Curcumin, the bioactive compound found in the Indian curry spice turmeric and commonly referred to as ‘holy powder’, has been used for centuries in folk medicine to treat wounds, infections, and other health problems. Today researchers are using the power of the evolving science of epigenetics to reveal how curcumin is crucial in the fight against many forms of cancer, as it causes metastatic cells to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis.

Researchers from Michigan State University, publishing the result of a study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry have found that this amazing natural compound is able to prevent the destructive formation of alpha-synuclein proteins that are the hallmark presentation in many neurodegenerative disease such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Curcumin is one a very select group of structures that is able to cross the delicate blood-brain barrier to affect biochemical and electrical activities in the brain. The turmeric derivative has demonstrated the unique capability to prevent clumping or aggregation leading to disease development.

Curcumin Aids Protein Folding To Prevent Brain Tangles And Degeneration

The team lead researcher, Dr. Basir Ahmad and scientists conducting the study commented “Our research shows that curcumin can rescue proteins from aggregation, the first steps of many debilitating diseases… more specifically, curcumin binds strongly to alpha-synuclein and prevents aggregation at body temperatures.”

The team used precise lasers to study the split-second formation of proteins known as ‘protein folding’. Normally, proteins are folded at lightning fast speed at the direction of genes and DNA sequences. Damage to DNA caused by poor diet and lifestyle factors from epigenetic alterations results in mis-folded proteins and neurodegenerative disease.

Researchers found that when curcumin attaches to alpha-synuclein it not only stops clumping, but it also raises the protein’s folding or reconfiguration rate. By slowing the speed that the proteins form, curcumin effectively inhibits abnormal protein clumping to prevent tangles and damage to the nerve synapses. Chemical and electrical communications are retained that help to help prevent the early manifestation of Parkinson’s disease.

Curcumin can be added to the diet with liberal use of the Indian curry spice in meal preparation. Many people do not enjoy the taste of curry infused foods. For those individuals, nutrition advisors recommend a standardized supplement (std. to 95% total curcuminoids for maximum bioavailability) providing 300 to 500 mg daily to prevent neurodegenerative decline.

John Phillip

About The Author
John Phillip is a health researcher and author who writes regularly on the cutting edge use of diet, lifestyle modifications and targeted supplementation to enhance and improve the quality and length of life.

Read The Full Article

I have been learning about Curcumin since 2006. Curcumin has been a crucial part of My Serrapeptase Adventure, since its earliest days. In the form of Serranol, Curcumin and Serrapeptase provide the basis for my continuing approach to naturally sustained good health.

More Information

Curcumin: An Ancient Gift For Modern Health

Seeing The Difference With Curcumin

Since I learnt about Serrapeptase, I have been able to move away from medically controlled symptoms, towards naturally sustained good health. The book will provide an overview of the research findings, which encouraged me to embark upon my adventure, together with my current, and continuing research.

My Serrapeptase Adventure: The Health-Care Survivor’s Story

Regular readers of My Serrapeptase Adventure will remember that just before Christmas, 2005, my life was about to change. One of my friends told me about “… an amazing food supplement called Serrapeptase.” As part of my research, at the time, I learnt about the work of the author, broadcaster and natural health advocate, Robert Redfern, The Serrapeptase Guy. Amongst the information, which I found were highlights from interviews, which Robert had given to The Power Hour Radio show. These recordings were a true gift to me because reading was very difficult for me; they enabled me to find the information, which would change my life. In a very few weeks, the show was to become the integral part of my own story, which it still is today.

On January 3, 2006, with my sceptic’s hat firmly on my head, I took Serrapeptase for the first time, sat back and waited for the results. I did not have to wait for long. Within just 48 hours, my lungs began to clear and over the following few days my lung capacity improved and stabilised. In the following weeks, my heart rate returned to normal and stabilised and my digestive system returned to normal. Before the end of February 2006, I was able to stop taking all my prescription medications and my condition has been stable and continued to improve since then.

By November 2006, my eyesight and visual perception, which were damaged as a direct result, and integral part, of cerebral palsy, had also begun to improve. My eyesight is now within normal range and my visual perception has also significantly improved. Does this mean that the remarkable enzyme, Serrapeptase, can overcome the impact of congenital brain damage? I do not have a complete answer to this, but I am enjoying the challenge of finding one.

There is now some research, based upon studies of new-borns, suggesting that inflammation may be amongst the underlying causes of cerebral palsy. One indicator for this is an elevated level of inflammatory cytokines. I am not yet sure that it is possible to extrapolate from this that reducing the level of inflammation, in adulthood, mediates the effect of congenital damage, but I am sure that it is a question worth asking, and that the answer will be a fascinating one to find.

