneficial secretions of gut microbiota on the basis of the material the bacteria consumed for energy. However, in instances where more than one species of bacteria in the microbiome consume the same material for energy, trouble can result. “Each microorganism is only ‘trained’ to produce one thing,” explains Czap.
If one species of bacteria produces a critical end-product but its energy source is being consumed by a more abundant species of bacteria, then the body won’t get what it needs. Given that each bacterial species in the microbiome has a plethora of potential energy sources, a diet that favors certain kinds of bacteria could easily lead to the deficiency of others. As Czap says, “The microbes are trying to produce the product the body wants, but they can be in the wrong ratio relative to what the body needs.”
This could lead to situations where divergent microbiomes lead to poor drug efficacy and poorer patient outcomes, a possibility supported extensively in the scientific literature. Given that in healthy people the composition of the microbiome is dominated by factors like diet, the link between diet and drug efficacy may be even deeper as a result of the microbiome. However, some health conditions, such as autism spectrum disorder, gastrointestinal disorders, and neurodegenerative disorders, are associated with microbiome imbalances unexplained by diet, which means patients with these disorders might be particularly vulnerable to a poor therapeutic response from some medications.
When it comes to cancer treatment, researchers have found that gut microbiota can dramatically impact chemotherapies like oxaliplatin or cyclophosphamide by modifying their efficacy and altering their toxicity. More specifically, patients with favorable microbiome characteristics might experience superior efficacy and lower toxicity than patients with less favorable microbiome characteristics.
Although this phenomenon remains only minimally researched in traditional chemotherapies, promising data is emerging from studies on newer cancer treatments, like immunotherapy. For example, according to a landmark paper on 112 melanoma patients undergoing immunotherapy, having the right gut bacteria can boost the efficacy of immunotherapy and increase survivorship. In the study, researchers found that patients with healthy microbiomes exhibited superior anti-tumor effects compared to patients with a less healthy microbiome. Significantly, they also determined the most important measure of microbiome health is the diversity of the microbiome’s bacterial populations, which has also been identified as instrumental in the function of other therapies, including stem cell transplantation.
In the immunotherapy study, patients who responded to treatment were more than twice as likely to have more than ten different major bacterial species in their microbiomes than those who did not respond. Furthermore, patients with microbiotal diversity classified as “high”—those whose microbiomes exhibited more than an average of 11.63 different species of bacteria—did not see their cancer progress, whereas those with medium or low microbiotal diversity experienced cancer progression after a median of 232 days and 188 days, respectively.
In other words, patients with highly diverse microbiomes were able to achieve remission with the help of immunotherapy. Due to the extraordinary association between diversity and remission, researchers drilled down into bacterial populations to identify which subpopulations made therapeutic contributions.
The subsets of bacterial diversity measured in the study were the bacterial genuses Clostridiales and Bacteroidales. While both genuses contain bacteria that are normal components of a healthy microbiome, the researchers found that immunotherapy responders were more likely to have more species represented within the Clostridiales genus, whereas non-responders were more likely to have more species of the Bacteroidales genus.
Due to the high variability of patient microbiomes, researchers couldn’t draw firm conclusions about whether these genuses were contributing to more effective metabolism of the therapeutic agent or whether they were merely crowding out other bacteria that exhibited a detrimental effect. Additionally, the location of the beneficial bacteria within the microbiome was also hypothesized to be a factor, although researchers presently do not have the technology to detect relevant differences between the regions in the gut microbiome.
The Limitations and Future of Microbiome Science
Basic questions are still unanswered regarding the gut microbiome, and researchers have a long way to go before providing a convincing explanation of the link between different microbial populations and drug efficacy. As the immunotherapy study demonstrates, one major area of confusion is about the subdivisions within the gut microbiome and how they relate to the bacteria that live there.
Indeed, basic difficulties of measuring the microbiome have stymied many efforts to provide a clearer explanation regarding the way the microbiome participates in the metabolism of therapeutics. “The problem we have is there’s no convincing measurement that says ‘in the upper third of the large intestine, this is at this level and that is at that level,’” says Czap. “We have to measure whatever comes out the so-called ‘rear end’.”
