THE SIGNS OF LUPUS

WHAT ARE FLARES?

When symptoms appear, its called a flare. These signs may come and go. You may have swelling and rashes one week and no symptoms at all the next. You may find that your symptoms flare after you've been out in the sun or after a hard day at work.

Even if you take medicine for lupus, you may find that there are times when the symptoms become worse. Learning to recognize that a flare is coming can help you take steps to cope with it. Many people feel very tired or have pain, a rash, a fever, stomach discomfort, headache, or dizziness just before a flare. Steps to prevent flares, such as limiting the time you spend in the sun and getting enough rest and quiet, can also be helpful.

ENCYCLOPEDIA meaning of lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (also known as SLE, or just lupus) is an autoimmune disease that primarily affects women of childbearing age. Its cause is unknown, but is believed to involve both genetic inheritance and factors in the environment. Whatever the cause, people with SLE develop antibodies against substances in their own bodies, including their DNA. These antibodies cause widespread damage and are believed to be primarily responsible for the many symptoms of this disease.

SLE may begin with such symptoms as fatigue, weight loss, fever, malaise, and loss of appetite. Other common early symptoms include muscle pain, joint pain, and facial rash. As SLE progresses, symptoms may develop in virtually every part of the body. Kidney damage is one of the most devastating effects of SLE, but many other serious problems may develop as well, including seizures, mental impairment, anemia, and inflammation of the heart, blood vessels, eyes, and digestive tract.

Conventional treatment for SLE revolves around a variety of anti-inflammatory drugs. In mild cases, taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help; more severe forms of SLE require long-term use of corticosteroid anti-inflammatory drugs such as prednisone. The side effects of these medications can be quite serious themselves. So-called cytotoxic agents (azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, and chlorambucil) might also be helpful, but they have many side effects as well.

Close physician supervision is always required with lupus due to the risk of complications in so many organs.

Other Proposed Natural Treatments

Flaxseed contains lignans and alpha-linolenic acid, substances with a wide variety of effects in the body. In particular, flaxseed may antagonize the activity of a substance called platelet-activating factor (PAF) that plays a role in SLE kidney disease (lupus nephritis). Preliminary evidence suggests that flaxseed might help prevent or treat lupus nephritis. Flaxseeds are the hard, tiny seeds of Linum usitatissimum, the flax plant, which has been widely used for thousands of years as a source of food and clothing. There are at least three flaxseed components with potential health benefits. The first is fiber, valuable in treating constipation. Flaxseed also contains alpha-linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid similar to in some ways, but significantly different in others from the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil, and perhaps offering some of the same benefits. Finally, substances called lignans in flaxseed have phytoestrogenic properties making them somewhat similar to the isoflavones in soy, without the soy side effects; of producing estrogen in the body.

The oil made from flaxseed has no appreciable amounts of lignans, but it does contain alpha-linolenic acid. See flaxseed oil and lignans for more information on these substances.

What Is Flaxseed Used for Today?

The fiber in flaxseed binds with water, swelling to form a gel, which, like other forms of fiber, helps soften the stool and move it along in the intestines. One study found that flaxseed can help with chronic constipation in irritable bowel disease. Germany's Commission E authorizes the use of flaxseed for various digestive problems, such as chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis, and general stomach discomfort.

Flaxseed may be slightly helpful for improving cholesterol profile, according to some but not all studies. Purified alpha linolenic acid or lignans alone have not not consistently shown benefits. It may be the generic fiber and not the other specific ingredients in flaxseed that benefit cholesterol levels.

Flaxseed, its lignans, and its oil have undergone a small amount of investigation for potential cancer prevention or cancer treatment possibilities.

Flaxseed has shown some promise for treating kidney disease associated with lupus (lupus nephritis).

Because it is believed to have soothing properties, flaxseed is sometimes used for symptomatic relief of stomach distress, and applied externally for inflammation of the skin. However, research on these potentially uses is essentially non-existent.

Although flaxseed is often advocated for the treatment of symptoms related to menopause, a sizable 12-month study failed to find it more helpful than wheat germ placebo. Besides failing to improve immediate symptoms such as hot flashes, flaxseed did not appear to provide any protection against loss of bone density. A previous, much smaller study by the same researchers found it equally effective for menopausal symptoms as hormone replacement therapy, but due to the absence of a placebo group and the high rate of placebo response in menopausal symptoms, these results cannot be taken as indicating much.