2007 was the year in which the smallest detail became a visual feast and the awe-inspiring beauty of open spaces was shown to me with crystal clarity for the first time in my life. My ability to see new things for the first time, and familiar things with new clarity is, perhaps, the most exciting and unexpected of all the gifts of My Serrapeptase Adventure… so far.

For the first time, I was able to recognise the faces of friends from a distance, which gave me a curious mixture of the familiarity of established friendships, combined with the excitement of seeing someone for the first time; because they have, literally, looked different each time my eyesight has improved.

I continue to be most excited by being able to find beauty in the most intricate detail and the magnificence of open space. It is inspiring to see that the glint in the eye of a smiling friend is as beautiful as the best-known natural wonders of the world.

2008 was my third year, free from the ‘toxic cocktail’, popularly known as prescription medication. I continue to be inspired by the fact that Serrapeptase began to free me from my symptoms within hours, and then, within weeks, from the medications. This was the year in which I discovered that many of the symptoms from which Serrapeptase has rescued me were, in fact, known, and even expected, side effects of all the prescription medications, which I had taken, for decades, and about which I was never warned. I began to learn as much as I could about cerebral palsy and also about all the medications I had been given. I also took the opportunity to begin learning about the natural approach to sustained good health, including the various supplements, which have enabled me to be a survivor of the health and social-care systems of The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and to think of myself as The Health-Care Survivor.

2009 was a year of stability and growing confidence. It has also convinced me that I am now ready to put my gift of naturally good health to good use.

Research: Life And Health Are Far Too Precious To Be Abdicated To An Industry

Disease control, and even symptoms management both have their place, and many people have benefited from both, but they must never be confused with health care. It is crucial to defend the right of people to know the difference between health care and medical care, and to be able to make an informed choice between them.

Mike Tawse

My research focuses upon some of the critical issues, which I believe that each one of us must be able to address at a personal level and also as responsible members of society, in order to regain and maintain naturally sustainable good health.

It is becoming more obvious, by the day, that the health system is, in fact, dominated by corporate greed and control. It is a system in which good health outcomes are much less of a priority than most people believe or would want them to be. The true goal is mass control. In February 2006, The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme, Serrapeptase, cleared my lungs and freed me from the tyranny of the ‘toxic cocktail’, known as prescription medication. My own struggle to overcome the power of this system led me to call myself: The Health-Care Survivor and to be sure that life and health are far too precious to be abdicated to an industry.

I look forward to welcoming you to join the discussion, and follow my progress, on my Facebook Page. You are also welcome to follow me on twitter.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has continued to enable and inspire My Serrapeptase Adventure.

Mike Tawse has had many challenges in his life. He was disabled at birth by cerebral palsy that also caused poor eyesight to the point that most considered him blind. He was given up for adoption by his American mother and was adopted by a British family and lost all contact with his beginnings.

In 1994, his health took a turn for the worse and illness progressed through his body for the next decade, and chipped away at his organs, his muscles and his resolve to live.

By 2005, Mike was on 14 prescription medications to maintain his painful existence and doctors did not give him much hope. He was near death and close friends were planning his funeral. His will to stay alive was gone and in his own words, “I got to the point where I didn’t care. If I survive, I’ll cope with it. If I don’t, someone else will.”

But, one friend didn’t let Mike go quietly. Instead, his dear friend asked him to do some research on a nutritional supplement that she thought might bring Mike some pain relief.

As he was confined to a wheelchair, spent most of his time at home and was comfortable surfing the internet, he agreed to spend the time to do the research on the supplement completely unaware that in doing so his life and his prognosis would never be the same.

The supplement was Serrapeptase and Mike now believes it was a miracle.

Mike Began To Change His Life

Because he felt he had nothing to loose, Mike decided to take one tablet a day of Serrapeptase, a proteolytic enzyme produced by the silkworm and known as a natural anti-inflammatory.

His doctor didn’t know much about it, but said it wouldn’t hurt him, so told him he could begin the daily protocol, as long as he didn’t stop taking his prescription medications.

Within 48 hours, the very sick man noticed a difference. “My lungs were clearing up.” He was a bit shocked.

But, that was just the beginning. In just a short time, the chronic heart palpitations stopped and his aching stomach settled down. The overall pain in his body was disappearing, too. And much to his surprise, within less than six weeks of beginning the daily regiment of the enzyme, Mike’s doctors made him a shocking proposal. He could stop taking all 14 of the medications they had prescribed.