Relying solely on stool samples is thus the standard of microbiome research, despite its limitations, leaving key questions largely unanswered about how different regions of the gut might exhibit different microbiotal populations. New techniques might address this gap in the scientific knowledge, but until then, researchers are forced to think of the microbiome as an abstraction in the gut rather than thinking about the regions of the gut as niches for different microbiota.
Despite these current gaps of knowledge, microbiome interventions stand to become more and more commonplace within clinical practice, and many researchers envision the microbiome’s role in the metabolism of therapeutics can be harnessed as an element of personalized medicine. If a clinician could correctly assay the microbiome of a patient, then the clinician could correct deficiencies before initiating a critical treatment, increasing the chances of its success. For high-risk therapies for cancer, like chemotherapy or immunotherapy, the prospect of potentially augmenting treatment response has an immense potential to benefit patients.
But how can this growing body of knowledge help patients who are undergoing cancer treatment today? Czap’s opinion on the issue is unambiguous: “What we need to do to support health is increase the level of certain microorganisms and decrease the level of other microorganisms.” This idea is decidedly uncontroversial, although researchers have yet to come to a consensus regarding the best method for correcting a microbiome that might be clashing with a particular therapy.
Using diet to encourage the regulation of specific bacterial populations based on energy source allocation is one potential strategy. However, while many microbiome-support diets exist, their efficacy is poorly supported in the current literature, and many patients find them to be extremely restrictive. As such, supplementing the microbiome directly can be a more favorable approach. In particular, butyric acid can be a powerful supplement-based therapy to support the gut microbiome by encouraging healthy growth of beneficial bacteria, attenuating the activity of immune cells in the gut, and preventing undesirable bacteria from taking hold. Importantly, butyric acid is safe and highly tolerable, which means it can be easily supplemented.
In the future, additional therapies targeting the gut microbiome might provide even better support for patients undergoing cancer treatment and many, including Czap, are particularly excited about the potential of fecal matter transplant. In the interim, Czap stresses that cutting-edge supplements aimed at bolstering the health of the microbiome, are currently allowing patients to experience greater therapeutic benefit than ever before due to improved bioavailability and targeted action. As such, these products could serve as an important supportive tool for individuals as they seek to strengthen the efficacy of their therapeutic regimin.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing bioavailability and absorption, and micro-dosing of multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Visit our website for more information about how Tesseract’s products can help support your gastrointestinal health.*
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Zhang J, Zhang J, Wang R. 2018. Drug Metabolism Reviews. 1-12.
Updated on April 13, 2023
Article Summary
Many caregivers know all too well the feeling of helplessness that arises from seeing a loved one with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suffering from acute anxiousness, particularly if the source of that anxiousness remains elusive. Even in those individuals who are highly independent, episodes of anxiousness can quickly cause functionality to deteriorate, causing the individual to experience a drastic reduction in quality of life.
Unfortunately, anxiousness episodes can be difficult to manage, especially when paired with symptoms like social withdrawal, deficits of speech, and obsessive behaviors that are often present in autistic individuals. Soothing techniques, such as spending time with a therapeutic animal, massage, or talking through fears might not be suitable for some autistic individuals, and caregivers are understandably hesitant to use medications like benzodiazepines and SSRIs due to their potential side effects. In addition, psychotherapeutic approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy can be difficult to implement effectively with individuals with ASD and it can take time to see results.
Now, a growing body of research suggests there might be another way to address anxiousness in autism: by targeting the gut-brain axis. It is widely recognized that acute anxiousness can contribute to the gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances associated with autism, which are notoriously detrimental to well-being and quality of life.
Indeed, most people are familiar to some extent with the influence of anxiousness on the gut, from manifesting merely as “butterflies in the stomach” to severe gastrointestinal distress. However, the gut can also be a source of anxiousness in and of itself due to the complex, bidirectional relationship between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. This relationship is known as the gut-brain axis.
