Extra
virgin pine nut oil, peptic ulcers and gastritis
1. What is Extra virgin
pine nut oil (EVPO)? Is it safe to use?
Most pine nuts contain a fairly large amount of
edible oil – up to 60% of their total weight. In Russia and China,
it has been traditionally cold-pressed from pine nuts collected
from wild-growing pines by a delicate process using unique traditional
oil presses. The resulting richly fragrant, golden-colored oil
with a delicious nutty flavor is called extra virgin pine nut
oil (EVPO). The oil is absolutely safe to use. It is both a traditional,
centuries-old food and a potent natural remedy against a number
of widespread ailments, including peptic
ulcers and gastritis.
Extra virgin pine nut oil has a history of many
centuries of therapeutic use in Russian and Chinese traditional
medicine. It is an outstanding concentrate of powerful free radical
scavengers fully capable of preventing or reversing even the strongest
oxidative stress.
Nowadays, extra virgin pine nut oil is being widely
used by Russian, Chinese and European doctors internally for the
treatment of peptic ulcers, gastritis
(inflammation of the stomach lining) and GERD (acid reflux). They
also prescribe it externally to treat burns and bruises and improve
skin condition, and use it for therapeutic inhalations, baths,
and massages. Along with being a proven peptic
ulcer and gastritis healer, extra virgin pine nut oil provides
our body with many vital nutrients, including good fats, amino
acids (building blocks for proteins), fat-soluble vitamins and
antioxidants, as well as essential
macro- and microelements such as magnesium, zinc, iron, copper,
and iodine.
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2. How does pine
nut oil work to heal peptic ulcers and alleviate gastritis-related
inflammation?
According to recent medical research, gastric and
duodenal ulcers, as well as gastritis, remain a serious health
problem in the United States and worldwide. During their lifetimes,
about 1 in 10 Americans develop at least one ulcer. Ulcers affect
about 5 million people each year, and more than 40,000 people
annually have ulcer-related surgery. Each year, approximately
15,000 people in the United States die of ulcer-related complications.
There is ample proof of the fact that
free radicals play a major role in the pathogenesis of peptic
ulcers and gastritis. All known risk factors for erosive/ulcerative
gastric and duodenal disorders – such as smoking, excess alcohol
consumption, unhealthy eating habits, physical and emotional stress,
etc. – deplete the natural antioxidant shields of the gastroduodenal
lining and cause a free radical overload. As a result, the gentle,
fragile mucosal lining of the stomach and duodenum becomes one
of the first tissues to suffer from the damaging chain reactions
induced by free radicals. Therefore, many researchers and doctors
agree that real, lasting solutions to the problem of peptic ulcers
and gastritis are to be found in boosting the body’s weakened
antioxidant shields with natural antioxidant complexes.
Extra virgin pine nut oil is an outstanding concentrate
of powerful
free radical scavengers fully capable of preventing or reversing
even the strongest oxidative stress leading to peptic ulcers and
gastritis. There is also some evidence suggesting that pine nut
oil may be capable of working against peptic ulcers in more than
one way, its potent antioxidant activity being just one of the
factors contributing to its effectiveness as a natural ulcer remedy.
For example, a number of researchers suggest that pinolenic acid
- a unique fatty acid occurring exclusively in pine nut oil -
provides strong anti-inflammatory and protective effects on gastric
and duodenal mucosa. Based on this strong body of research and
clinical evidence, the experts invariably agree that extra virgin
pine nut oil is an effective, time-tested and proven natural ulcer
healer.
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3.
What causes peptic ulcers and gastritis?
In the past, it was thought that lifestyle factors,
such as alcohol abuse, physical and emotional stress, unhealthy
eating habits and smoking, cause peptic ulcers and gastritis.
Later, it was also thought that they may be caused by bacteria
called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), although many
researchers suggest that the presence of these bacteria in the
majority of peptic ulcer patients does not necessarily mean that
the bacteria cause ulcers, rather than just add to the severity
of the problem (for example, only a small minority of people who
have H. pylori in their system ever develop a peptic
ulcer). In fact, there is extensive and mounting evidence of the
fact that all of the above-mentioned possible causes of ulcer
formation merely compound the real underlying cause: free radical
damage and oxidative stress.
