The Immune System and How it Fights Cancer Cells and Viruses with Dr Elizabeth Yurth

Getting a disease is inevitable; no one is exempt from it. Some people are fortunate enough to be cured of their illnesses. However, some diseases and conditions do not have cures, such as cancer. 

In a pandemic-stricken world, a deeper understanding of our immune system is crucial now more than ever. The body's immune system is the body's primary defence against sickness and disease. By learning the inner workings of our body, we can help support and prepare ourselves to fight cancer and keep ourselves healthy. 

In this episode, Dr Elizabeth Yurth shares her knowledge on the effects of cancer and viruses on our immune system. She talks about alternative approaches based on scientific evidence that goes hand in hand with traditional cancer treatments, ranging from spermidine to vitamin D and zinc. Become pre-emptive and preventive when it comes to your health! Get ahead of diseases through early diagnosis. 

If you want to learn more about how you can help your immune system fight cancer and other diseases, then this episode is for you!

 

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

 

1. Understand how your immune system works against viruses and cancer cells.
2. Learn more alternative approaches to cancer treatment aside from chemotherapy and radiation.
3. Discover how early testing and screening can help improve your overall health.

 

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Episode Highlights 01:04 Lisa’s Journey with Cancer and her Mom

Lisa’s mother has been diagnosed with high-grade diffuse B-cell lymphoma. These recent events have motivated Lisa to delve deeper into cancer research. Understanding how cancer works and the approaches besides traditional procedures such as chemotherapy and radiation are necessary and relevant. In the following episodes, she will be doing a series of interviews revolving around the theme of cancer.

09:12 How Cancer Rewrites the Definition of Healthy

When diagnosed with cancer, building muscles and promoting metabolic activity becomes less of a priority. The goal of cancer treatment is to slow everything down. We want to get rid of damaged cells and generate new ones. Dr Yurth adds that while it is vital to maintain glucose levels and everything, the general goal is to block muscle growth. Cancer begins at a mitochondrial level, and cancer cells need tons of energy to support their growth rate. We need to block all the typical pathways that make us healthy to stop its growth.

12:58 Spermidine and Autophagy Pathways 

The effects of spermidine are different for different types of cancer, but it appears to be very beneficial to patients suffering from colon cancer. Blocking the polyamine pathways in prostate cancer has been good in getting rid of cancer cells. A high dose of spermidine will result in a dramatic autophagy effect. However, Dr Yurth advises that she wouldn't recommend this until research reveals more information. 

 

Another good approach is doxycycline. Mitochondria started as bacteria and have their own DNA. Since doxycycline is an antibacterial agent, it works well in getting rid of these mitochondria. Dr Yurth advises us to stick to approaches that have better answers.

17:19 Autophagy as Recycling 

Cancer cells can use recycled proteins as another fuel source, so it's vital to block these pathways. Dipyridamole is a drug that works well in blocking nucleotide salvage pathways. However, chemotherapeutic drugs work on only one pathway, and cancer cells tend to find other pathways to get their energy, which makes working against these cells challenging. 

19:00 Fight Cancer By Starving It

Dr Yurth remarks that McClellan's work that includes safe, inexpensive, and readily available drugs in combating cancer is an innovative approach. She recommends doing them hand in hand with conventional approaches to cancer. Most oncologists will discourage patients from taking unconventional practices with cancer treatments.

21:25 Taking Others’ Input, Making Own Decisions

We need new scientific research about making decisions about cancer treatment. For example, there may be detrimental effects to patients undergoing unconventional approaches. Dr Yurth adds that she does extensive research in everything she does. 

23:00 Drug Interactions

Understanding drug interactions is vital in understanding cancer treatments. However, oncologists only look at it at the metabolic cellular level and follow their study protocols. 

23:34 Understanding the Metabolism of Cancer

Cancer is not just a genetic disease. While genetics causes a disposition towards cancer, the disease itself starts in the mitochondria. The mitochondria are independent and can become cancerous. There is no homogenous pattern when it comes to cancer cells mutating. That is why we need to treat the mitochondria and target metabolism.  