The major nerve of the gut-brain axis is the vagus nerve, which refers information regarding the position and comfort of the viscera to the brain. Importantly, the gut-brain axis also relates information regarding satiety and immunological threats in the gut via innervation of the vagus nerve. To refer information regarding these immunological threats, the vagus nerve becomes innervated by inflammation in the gut.
This means that an out of balance inflammatory response in the gut can lead to repeated activation of the vagus nerve, leading to a corresponding activation of the recipient regions in the brain. In cases of chronic inflammatory response imbalance, the chronic activation of the vagus nerve might subsequently lead to acute anxiousness because the excessive activation is referred to other areas of the brain. Autistic individuals might be particularly vulnerable to this phenomenon, because the excess propionic acid build-up experienced by many can cause significant disruptions in the gut microbiome.
In individuals with ASD, symptoms deriving from the gut-brain axis can be difficult to recognize, and bouts of acute anxiousness caused by gastrointestinal symptoms might, therefore, seem to be without cause. But research is revealing that participants with gastrointestinal problems are seven percent more likely to experience social problems and 20 percent more likely to experience affective issues like anxiousness. Thus, GI symptoms have the potential to significantly aggravate an autistic individual’s anxiousness and reduce overall quality of life.
As such, controlling the impact of anxiousness on the gut, and vice versa, is critical for individuals and caregivers who want their loved ones to be as comfortable as possible. A growing number of consumers are now turning to nutritional supplements that seek to address anxiousness by supporting gut health.* But although there are several such nutritional supplements on the market, only butyric acid might provide truly comprehensive support.*
The possibility of managing anxiousness in individuals with ASD by manipulating the gut-brain axis via nutritional supplementation opens up exciting new paths to wellness for those who struggle with this symptom. However, the nutritional supplements that are intended for the general public are not always suitable for individuals with ASD, so it is important to recognize the unique challenges this population often faces.
For example, individuals with ASD are often intolerant of the flavors and textures of supplements, and botanical-derived supplements might be particularly unappealing. While caregivers and individuals can sometimes mask unpalatable flavors by including supplements or medications in food, adding food might negatively impact bioavailability and compromise therapeutic efficacy. Selecting a well-tolerated nutritional supplement that is easily integrated into one’s diet without compromising efficacy is, therefore, essential.
Furthermore, most nutritional supplements are formulated for users with typical physiology. For individuals with normal metabolisms and normal gastrointestinal tracts, supplements that present absorption challenges can still be therapeutically beneficial provided they take a therapeutic amount. Although most of the supplement might be inactivated by the host’s metabolism before reaching the area in the body where it is bioactive, the excess is often merely excreted.
For individuals with ASD, however, impaired intestinal permeability can lead to excess supplement material accumulating in the gut, causing constipation or, alternatively, diarrhea, as well as other unwanted side-effects. Individuals and caregivers should look for a nutritional supplement that is formulated to optimize bioavailability and support healthy absorption to avoid these complications.*
More importantly, while researchers are confident that ASD leads to impaired intestinal function, they remain uncertain whether ASD is associated with reduced or increased permeability of the intestines. This means that a nutritional supplement might be absorbed faster or slower than in healthy persons, leading to unpredictable onset and uncertain therapeutic impact.
For an autistic individual seeking relief from their anxiousness, this can significantly compromise efficacy; a supplement that takes too long to work might prolong agitation; whereas, a supplement that works too quickly but is poorly persistent within the individual’s system won’t provide an effect long enough for the anxiousness to fully subside. Thus, the most effective supplements for addressing anxiousness in autistic individuals augment the body’s natural anxiolytic systems or use long-acting physiological mechanisms to address the situation.