All known risk factors for erosive/ulcerative gastric and duodenal
disorders (for example, the lifestyle-related factors described
above) deplete the natural antioxidant shields of our body and
cause a free radical overload. Even the much discussed Helicobacter
pylori bacteria contributes to the free radical overload
by producing an enzyme called urease, the action of which eventually
leads to the release of more free radicals, causing damage to
the epithelium. As a result, the gentle, fragile mucosal lining
of the stomach and duodenum becomes one of the first tissues to
suffer from the damaging chain reactions induced by free radicals.
Therefore, effective treatment and prevention of peptic ulcers
must be based on using the best available natural antioxidant
complexes in order to enhance our body's depleted antioxidant
shields. One such healing antioxidant complex, abundant in very
potent and effective free radical scavengers, is contained in
extra virgin Siberian pine nut oil.
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4.
Were there any clinical studies performed to ascertain the effectiveness
of extra virgin pine nut oil as a peptic ulcer and gastritis remedy?
Yes, there was extensive scientific research and
many clinical studies conducted to this effect.
First, there was a number of studies which established
the role of free radicals and oxidative stress in the pathogenesis
of peptic ulcers and gastritis and showed that natural antioxidants
are capable of stopping and reversing the ulcer-causing free radical
damage to the gastric mucosa.
Second, the effectiveness of extra virgin pine
nut oil in peptic ulcer and gastritis treatment was specifically
established in several studies conducted in Russia and China.
In these countries, as well as in several Eastern European countries,
extra virgin pine nut oil has now officially been approved as
an effective peptic ulcer and gastritis remedy.
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5.
What about H. Pylori? Isn't it enough to kill this "bug"
to get rid of peptic ulcers?
This is a gross oversimplification of the real facts
surrounding the role of Helicobacter pylori in the pathogenesis
of gastric inflammation and peptic ulcers.
H. pylori and its effects on the human body are still
very poorly understood. While promoting the use of a combination
of two or more strong antibiotics to get rid of H. pylori,
the pharmaceutical industry still cannot explain why only a small
portion of those "infected" with these bacteria ever
develop even a single peptic ulcer, while the vast majority of
these "infected" individuals fail to develop any symptoms
whatsoever. In some countries, as many as 90 percent of the population
are "infected" with H. pylori, yet the frequency
of peptic ulcer disease in these countries is rather limited.
Unlike regular pathogenic bacteria, H. pylori
do not invade the cells of the surrounding tissue, they just "habitate"
there. Moreover, in sharp contrast to pathogenic bacteria, H.
pylori do not cause our immune system to eliminate them or
develop immunity to a repeated "infection".
In a large percentage of peptic ulcer sufferers, H. pylori
is not even present (these cases are called H. pylori-negative).
And isn't it interesting that, in spite of being blamed for 90
percent of all duodenal ulcers, H. pylori is never even
present in the duodenum?
An increasing number of doctors and medical researchers, led by
Dr. Martin Blaser, President of the Infectious Diseases Society
of America and founder of the Foundation for Bacteriology, think
that Helicobacter pylori may be protective against gastroesophageal
reflux disease (GERD), Barrett's esophagus, and adenocarcinoma
of the esophagus and stomach cardia - a particularly deadly form
of cancer that is becoming more and more widespread. According
to Dr. Martin, H. pylori and humans have co-evolved for
many thousands of years, and, intil very recently, all humans
were colonized by these bacteria. This means that H. pylori
must be a long-established part of our normal bacterial flora,
or "indigenous biota."
