Related article: Palliative vs. curative treatments
Because palliative treatments that slow immune function are very effective at offering temporary relief, the number of medications, over-the-counter supplements, and fortified foods that work by slowing the immune response have escalated over the past decades. Since the goal of every Marshall Protocol (MP) patient is to effectively target the bacteria making them ill, such immunosuppressants must be avoided. These immunosuppressants range from corticosteroidsA first-line treatment for a number of diseases. Corticosteroids work by slowing the innate immune response. This provides some patients with temporary symptom palliation but exacerbates the disease over the long-term by allowing chronic pathogens to proliferate. and TNF-alphaA cytokine critical for effective immune surveillance and is required for proper proliferation and function of immune cells. blocking medications to “vitamin” D.
Nuclear receptors are a class of proteins found within the interior of cells that are responsible for sensing the presence of hormones and certain other molecules. A unique property of nuclear receptors which differentiate them from other classes of receptors is their ability to directly interact with and control the expression of genomic DNA. Some of the molecules (or ligands) which bind the nuclear receptor activate (agonize) it and some inactivate (antagonize) it.
It is commonly accepted that most ligands, approximately 95% to 98%, inactivate the nuclear receptors. Since the nuclear receptors play a significant role in the immune response, this factor alone may explain why so many drugs and substances found in food and drink are immunosuppressive.
Because the expression of a large number of genes is regulated by nuclear receptors, ligands that activate these receptors can have profound effects on the organism. Many of these regulated genes are associated with various diseases which explains why the molecular targets of approximately 13% of FDA approved drugs are nuclear receptors.
Different cell types have different nuclear receptors. One of the nuclear receptors seen in immune cells is the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR). The VDR has two endogenous or “native” ligands, which are also the two main forms of vitamin D in the human body: 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-DThe vitamin D metabolite widely (and erroneously) considered best indicator of vitamin D "deficiency." Inactivates the Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor. Produced by hydroxylation of vitamin D3 in the liver.) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin DPrimary biologically active vitamin D hormone. Activates the vitamin D nuclear receptor. Produced by hydroxylation of 25-D. Also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcitirol. (1,25-DPrimary biologically active vitamin D hormone. Activates the vitamin D nuclear receptor. Produced by hydroxylation of 25-D. Also known as 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol, 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D and calcitirol.). Non-native or exogenous ligands can also inactivate or activate a nuclear receptor, depending on its molecular structure.
When functioning properly, the VDR transcribes between hundreds and thousands of genes including those for the proteins known as the antimicrobial peptidesBody’s naturally produced broad-spectrum antibacterials which target pathogens.. Antimicrobial peptides are “the body's natural antibiotics,” crucial for both prevention and clearance of infection. The VDR also expresses the TLR2A receptor which is expressed on the surface of certain cells and recognizes native or foreign substances and passes on appropriate signals to the cell and/or the nervous system. receptor, which is expressed on the surface of certain cells and recognizes foreign substances.
The body controls activity of the VDR through regulation of the vitamin D metabolites. 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-D) antagonizes or inactivates the Receptor while 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-D) agonizes or activates the Receptor.
More than 36 types of tissue have been identified as having a Vitamin D Receptor.
The first person to suggest that polyunsaturated fats[PUFs] suppress the immune system was Dr E A Newsholme of Oxford University, England. What Newsholme wrote was that when our bodies get sufficient nutrition, our diet includes immunosuppressive PUFs which make us prone to infection by bacteria and viruses. … He was making the point that the immunosuppressive effects of PUFs in sunflower seeds are useful in treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and that the same fatty acids could be used to suppress the immune system to prevent rejection of kidney transplants. … It was during the early days of kidney transplantation that doctors first encountered the problem of tissue rejection as their patients’ bodies destroyed the alien transplanted kidneys. If transplantation were to be a success, they had to find a way to suppress the immune system. Newsholme had said that there was no better way to immunosuppress a renal patient than with sunflower seed oil. So kidney transplant doctors fed their patients linoleic acid. (Linoleic acid is the major polyunsaturated fatty acid in vegetable oils. But the transplant doctors were then astonished to see how quickly their patients developed cancers and the treatment was stopped.
In 1989 there was a report of a 10-year trial at a Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Los Angeles. In this trial half the patients were fed a diet which had twice as much PUFs as saturated fats. In the half of patients on the high PUF diet there was a 15% increase in cancer deaths compared to the saturated fat group. The authors of the report said that the PUFs had been the cause of the increase in cancer deaths. The 6 October 1973 issue of the British Medical Journal asked if PUFs were carcinogenic and came to the conclusion that they were. … In 1990, Martin called Newsholme’s Oxford University office but by then Newsholme had retired. Martin spoke to his successor to find that they were still treating autoimmune diseases with PUFs. By then they were using fish oil. The Oxford doctor said the reason for the fish oil was that the degree of immunosuppression increased with the degree of unsaturation and fish oil was much more unsaturated than sunflower oil. Martin asked the doctor why they were not talking about PUFs causing cancer. The doctor replied that if he did that he would be run out of Oxford. Above paragraphs quoted from blog Team FPS
Miller JHD, et al. Double blind trial of linoleate supplementation in the diet in multiple sclerosis. BMJ 1973; i: 765-8.1)
Seventy-five patients in London and Belfast with multiple sclerosis were given daily supplements of a vegetable oil mixture containing either linoleate or oleate for two years in a double-blind control trial. Relapses tended to be less frequent and were significantly less severe and of shorter duration in the linoleate-supplemented group than in those receiving the oleate mixture, but clear evidence that treatment affected the overall rate of clinical deterioration was not obtained.
Uldall PR, et al. Unsaturated fatty acids and renal transplantation. Lancet 1974; ii: 514.2)
Pearce M L, Dayton S. Incidence of cancer in men on a diet high in polyunsaturated fat. Lancet 1971; i: 464.3)
In an eight-year controlled clinical trial of a diet high in polyunsaturated vegetable oils and low in saturated fat and cholesterol in preventing complications of atherosclerosis, 846 men were assigned randomly to a conventional diet or to one similar in all respects except for a substitution of vegetable oils for saturated fat. Fatal atherosclerotic events were more common in the control group (70 v.48; P<0·05). However, total mortality was similar in the two groups: 178 controls v. 174 experimentals, demonstrating an excess of non-atherosclerotic deaths in the experimental group. This was accounted for by a greater incidence of fatal carcinomas in the experimental group. 31 of 174 deaths in the experimental group were due to cancer, as opposed to 17 of 178 deaths in the control group (P=0·06).
Newsholme EA. Mechanism for starvation suppression and refeeding activation of infection.4)
“With a high intake of margarine and cooking oils, a tumour may grow too rapidly for the weakened immune system to cope thus increasing our risk of a cancer.”
Another component of the innate immune responseThe body's first line of defense against intracellular and other pathogens. According to the Marshall Pathogenesis the innate immune system becomes disabled as patients develop chronic disease. is the release of inflammatory cytokinesAny of various protein molecules secreted by cells of the immune system that serve to regulate the immune system.. The result is what medicine calls inflammationThe complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli such as pathogens or damaged cells. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue., which generally leads to an increase in symptoms.
So long as one is responding to olmesartanMedication taken regularly by patients on the Marshall Protocol for its ability to activate the Vitamin D Receptor. Also known by the trade name Benicar. or olmesartan plus antibiotics with symptoms that wax and wane, there are still bacteria to be killed.
Modern technology brings a whole new challenge to the human immune system
For this reason, a series of extracts from discussion “How Radio Waves Make You Sicker” among patients following the Marshall Protocol are being added to this Knowledge database.