On Feb. 18, 2006, he stopped taking his last prescribed medication. “That date is burned into my brain,” he said.

“No one understands why this has happened,” Mike said.

For Mike, he is happy to call it a miracle. So, is the man who provided Mike with his first bottle of Serrapeptase, Nutritionalist and author Robert Redfern. Redfern, who has been writing about serrapeptase and its healthy attributes for years, renamed his book about the enzyme after hearing Mike’s story, to “The Miracle Enzyme.”

Mike Celebrates Recovery

Today, Mike has been free of prescription medication since 2006 and he just celebrated his 41^st birthday with his will and health intact.

And though he no longer suffers chronic pain, irregular heartbeats or any of the number of conditions brought on my years of drug therapies, the miracle for him is his near normal eyesight.

Mike grew up unable to pick out the details of life. He could see color and objects, but he couldn’t describe them. When he got ill, his sight only got worse and worse.

“I grew up surrounded by trees, but I couldn’t identify them, or flowers or birds. For example, I knew there were waves on the ocean. I understood what waves were. If I were in a boat, I could feel them. But, I could not recognize them. My visual signals were scrambled,” he said.

“Now, I can see them.”

Before he was ill, his eyesight was poor. And when he got sick, his eyesight got worse. After just a short time taking Serrapeptase, his eyesight is normal and he can see.

“I would be happy to call that a miracle,” he said. “Why did that happen to me? The fact is, it did. It is measurable. No question. The fact that it happened is a miracle.”

Mike’s story is amazing to anyone who listens to it, but it’s no wonder to Redfern, who is simply shocked at how much “junk” we put into our bodies.

The Side Effects Were Killing Him

Mike started taking medications to handle the wear and tear that CP was taking on his body. Soon after taking one medication, he would be on another to handle the side effects of the first medication. He took drugs that reduced shaking but slowed brain function. He took medications to reduce pain, but damaged his stomach, so he would have to take medications to counter act the first medications.

He took medication to reduce the fluid build-up in his lungs, but that medicine barely worked, but the doctors were afraid to take him off because they didn’t have anything better to prescribe, they believed.

Over the years, his doctors were layering drugs to deal with one issue after another and it was becoming increasing unclear just what was a side effect and what was a condition.

Some parts of his body that worked well, like his short-term memory, were beginning to be adversely effected by the medicines he was on for other ailments, he believes. He once had an incredible short-term memory that enabled him to memorize with one reading an entire novel. But, after years of taking prescription medication, he struggled with remembering anything. Today, his memory is much better and is still improving.

This is exactly the type of medical shell game that has Redfern upset enough to spread the word worldwide that there is a different way, a better way to handle much of what our bodies suffer.

“Ninety percent of what we put into our bodies is toxic,” Redfern said. “That’s disgraceful.”

Mike still has cerebral palsy but his condition today is so much better than it was just four years ago.

The strain that CP takes on his muscles has been abated he believes by the Serrapeptase that he takes daily. The enzyme reduces inflammation and helps his body recover from the wear and tear of his lifelong condition that has no cure.

Now, all he has to deal with, as he puts it, is the CP, and that for him isn’t too bad.

Sometimes The Miracle Feels Like A Dream

Sometimes Mike confesses that he wonders whether this has all really happened to him. He will wake up in the night and suppose for a bit that it has all been a dream.

“There are times when I think, ‘Oh my gosh, has this really happened to me?’ and every once in a while I have a tough day, like everyone else. But my tough days today are better than my best days back then,” he said.

Mike now has a will to live and dream and plan for the future. He hopes to go back to the States and visit his birth country. He is finally well enough for the trip. He has his positive outlook on life back and shares it with others freely.

Mike has changed his dosage to Serranol from the original Serrapeptase. The new formula designed by Redfern includes Bio-Curcumin, Ecklonia Cava extract and vitamin D3, all vital to good health.

Please click here for more information about Serranol.

Julie Cole

Staff Writer and Editor
Naturally Healthy News

To accompany its new-look websites, Naturally Healthy Publications also welcomes Staff Editor, Julie Cole. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Julie for choosing to include My Serrapeptase Adventure among the first subjects for her new articles.

I look forward to learning more from Julie’s research and to discussing the topics covered in some of her articles, in the context of my own on-going search for naturally sustained good health and my determination to defend the right of people to know the difference between health care and medical care, and to be able to make an informed choice between them.

There is now some research, based upon studies of newborns, suggesting that inflammation may be amongst the underlying causes of cerebral palsy.

