In the early 1980's at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Dr. Gustavo Bounous, M.D., a world renowned research scientist,
noticed that one group of his lab animals was living, on average, 35% longer to 50% longer than
the others. His work in the field of health and nutrition had been comparing the
food value of various proteins but this observation redirected his entire course of
investigation. He didn't know how it happened or why it happened but that it did
happen over and over again. The animals being given one specific whey protein
concentrate (WPC) were outliving all others.
Why did the actively treated animals Live Longer?
Dr. Bounous researched the cause of death in the
animals that died at the youngest age. If he didn't know why the one group lived longer, perhaps
he could determine why the other group died sooner. His post-mortems
revealed an astonishing fact. The animals receiving the WPC protein did not die
of the same things that killed the other groups of animals. The younger animals
died of strokes and cancers while the WPC fed animals did not.
Why did the control animals die of strokes and cancers?
Why didn't the WPC group have strokes and cancers? Was there something in
the WPC that helped prevent these diseases? The next series of tests conducted by Dr. Bounous answered that
question. The animals were exposed to a carcinogen (a known cancer causing substance). The
animals in the WPC group showed much lower susceptibility to tumors. Their
tumors were much smaller and less numerous. The WPC fed group had some sort
of resistance to the cancers. The doctor then altered his test. He didn't give any
animals the WPC protein and exposed the entire group to the same cancer
causing substance. For 20 weeks, there was no protective WPC given. Then one
group of animals was switched to the WPC protein diet. The post- mortems were
astonishing. The WPC fed group again had smaller and fewer tumors. The WPC
protein was proven to both reduce the incidence of new cancers (prevention) in these mice and
to substantially slow or reverse the growth of existing tumors (treatment)!
Now, these were mice, and the FDA would not permit us to talk about preventing or treating cancers in human beings using a natural product that had not been studied in large and sophisticated clinical trials of human subjects. Nor can you assume that because something is effective in a mouse, it will be effective in you or me. The manufacturer of Immunocal is doing research in humans who have cancer, but because this product is a nutritional supplement and not a drug, no claims can or will be made for the prevention or treatment of any diseases in people.
Why did the whey protein prevent or reverse cancer in these animals?
Dr. Bounous had indeed found something of value, a substance that would inhibit
cancer in lab animals but he still didn't know how or why. One afternoon, during
one his very infrequent coffee breaks, Dr. Bounous happened to meet a fellow
scientist from the other end of the same medical building complex. During what
started as a short break, they discussed their respective work - Dr. Bounous work
in nutrition and his remarkable findings and Dr. Batist, a young researcher
working on something called glutathione and it's possible role in cancer. Dr.
Batist suggested that what was happening appeared to be immune system
enhancement of the WPC group animals. Dr. Batist knew that cancer cells had
excessive levels of glutathione (GSH) and normal cells had much lower levels.
Using Dr. Batist's equipment, the glutathione (GSH) levels of the lab animals
were measured and it was determined that the WPC supplement caused the
GSH levels in normal cells to go up (which was good) and the GSH levels in
cancer cells to go down (which was also good).
Glutathione? There was already a great body of work published about GSH in
the medical literature. It was already known that GSH is the body's own principal
antioxidant - that each cell in the body makes what it needs when it's needed. It
was already known that without GSH, the other antioxidants (A, C, E, etc) can
not function efficiently. It was already known that GSH is a key component of the
liver's detoxification enzyme system, and it was already known that GSH is the
rate determining step in the immune response system (the body's response to
infection). All this was known because medical science had tested and observed
the results of reducing GSH levels but until now, there was no known way of
raising GSH levels throughout the body. HERE WAS THE BREAKTHROUGH!
For the first time, researchers were able to raise the levels of GSH within the
cells in a safe and convenient way. Then it happened - disaster struck!! The
WPC stopped working!!
Why did the WPC stop working?