In February 2005, Dr. Martin Blaser has published
a landmark article about H. pylori, entitled An Endangered
Species in the Stomach, in the Scientific American
magazine. In this article, he has convincingly demonstrated that
the decline of H. pylori in developed countries over
the past 100 years has paralleled an upsurge in potentially fatal
diseases of the esophagus. Here are some of Dr. Martin's conclusions
presented in the article:
"The possibility that this bacterium may actually
protect people against diseases of the esophagus has significant
implications. For instance, current antibiotic treatments that
eradicate H. pylori from the stomach may have to be reconsidered
to ensure that the benefits are not outweighed by any potential
harm. To fully understand H. pylori's effects on health,
researchers must investigate the complex web of interactions between
this remarkable microbe and its hosts. Ultimately, the study of
H. pylori may help us understand other bacteria that
colonize the human body, as well as the evolutionary processes
that allow humans and bacteria to develop such intimate relations
with one another."
Consequently, the jury is still out with regard
to the exact role of Helicobacter pylori in health and
disease. While there is a possibility that this bacterium plays
a certain role in ulcer development, there is also extensive data
supporting the opposite point of view: namely, that these bacteria
may, under certain adverse circumstances, become a contributing
factor to the disease, but not its underlying cause. And, taking
into account the mounting evidence of a protective role played
by Helicobacter pylori in relation to esophageal diseases,
the currently popular medical practice of wholesale eradication
of H. pylori by antibiotics may create more serious problems
than the ones it is supposed to solve.
Without doubt, this issue requires a lot of additional
research before any final conclusions can be drawn. In any event,
it is definitely premature to recommend strong antibiotics as
the "default" allopathic cure for peptic ulcers and
gastritis, if only because bacteria tend to develop resistance
toward antibiotics, leading to the appearance of new, antibiotic-resistant
strains. The strongly negative side effects of antibiotics, namely
the extermination of the numerous beneficial strains of bacteria,
leading to further damage to the gastrointestinal system, should
not be overlooked, either. When a so-called "triple therapy"
(two antibiotics plus an acid suppressor) is used, patients are
required to take up to 20(!) pills a day. Side effects of "triple
therapy" include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dark stools,
metallic taste in the mouth, dizziness, headache, and yeast infections
in women.
Another serious and potentially life-threatening
condition that sometimes develops after the use of antibiotics
is called pseudomembranous colitis. On average, it develops in
0.5 to 4 percent of those treated with antibiotics to eliminate
peptic ulcers or gastritis.
As was already noted above, all known risk factors
for erosive/ulcerative gastric and duodenal disorders, including
smoking, alcohol, stress, and poor diet, deplete the natural antioxidant
shields of our body and cause a free radical overload. H.
pylori just "adds its two cents" to the total free
radical assault on the protective lining of the stomach and the
duodenum.
Under normal circumstances, i.e. when the antioxidant status of
our body is not compromised or stretched too thin, the natural
antioxidant defenses are able to withstand this assault (whether
it is caused by H. pylori or not) and keep the fragile
gastriduodenal lining from inflammation and ulceration. However,
when these antioxidant shields become depleted or otherwise inadequate,
our body loses its ability to successfully cope with free radicals,
resulting in peptic ulcers. A vivid example of such a situation
may often be seen in emergency rooms, where patients who have
suffered from head trauma or burns tend to develop peptic ulcers
on a massive scale in a matter of days or even hours, because
the body is using all of its available antioxidant reserves to
fight the life-threatening condition.
The bottom line of this rather long explanation is that the nature
and functions of H. pylori are far from being well understood
by scientists, but one thing should be clear to any unbiased observer:
it definitely should not be viewed as a "bug" that must
be killed to cure peptic ulcers. Yes, it may contribute to the
pathogenesis of peptic ulcers, but only as one of many other causative
factors which may be at work here. Therefore, its elimination
does not guarantee anything, because, if the antioxidant shields
of the gastroduodenal mucosa continue to be inadequate, sooner
or later it will again fall victim to imflammation and ulceration,
and peptic ulcers will return.
A much more prudent and effective approach to the healing and
prevention of peptic ulcers and gastritis is to boost the antioxidant
status of our body with powerful natural antioxidant foods and
remedies like extra virgin pine nut oil.
If the antioxidant shields are brought back to normal and kept
functioning at their fullest potential, they would be able to
successfully withstand any free radical pressure, including such
pressure that may be caused by Helicobacter pylori. Only
through such an optimization of the antioxidant status of our
body it is possible to achieve true healing and prevent peptic
ulcers from recurring.