26:20 Progress in Understanding Cancer

There has been headway in understanding cancer, but you'll realise that research in the field has gotten further if we put everything together. The immune system responds appropriately to keep the cancer cells in check. However, as we age, the immune system becomes dysfunctional and can no longer get rid of cancer cells. Cancer is an age-related disease because the immune system starts to deteriorate. Viruses like cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus (EBV), and COVID end up sticking around and dysregulating the immune system. Over time, these viruses can eventually link to a form of cancer. 

 

28:40 Viruses and their Relationship to the Immune System

Over time, the immune system becomes depleted in keeping check with viruses in the body. The ratio of neutrophils and lymphocytes is vital for keeping your immune system working well. Having disproportionate lymphocytes means that your immune system can't protect your body from viruses. Dr Yurth shares that her son's white blood cell count dropped after experiencing EBV and COVID at the same time. Many people don't appreciate how viruses play a role in the long haul in our immune system. Dr Yurth suggests looking more aggressively at latent viruses in the body. Getting a simple CBC can determine how your immune system is currently faring. 

33:53 What Peptides Are 

Peptides are, in a sense, small proteins. A protein has more than 50 amino acids, and peptides have less than 50 amino acids. Our body makes thousands of peptides, each made with a specific function. Synthetic peptides are also present in the body. The thymus gland, responsible for producing peptides, becomes smaller as we age. For patients with autoimmune diseases, giving back peptide thymosin alpha 1 in doses helps their immune system fight viruses. Some countries use a drug called Daxon for this purpose or as an adjunct to vaccines. Immune system support is critical for cancer patients going through chemotherapy. However, this remains an expensive and inaccessible approach. 

39:12 Emerging Home Diagnostic Tests in the Market

It is vital to get ahead and find early signs of diseases through testing. Dr Yurth shares an anecdote of her patient with dementia. There is a correlation between the brain scan and the immune system test results, which pointed towards a viral influence. Your lymphocyte count can be the marker in determining the status of your immune system. 

 

40:52 Being Pre-emptive and Preventive

Your GP typically has you undergo a CBC test, but the results of this test tend to go overlooked. The risk of dying becomes dramatically higher when your blood count is above 1.5 to 1. Albumin dropping is a sign that the body is in a stressed state. This marker predicts if your body will respond well to cancer. Cell size and red blood cell distribution can also help healthcare providers determine the health status of your cells. 

43:13 Background on Dr Yurth’s BLI Academy Course 

The course will be available in January and includes a blood test. Dr Yurth and her team will walk you through your test results and the possible diseases you need to consider. It's essential to look for markers that tell you if something's wrong with your body. There are long term ramifications to latent viruses such as EPV, which could lead to lymphoma.

46:25 COVID and How You Can Support the Immune System

Vitamin D is essential to support your immune system fight viruses, and by extension, fight cancer and the coronavirus. Dr Yurth recommends 1000 IU/day of Vitamin D and taking it with Vitamin K2 intracellularly. People lacking a binding protein may experience issues taking Vitamin D naturally through sunlight exposure. Fortunately, there are substitutes, including certain wavelength lamps and supplements. Sunlight exposure and vitamin D influences the frequency of colds and flu in winter. The vitamin D levels from the sun decrease during this season. 

50:07 The Importance of Vitamin D 

Vitamin D upregulates an antimicrobial peptide, LL 37, which fights infections. Instead of buying expensive LL 37, you can take more vitamin D and upregulate your own LL 37. It is a great antiviral agent as well. Some people fear getting too much vitamin D. However, studies have shown that you need to be taking massive amounts before it becomes toxic. Dr Yurth recollects the case of a patient taking around 500,000 IU/day. When she stopped taking massive amounts, her levels went back to normal.

52:17 The Problem with Taking Vitamin D Naturally

Wearing sunblock can protect us from skin cancer and wrinkles but can also affect vitamin D absorption. African Americans and people of Mediterranean origin have skin less likely to be damaged by sun rays but tend to have lower vitamin D levels. In contrast, people who have Norwegian and similar European origins have higher vitamin D levels because their bodies aren't under the sun all the time. Through testing, you can determine if you need more vitamin D in your body. 