Another study failed to find that flaxseed has any effect on blood pressure.

What Is the Scientific Evidence for Flaxseed?

Constipation

In a double-blind study, 55 people with chronic constipation caused by irritable bowel syndrome received either ground flaxseed or psyllium seed (a well-known treatment for constipation) daily for 3 months. Those taking flaxseed had significantly fewer problems with constipation, abdominal pain, and bloating than those taking psyllium. The flaxseed group had even further improvements in constipation and bloating while continuing their treatment in the 3 months after the double-blind part of the study ended. The researcher concluded that flaxseed relieved constipation more effectively than psyllium.

Cholesterol and Atherosclerosis

Some but not all human studies have found that flaxseed improves cholesterol profile. However, the benefits, if they do exist, are very modest. For example, in a double-blind study of about 200 post-menopausal women, use of flaxseed at a dose of 40 grams daily produced measurable improvements in cholesterol profile, but the improvements were so small that the researchers considered them "clinically insignificant."

It has been claimed that flaxseed might also have a direct effect in helping to prevent atherosclerosis based on its lignan ingredients, but the evidence upon which these claims are based is limited to studies in rabbits.

Cancer

Some evidence hints that flaxseed or its lignan components might have cancer-preventive properties. Observational studies and other forms of highly preliminary evidence suggest that people who eat more lignan-containing foods have a lower incidence of breast and perhaps colon cancer.

The lignans in flaxseed are phytoestrogens, plant chemicals mimicking the effects of estrogen in the body: phytoestrogens hook onto the same spots on cells where estrogen attaches. If there is little estrogen in the body, for example after menopause, lignans may act like weak estrogen. However, when natural estrogen is abundant, lignans may reduce the hormone's effects by displacing it from cells; displacing estrogen in this manner might help prevent those cancers that depend on estrogen, such as breast cancer, from starting and developing. Some preliminary research indicates that these lignans may also fight cancer in other ways, perhaps by acting as antioxidants.

Animal studies using flaxseed and its lignans offer supporting evidence for a potential cancer-preventive or even cancer-treatment effect; several found that one or the other inhibited breast and colon cancer in animals and reduced metastases from melanoma (a type of skin cancer) in mice. Test tube Test tube studies have found that flaxseed or one of its lignans inhibited the growth of human breast cancer cell and that the lignans enterolactone and enterodiol inhibited the growth of human colon tumor cells.

Cancer is the second major cause of death (next to heart disease) in the United States. It claims the lives of more than half a million Americans each year out of the nearly 1.4 million who get the disease. The probability of getting cancer increases with age. Two-thirds of all cases are in people older than 65.

Principal Proposed Natural Treatments

Before we can get into detailed discussion of natural products proposed to help prevent cancer, we must first discuss some fundamental issues regarding the nature of medical evidence.

It is rather difficult to prove that taking a certain supplement will reduce the chance of developing cancer. One really needs enormous long-term, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in which some people are given the supplement while others are given placebo. However, relatively few studies of this type have been performed.

For most supplements, the evidence that they help prevent cancer comes from observational studies, which are much less reliable. Observational studies have found that people who happen to take in high levels of certain vitamins in their diets develop a lower incidence of specific cancers. However, in such studies it is very difficult to rule out other factors that may play a role. For example, individuals who take vitamins may also exercise more, or take better care of themselves in other ways. Such confounding factors make the results of observational studies less reliable.

Although this may sound like a theoretical issue, it has very practical consequences. For example, based primarily on observational studies, synthetic hormone replacement therapy was promoted as a heart-protective treatment for post-menopausal women. However, when placebo-controlled studies were performed, synthetic hormone replacement therapy proved to increase the risk of heart disease.

There is no such risk with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy that the Anti-Aging Clinic utilizes and suggests for its clients.

It is now thought that apparent benefits of synthetic hormone replacement therapy were due to the fact that woman who used it belonged to a higher socioeconomic class than those who did not use it. (For a variety of reasons, some of which are obscure higher income is associated with improved health.)

