THE LINK BETWEEN BIOFILMS AND YOUR CHRONIC HEALTH ISSUES: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Dr. Isaac Eliaz , August 30, 2023
Maybe this sounds familiar to you: You (or someone you love) have tried every possible treatment to overcome your persistent, perhaps mysterious, condition—yet nothing has worked. Your doctor is out of recommendations, and you’ve exhausted your own research.
Still…your symptoms continue, and your condition worsens. Is there any hope?
As an integrative doctor who’s helped countless patients overcome some of the toughest health obstacles, I want to emphasize that YES—there is indeed hope!
Even more than this, there are targeted, effective solutions that can help you break through your barriers, exceed your health plateau, and truly thrive—regardless of the challenges you face.
Whether you’re enduring vague, persistent symptoms with no clear diagnosis; an ongoing problem that just won’t resolve, or an aggressive condition not responding to front-line treatments…know this: There are strategic, evidence-based solutions that can be your lifeline out of rough waters.
Over the years, groundbreaking research and clinical practice have revealed key insights around the increasing epidemics of mystery illnesses and drug-resistant conditions plaguing our collective health. Importantly, these breakthroughs are translating into some of the most strategic and effective approaches for reversing course on any number of acute and chronic, degenerative conditions.
From those with chronic infections (including Lyme disease), to heart disease, chemo-resistant cancer, immune suppression and undiagnosed mystery conditions, people who are struggling to find effective treatments often share one common thread:
THE FORMATION BIOFILMS WITHIN THE BODY.
Biofilms are sticky, slimy, tenacious barriers that form around damaged, toxic, or infected areas in your body, and act as a shield. In some ways, this is one of your body’s short-term survival mechanisms: Isolating a problem area so that it doesn’t spread.
But, in a great paradox, biofilms also create microenvironments where cancer, infections, toxins, and inflammation can hide—untouched by your body’s defense and repair mechanisms.
When you disrupt and break down biofilms, you can allow your immune system, medicines and integrative therapies to do what they do best: Repair, rejuvenate—and heal you.
HARMFUL MICROBES SUPPRESS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
In many cases, biofilms are also formed by colonies of harmful microbes that secrete biofilm substance for their own protection. H. pylori, Candida and other fungi, E. coli, dental plaque, and other microbial and parasitic species including Lyme disease, are all shown to form biofilms in the digestive tract and elsewhere.1 You may even be living with biofilms right now, unknowingly—and attributing your vague symptoms to other factors, like normal signs of aging.
They’re not.
Biofilms disrupt healthy detox functions, suppress the immune system, fuel inflammation, block nutrient absorption, promote infections, contribute to arteriosclerotic plaque, and give cancerous cells a safe place to hide from your immune system, drugs and other therapies.
If you want to remove the roadblocks to optimal health, you need to address biofilms. Let’s take a closer look at how.
GALECTIN-3: THE SKELETON FOR BIOFILMS
There is one protein in your body that forms the backbone, scaffolding structure for biofilms: The pro-inflammatory, “alarm protein” galectin-3 (Gal-3). Gal-3 levels ramp up in your body in response to illness, infection, injury, stress (physical-mental-emotional), aging and other factors. However, if the alarm does not quiet down, Gal-3 quickly becomes a primary driver of unhealthy inflammation, tumor growth and metastasis, fibrosis, and immune suppression.2
The unique shape and structure of the sticky Gal-3 protein allows it to create dense lattice formations, which serve as the backbone of biofilms.3 Cancer also uses Gal-3 to create a tumor microenvironment, allowing the cancer to shield itself from drug treatments and immune surveillance. For this reason, Gal-3 is known as “The Guardian of the Tumor Microenvironment.”4
SUCCESS! BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRIERS OF GALECTIN-3
Over the years, I’ve been deeply inspired seeing my patients achieve results that often leave their conventional doctors speechless. Grave prognoses are replaced with improved health, longevity and quality of life. And in many cases, a large part of the success comes from targeting biofilms and specifically, Gal-3, as a fundamental strategy to break the literal barriers that stand in the way of thriving vitality.
