The Healing Power of Cows? Immunoglobulin IgG for C. diff.

A food ingredient long used in the processing of meat products is also the source of a highly potent and precise infection-fighting supplement. Immunoglobulins are natural proteins that your body makes to fend off infections and disease. These beneficial proteins neutralize toxins and sooth gut tissues through their binding and anti-inflammatory properties. Cows also make immunoglobulins that can bolster your immune system when consumed as a supplement.

Where Does IgG Come From?

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is made from food grade, USDA approved edible plasma derived from cows. Through special processing, plasma components and impurities are removed and the purified product is spray-dried into a powder to form a potent and easy to use supplement.

How Does IgG Work?

Disease causing bacteria produce highly toxic compounds called endotoxins. Toxin A and B produced by C. difficile are two examples of bacterial endotoxins. These toxic molecules are responsible for the colitis, diarrhea, loose stools and other C. diff. symptoms that people experience.

Cattle are naturally exposed to numerous bacteria in the environment, including Staph, E. coli, Salmonella and C. difficile. Cattle build up a natural immunity to the bacterial endotoxins by making proteins called immunoglobulins, which bind to and neutralize the toxins. Immunoglobulins also bind to viral and fungal toxins.

IgG does more than bind to toxins. The proteins in IgG aid gut healing by reducing permeability, inflammation and cytokine levels in the colon [1]. The same proteins improve nutrient absorption in the gut through increased D-xylose excretion and improved nitrogen retention [2].

Unlike conventional toxin binders that can’t be taken with food or other supplements, IgG only targets disease causing compounds and leaves other molecules alone. So IgG can be taken at the same time as probiotics, foods and other supplements. Because IgG is highly targeted, it has no effect on the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut.

How Can IgG Help You?

Binding the toxins secreted by disease-causing bacteria in the gut allows your immune system to remove them from your body, reducing the debilitating symptoms caused by these toxins. And reducing inflammation inside the gut further relieves symptoms of C. difficile.

One of the biggest challenges with C. diff. is it’s superbug properties. Like other so-called superbugs, C. difficile if often difficult to treat with antibiotic drugs. Antibiotics that worked just a few years ago, such as Flagyl (aka metronidazole), are no longer effective due to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. As C. difficile changes over time, new types develop that have more severe symptoms and are harder to treat.

Rather than attacking bacteria directly, IgG binds them and attacks the toxins created by the bacteria that cause the symptoms. Therefore, IgG is not prone to the problem of resistance that plagues antibiotic drugs. What’s more, IgG can bind to components of cell wall deficient “stealth” bacteria biofilms which are untreatable using antibiotics.

As mentioned above, IgG and has been shown to bind and neutralize C. diff. toxins A and B in laboratory studies [3]. Studies also show that IgG binds and neutralizes toxins from several different types of C. difficile, including recently discovered highly virulent ribotypes [4].

Beyond the laboratory, human patients with recurrent C. difficile reported normal bowel movements and the ability to return to work after taking IgG [5]. One particular patient with over 10 years of chronic colitis and C. difficile experienced intestinal healing and resolution of her symptoms after using IgG combined with other treatments [6]. Similar results were reported in another patient with severe diarrhea who contracted C. diff. after taking antibiotics [7].

Unique Benefits of ImmunoLin IgG

I started taking a type of IgG called ImmunoLin several months ago and immediately noticed positive results. In the past, eating foods that contained even the smallest amount of mold would make me feel sick. But taking IgG immediately afterward quickly reduced the symptoms of mold sensitivity. In addition to relieving mold symptoms, ImmunoLin also improved my overall mood and reduced the symptoms of detox that I experience after taking certain foods and supplements.

Unlike milk-derived colostrum IgG products that contain 5-40% IgG, ImmunoLin is more potent with greater than 50% IgG. IgG made from colostrum may also contain casein, whey, lactose and even endotoxin contamination, whereas ImmunoLin is free from these impurities. Also, ImmunoLin is made under FDA current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs), which is more stringent than the typical dietary supplement manufacturing process.

My ImmunoLin product of choice is called Mega IgG2000 and you can get it from my supplement store here:

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References

1. Detzel CJ, Horgan A, Henderson AL, et al. Bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate binds pro-inflammatory bacterial compounds and prevents immune activation in an intestinal co-culture model. PLoS One. 2015;10(4):e0120278.
2. BW Petschow, B Burnett, AL Shaw, et al. Serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate: postulated mechanism of action for management of enteropathy. Clin Exp Gastroenterol. 2014; 7: 181–190.
3. A Henderson, et al. Serum-Derived Bovine Immunoglobulin/Protein Isolate Enhances Overall Survival of Clostridium difficile Infection Accentuated by Malnutrition. Presented at Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Clinical & Research Conference, December 4 – 6, 2014.
4. A Henderson, et al. Serum-Derived Bovine Immunoglobulin/Protein Isolate Binds and Neutralizes Clostridium Difficile Toxins A and B. Presented at Digestive Disease Week, May 3-6, 2014.
5. Carl Crawford, Raymond Panas. Post-Infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Functional Diarrhea Following C. difficile Infections: Case Studies of Responses Using Serum-Derived Bovine Immunoglobulin. Journal of GHR 2015 April 21 4(4): 1577-1581.
6. B. Beauerle, et al. Successful management of refractory ulcerative colitis with orally administered serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin therapy. Clin Case Rep Rev, 2015 doi: 10.15761/CCRR.1000130, Volume 1(4): 90-92.
7. S. Ferm, et al. Serum-Derived Bovine Immunoglobulin as Novel Adjunct in Complicated Clostridium difficile Colitis Treatment. ACG Case Rep J 2017;4:e64. doi:10.14309/crj.2017.64.