|
About the
Author
Helen Adams is a freelance writer,
with a particular interest in holistic healing. She has researched The
Good Health Food Guide in collaboration with the author Dr Eric
Trimmer, and co-authored Your Dreams and Your Stars with David
Melbourne, published by Bland-ford Press, 1998. She writes a monthly dream
interpretation column for Horoscope Magazine, as well as having
contributed several series and many book reviews. She contributes to other
magazines and websites, and runs her own consultancy.
|
People fully understand the
reasoning behind taking vitamins and minerals to supplement their diets
and improve health – but taking capsules of soil?! Scientific studies
undertaken in the USA have proved that this is not as mad as it sounds,
and could in fact make good sense.
Over
the past 80 years or so, the development of intensive farming methods,
coupled with the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and a host of other
reasons, have meant that much of the soil in which we grow our food has
become virtually lifeless. Good soil should contain a healthy mixture of
Soil-based Organisms (SBOs). These are naturally occurring micro-organisms
that release powerful enzymes responsible for keeping it free of moulds,
yeasts, fungi and other parasites which would otherwise make normal plant
growth impossible.
When people ate
vegetables grown in such nutrient-rich soil, they automatically ingested
these organisms, which also had a beneficial effect on the digestive
tract. The SBOs kept us free from pathogenic bacteria and putrefying waste
matter that clogs up the colon, causing many diseases. As humans, we too
need a rich and fertile environment of friendly micro-organisms within our
systems in order to sustain optimum
health.
Eating organic produce doesn’t
automatically ensure that we get enough SBOs either, although this is a
huge improvement on non-organic foodstuffs. Growing vegetables in depleted
soil full of organic fertilizers does not really get to the heart of the
problem. If the soil is sterile, it needs careful regeneration and rest to
bring it back to life.
It was Élie
Metchnikoff Ph.D, Nobel laureate, who discovered that there was a definite
correlation between health, longevity, and the proper balance of
beneficial organisms in the body. Ideally the ratio of bad to good
bacteria should be 20/80; however, for many today this ratio has been
reversed. It seems it is the high level of bad bacteria within our systems
that is responsible for such conditions as chronic fatigue, and that host
of symptoms in which one is not really sick and yet at the same time
doesn’t really feel truly well.
It is
indeed a real paradox that in this time of plenty many people are
unknowingly suffering from
malnutrition.
Dr Peter Rothschild, who is
one of the foremost experts on the human immune response, has talked
frequently about the fact that there are many other bacterial
micro-organisms which can have a profound and positive effect on our
health, even if in no way related to the human system. Acidophilus, the
most commonly known form of friendly bacteria, is in fact just one of
many.
Another such micro-organism is
Bacillus subtilis, one of the bacterial organisms in the
encapsulated formula of SBOs, the discovery of which has quite a
remarkable story behind it. Apparently, during the Second World War, when
the Germans were involved in their African campaign and claiming a
victory, the generals of the army became alarmed when many hundreds of
their soldiers began dying of uncontrollable dysentery. There was no
medicine available which could treat the problem. The German high command
sent out teams of scientists to find a cure for this problem. They
eventually discovered that the Arabs also suffered from dysentery, but
immediately on finding that they were suffering from it, they would wander
behind a camel or horse until the animal dropped its dung. They then could
be seen scooping up the fresh dung and eating
it.
The Germans themselves were somewhat
horrified at this, but, upon examining it, discovered that it was teaming
with a micro-organism which they eventually named Bacillus
subtilis. Ingesting this had a very powerful and beneficial effect on
the human gut. It would eradicate all pathogenic bacteria and restore
health to the system. The Arabs themselves knew nothing of this, just that
it was what their fathers and forefathers had always taken to bring about
a cure. From this, many tons of Bacillus subtilis were generated
and the troops no longer suffered from
dysentery.