Among supplements intended to support anxiousness management in ASD by supporting the gut, several are notable for being tried and tested:
Many individuals utilize magnesium as a nutritional supplement due to its mild yet consistent anxiolytic effects. In normal quantities, magnesium carries few side effects and can provide up to 12 hours of efficacy. Although magnesium is typically absorbed in the GI tract over the course of an hour after ingestion, magnesium is processed less efficiently in individuals with ASD, which means they might require higher amounts of magnesium supplementation and its efficacious onset might be slower.
The compromised ability of individuals with ASD to process magnesium has significant consequences for the microbiome and anxiousness levels. Most importantly, a magnesium deficiency can prevent the immune system from regulating the microbiome effectively. One study performed on mice indicates that during a magnesium deficiency the white blood cells of the gut cause a greater inflammatory response than usual.
The increased inflammation activates the gut-brain axis, prompting a mirrored inflammatory response in the brain, to the point where higher concentrations of inflammatory signaling molecules were found in the hippocampi of the mice. Restoring the magnesium satiety of the deficient mice restored their brains and microbiomes to healthy norms. For individuals with ASD, this study has significant implications because of their altered gastrointestinal absorption characteristics.
Because magnesium isn’t processed or absorbed as efficiently, individuals with ASD are at higher risk of being magnesium deficient than neurotypical individuals, which can affect neurological function; because neurons use magnesium to generate electrochemical signals, lower concentrations of magnesium can result in weaker activity by regulatory tracts of neurons. When these regulatory tracts can’t inhibit other areas of the brain with their signals, these other areas remain more excitable than they would otherwise be, causing increased neurological problems.
While magnesium supplementation might seem to be an obvious solution, research suggests it is unlikely to fully manage anxiousness in ASD. A review of 11 high-quality clinical trials found that magnesium supplements are helpful in addressing anxiousness for roughly half of individuals with ASD. Seven additional trials of lower quality documented similar results. All the trials documented reductions in acute anxiousness, aggression, seizure frequency, and constipation concomitant with magnesium supplementation, although the degree of symptom remission varied substantially.
The trials of lower quality tended to document higher magnitudes of symptom relief, with at least one claiming full remission. Higher quality trials are more conservative, indicating that magnesium might be a useful adjunct therapy but unsuitable as a monotherapy for most individuals with ASD.
In terms of tolerability, the body of evidence indicates that palatability of magnesium supplements is rarely a problem, and dosing equivalents specifically for those with ASD are well-characterized. A significant potential contraindication, however, is that magnesium is a potent laxative, potentially threatening more than one problem area for individuals with ASD.
Probiotics might be another way that individuals with ASD can address their anxiousness. Probiotic supplements are composed of living microbiota that can be consumed orally with the intention of seeding the organisms in their gastrointestinal tract. By providing the gut with beneficial bacteria, probiotics can prevent harmful bacteria from settling into the gut while also reducing the harmful effects associated with their presence.
In individuals with ASD, probiotics have the potential to be especially effective because their microbiomes are composed of different proportions of bacteria than in healthy people, leading to an imbalanced inflammatory response. Because an imbalanced inflammatory response in the gut causes excitation of the gut-brain axis via the vagus nerve, reducing this phenomenon in the gut with a probiotic might be a way to diminish the overall level of excitability in the brain and thereby impact anxiousness. This means the therapeutic implications of a healthier microbiome can be potentially substantial for individuals with ASD who struggle with acute anxiousness.
Probiotic supplements could also help reduce gastrointestinal disturbances that might be related to microbiome dysfunction. These disturbances include symptoms like pain, which innervates the vagus nerve directly and subsequently causes anxiousness. Although high-quality human data is lacking, probiotic supplements remain promising due to studies in mice where symptoms of anxiousness caused by an aberrant microbiome were abated by probiotic supplementation.
In one mouse study, ASD-model mice exhibited microbiomes that were on average eight percent deviant from that of healthy mice. The eight percent of their microbiomes that were deviant were dysbiotic, meaning they dislodged beneficial gut bacteria while also harming their hosts by secreting toxins. After administration of a Bacteroides fragilis probiotic—a beneficial bacteria of the human microbiome—the mice exhibited the anxiety levels and socializing behaviors of normal, non-ASD model mice. Although this effect wore off after a couple of days, the researchers had successfully proven that probiotics could affect anxiety levels and socializing symptoms in ASD.