53:54 The Importance of Zinc

Viruses use your zinc to replicate. Zinc deficiency is present in people who contracted COVID, causing loss of taste and smell. A smell test is employed to determine whether a person has zinc deficiency. Higher levels of zinc can help protect our bodies against viral infections. Dr Yurth recommends a 1:1 zinc and copper ratio. You can add 2 milligrams of copper along with your zinc intake or use copper peptide face creams to achieve this recommendation. Some patients can take GHK Copper peptide intravenously or topically. 

56:52 Quercetin and Resveratrol

Quercetin helps get zinc into the cell. Resveratrol and Quercetin also help in treating viruses. These drugs also block glucose transport which makes them beneficial in treating cancer. 

57:52 Honokiol or Magnolia Bark Extract and Zeolite

Also known as Relora, it is an immune-modulating agent with antiviral properties. The drug has an adrenal function; it relieves stress and calms down cortisol present in the body at night. Zeolite is volcanic ash that forms a negatively charged structure upon hitting the water. Dentists commonly use it for mercury detox. Its cage-like structure can trap harmful toxins and viruses that get into our bodies. It also has anti-cancer properties. Ingesting zeolite while undergoing chemotherapy is not recommended because it can get rid of the toxins present in the treatment. 

1:02:04 Mental Work in the Cancer Journey

As a caretaker, stress shows prominent signs in physical and mental health. Dr Yurth shares that when her mother died in September, her father's prostate cancer was exacerbated by stress, which eventually led to his death. Similarly, Lisa's family experienced the loss of her father, followed by her mother's cancer diagnosis. Don't neglect the mental side of cancer. 

 

Resources

• Buy Healthspan Hacks: 4-part series Course
• Gain exclusive access and bonuses to Pushing the Limits Podcast by becoming a patron! 
• How to Starve Cancer by Jane McLelland
• Visit Lorraine Picard’s website for copper peptide creams here.
• Interested in BLI Academy Courses? Check out their offered services here.
• Learn more from Dr Elizabeth Yurth from her previous podcast episodes:
• • Episode 187: Back to Basics: Slow Down Ageing and Promote Longevity with Dr Elizabeth Yurth
  • Rethinking the Function of Mitochondria for Our Health with Dr Elizabeth Yurth
• You can also check out Dr Elizabth Yurth’s podcast with the Boulder Longevity Institute here!
• Connect with Dr Elizabeth Yurth: Instagram l LinkedIn

 

7 Powerful Quotes

“What happens in cancer though, is we have this accumulation of damage. And so now we have to go really aggressively at getting rid of everything that’s allowing cell growth.”

“Neutrophils, think of them as your chronic inflammatory and lymphocytes are your innate immune system. When your innate immune system starts to become taxed and not functioning well, then you’ll start to see your lymphocyte count drop,”

“I’m never an advocate of saying, Don’t do all traditional approaches, because I do think there’s some value to them, but we want to support the body along with it.”

“And yet, we know that for every point above 1.5, to 1 that your risk of dying goes up considerably. You know, it’s dramatic. And there are other little signs too, that things are going awry.”

“(A higher risk) happens as we get older because our immune system is now taxed for so long. So if we could say okay, yes, you had this virus, let’s try and eradicate it. Let’s keep your immune system as healthy as it can, you know, until 150.”

“The data really supports that if your vitamin D is robust, your likelihood of getting sick is really small.”

“The studies have shown that it has to be taking massive amounts of (vitamin D) to ever become toxic. So at 10,000 IU/day, nobody is going to become toxic. You really honestly don’t have to worry.”

 

About Dr Yurth

Dr Elizabeth Yurth is the co-founder and medical director of the Boulder Longevity Institute. 

Dr Elizabeth Yurth has more than 25 years of experience as a practising orthopedist specialising in sports, spine, and regenerative medicine. 

She has a Stanford affiliated Fellowship in Sports and Spine Medicine and a dual-Fellowship in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine (FAARM) and Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine (FAARFM) through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M).

She also has a Fellowship in Human Potential and Epigenetic Medicine and is one of the first providers to receive the A4M National Peptide Certification. She also serves as a faculty member in the same organisation and the International peptide Society (IPS).

You can connect with Dr Yurth through her Instagram and LinkedIn.

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To pushing the limits,

Lisa