For nearly two years, Dr. Bounous and his team of researchers went back over
the results rechecking, reanalyzing, reevaluating. They checked the equipment,
the animals, the testing procedures and the whey protein and could find nothing
that had changed. One evening, tired from a long and frustrating day, Dr.
Bounous was watching a gormet cooking program on TV where two French
chefs were discussing cheese. One of them mentioned the difference in the taste
and texture of cheese since the pasteurization process was changed. (In the late
1980's there was a salmonella outbreak in Europe and the pasteurization
temperature of milk was raised from 63 C to 72 C worldwide to better control the
bacteria.) Since whey protein was a byproduct of the cheese industry which was
itself a byproduct of milk processing, Dr. Bounous theorized that the temperature
could have had an effect. He decided to create a supply of whey protein using
the old method of pasteurization for testing. The results proved the theory - The
bioactivity was back!
Why did Pasteurization have this effect?
During the retesting, everything was rechecked including the composition of the
whey protein. They contained the same ingredients so what was the difference?
The product made at the lower temperature was undenatured. This critical
difference sets this WPC product apart from every other WPC or protein
supplement on the market. What does undenatured mean? Undenatured means
that the conformation or sequence of components remains the same from raw
material to finished product. Think of a jar of colored jellybeans representing the
components of whey protein. There are black, blue, red, yellow, green - a
rainbow of colors. Now visualize within that jar two orange jellybeans stuck to a
black jellybean - three stuck together. This is the way bioactivity is achieved in
nature. Two cysteine amino acids are linked by a sulfur (thiol) bond - just like the
three jelly beans. For some reason, when the two linked amino acids are
swallowed, they are not separated. They pass through digestion and absorption,
circulate in the blood stream, and are absorbed into our cells yet if they are
ingested separately (denatured), they are digested and consumed before
entering the cells. Think again of the jellybeans. Only the two orange beans
linked by a black are active. High temperature pasteurization breaks the bond
holding them together. You still have a jar of jellybeans. They look the same, they
weigh the same and they taste the same. They still have the same nutritional
value, but the key sequence is broken. The essential compound (cysteine) is
digested and never reaches the cells in active form.
By utilizing a patented low temperature / filtration process, Dr. Bounous has
developed a bioactive undenatured whey protein concentrate called Immunocal.
The Nobel Prize
Having reestablished the bioactivity of his discovery and reasserted it's
effectiveness in cancer prevention and treatment in mice, Dr. Bounous was approached
by another researcher, a Dr. Baruchel, recently of the Pasteur Institute in Paris,
where he and Dr. Luc Montagnier, M.D., the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine, were credited with the discovery of the virus
responsible for AIDS a few years earlier.
Dr. Montagnier said of the AIDS virus: "We can be exposed to HIV [Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the AIDS virus] many times without being clinically infected. Our immune system will get rid of the virus in a few weeks if you have a good immune system."
Dr Baruchel, fresh from his work at the
Pasteur Institute, requested authorization to test the newly discovered
undenatured WPC on a small group of his AIDS patients to determine if the
product could positively affect their immune systems. Dr. Baruchel reports "Over
the 3-month period, glutathione levels increased in all 3 cases. His results are
quoted here.
... “in patients who maintain an adequate total caloric intake, the addition of
"bioactive" whey protein concentrate as a significant portion of total protein intake
increases body weight and shows elevation of glutathione (GSH) content of
mononuclear cells toward normal levels."
These results lead the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta to write:
"Laboratory studies have shown that a new whey protein concentrate, called
Immunocal, can inhibit HIV replication while also stimulating the production of
glutathione, an amino acid that helps control the progression of the virus." in their
CDC Aids Daily Summary 02/06/97; See also: Baruchel S., Bounous G., Gold P. Place for an antioxidant therapy in HIV infection. Oxidative stress, Cell activation and viral infection 311-21, 1994.
And Then?
