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Lactoferrin

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
I did a search on the forum and nothing comes up. Has anyone tried it?

It apparently activates macrophages. There seems to be a fair amount of research on it over the years. I've been on it for awhile, slowly increasing, and seem to be benefitting from it. Would love to hear other's experiences.

Neutrophil-macrophage cooperation in the host defence against mycobacterial infections
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2770507

Activation of macrophages by lactoferrin: secretion of TNF-alpha, IL-8 and NO
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9315285
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
I used it for a few months to try to get my iron up when I had a low-ish TIBC. My iron did come up and I didn't get itchy, angry unbound iron symptoms. And then my TIBC came up as well and I discontinued the lactoferrin. I can't say I've noticed a difference since it was missing though I would recommend it to anyone having trouble with low iron.
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Thanks Ema.

I see the Hepatitis people use it but in larger doses. I've also heard some Lyme patients are using it recently.
 

LisaGoddard

Senior Member
Messages
284
Hi Shannah, I had a wonderful response to lactoferrin!!!! I took it for a few weeks along with colostrum and went from being housebound and struggling with even the simplest of tasks for over two years to being able to return to working on my PhD full time. On the maximum dose of lactoferrin, I felt so good that I had flashbacks to being very young which was the last time that I had felt so well. I didn't have any health advise so after the first six weeks or so, I went on lactoferrin only at a minimal dose and just managed the remaining fatigue. I think perhaps I should have pulsed like Cheney suggests with other immunemodulators. Even so, over the next five years, it gave me back my life and I went on to complete my PhD and to teach before I began to react badly to it and finally I could no longer tolerate it and relapsed. It is important to get a good source of lactoferrin.
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Thanks for relaying your experience.

Sorry to hear that you relapsed Lisa but thrilled that you managed to gain a few years productivity with it. I just recently bought some colostrum and plan on introducing it soon.
 

xchocoholic

Senior Member
Messages
2,947
Location
Florida
There's a link between lactoferrin and paget's of the bone. This info was on this board. If not just google paget's lactoferrin.
I don't know if it causes paget's but at this point my research shows that this disease is irreversible.


I noticed this because me paget's grew when
I drank a quart of helios dairy kefir daily for 3 weeks in a row in an attempt to resolve digestive issue.
The skull pain level is a 10. If my paget's wasn't obvious via ct scan, I would've thought I had a really bad headache.

My digestive problems turned out to be h pylori tho. I don't know if there's a h pylori / lactoferrin / paget's connection. But
I got this same pain / growing when I tried using probiotics with dairy.

Imho, I'd avoid this .. Tc .. X
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Gee, thanks Hip. You've got some pretty impressive search skills there!

When I just now entered 'phoenix rising + lactoferrin', I got 5 hits. Following your link above, you seem to have entered 'inurl:phoenixrising.me lactoferrin' and got so many more!

Care to share any tips?
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Here are a bunch of links that I copied a while ago (not sure if they all still work). Many of them have to do with lactoferrin and candida but there are others as well...some are more or less "scientific" than others.

(ACK! Where did the formatting go? I will have to come back and try to fix it later...)


"Examples of specific bacteria inhibited by lactoferrin include: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Helicobacter pylori, all of which are capable of causing serious illness. While many studies have involved observations of lactoferrin's effects on microbial growth in a laboratory dish or test tube, recent research in Japan has demonstrated that, when administered orally to mice, bovine-derived lactoferrin causes a marked reduction in the proliferation of intestinal bacteria, including several strains of the pathogenic bacterium, Clostridium. Furthermore, when administered to laboratory animals, lactoferrin also decreases the number of bacteria that translocate, or pass through, the cell lining of the intestines. Translocation of bacteria through the intestinal epithelium is a means by which bacteria can gain access to the blood and lymphatic system, and, if they are not checked by the body's immune system, infections and illness ensueAs mentioned previously, lactoferrin also inhibits several species of fungi and certain parasites. Fungi inhibited by lactoferrin include Candida albicans, the form of yeast normally present to some extent in all individuals, but responsible for 'yeast infections,' or aggressive fungal overgrowth. The mechanism by which lactoferrin inhibits some parasites maybe via stimulation of the process of phagocytosis, whereby immune cells engulf and digest foreign organisms.http://intelegen.com/ImmuneSystem/lactoferrin.htm"