In humans, probiotics tend to be well-tolerated, and few individuals experience side effects other than transient mild nausea after consuming too much at once. Although the proper dosing of probiotics is a subject of much debate, there does not appear to be differences between the way individuals with ASD incorporate the microbiota into their gut and the way that healthy people do. Most probiotics are palatable because they are embedded in foods like yogurts or are encapsulated, although the preferred modality of administration likely varies from person to person.
However, probiotic research is still in its infancy. Individuals seeking symptom management might consider probiotics to be a second-line supplemental therapy or perhaps a useful adjunct to other therapies supporting the health of the microbiome. Significantly, because probiotics contribute relatively small quantities of bacteria when compared to the entire microbiome, they can take several days to become established enough for therapeutic efficacy to begin, although this can vary widely with the species or mixture of bacteria used in the probiotic. As such, probiotics will not provide rapid effects. Once established, however, individuals might experience longer-lasting effects than with magnesium.
Butyric acid is another therapeutic option that supports the health of the microbiome, but it differs substantially from probiotics in several important ways. Researchers have observed that individuals with ASD have lower levels of butyric acid than healthy individuals, which carries significant implications for both their physiological and psychological well-being.
The body naturally produces butyric acid during digestion for the purpose of nourishing the microbiome and regulating the white blood cells that cultivate it. Gut biota consume butyric acid directly as chemical energy and help the gut digest nutrients and absorb water in return. If the microbiota don’t have sufficient butyric acid, then they can’t help the gut with digestion.
Under ideal conditions, these gut biotas have sufficient butyric acid for their needs, and they subsequently exert a beneficial effect on the brain, promoting the synthesis of critical neurotransmitters like serotonin. These neurotransmitters subsequently help regulate anxiousness when they are used by inhibitory tracts of neurons. This is one of the bases of the therapeutic effect that butyric acid exerts: the inhibitory neurotransmitters promoted by butyric acid are associated with reduced anxiousness.* Critically, the fact that butyric acid prompts synthesis of new neurotransmitters contributes to its longer period of therapeutic action,* especially when compared to supplements like magnesium that don’t.
However, the primary benefit of butyric acid might not be derived from its direct impact on the brain or the gut microbiome, but rather its effect on the immune cells of the gut that are responsible for regulating the microbiome.* Individuals with ASD often struggle with imbalanced levels of gastrointestinal inflammatory response.
Although the cause of this is unknown, researchers suspect it is a result of the aberrant microbiomes, including divergent bacterial colonies and proportions, which might be caused in part by excess propionic acid. Because some of these bacteria likely secrete toxins, the immune system attempts to remove them, resulting in a higher level of inflammatory response and subsequent discomfort.
Butyric acid balances excessive propionic acid and attenuates this response, preventing the white blood cells of the gut from causing an excessive inflammatory response except in cases of acutely noxious bacteria.* When white blood cells in the gut encounter butyric acid, the butyric acid behaves as an inhibitory cellular signaling molecule, causing a down-regulated inflammatory response.* But the natural butyric acid deficiency experienced by many individuals with ASD can cause a higher level of inflammatory response in the gut owing to the body’s inability to inhibit the white blood cells there as effectively as it should be able to.
