What Are Biotoxins & How Do They Harm?

Biotoxins, in general, are living organisms that disrupt cellular function. Many biotoxins are also neurotoxins in that they adversely affect neurologic function.

Biotoxins can be:

  • Bacteria
  • Fungi
  • Mold
  • Virus
  • Parasite
  • Endotoxins

Fungi

You often hear about fungus being a cause of cancer, and that may be true. The most important mycotoxins are aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, fumonisins, trichothecenes and zearalenone. Aflatoxins are potent carcinogens and, in association with hepatitis B virus, are responsible for many thousands of human deaths per annum, mostly in non-industrialized tropical countries. Ochratoxin A is a probable carcinogen, and may cause urinary tract cancer and kidney damage in people from northern and eastern Europe. Fumonisins appear to be the cause of esophageal cancer in southern Africa, parts of China and elsewhere. Trichothecenes are highly immunosuppressive and zearalenone causes estrogenic effects in animals and man. Currently available records and statistics do not reflect the major role played by mycotoxins in mortality attributable to food-borne micro-organisms.

Other fungi, like the one that causes Valley Fever in Southwestern US states, Coccidioidomycosis, reveals an initial infection that is almost invariably in the lungs. Other generalized toxic manifestations associated with this and other fungal infections, such as fever, arthralgia, skin rash, etc., and certain complications such as pulmonary cavitation, hemorrhage, Broncho-pleural fistula, and hydropneumothorax are all possible. If one has such symptoms and seeks treatment, it doesn’t equate to irradiation of the fungus in the body.

Some fungi, like C. neoformans grow as a yeast (unicellular) and replicates by budding. When grown as yeast, C. neoformans has a prominent capsule composed mostly of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), similar to other gram-negative bacteria. When effectively killed, LPS is released into the bloodstream and becomes a toxin in itself (an endotoxin).

How fungi cause cancer is believed to be tied to their ability to infiltrate the cell and disrupt apoptotic CASPASE systems.

Using Medicinal Mushrooms to kill fungi may be the best treatment. Following the philosophy of Hormesis, it makes sense that something from the same genus would be an effective cure.

Helicobacter Pylori

Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, is a spiral-shaped, gram-negative bacterium that is oral-borne – meaning that it enters to body through the mouth. In many people, it can reside in the mucus layer that coats the inside of the human stomach, which would then produce an ulcer. In most, it leaves the stomach causing CANCER and/or HEART DISEASE.

To survive in the harsh, acidic environment of the stomach, H. pylori secretes an enzyme called urease, which converts the chemical urea to ammonia. The production of ammonia around H. pylori neutralizes the acidity of the stomach, making it more hospitable for the bacterium. If a person has adequate HCl production in the stomach, the chance of H. pylori being able to take hold and proliferate is slim. Decreased HCl and digestive enzyme production, commonly caused by eating a typical American diet, sets an individual up for a local and/or systemic infection. In addition, the helical shape of H. pylori allows it to burrow into the mucus layer, which is less acidic than the inside space, or lumen, of the stomach. H. pylori can also attach to the cells that line the inner surface of the stomach.

Although immune cells that normally recognize and attack invading bacteria accumulate near sites of H. pylori infection, they are unable to reach the stomach lining. In addition, H. pylori has developed ways of interfering with local immune responses, making them ineffective in eliminating this bacterium.

  1. H. pylori have an increased risk of gastric adenocarcinoma. According to the WHO, it is the number one cause of stomach cancer worldwide. The risk increase appears to be restricted to non-cardia gastric cancer. For example, a 2001 combined analysis of 12 case–control studies of H. pylori and gastric cancer estimated that the risk of non-cardia gastric cancer was nearly six times higher for H. pylori-infected people than for uninfected people.

Additional evidence for an association between H. pylori infection and the risk of non-cardiac gastric cancer comes from prospective cohort studies such as the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene (ATBC) Cancer Prevention Study in Finland. Comparing subjects who developed non-cardiac gastric cancer with cancer-free control subjects, the researchers found that H. pylori-infected individuals had a nearly eightfold increased risk for non-cardiac gastric cancer.

We have found that H. pylori-infected people have a much higher risk for MANY types of cancer, including stomach and abdominal cancers.

Get your hard-copy of Stop Fighting Cancer & Start Treating the Cause to learn more about how to treat cancer with alternative medicine, and for even more in-depth education and help, check out Dr. Conners’ Stop Fighting Cancer COURSE.