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6 . Does extra virgin
pine nut oil relieve ulcer- and gastritis-related abdominal pain?
Yes, it does. In some patients, pain relief comes
practically right away. In a recent clinical study of 25 peptic
ulcer and 5 chronic gastritis sufferers, abdominal pain was completely
gone in all 30 patients after 21 days of pine nut oil use.
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7.
Are there any side effects associated with the use of extra virgin
pine nut oil?
No, there are absolutely no side
effects. Extra virgin pine nut oil is a traditional, all-natural
healing food which has been used in Russia, Europe, and China
for many centuries.
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8.
My doctor has prescribed antibiotics and antacids for my ulcer.
Can I combine extra virgin pine nut oil with these medications?
First of all, although it is a good idea to consult
a qualified health professional with any health problem (we think
that, in most situations, a naturopathic physician is the best
available choice), you must be informed that all synthetic antibiotics
and stomach acid suppressors have very strong and serious side
effects.
For example, the antibiotics prescribed to eliminate Helicobacter
pylori may fail to destroy their intended target, but are
guaranteed to kill billions upon billions of beneficial bacteria
in your gastrointestinal tract, effectively annihilating normal
gastrointestinal flora. It may take months or even years to bring
it back to normal (in some people, this fragile bacterial ecosystem
never recovers). Additional side effects associated with the use
of antibiotics, to name just a few, are severe diarrhea, nausea,
and vomiting.
Synthetic drugs meant to suppress the production of stomach acid
have many nasty side effects of their own. It is important to
know that, when our stomach loses its ability to produce gastric
acid, we become unable to digest protein and assimilate protein-bound
vitamins, including vitamin B12.
As a result, incompletely digested protein is flushed into the
duodenum, leading to food allergies and amino acid deficiencies.
A deficiency of vitamin B12
(cobalamin) may lead to anemia and has been implicated in a spectrum
of neuropsychiatric disorders. Additionally, stomach acid suppressors
may cause impotence and breast enlargement in men.
If you still decide to undergo
a course of antibiotic/acid suppressor therapy, you may (or, rather,
should) definitely combine these medications with extra
virgin pine nut oil. Pine nut oil will partially offset the
negative consequences of synthetic drugs and provide important
pain relief and healing benefits of its own.
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9. How would the use
of pine nut oil react with a person who has had the gallbladder
removed?
Unless the surgery took place less than a month
ago, extra virgin Siberian pine nut oil would be perfectly safe
to use in such circumstances. After gallbladder is surgically
removed, the bile duct simply enlarges to assume the bile-storing
role. Therefore, the additional stimulating effect produced by
the oil would not be harmful, while the therapeutic benefits of
this oil are truly unique.
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10. Do have any suggestions
for taking your pine nut oil besides just straight?
For fastest therapeutic results, we recommend
taking pine nut oil straight. If desired, it may be mixed into
a drink, or used in a recipe. You will still get a full complement
of the healing ingredients present in the oil, but the results
may not be as fast.
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11. What are free radicals
and antioxidants? How do their affect our health?
Free radicals, also
known as “reactive oxygen species” (ROS), are atoms or atomic
groups that contain unpaired electrons. Since electrons have a
very strong tendency to exist in a paired rather than an unpaired
state, free radicals indiscriminately pick up electrons from other
atoms, converting those other atoms into secondary free radicals,
and thus setting up a chain reaction that can cause substantial
biological damage. To protect itself from the damaging action
of free radicals, our bodies use substances called antioxidants,
which are also often referred to as free radical scavengers.
Many scientists think that the process of aging
is caused by the indiscriminate chemical re-activity of free radicals
leading to random biological damage. If the free radical overload
becomes overwhelming, premature aging and degenerative diseases
result. This hypothesis was confirmed by many practical experiments,
and it is now considered a major theory of aging.
In addition to premature aging, the destructive
effects of free radical chain reactions may be conducive to the
development of such widespread and serious health conditions as
gasritis and peptic ulcers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes,
infertility, renal, liver and lung disease, inflammatory and autoimmune
diseases, and cancer. Free radicals may damage DNA and cause it
to reproduce incorrectly, too rapidly, or not at all. They can
also change DNA to produce potential carcinogens.