Only two supplements have any evidence from double-blind trials to support their potential usefulness for cancer prevention: vitamin E and selenium. For all other supplements, supporting evidence is limited to observational studies, as well as preliminary evidence from animal and test tube studies because of the costs involved. The large amounts of money are in synthetic forms of drugs that can be patented and not in things that cannot be patented such as natural supplements.

Vitamin E

The results of observational trials have been mixed, but on balance, they suggest that high intake of vitamin E is associated with reduced risk of many forms of cancer, including stomach, mouth, colon, throat, laryngeal, lung, liver, and prostate cancer.

However, as noted above, the results of observational studies are unreliable as guidelines to treatment from the Wellness Industry. The results of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are far more persuasive in drawing conclusions about cause and effect.

Selenium

Mixed Antioxidants

beta-carotene and cancer; It starts in the early 1980s, when the cumulative results of many studies suggested that people who eat a lot of fruits and vegetables are significantly less likely to get cancer. A close look at the data pointed to carotenes as the active ingredients in fruits and vegetables. It appeared that a high intake of dietary carotene might significantly reduce the risk of cancer of the lung, bladder, breast, esophagus and stomach.

However, as noted above, observational studies cannot prove cause and effect. When researchers gave beta-carotene to study participants, the results have been impressively negative.

Most studies enrolled people in high-risk groups, such as smokers, because it is easier to see results when you look at people who are more likely to develop cancer to begin with.

Beta-carotene alone is not efficient. Fruits and vegetables contain many carotenoids (carotene-like substances) that may be more important for preventing cancer than beta-carotene alone. One researcher has suggested that taking beta-carotene supplements and none other, actually depletes the body of other beneficial carotenoids. This is the reason that the Anti-Aging Clinic first measures the carotenoids in the tissue and follows up with testing each month testing the clients who are taking our antioxidant blends.

Tomatoes (Lycopene)

Lycopene, a carotenoid like beta-carotene, is found in high levels in tomatoes and pink grapefruit. Lycopene appears to exhibit about twice the antioxidant activity of beta-carotene and may be more helpful for preventing cancer.

In one observational study, elderly Americans consuming a diet high in tomatoes showed a 50% reduced incidence of cancer. Men and women who ate at least seven servings of tomatoes weekly developed less stomach and colorectal cancers compared to those who ate only two servings weekly.

In another study, 47,894 men were followed for 4 years in an observational study looking for influences on prostate cancer. Their diets were evaluated on the basis of how often they ate fruits, vegetables, and foods containing fruits and vegetables. High levels of tomatoes, tomato sauce, and pizza in the diet were strongly connected to reduced incidence of prostate cancer. After an evaluation of known nutritional factors in these foods as compared to other foods, lycopene appeared to be the common denominator.

Additional impetus has been given to this idea by the discovery of lycopene in reasonably high levels in the human prostate, evidence from test tube studies that lycopene might slow DNA synthesis in prostate cells and evidence that men with higher lycopene levels in the blood have a lower risk of prostate cancer.

Vitamin C

Several observational studies have found a strong association between high dietary vitamin C intake and a reduced incidence of stomach cancer. It has been proposed that vitamin C may prevent the formation of carcinogenic substances known as N-nitroso compounds in the stomach.

Observational studies have also linked higher vitamin C in the diet with reduced risk of colon, esophageal, laryngeal, bladder, cervical, rectal, breast, and perhaps lung cancer.

One study found that vitamin C supplementation at 500 mg or more daily was associated with a lower incidence of bladder cancer.

Green Tea

Both green tea and black tea come from the plant Camellia sinensis, which has been cultivated in China for centuries. The key difference between the two is in preparation. For black tea, the leaves are allowed to oxidize, a process believed to lessen the potency of the presumed active ingredients in green tea, catechin polyphenols. Green tea is made by lightly steaming the freshly cut leaf, a process that prevents oxidation and possibly preserves more of the therapeutic effects.

Laboratory and animal studies suggest that green tea consumption protects against cancers of the stomach, lung, esophagus, duodenum, pancreas, liver, breast, and colon.