In individuals with ASD, butyric acid deficiency is likely a central cause of an elevated inflammatory response in the gastrointestinal tract, although there might be additional contributing factors. Thus, supplementing the gut with additional butyric acid can help it to make up for any native shortages, while also reducing the inflammatory responses created by other causes associated with ASD.*
More importantly, when the gut has a normal inflammatory response as a result of butyric acid-mediated signaling in ASD, the brain likewise benefits.* In mouse models of ASD, reduced neuroinflammation prompted by butyric acid was correlated to increased sociability and reduced anxiousness.* These results were later replicated by other researchers, indicating that butyric acid supplementation can be an important multimodal therapeutic option. When taken in summary, supplementing butyric acid to the gut could thus have a bevy of beneficial anxiolytic effects in individuals with ASD.*
With the help of advanced butyric acid supplements formulated specifically for use in individuals with ASD, practitioners and their patients now have access to what might be the broadest-acting supplement for autism-related anxiousness thus far.* Unlike older supplements, novel supplements such as ProButyrate and AuRx from Tesseract Medical Research are optimized for bioavailability and have an onset of under an hour, providing assistance in management of anxiousness.*
Whereas other butyric acid supplements are produced using butyrate salts, Tesseract’s supplements deliver butyric acid in its most concentrated form, significantly enhancing efficacy. They are also tasteless, overcoming butyric acid’s notorious palatability issues to enhance user adherence. Most importantly, these supplements have the potential to get to the root—or rather, the gut—of one of the major drivers of anxiousness in individuals with ASD, allowing them to experience safe and effective symptom management without worrying about side effects or invisible damage.*
Although human clinical trials investigating the utility of butyric acid in addressing anxiousness in ASD remain forthcoming, researchers are optimistic that butyric acid supplementation can be a safe and powerful option.*
When a consumer uses a butyric acid supplement, they will be correcting any deficiencies that might have resulted from ASD, while also providing their gut’s immune function with the ability to down-regulate its inflammatory response.* With a normal inflammatory response in the gut and less innervation of the gut-brain axis, individuals will experience better management of their anxiousness, as well as their gastrointestinal symptoms—a uniquely powerful result.*
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing bioavailability and absorption, and micro-dosing of multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Visit our website for more information about how Tesseract’s products can help support your neurological health.*
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Updated on April 13, 2023
Article Summary
As a first-line treatment for cancer, chemotherapy saves the lives of countless individuals who wouldn’t otherwise survive their illness. At the same time, it is one of the most feared treatments in medicine because of its destructive and wide-ranging side effects. Indeed, despite substantial advancements in chemotherapeutic regimens, most chemotherapy overwhelmingly remains difficult for individuals to tolerate.
Nearly all individuals who receive chemotherapy experience side effects, whether or not they derive a significant therapeutic benefit. These side effects and their intensity can differ slightly depending on the chemotherapeutic agent but typically include:
Although such effects often begin with the administration of chemotherapy and slowly taper with its cessation, some individuals struggle with the side effects of chemotherapy for years after the therapy has concluded. Unfortunately, the medications typically prescribed to address these side effects might not provide adequate relief and can carry a broad spectrum of side effects on their own.
Due to the disruptive and possibly dangerous nature of chemotherapy, individuals could greatly benefit from a well-tolerated adjunct therapy that makes them more comfortable and helps them to recover. Ideally, this therapy could be administered immediately after a dose of chemotherapy without interfering with the therapeutic effects, while also being suitable for long-term use by individuals who struggle with persistent side effects after the completion of treatment. A growing body of literature now suggests that cannabidiol (CBD) might be that therapy. By using CBD after chemotherapy, individuals can now have access to the chemotherapy adjunct they need.
Cannabidiol is a molecule produced by the cannabis sativa and cannabis indica ferns that has antiemetic, analgesic, anxiolytic, and anti-inflammatory properties that make it a powerful remedial tool for individuals undergoing chemotherapy. Research consistently demonstrates that individuals who use cannabidiol immediately after a chemotherapy session will likely be able to manage many of the worst side effects, like pain, inflammation, and intense fatigue.
Neuropathic pain is one of the primary and most troubling side effects of chemotherapy, affecting up to 75 percent of patients. This pain results from chemotherapy’s infliction of systemic cellular damage that causes nerve cells to die or experience dysfunction. Individuals with neuropathic pain can be treated with a broad range of drugs, including anti-epileptics, such as gabapentin and pregabalin, and antidepressants, specifically tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and selective serotonin-norepinephrine inhibitors (SNRIs).