When fed to adult animals and human infants, lactoferrin showed a dramatic increase in good micro flora—such as bifidus—and a decrease in bad bacteria, such as E. coli, streptococcus, clostridium and others..Some research also suggests that lactoferrin is able to stimulate intestinal cell growth and may lead to better digestive functions, in addition to its ability to enhance the growth of “good” microflora in the intestine."http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2000/oct2000_report_lactoferrin.html

"Most milk allergies are caused by an allergy to whey protein, the most abundant milk protein, or lactose, the most abundant milk sugar. Lactoferrin, on the other hand, is a very minor component of milk, and it is very unlikely that your child will be allergic to lactoferrin."http://eu-es.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=54858283139&topic=8049
"C. krusei being more sensitive to lactoferrin (c 1.4 times) than C. albicans. All 20 oral isolates of C. krusei were susceptible to lactoferrin."http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9393559
"Five oral isolates each of Candida albicans and Candida krusei were studied for their sensitivity to the fungicidal effect of human lactoferrin. Significant inter- and intraspecies variations were observed and with most isolates the sensitivity of C. krusei to lactoferrin was greater than that of C. albicans. Fungicidal activity of lactoferrin was dose-dependent and observable only with the irondashfree form of the molecule (apo-lactoferrin). Irondashsaturated lactoferrin was ineffective against all isolates.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8141667
"Thus, BLF was fungicidal for the six Candida species in the following decreasing order, C. tropicalis > C. krusei > C. albicans > C. guilliermondii > C. parapsilosis > C. glabrata; the latter being the most resistant."http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10200932
"Only iron free apo-lactoferrin was effective in inhibiting Candida in this study. Lactoferrin prevented Candida turning hyphal (in absence of iron). Effective for a number of isolates of C. albicans, krusei and tropicalis."http://scialert.net/pdfs/pjbs/2009/91-94.pdf
"In this study, bovine holo-lactoferrin, but not apo-lactoferrin stimulated L. Acidophilus. Both forms of lactoferrin increased numbers of B. breve, B. infantis and B. bifidum, but neither affected B. longum."http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15222478
"Lactoferrin, an iron-binding protein, is a vital element to the human body in that it is specifically utilized to retrieve iron from the foods we ingest, and then deliver the iron wherever it is needed by the body.On the other hand, when iron is carried through the body by lactoferrin, as it is meant to be, greater than 95% of it is assimilable. The lactoferrin carries the iron directly to the specific receptor sites in the body where iron is meant to be absorbed and utilized. And because it is attached to lactoferrin, the iron cannot be absorbed and utilized by the bacteria, viruses, yeasts and other harmful parasites that require it for their metabolism. These harmful organisms are simply unable to capture and utilize iron in the presence of lactoferrin!"http://www.upwardquest.com/nutrition.b-lymphocytes.html
"A study published in July 2009 examined the effects of lactoferrin versus an iron supplement (ferrous sulfate) in a group of pregnant women with anemia. This is an especially sensitive population. The risk of digestive complications and the added importance of adherence to treatment is particularly important during this time. 100 expectant mothers participated in the study. Half received 100 mg of lactoferrin twice daily, while the remainder were given 520 mg of ferrous sulfate once a day (providing about 100 mg of actual iron). (4) After 30 days of treatment, both groups demonstrated similar increases in serum ferritin, hemoglobin and iron.An Italian experiment from 2006 supports these current findings. That study followed 300 women and employed the same dosage of both iron and lactoferrin (520 mg daily vs. 100 mg twice daily). This 30 day trial actually found that lactoferrin outperformed ferrous sulfate by increasing values of hemoglobin and “total serum iron” to a greater extent. Once again, lactoferrin was superior in that it didn’t provoke adverse reactions. Based on the currently available evidence, a recent scientific review suggests that lactoferrin can be considered in certain cases of pregnancy related iron deficiency."http://www.healthyfellow.com/309/lactoferrin-and-anemia/Inhibited hyphal growth in azole resistant strains of Candidahttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9660988Lactoferrin peptide synergistic with fluconazolehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC149030/?tool=pmcentrezLactoferrin was synergistic with amphotericin and fluconazolehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10543740Adding lactoferrin to polyene antifungals (nystatin, amphotericin) was not as effective as the azoles.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8985937It was found that TLF acted synergistically with amphotericin B and fluconazole against C. albicans.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18719181
"We conclude that a lactoferrin-containing mouthwash has fungistatic properties, may be fungicidal to C. krusei and may be a candidate for the treatment and prevention of oral and esophageal candidiasis."http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/MeetingAbstracts/ma?f=102251951.html"Synergistic inhibitory effects on Candida growth were found for combinations of lactoferrin and fluconazole or amphotericin B, irrespective of the medium type and pH, or the addition of saliva."http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12076264This study showed that Blf increased IL-18 in intestinal epithelial cells.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11525597In this study of mice, it was found feeding IL-18 restored TH1 immunity to Candida.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC101755/This study provides more evidence of lactoferrin increasing intestinal immunity. Strongly increased CD4T helper cells in the small intestine.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11050473Low levels of CD4 helper cells are associated with candidiasis.http://www.naturalstandard.com/inde.../monographs/allergies/allergy-candidiasis.aspFurther evidence of the important role of CD4 in candidiasis.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11796605