A study in Shanghai, China, found that those who drank green tea had significantly less risk of developing cancers of the rectum and pancreas than those who did not.

Another study in Shanghai found similar associations for stomach cancer. Green tea drinkers were 29% less likely to get stomach cancer than nondrinkers, with those drinking the most green tea having the least risk.

Green tea may exert an estrogen-blocking effect that is helpful in preventing breast and uterine cancer and another study suggests that it might prevent the development of tumors by blocking the growth of new blood vessels.

The main catechin polyphenol found in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Preliminary experimental studies suggest that EGCG may help prevent skin cancer if it is applied directly to the skin.

Other Proposed Natural Treatments

Some, but not all, observational and intervention studies have found evidence that calcium supplementation may reduce the risk of colon cancer. However, calcium supplements might increase risk of prostate cancer (in men).

Some studies have connected higher vitamin D levels with a lower incidence of cancer of the breast, colon, pancreas, and prostate, as well as melanoma, but overall research has yielded mixed results.

Substances known as lignans are found in several foods and may produce anti-cancer benefits. They are converted in the digestive tract to estrogen-like substances known as enterolactone and enterodiol. Like soy isoflavones these substances prevent estrogen from attaching to cells and may thereby block its cancer-promoting effects. Lignans are found most abundantly in flaxseed a high-fiber grain that has been cultivated since ancient Egyptian times. Both flaxseed and flaxseed oil have been recommended for prevention or treatment of cancer, but the supporting evidence is still extremely preliminary. Contrary to some reports, flaxseed oil contains no lignans. Instead, it contains the alpha-linolenic acid, which is also hypothesized to have cancer-preventive effects.

Evidence from observational studies suggests that garlic taken in the diet as food may help prevent cancer, particularly cancer of the colon and stomach.

In one of the best of these studies, the Iowa Women's Study, women who ate significant amounts of garlic were found to be about 30% less likely to develop colon cancer. Similar results were seen in other observational studies performed in China, Italy, and the United States.

Resveratrol is a phytochemical found in at least 72 different plants, including mulberries and peanuts. Grapes and red wine are particularly rich in resveratrol. This substance has shown anticancer properties in test tube studies.

One large observational study suggests that higher intake of boron may reduce risk of prostate cancer.

Provocative evidence suggests that a substance called sulforaphane, found in broccoli and related vegetables, may possess anti-cancer properties. Recently, broccoli sprouts have been touted for cancer prevention on the basis of their high content of sulforaphane. However, this recommendation is still highly speculative.

One study provides preliminary supporting evidence for the notion that fish oil reduces the risk of prostate cancer; however, there is no reliable evidence that fish oil has a general cancer-preventive effect.

Evidence hints that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) treatment may help to prevent colon cancer.

Several studies have experimented with using very high doses of vitamin A to prevent skin cancer, doses considerably above levels ordinarily considered safe. Some have found possible benefits regarding preventing some forms of skin cancer, while others have not. This approach should not be tried except under physician supervision.

Vitamin K has shown a slight bit of promise for helping to prevent liver cancer in people with chronic viral hepatitis. Vitamin K is rich in the white of the orange under the orange peel.

Innumerable other herbs and supplements have shown promise in test tube and animal studies, including but not limited to cordyceps, Coriolus versicolor, ligustrum, quercetin, citrus bioflavonoids, conjugated linoleic acid, Morina citrifolia (noni) ,turmeric, rosemary, betulin (from white birch tree), bromelain, ellagic acid (from grapes, raspberries, strawberries, apples, walnuts, and pecans), ginseng, glycine, grass pollen, inositol hexaphosphate (phytic acid, IP6), kelp, licorice, melatonin, MSM, milk thistle, nettle, OPCs (oligomeric proanthocyanidins), papaw tree bark, probiotics or "friendly" bacteria, schisandra, and blue-green algae.

While it is commonly stated as a fact that high consumption of fruits and vegetables reduces cancer risk, the evidence is limited to inherently unreliable observational studies, and even among these the results are inconsistent Similarly, meat consumption might or might not increase colon cancer risk. Current data does not suggest that diets high in sugar or other simple carbohydrates increase colon cancer risk, or that reducing fat in the diet reduces colon or breast cancer risk. But sugar combines with the trans fats in our body and forms triglycerides and then plaque, which leads to heart disease.