However, these drugs can cause significant side effects in some individuals and can be of limited efficacy. Meanwhile, individuals with more severe pain often rely on opioid painkillers. Unfortunately, opioids carry a number of serious risks, potentially impairing cognitive and gastrointestinal function, causing mood changes, and presenting the risk of addiction and overdose, particularly when taken long-term. Opioids can at times be augmented by the use of NSAIDs, but NSAIDs on their own have not been shown to be effective for neuropathic pain and can cause renal, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal damage, particularly with extended use.
Because of the limitations of conventional treatments for chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain, many patients are now looking to CBD to complement or serve as an alternative to other forms of pain management. Unlike standard treatments, CBD is not only known for its efficacy, but for its mild side-effect profile and suitability for both short-term and long-term use. Because CBD can safely be used alone or in concert with other pain relievers, individuals might achieve more complete pain management, decrease dosage and/or frequency of other analgesics, or eliminate use of other analgesics altogether. Additionally, research suggests CBD might work synergistically with chemotherapy drugs.
A 2014 study using mouse models found that CBD could reduce neuropathic pain while simultaneously potentiating co-administered chemotherapy drugs. In the study, healthy mice were given a placebo or a round of chemotherapy three times weekly for 10 weeks. Of the mice that were given chemotherapy, half were also given CBD at the same time. The chemotherapy reliably caused the mice to become sensitive to otherwise mild stimuli and react as though they were in pain to normal-intensity stimuli. The CBD treatment group, however, exhibited a significantly different pain threshold; they responded as though they were in pain only when exposed to a mechanical pressure of 1.5 grams.
This was a significant improvement over the mice who did not receive CBD, who exhibited pain after a pressure of 0.5 grams. In comparison, the mice that didn’t get the chemotherapy treatment or CBD exhibited pain after slightly over one gram of pressure, meaning that CBD is capable of reducing pain beyond healthy baseline levels of sensation. These effects persisted in-between doses of CBD but at lower intensities.
This indicates that taking CBD after chemotherapy can be nearly as effective to minimize side effects as administration at the time of treatment. Researchers also found that smaller doses of the chemotherapy drug were needed in the mice that were dosed with CBD; i.e., simultaneous administration of CBD potentiated the chemotherapy agent, allowing the treatment to maintain the same level of efficacy when the dose was reduced by 50 percent.
CBD’s analgesic effects post-chemotherapy have also been confirmed in a placebo-controlled clinical trial of 303 participants with treatment-resistant post-chemotherapy pain. In the trial, 30 percent of participants responded to a nasal spray therapeutic containing CBD. Although 30 percent might seem underwhelming, it’s important to note that the study participants were only eligible for inclusion if both first and second-line analgesics like NSAIDs and opioids had failed to curb their pain, which might or might not have been neuropathic in origin.
The participants who responded to CBD experienced a 0.99 point reduction in their pain according to the 10-point Pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) used in the study. In contrast, participants who received placebo reported a 1.78-point increase in pain, indicating that CBD had a significant impact. For responders, pain management started promptly after administration of the CBD nasal spray and continued for the duration of the study’s 15-week period.
Significantly, with CBD treatment the participants noticed assistance with pain-associated symptoms like insomnia and malaise; the participants who responded to CBD reported subjective improvements in their quality of sleep, which they directly attributed to CBD rather than other factors, like time spent in recovery from chemo. No participants exhibited accumulating tolerance to the CBD therapy, nor did any exhibit signs of dependence or subsequent withdrawal.
The results of these studies indicate that CBD can be a potent adjuvant to chemotherapy for the purposes of individual comfort, ultimately possibly improving overall quality of life in multiple ways. CBD also has few side effects and is not known to interfere with cancer-related treatments, allowing individuals to easily integrate CBD within a comprehensive treatment plan. Although CBD hasn’t been directly linked to improved rates of survival or cancer remission, few clinicians would dispute the idea that a more rested and less distressed individual tends to experience faster recovery.