"Hence, dietary rhLF is digested in the upper GI tract and does not reach the colon."http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/9/2597
"Another problem with Candida overgrowth is that it sticks to mucosal linings and spreads like a weed. A study with vaginal mucosal lining cells showed that lactoferrin not only significantly reduces Candida from sticking; it actually helps detach Candida if it has already latched on. This finding is likely to apply to other mucosal linings such as the lungs, sinuses, and digestive tract."http://www.wellnessresources.com/tips/articles/lactoferrin_keeping_candida_friendly/"In a recent study, researchers have discovered a protein in human tears, mucus, sweat, and milk that blocks biofilms from growing. The protein lactoferrin discourages bacteria from clumping into biofilms. Lactoferrin stimulates 'twitching,' which causes the bacteria to wander around rather than form harmful clusters.Pradeep K. Singh, of the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City, led the study that was published in Nature. He and colleagues hypothesize that lactoferrin's affinity for iron prohibits biofilm growth. Lactoferrin acts as a signal: It tells bacteria that iron is in short supply, an essential nutrient for biofilms. Therefore, the bacteria go elsewhere to build their elaborate homes."http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/06_02/biofilms.shtmlBiotene (contains lactoferrin) plus Sporanox cured unresponsive oral thrushhttp://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/...e_response_of_severe,_refractory_oral.23.aspx
"We conclude that after oral administration, substantial amounts of apoLF and holoLF survive gastric transit."http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/451855.html"When fighting infection or a specific condition, take a dosage of one capsule three times per day (750mg total) ; for maintenance take one capsule per day."http://www.gutdoctor.com/products/30
"As a food supplement or for maintenance, Apo-Lactoferrin is most often advised in dosage from 250 - 500 mg per day. For therapeutic effects, Apo-Lactoferrin powder is given at high dosage of 1-3 grams per day preferably divided in 3 applications per day. Substantially higher dosage is sometimes advised for body builders and athletes (3-6 grams) or for treating hepatitis C or a disorder related to nutritional deficiency (2-4 grams)"http://www.benseng.com/product/product-lactoferrine-apo-en.htmlThis is the study that looked at bLF increasing IL-18.“.... doses of 100 or 300 mg/kg/day for seven successive days”http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11525597This trial used 1.8g-3.6g/day to treat hepatitis C.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10363572Effective in treating H. pylori in humans. The bLF group received bLF tablets at a dosage of 200 mg b.i.d. (400mg/day) for a period of 12 weeks. The study showed significant inhibition of H. Pylori, compared to placebo, however only 32% responded. This suggests to me that 400mg/day was sub optimal, and that a higher dose would have achieved better results.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16369731"Improvement of immune regulation calls for a dosage ranging from 200 to 400 milligrams. I haven’t run across doses higher than 1400 milligrams a day except in cases where a doctor was going after an actual infection. One interesting example of this was with a patient suffering from gastritis that was likely caused by H-pylori bacteria. After a course of treatment with high-dose lactoferrin, there was a complete clearance of all symptoms. While we haven’t seen any problems with taking larger doses, one animal study using very large doses led to some damage to the gastro mucosa. In terms of human feed-back, lactoferrin is a relatively benign substance, though if one takes too much it could lead to some diarrhea or a drop in energy. Reduce the dose if this occurs.http://intelegen.com/ImmuneSystem/lactoferrin_coordinating_the_hum.htm
"At what time of the day should these be taken? Lactoferrin is a physiological replenishment. It can be taken anytime of the day. Is it better to take them with food? If convenient - yes."http://www.ybhurtn.biz/Lactoferrin_Gold_1.php"For maximum absorption, lactoferrin should be taken before meals or on an empty stomach."http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/14682/Lactoferrin".... with or without meals."http://www.health-marketplace.com/Lactoferrin.htm"between meals"http://www3.shopping.com/xPO-Ecological-Formulas-Lactoferrin-100-mg-60-capsules-Ecological-Formulas"Capsules should be taken on an empty stomach with a large glass of tepid water (approximately 300ml)."http://www.gutdoctor.com/products/30"taken in one dose at bedtime. This is the most common time to take this for immune regulation purposes and will not interfere with sleep in any way."http://intelegen.com/ImmuneSystem/lactoferrin_coordinating_the_hum.htmSummary:Only apo-lactoferrin is effective against Candida. Synergistic with other antifungals. Fungicidal (not fungistatic) against most (all?) strains of Candida, including the hard to treat C. krusei. Prevents Candida turning hyphal. Prevents biofilms from forming and may break down existing biofilms. Detaches Candida from mucosal linings. Stimulates Th1 immune response (IL-18, CD4) against Candida in small intestine, potentially not only helping kill off Candida, but preventing future relapse (if you keep taking lactoferrin). It is effective in treating H. pylori gastritis. It kills a number of pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites. Stimulates growth of good bacteria such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria. It does not contain casein so will not cause a milk allergy. Lots of in vitro laboratory research, and in vivo with animals, but very little data on use with humans, especially with intestinal candidiasis, so unfortunately it is still unproven for that use. The effective dosage for treating intestinal Candida is unknown. There is also conflicting information on when to take doses.Bottom line:Although it's not proven to cure intestinal candidiasis, I think apo-lactoferrin has a big potential upside and no apparent downside. I get a big die-off from only one capsule (300mg) of apo-lactoferrin. I intend gradually increasing to 8 caps/day. This will mean I will be ingesting 2.4g of lactoferrin a day, which is the same amount of lactoferrin the average breast fed newborn baby consumes.
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Nice work Ema - thanks!