Referring to the remarkable improvements in my eyesight and visual perception, which are, perhaps, the most amazing gifts of My Serrapeptase Adventure because both were damaged by the congenital brain damage of cerebral palsy, and the fact that prevailing medical opinion is that such damage cannot be overcome; I asked the question:

Does this mean that the remarkable enzyme, Serrapeptase, can overcome the impact of congenital brain damage?

I have recently rediscovered the following press release, which I first read in February 2010, issued by The National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. I believe it offers a fascinating glimpse of some exciting possibilities.

Study Ties Cerebral Palsy To Inflammation And Blood-Clotting Abnormalities

Released: October 1998

Groundbreaking new research provides strong evidence that inflammation and clotting abnormalities may be important causes of cerebral palsy (CP) in full-term babies, who account for about half of all children with this disorder. The study may lead to ways of identifying babies at risk for CP and ultimately to new therapies that might prevent brain damage in some children.

The new study examined levels of inflammation markers called cytokines, and of coagulation (blood-clotting) factors, in blood taken from infants shortly after birth. The results were dramatic. All of the babies who later developed CP had higher concentrations of five different cytokines in their blood than any babies who did not go on to develop the disorder. Many of these babies also had greater-than-normal concentrations of one or more coagulation factors. “These factors appear to play a role in several different processes that can lead to CP,” says Karin B. Nelson, M.D., a child neurologist at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and lead author of the new study. The other authors include James M. Dambrosia, Ph.D., of the NINDS, Judith K. Grether, Ph.D., of the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program, and Terry M. Phillips, D.Sc., Ph.D., of George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. The results are published in the October 1998 issue of Annals of Neurology.

“We’ve applied state-of-the-art technology to the study of cerebral palsy,” says Dr. Grether. “Our long-term goal is to provide answers that can lead to prevention of CP. This study may be a big step in that direction.”

The findings may point to ways of preventing CP or lessening its severity. This disorder affects about 500,000 Americans and is caused by faulty development or damage to the motor areas of the brain. Despite improvements in obstetric and perinatal medicine in recent decades, there has been no decrease in the number of full-term babies who develop CP. For years, many cases of CP have been attributed to suffocation (asphyxia) during birth, but recent studies have indicated that this problem accounts for only a minority of cases. The new findings support those of a study by Drs. Nelson and Grether last year, which showed that babies of normal birthweight who were exposed to infection in the womb had nine times the normal risk of developing CP. Other recent studies have linked prenatal infection to premature birth, which increases the risk of CP. However, the lengthy time needed to confirm a diagnosis of CP has made it very difficult to identify what causes the disorder. “By the time the child is diagnosed, months or years after birth, the trail is already cold,” says Dr. Nelson.

In the new study, the researchers measured concentrations of more than 50 substances in dried blood samples from 31 children who had developed CP and 65 who had not. Most of the children with CP whose blood samples were examined were born full-term and were selected from cases in which there was no clear explanation for the disorder. The blood samples were provided by the Newborn Screening Program of the California Genetic Disease Branch, which archives blood that is taken from all newborns in California shortly after birth to screen for metabolic disorders. Using advanced immunochemistry techniques developed by Dr. Phillips, scientists measured the concentrations of many different substances in tiny amounts of archived blood. They found that every child later diagnosed with CP had higher concentrations of five cytokines – tumor necrosis factor alpha, RANTES, and interleukins 1, 8, and 9 – than any of the children who did not develop CP. Most children who later developed CP also had substantial elevations of several other cytokines and of one or more coagulation factors.

The concentrations of these cytokines and coagulation factors were not related to the babies’ gestational ages at birth, their birthweights, or the amount of time between their births and collection of the blood samples. This suggests that the findings associated with CP might be due to chronic or reactivated conditions, such as autoimmune disorders or chronic infections in the womb, rather than acute infections just before or after birth, which normally cause a rapid rise and fall of inflammatory cytokines, says Dr. Nelson.

It is not yet clear how elevated levels of cytokines might increase the risk of CP. “These cell signaling factors are usually found only in very small amounts in the blood. What they are doing in relatively large amounts in these children with CP is a mystery,” says Dr. Nelson. Previous studies have shown that cytokine production can be influenced by many factors, including infection and autoimmune disorders, trauma, oxygen deprivation, and tumors. Any of these factors might prompt elevations in cytokines that then act as toxins, damaging neurons and their connections in the developing brain. Cytokine abnormalities might also reflect underlying genetic or environmental factors that affect the brain.