The next big breakthrough
occurred with the discovery and development of SBOs themselves. These
constitute a further source of bacterial micro-organisms that are very
helpful to the human system, and which live within the environment rather
than the body. The development of the original formula of encapsulated
SBOs, and the subsequent research were undertaken by leading scientist and
researcher Peter Smith. Whilst out hiking in a very remote, pollution free
area, he happened upon some large colonies, forming mounds on the ground,
which he recognized as being made up of SBOs. Being intrigued he took
samples back with him to study, wanting to find out whether they were
toxic, pathogenic, or actually beneficial to living beings. His research
was carried out in top universities in California, where he associated
with many other professors and research
experts.
He discovered, when he
experimented with SBOs upon mice, that the animals actually did very well
and became extremely healthy. The next step was to try taking them
himself, which he did, and he too found that the more they were ingested
the greater the improvement in his whole system. He then spent many years
isolating and developing the strains that gave optimum results in the
human system.
Peter Smith has kept a
strict policy of secrecy concerning not only the exact strains of SBOs
that he has groomed and cultivated, but also the process involved.
Apparently, he has not even patented it because he does not want anyone to
try and copy his formulation.
The
resulting powder that was developed has a grey/black colour and is made up
of many very specific micronutrients and also phytoplankton, which in turn
act as a base for the living SBOs. These are kept in a dormant state in
the powder until introduced into an aqueous solution, after which they
become activated. Apparently this also gives them a very long shelf life
of over five years, and they do not need to be refrigerated, although they
will keep even longer if they are.
Having
researched their effect on the human system, as have other scientists, he
has come to some truly remarkable conclusions about the many benefits they
bestow. However, rather than make claims about the product’s qualities, it
is the testimonials of those taking the capsules on a daily basis which
have really kept the product selling at an increased rate. Here is one
case history that demonstrates the product’s effectiveness.
Case Study –
Jenny
Crohn’s disease is one
example of how this reversed ratio of bad to good bacteria causes the
immune system to become unbalanced, and the whole organism to suffer often
as a result of autointoxication.
Jenny
was in her teens and had her life ruined by Crohn’s. She had tried
everything to cure it, from orthodox medicines to all kinds of alternative
treatments. Underweight and continually fatigued she was having up to 30
bowel movements a day. It seemed as though her whole system was shutting
down and she could die.
It was at this
point that she began taking a food supplement of SBOs, which had been
extensively tested by scientists in the United States. She didn’t
experience immediate relief, but developed a backlash at first. The SBOs
in the capsule were killing off large numbers of pathogenic organisms, and
the toxic wastes from these dead bacteria began leaking through the porous
walls of her weakened gut. So she actually felt worse before she began to
feel better. After about 30 days she eliminated a black tar-like
substance. It was the putrefying waste which had been clogging her colon
and stopping nutrients from being absorbed. She didn’t see much
improvement for 30 days, but kept on going because she had never before
read such convincing research on a product. Gradually she began putting on
weight and after a year had filled out, and her gut was functioning
normally.
So how do they work in our
system? As we ingest the SBOs, they pass through the stomach and form
colonies of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract. These attach
themselves to the walls of the intestines. The food we eat works its way
through the gastro-intestinal system and further micro-organisms are
carried down the gut until the tract is totally lined with colonies of
SBOs. Their unique action of getting behind and actually eating away the
waste matter means that they keep the system clean, and vital nutrients
can then be absorbed easily. They have the effect of restoring a healthy
bacterial environment within our bodies. But their beneficial action on
the human organism doesn’t stop there; they are responsible for a whole
host of other health-related activities, as scientific tests have
revealed. Perhaps the most important effect is that they trigger the
immune system, encouraging it to work super-efficiently, by stimulating
alpha-interferon production and pools of unprogrammed
antibodies.
SBOs contain micronutrient
doses of a wide range of vitamins, minerals and enzymes. They encourage
healthy cell growth and wound healing and help eliminate free radicals by
creating superoxide dismutase (SOD). They also help the system to create
human lactoferrin. This means that iron can be absorbed into the human
system and therefore not left in its unabsorbed state where it is instead
used by the bad bacteria.
People have
reported an increase in energy and mental alertness after taking them for
some time. They have also helped heal pets and
plants!