There's some species of candida listed there I've never heard of before. Always learning.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Gee, thanks Hip. You've got some pretty impressive search skills there!

When I just now entered 'phoenix rising + lactoferrin', I got 5 hits. Following your link above, you seem to have entered inurl:phoenixrising.me lactoferrin and got so many more!

Care to share any tips?




Hi Shannah. Sure. Here are a few useful Google search tips that I use all the time.

Using the inurl: command. If you use the special Google command inurl: then the word that immediately follows this command is searched for within the web address of the site (the http://blah.blah.blah.com bit), rather than within the web page. So your search will pick up only sites having an address containing that word.

As there are only two sites on the Internet that have the text phoenixrising.me in their address (namely phoenixrising.me, and forums.phoenixrising.me), your search will be focused on just these two websites.

That is to say, beginning a Google search with:
Code:
inurl:phoenixrising.me
will search only Phoenix Rising websites. (Note that there must be no spaces before or after the colon when you use inurl:).

Using the site: command. You can also use the special Google command site: to restrict your search to a specified website. (This site: command works in a similar way to the inurl: command). For example, if you want to search say the www.prohealth.com website from some information, you just begin your Google search with
Code:
site:www.prohealth.com
and then add you search words of interest (and remember, put no spaces between the colon and the website name).

So if you want to search for say brain fog on www.prohealth.com, your search would be like THIS.

Ready-made searches. To make things even easier, you can use a ready-made Google search focused on the Phoenix Rising websites. Then all you have to do is type in your search words of interest.

So if you click here:


this will open a ready-made Google search pointing at Phoenix Rising. Just type in your search words of interest, and press enter.

And similarly, if you want a ready-made Google search for the PubMed website of medical articles, then here is one:

PUBMED SEARCH

You can add these ready-made searches as links in your browser's bookmarks, so that you have a fast and convenient way of searching Phoenix Rising or PubMed through Google.

Using the OR command. Sometimes when you are searching for a specific item with Google, that item may have more than one name, or may have some closely related names. For example, if you are looking up info Epstein Barr virus, you might also want to search under its abbreviated name EBV.