For over twenty years, medical science had known that reduced glutathione
leads to impaired health but had no way to positively impact on the cells to alter
the intracellular production of glutathione. Now, because of this first ever
opportunity, clinical trials are in progress all over the world with this remarkable
product. Completed studies are posted on this website. Among the trials in progress are:
All of these studies and many more are ongoing, not to determine if raising
glutathione levels will help, but to clinically determine how much it will help. Dr
Larry Lands and his group at Montreal Children's Hospital recently concluded the
first part of their study on oxidative stress and muscle fatigue. Their first task was
to create a baseline for comparison. They found something totally unexpected.
Not only did raising glutathione levels slow the onset of muscle fatigue (which
was expected) but in fact it increased muscle strength and 30 second work
capacity by 13% in normal healthy young adults .
What does this all mean for you and me?
--------Required Disclaimers-----------
We cannot make health claims for this product - it is a food supplement, not a
drug.
This product is not intended to diagnose, cure, prevent or treat any disease.
These statements have not been reviewed by the FDA.
Always consult with your doctor before beginning any new regimen of nutritional supplementation.
As of this date (01/01/2011) there are 93,753 articles in the medical literature
(MedLine / PubMed) regarding the importance of glutathione in health and
disease. There can be no question about the importance of glutathione in the
body.
Until this discovery, there was no way to safely and effectively elevate
glutathione levels over any prolonged period of time.
There is only one proven way to increase glutathione in the cells of your body
(HMS-90 in Canada & Immunocal in the USA).
Immunocal & HMS-90 have been proven and patented to increase the human
immune response.
Immunocal & HMS-90 have been proven and patented as a method of
treatment for HIV-seropositive individuals.
Immunocal & HMS-90 have been proven and patented to have anti-cancer
therapeutic properties. Please note that even though the product is patented in cancer, no treatment or cure claim can or will be made as this product is a nutritional supplement and is not a drug.
I can't make specific assertions about increased lifespan in humans since it will
be many years before we will have hard data to evaluate BUT, as in the lab
animals, if increasing glutathione in our cells decreases the risk of early death
from cancers and strokes it stands to reason that lifespan might be
increased. No claims can be made without rigorous long-term clinical trials leading to an FDA approval in these areas.
A study by the University of Michigan found that "Higher glutathione levels
were associated with fewer number of illnesses (p<0.05), higher levels of selfrated
health (p<0.01), lower cholesterol (p<0.05), lower body mass, and lower
blood pressures."
Reduced intracellular glutathione has been implicated in or associated with
aging, allergy, ALS, anemia, arthritis, asthma, arteriosclerosis, alzheimers's
disease, auto-immune disease, chronic fatigue, Crohn's, fibromyalgia, diabetes,
hepatitis, lupus, MS, neurodegenerative disease, parkinson's disease, cancer,
cataract, stroke, cystic fibrosis, chronic bronchitis, HIV / AIDS, and hundreds of
conditions relating to oxidative stress.
If reduced glutathione is implicated / associated with all of these conditions,
doesn't it make good sense to get your GSH levels up?
Jean Carper, in her book Stop Aging Now!, sums it up the best. "You must
get your levels of glutathione up if you want to keep your youth and live longer.
High levels of GSH predict good health and long life. Low levels predict disease
and early death."
There are only two groups of individuals that should not take these products,
organ transplant recipients (boosting the immune system theoretically increases the chance of
rejection) and people allergic to milk protein specifically. NOTE: The product is
safe for lactose intolerant people since it contains less than 1% lactose.
People undergoing chemotherapy should consult their oncologist before taking
these products since a few chemotherapy drugs do lower GSH levels by design.
The products are safe to use before, between, and after chemotherapy but always check
with your doctor before using them during chemotherapy. Your doctor can look
up Immunocal in his or her Physician’s Desk Reference for Prescription Drugs (PDR)
although no prescription is required to obtain Immunocal.
The only thing standing between you and death is your immune system.