Higher level of exercise might potentially help reduce the risk of various forms of cancer, especially colon cancer.

This preliminary research is promising, but much more is needed before we can draw any conclusions and then the wellness industry can only suggest you take these things.

Although much of this anticancer work has focused on the lignans in flaxseed, one study also found that flaxseed oil, which contains no appreciable amounts of lignans slowed the growth of malignant breast tumors in rats.

Therapeutic Dosages suggested by the wellness industry

According to the European Scientific Cooperative on Phytotherapy (ESCOP), the usual dose of flaxseed for constipation is 5 g of whole, cracked, or freshly crushed seeds soaked in water and taken with a glassful of liquid 3 times a day. Expect effects to begin 18 to 24 hours later. Because of this time delay, it's recommended to take flaxseed for a minimum of 2 to 3 days. Children aged 6 to 12 should be given half the adult dose, while children younger than 6 should be treated only under the guidance of a physician.

In one study, people received 6 to 24 g per day of flaxseed for 6 months for constipation caused by irritable bowel syndrome.

To soothe an upset stomach, soak 5 to 10 g of whole flaxseed in a half cup of water, strain after 20 to 30 minutes, then drink. For painful skin inflammations, the recommended dose is 30 to 50 g of crushed or powdered seed applied externally as a warm poultice or compress with the silver plus from the Anti-Aging Clinic.

Like other sources of fiber, flaxseed should be taken with plenty of fluids, or it may actually worsen constipation. Also, it's best to start with smaller doses and then increase.

Safety Issues

Flaxseed is generally believed to be safe. However, there are some potential risks to consider.

As with many substances, there have been reports of life-threatening allergic reactions to flaxseed.

Because of its potential effects on estrogen, pregnant or breast-feeding women should probably avoid flaxseed. One study found that pregnant rats who ate large amounts of flaxseed (5% or 10% of their diet), or one of its lignans, gave birth to offspring with altered reproductive organs and functions in humans, eating 25 g of flaxseed per day amounts to about 5% of the diet. Lignans were also found to be transferred to baby rats during nursing. Additionally, a study of postmenopausal women found that use of flaxseed reduced estrogen levels and increased levels of prolactin. In all cases it is suggested that you complete saliva testing for hormone balancing pre and post. This suggests hormonal effects that could be problematic in pregnancy.

Flaxseed may not be safe for women with a history of estrogen-sensitive cancer, such as breast cancer or uterine cancer. Saliva testing is an absolute must to help evaluate hormones.

If you have diabetes, flaxseed (like other high-fiber foods) may delay glucose absorption. This may lead to better blood sugar control but it also may increase the risk of hypoglycemic reactions. The Anti-Aging Clinic suggests you have your food triggers analyzed before any supplementation. Also Talk with your doctor about appropriate use if you feel uncertain.

Finally, flaxseeds contain tiny amounts of cyanide-containing substances, which can be a problem among livestock eating large amounts of flax. While normal cooking and baking of whole flaxseeds or flour eliminates any detectable amounts of cyanide, it is at least theoretically possible that eating huge amounts of raw or unprocessed flaxseeds or flaxseed meal could pose a problem. However, most authorities do not think this presents much of a risk in real life.

Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which have some anti-inflammatory effects. Fish oil has been found useful in rheumatoid arthritis, a disease related to SLE. The results of two small double-blind studies suggest that fish oil might be useful for SLE as well. However, current evidence suggests that fish oil is not effective for lupus nephritis.

Other treatments sometimes recommended for SLE include beta-carotene,cordycepsmagnesium, selenium, vitamin B₃, vitamin B₁₂, vitamin E, pantothenic acid, and food allergen identification and avoidance. However, there is no meaningful evidence as yet that these treatments work for lupus.

Herbs and Supplements to Avoid

The herb alfalfa contains a substance called L-canavanine, which can worsen SLE or bring it out of remission. People with SLE should avoid alfalfa entirely.

Various herbs and supplements may interact adversely with drugs used to treat lupus. For more information on this potential risk, see the individual drug article in the Drug Interactions section of this database.

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