Instead of doing two separate Google searches for both names, you can combine them into one search: this can be achieved using the Google OR command placed in between the two search terms, like so:
Code:
"Epstein Barr virus" OR EBV
This Google OR command (it must be in capitals) tells Google that either of the search words or phrases is acceptable. (Note: you have to put " " quotes around any phrases like "Epstein Barr virus", otherwise the OR command will not work properly).

So if you search the Internet for "Epstein Barr virus" OR EBV, you get THESE RESULTS. As you would expect, you get more results when looking for both terms simultaneously, compared to when searching for Epstein Barr virus on its own, like THIS.

I hope this info is not too mind numbing, and that it might be useful.

I have started another thread on this same Google search subject here.
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
Amazing Hip! Such valuable tips!

I can see where this would be so very helpful. I visit a jam packed Lyme site too where this would be exceptionally useful. Even though you've laid it out step by step and made it very simple to follow, I've printed it off.

Thanks so very much for taking the time to share and lay it out so well. Appreciate it greatly.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
Pleased you find it useful, Shannah.

If you want to set up another ready-made search for another web site (like your Lyme site), and let's say this web site is called www.abc.com, then the following will be a ready made search:

Code:
http://www.google.com/webhp?q=site:www.abc.com++%A0

You can add this weblink to your browser's bookmarks toolbar for quick access.
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
I plan on starting lactoferrin soon. I'm taking it for my immune system and it's also supposed to help with iron and is a prebiotic which feeds probiotics.
 

dannybex

Senior Member
Messages
3,561
Location
Seattle
Hi Shannah, I had a wonderful response to lactoferrin!!!! I took it for a few weeks along with colostrum and went from being housebound and struggling with even the simplest of tasks for over two years to being able to return to working on my PhD full time. On the maximum dose of lactoferrin, I felt so good that I had flashbacks to being very young which was the last time that I had felt so well. I didn't have any health advise so after the first six weeks or so, I went on lactoferrin only at a minimal dose and just managed the remaining fatigue. I think perhaps I should have pulsed like Cheney suggests with other immunemodulators. Even so, over the next five years, it gave me back my life and I went on to complete my PhD and to teach before I began to react badly to it and finally I could no longer tolerate it and relapsed. It is important to get a good source of lactoferrin.

I'm curious LIsa -- what was the 'maximum dose' and the 'minimal' dose you were using?
 

roller

wiggle jiggle
Messages
775
stupidly i changed/took a lot of things around new year, but i would attribute this to lactoferrin:

in the bikini line (where legs and hips join) i had rough skin, sometimes more or less, looking a bit darker. as long as i can think. it looked different than my friends. pain have there too.

in 2014, after taking a very high dose of turmeric (+ a mebendazole days later), amongst other thing i got egg-size lumps/lymph-knots (?) there.
and then the skin turned brownish-freckled.

during 2015 i got this also in the knee hollows, then at the side of the breasts.
everytime i tried to take turmeric it got worse.
i took turmeric before, but didnt have such an effect.

it disappeared after a few lactoferrin.
perhaps it was something else, but the time proximity was strong.
i think it was the lactoferrin.
 
Last edited:

douglasmich

Senior Member
Messages
311
Hi Shannah, I had a wonderful response to lactoferrin!!!! I took it for a few weeks along with colostrum and went from being housebound and struggling with even the simplest of tasks for over two years to being able to return to working on my PhD full time. On the maximum dose of lactoferrin, I felt so good that I had flashbacks to being very young which was the last time that I had felt so well. I didn't have any health advise so after the first six weeks or so, I went on lactoferrin only at a minimal dose and just managed the remaining fatigue. I think perhaps I should have pulsed like Cheney suggests with other immunemodulators. Even so, over the next five years, it gave me back my life and I went on to complete my PhD and to teach before I began to react badly to it and finally I could no longer tolerate it and relapsed. It is important to get a good source of lactoferrin.

What dosage?

I am on 1000mg a day of the jarrows brand and i am seeing huge improvement in my mood and brainfog, and also joint problems.

I am consdidering increasing to 2000mg but cant find any dosage info
 

frozenborderline

Senior Member
Messages
4,405
I've never noticed negative effects from lactoferrin. And it does look great on paper. Everything from lowering tryptase to helping iron absorption to boosting immune response to viruses. But what I want to know is the safe dose range in humans. The bottle says 250 mg but i know lots of supplements say overly cautious doses.