Immune system boost with blue-green algae

I n Primordial Food, Drapeau cites research performed by a team of scientists affiliated with the University of Illinois. The team was composed of one board-certified forensic examiner and microbiologist, one surgeon, and three physicians. More than two hundred cases were reviewed in this study. The study concluded that AFA appears to be effective in treating various viral conditions, chronic fatigue, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), depression, inflammatory diseases, and fibromyalgia. The study suggests that AFA acts on the immune and nervous systems and prevents inflammation.

Studies done on AFA have demonstrated that it stimulates the migration of stem cells from the bone marrow into the blood and brain (mostly due to the actions of the blue pigment phycocyanin), stimulates white blood cells, and inhibits COX-2 activity, preventing inflammation and improving nervous- system health, as well as one’s overall mood. Drapeau also cites research indicating that AFA, when consumed daily for several weeks, helps move natural killer (NK) cells out of the blood and into the tissues to patrol for and destroy damaged and diseased cells. Although green tea and ginkgo biloba leaf improve the activity of NK cells, no other substance has been found that stimulates this patrolling work. Researchers have discovered that a blue-green algae protein reduces the ability of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Ebola virus.

 The antiviral protein, known as cyanovirin-N (CV-N), can extend the survival time of Ebola-infected mice. There is currently no treatment for Ebola infection, which causes severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever. “CV-N is extremely effective against a broad range of HIV strains,” said Barry O’Keefe, PhD, of NCI’s Center for Cancer Research, one of the authors of the study. “CV-N is the first molecule known to inhibit Ebola infection by interfering with the virus’s ability to enter cells.” CV-N inhibits HIV and Ebola infection by binding to the outside of the virus and physically blocking it from entering healthy cells. The protein attaches to a particular sugar molecule on the virus surface.