In my experience, the best way to address these barriers is with targeted antibiofilm agents and therapies that work to disrupt the Gal-3 structure. Doing this allows other treatments to work better, faster and more completely—and helps unleash your full healing potential.
Here’s a look at some of my top recommendations that can help you break the barriers and achieve optimal health and vitality:
MODIFIED CITRUS PECTIN
Skyrocketing published data and decades of clinical success with Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) have made this extensively researched natural ingredient THE most important supplement for nearly every condition—thanks to its remarkable mechanisms of action. Specifically, the researched form of MCP is the only agent shown to bind and block Gal-3 and halt its destructive, inflammatory actions. MCP works to break down the Gal-3 biofilm formations, increasing the effectiveness of other drugs and therapies— from chemotherapy and antibiotic treatments, to nutrients, botanicals, and more. Today, thousands of studies show how Gal-3 plays a key role in our most critical health conditions including cancer, heart disease, kidney failure and many others. Because MCP is the only available agent to inhibit the destructive actions of Gal-3, research shows it can help to halt and in some cases, even reverse these life-threatening conditions. For over 20 years, I’ve used MCP in my practice to help patients from all walks achieve optimal health and longevity. Many patients say they are still enjoying life, decades later, thanks to the unparalleled longevity benefits that Modified Citrus Pectin provides.
MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
Many species of medicinal mushrooms deliver a wealth of actions for fighting infections and restoring health to damaged areas of the body. Now, research shows that certain medicinal mushrooms help to break up biofilms, while at the same time, delivering powerful antimicrobial actions to address persistent infections. In one study, Trametes versicolor mushroom—one that I rely on in my practice and in my mushroom formulas—showed the highest antibiofilm and antibacterial activity out of the handful that were tested.5
SODIUM ALGINATES
Purified from kelp seaweed, sodium alginates can also help break the biofilms formed by certain bacteria. I include these powerful binders in my targeted detox formulas, to help address biofilms and absorb toxins in the GI tract, for safe elimination.6 When you break up biofilms, you’re uncovering hidden problems so they can finally be resolved. You’re also unleashing your body’s ultimate healer—your immune system. With multi-targeted therapies like MCP, medicinal mushrooms and other powerhouse nutrients, you can remove the barriers that stand between you and your greatest health potential—and truly thrive.
REFERENCES
- Di Domenico EG, Cavallo I, Bordignon V, et al. The Emerging Role of Microbial Biofilm in Lyme Neuroborreliosis. Front Neurol. 2018;9:1048. Published 2018 Dec 3. doi:10.3389/fneur.2018.01048
- Díaz-Alvarez, Laura & Soto, Enrique. (2017). The Many Roles of Galectin-3, a Multifaceted Molecule, in Innate Immune Responses against Pathogens. Mediators of Inflammation. 2017. 1-10. 10.1155/2017/9247574.
- Pais-Correia AM, Sachse M, Guadagnini S, Robbiati V, Lasserre R, Gessain A,
Gout O, Alcover A, Thoulouze MI. Biofilm-like extracellular viral assemblies
mediate HTLV-1 cell-to-cell transmission at virological synapses. Nat Med. 2010 Jan;16(1):83-9. doi: 10.1038/nm.2065. Epub 2009 Dec 20. PubMed PMID: 20023636. - Ruvolo PP. Galectin 3 as a guardian of the tumor microenvironment. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2016 Mar;1863(3):427-437. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2015.08.008. Epub 2015 Aug 8. Review. PubMed PMID: 26264495.
- Karaca, Başar & Cihan, Arzu & Akata, Ilgaz & Altuner, Ergin. Anti-Biofilm and Antimicrobial Activities of Five Edible and Medicinal Macrofungi Samples on Some Biofilm Producing Multi Drug Resistant Enterococcus Strains. Turkish Journal of Agriculture – Food Science and Technology. 2020; 8. 69. 10.24925/turjaf.v8i1.69-80.2723.
- Powell LC, Sowedan A, Khan S, Wright CJ, Hawkins K, Onsøyen E, Myrvold R, HillKE, Thomas DW. The effect of alginate oligosaccharides on the mechanical properties of Gram-negative biofilms. Biofouling. 2013;29(4):413-21. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2013.777954.