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12. How does our body
protect itself from free radicals? What can we do to help it protect
itself?
Our body has developed several endogenous antioxidant
systems to deal with the production of free radicals. These systems
may be divided into enzymatic and non-enzymatic groups. The enzymatic
antioxidants include superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and
glutathione peroxidase. SOD catalyzes the breaking down of a free
radical called superoxide, which plays a major role in lipid peroxidation,
into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, which is further decomposed
into water and oxygen by catalase. Glutathione peroxidase is also
used by the body to consume free peroxide in the cells.
It is very important to note that, for maximum efficiency,
these antioxidant enzymes require trace metal cofactors. SOD,
for example, consists of proteins cofactored with copper, zinc,
manganese or iron. Iron is also required as a cofactor for catalase.
The most well-researched non-enzymatic antioxidants
include lipid-soluble vitamin E, vitamin A and carotenoids (including
beta-carotene), as well as water-soluble vitamin C and glutathione
(GSH). Glutathione, which is synthesized intracellularly from
amino acids cysteine, glycine, and glutamate, is capable of scavenging
free radicals either directly or enzymatically via glutathione
peroxidase.
We can help body to “scavenge” or “neutralize” free
radicals before they cause harm by avoiding environmental toxins
as much as possible and increasing dietary antioxidant intake.
Because antioxidant compounds are effective at very low concentrations,
we can gain protection from even moderate dietary changes that
increase antioxidant nutrients.
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13. What makes extra
virgin pine nut oil such a powerful concentrate of antioxidants?
Extra virgin pine nut oil is a uniquely potent natural
source of powerful antioxidants, as well as antioxidant cofactors
and “building blocks”. First, it contains up to 56 mg/100 g of
natural alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) – the most effective non-enzymatic
antioxidant for terminating the chain reactions of lipid peroxidation
in cell membranes. In its vitamin E content it is second only
to wheat germ oil and Gold of
pleasure oil. It is significantly richer in vitamin E than
any other common vegetable oil (for example, extra virgin olive
oil contains five times less vitamin E than extra virgin pine
nut oil).
The next important group of antioxidant compounds
present in extra virgin pine nut oil are carotenoids. Carotenoids
are organic pigments occurring in plants and some types of algae
and fungus. Their molecular structure makes them very efficient
free radical scavengers, resulting in a powerful antioxidant effect.
Some carotenoids fall into the category of pro-vitamin A. From
them, our body makes retinol (vitamin A), which is a potent antioxidant
itself.
Pine nut oil is a rich source of carotenoids, supplying
about 30 mg/100 g of these antioxidant and pro-vitamin compounds.
The fact that these carotenoids are dissolved in oil greatly increases
their bioavailability to our bodies in two ways. First, the carotenoids
are already released from the plant matrix (under certain circumstances,
this release may be difficult, making carotenoids in some foods
less usable compared to others), and, second, fat is a necessary
cofactor for carotenoid uptake.
Another major antioxidant, glutathione, is synthesized
by our cells from three amino acids: cysteine, glycine, and glutamate.
Pine nut oil, rich in essential and non-essential amino acids,
supplies all three of these glutathione building blocks. Therefore,
it is also an important glutathione booster, capable of enhancing
the free radical scavenging performance of this major antioxidant.
Finally, extra virgin pine nut oil is exceptionally
rich in trace metal cofactors for enzymatic antioxidants superoxide
dismutase (SOD) and catalase. It contains 20 mg/100 g of zinc,
16 mg/100 g of manganese, and 4 mg/100 g of copper – all of them
required for maximum efficiency of SOD. It also supplies about
19 mg/100 g of iron, an essential cofactor for both SOD and catalase.
Consequently, pine nut oil not only provides our body with a potent
boost of “external”, non-enzymatic antioxidants (vitamin E and
carotenoids), but also reinforces and optimizes its own enzymatic
potential for scavenging free radicals expressed through superoxide
dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase.
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