SBOs are more stable than
other supplements of friendly bacteria and can easily survive the journey
through the acid stomach and reproduce themselves despite an unfavourable
internal ecology.
Another case history
reveals once again the many benefits that SBOs have on our system.
Case Study –
Pauline
Pauline had been
suffering from diabetes for ten to twelve years. During this time she had
been through all the conventional routes to help sort out her problem, and
also tried out a variety of alternative methods. She was taking insulin
and felt generally ill and run down in all sorts of ways. She suffered
from sluggishness, bouts of depression, recurring bouts of thrush and such
strong food cravings that she could not stick to any diet for long.
Dieting seemed to make her nervous and she consequently suffered from mood
swings. She was in a catch-22
situation.
A health practitioner
recommended that she try a specific supplement of SBOs from the USA,
precisely because she seemed to have difficulty in absorbing enough
nutrients, and because of the naturally aggressive and extremely efficient
action it exhibited against all harmful
bacteria.
As she says, “The difference
was noticeable in about three weeks”. She felt a gradual change for the
better in her everyday quality of life. Her head became clearer, and she
no longer felt depressed. What was most interesting, she no longer
suffered from food cravings and had not been tempted to eat even one
square of chocolate since starting the supplement. Her bouts of thrush
also cleared up.
Even more remarkable, an
appointment with her optician had previously revealed the beginnings of
deterioration in her eyesight. She had spots on her lens and deterioration
at the back of the eye. Hospital tests had confirmed this. When she
returned for her next eye appointment the spots on the lens had vanished
and the other problem was not so bad. He asked her what she had been doing
to have brought about such a positive
effect.
She still takes insulin and feels
that the SBOs are working gradually to bring progressive healing, rather
than a sudden or dramatic cure.
In
Pauline’s case the Soil-Based Organisms had quite a profound healing
effect on her total system.
A
Practitioner’s Viewpoint
Jill
Davies is a herbalist with a busy practice based in Norfolk, and part of
the umbrella group of herbal medicines, the EHPA. She has been using SBOs
extensively in her practice for the past two years, with excellent
results. She too felt that Western civilization was becoming so squeaky
clean that this approach was actually weakening
us.
She tends to use capsules of SBOs for
many types of disorder, especially where the immune system has been
compromised. These include asthma, Candida albicans, irritable
bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ME, allergic conditions, as well as many
others. For her, SBOs form an important part of a regime that also
includes herbal remedies and dietary
changes.
SBOs kick-start the immune
system, which may have been operating at a reduced level for some time.
They can therefore bring about what is known as a ‘healing crisis’, as the
natural healing abilities of the body begin to function again. This may be
relatively minor or more major, as in the case of Jenny above, depending
on how long and to what extent the body has been
sick.
Jill recommends that those taking
SBOs as an aid to healing for more deep-seated problems do so under
professional supervision. A healing crisis brings out hidden or dormant
conditions and also emotions that often have their roots in the past. She
feels that people should not go through such a crisis unaided. She
recommends cutting down the dose of SBOs, or even stopping them for a
couple of days, if a healing crisis does
develop.
In her experience, healing with
SBOs is usually slow but steady, although many people have found that
acute problems have cleared after taking them for a relatively short
time.
Jill stated that she uses a brand
called Nature’s Biotics, because it has been extensively tested and she is
impressed by the amount of research done on this particular formula with
the resultant implications for health.
Bibliography
Unpublished data provided by
Peter Rothschild, M.D. Ph.D.
Gittelman LA. Beyond Probiotics; The
Revolutionary Rediscovery of a Missing Link in Our Immune System. Keats
Good Health Guides Keats Publishing Ltd. 1998.
Rubin H. HSOs: Beyond
Probiotics; A Natural Way to Boost Your Immune System. Healthy &
Natural Journal 5(5): 83-96. 1998.
Walker M. Mother Earth Provides a
Natural Probiotic. Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients 169/170.
Aug/Sept 1997.
Further Information
Product Information:
Nature’s Biotics can be purchased from Kiki Ltd – Tel: 01493 857878 or
Fax: 0870 0636984. http://www.kiki-health.com/
homepage
|