Indeed, with the help of their doctors and CBD, a cancer patient might be able to increase the potency of their chemotherapy treatment and subsequently use lower doses of chemotherapy, potentially diminishing the incidence and severity of chemo-associated pain, cognitive dysfunction, and other chemo side effects.
Although controlling pain is a major care priority for chemotherapy patients, typically other side effects are problematic as well. The systemic inflammation and gastrointestinal malfunctions associated with chemotherapy can produce physiological discomfort, as well as add a significant burden to psychological health. Among the many chemotherapy side effects that tend to fray the mental health of patients, hair loss is perhaps the most common.
Hair loss is one of the most stereotypical symptoms of chemotherapy, affecting 65 percent of patients. At present, CBD might be the only therapeutic that has been confirmed to help patients to recover their hair. In mice given a course of chemotherapy, researchers found that without any aid, the mice lost hair for 10 days at the start of chemotherapy, then slowly began regrowing their hair after 21 days had elapsed from the final dose. A subset of these mice was given a compound containing CBD and thyroid hormones two days after a round of chemotherapy.
The CBD-treated mice still lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy, but hair regrowth began immediately after chemotherapy ceased rather than experiencing a delay. The net result was that the mice given the compound containing CBD reached normal levels of hair nearly one month faster than the other mice. This means CBD can potentially address the psychological damage of chemotherapy-induced hair loss by helping patients recover from it much faster.
Faster hair regrowth doesn’t occur in a vacuum, however. CBD has no independent ability to cause hair to grow in healthy subjects. Instead, CBD appears to address post-chemo inflammation that often harangues cancer patients, a factor that might contribute toward both its analgesic properties and its ability to help superficial tissues, like the scalp, return to their normal functioning. By curbing inflammation, CBD can thus counteract the damage that chemotherapy tends to cause to superficial tissues and mucosal surfaces, meaning that those who take CBD might experience faster nail, skin, and bowel tissue regrowth as well.
Of course, the consequences of post-chemo inflammation are not confined to superficial tissues and mucosal surfaces. Rather, this systemic inflammation likely contributes to the severity of nearly all chemotherapy side effects by preventing normal tissue function. As a result, the corresponding organs can’t perform as effectively as they would when free of inflammation. Processes ranging from blood detoxification to contraction of cardiac muscle begin to fall behind, an effect that can often cascade to problems elsewhere in the body. In heart tissue, chemotherapy’s propensity to cause inflammation can be especially dangerous.
Most chemotherapeutic agents are overtly cardiotoxic. However, CBD can attenuate the cardiotoxic effects of some chemotherapy agents by managing inflammation and inducing protective chemical signaling molecules like surviving in cardiac tissue; while supporting cardiac cell survival, CBD also helps cells clear toxins and addresses inflammation as well as cell death. Although the impact on one’s quality of life in the wake of CBD’s cardioprotective effects is unclear, consumers might find they are much more comfortable as a result of the CBD’s impact on inflammation alone.
Research into CBD’s many benefits is ongoing, but there is presently an abundance of evidence supporting the use of CBD after chemotherapy for the purpose of reducing chemo side effects. Given the life-changing impact that CBD appears to have on the lives of chemotherapy patients, many are already adopting its use. Cancer patients are perhaps the largest patient group driving CBD’s popularization, frequently picking up CBD on their own and working in conjunction with their oncologist to determine how it can help them the most. Although many questions remain to be answered about the best ways to maximize CBD’s therapeutic impact in conjunction with chemotherapy, clinicians and their patients can begin using CBD immediately with the help of products already on the market. For individuals who are interested in integrating CBD into their treatment plan, a highly palatable supplement that can be consumed directly as a liquid or added to food might be the best choice to enhance treatment.
The power of Tesseract supplements lies in enhancing palatability, maximizing bioavailability and absorption, and micro-dosing of multiple nutrients in a single, highly effective capsule. Visit our website for more information about how Tesseract’s products can help support your neurological health and gastrointestinal health.*
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