I take both products.
NAC
Lung infections and the resulting inflammation
are a persistent problem for CF
patients, with the inflammation opening
the door for additional infections to take hold.
"It's a vicious cycle of inflammation and infection,"
says Zoe Davies, PNP, pulmonary nurse
practitioner and research coordinator.
One reason inflammation is such a problem in
CF is that the white blood cells that combat
inflammation are missing a critical ingredient,
an antioxidant protein called glutathione, the
lack of which renders them ineffective. The
body tries to compensate for that deficit by producing
even more white blood cells, which only
inflames the lungs further. NAC provides the basic
building block for production of glutathione, thereby
helping to quell the cycle.
Conrad says NAC reduced the white blood cell count in
the sputum of the patients by up to 40 percent. "[The
patients] all said they felt better, that their mucus was
easier to cough up, that there was less of it, that they
had more energy," says Conrad. "A few of them complained
of a little bit of heartburn but it went away
after a few days," she adds.
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Turmeric
In 2004, there was study about Turmeric and the headines were saying that it could alleviate Cystic Fibrosis. It was in the news and I think like many studies, they made it practically sound like a cure. I then saw then the CFF was doing a study on Turmeric, but then I never heard anything else about it.
I started taking it after I heard of that study, but also because I knew about it for a long time an that it was an anti-inflammatory.
The health benefits of turmeric lie in the active ingredient called curcumin. This powerful compound gives turmeric its therapeutic benefits, its yellow color, and its pungent flavor. More specifically, curcumin harbors antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, stomach-soothing, and liver-and heart-protecting effects.
There are cautions so you must check with your own doctor before using.
A commercial website...it had a simple explanation, but ignore the sales pitch.
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4912
">http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4912
</a>
I buy both NAC and Turmeric at Vitacost.com (their own NSI brand) which tests well in independent testing. I also use Vitamin Shoppe too. If you want pharmaceutical grade supplements, you can google and there are lots of companies that will have this standardization.