Because the levels of some cytokines were strongly related to development of CP, testing for abnormally high concentrations of these substances might one day allow doctors to identify babies at risk of developing the disorder. If so, they might be able to prevent some brain damage with medications such as antibiotics to counter infection-related inflammation or anticoagulants to combat clotting problems. However, much more research is needed before researchers can be sure whether such testing and treatment will work.

Despite the dramatic findings, the initial study measured samples from only a small number of patients, so the results must now be confirmed in a larger population. The researchers also plan to study levels of cytokines and coagulation factors in very low birthweight babies, who are at greatly increased risk of developing CP. Because combinations of cytokines and coagulation factors may act differently than single factors alone, future research should focus on an array of these substances in the blood, rather than on one substance at a time, they say. Researchers also need to clarify what concentrations of different substances are normal for infants of different ages and to examine how levels of these factors might become elevated and lead to brain damage.

The NINDS, one of the National Institutes of Health located in Bethesda, Maryland, is the nation’s leading supporter of research on the brain and nervous system and a lead agency for the Congressionally designated Decade of the Brain. The California Birth Defects Monitoring Program, a public health program devoted to finding causes of birth defects, is funded by the California Department of Health Services and jointly operated with the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.

Research References

Nelson, K.B.; Dambrosia, J.M.; Grether, J.K., and Phillips, T.M. “Neonatal Cytokines and Coagulation Factors in Children with Cerebral Palsy.” Annals of Neurology, October 1998, Vol. 44., No. 4, pp. 665-667.

Grether, J.K., and Nelson, K.B. “Maternal Infection and Cerebral Palsy in Infants of Normal Birth Weight.” Journal of the American Medical Association, July 16, 1997, Vol. 278, No. 3, pp. 207-211.

Date Last Modified: August 2009

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

American English spelling is used in the press release.

Although this study focused upon newborns, it demonstrates that, for many years, cerebral palsy has been known to have an inflammatory component.

Ever since my health began to improve, at the start of My Serrapeptase Adventure, and even more since I was able to stop all my prescription medications, I have asked every doctor I have met, from general practitioners, to neurologists and surgeons about the inflammatory component of cerebral palsy. I have wanted to know their opinion of the impact that reducing inflammation has had upon my health, as an adult.

Every doctor I have asked has been happy to acknowledge my improving health and many have congratulated me, but, without exception, every one of them has deflected my questions about inflammation and the significance of proteolytic enzymes, and specifically, Serrapeptase. All these questions are greeted with a swift change of subject and often with a stern reminder that cerebral palsy is a life-long condition, which, I suggest, is something I am not likely ever to forget.

Are doctors unwilling to consider research like this, simply because they do not know about it, or is their refusal to answer questions about inflammation a sign, as I believe it to be, of something much more significant; a clumsy attempt to distract me from the fact that a natural approach to sustained good health, continues to be more effective for me than a medical one.

More Information

What Does Serrapeptase Do

The Year I Got My Life Back

Cerebral Palsy: Spastic Diplegia

The Relief Of A Prescription-Free Life

EEC, Stop Killing Me… With Your Undemocratic Directives

The one-way journey to Switzerland has been a constant feature in the press over recent years. Relatives of those who have upheld their ‘right to die’ have had media coverage and public sympathy has been on their side. But what about the right to live with vitality and to possess natural good health? The right of individual choice between a life that is led abundantly or precariously survived? True health is far more than freedom from disease, it is defined clearly by W.H.O. as being:

‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’.

Part of that right is to be able to purchase life enhancing natural food supplements. Something a critical mass would expect to enjoy is being destroyed by EEC regulators in the pockets of, or at least under the influence, paid representatives of, drug and pharmaceutical companies. These agencies are hell bent on reducing the freedom of making our own informed choices. Consumers are being forced to plead for the fundamental right to life; people like Mike Tawse may die without key nutritional supplements. For if these draconian laws come into being that, is exactly how it will be. Mike’s story charts a journey from death’s door to a joyful and fulfilling existence. For years his body struggled to survive the onslaught of up to fourteen different pharmaceutical drugs. Born with cerebral palsy, he suffered attendant cardio/respiratory problems. The medical professionals gradually increased his medication in a last-ditch attempt to keep him alive and were failing. It appeared that he would have only a few years before his body gave way to the strain. The turning point came when Mike was persuaded by one of his friends to start taking an enzyme called serrapeptase, which was achieving a reputation for its power as an anti-inflammatory, pain reliever and for clearing inflamed tissue in the body. Mike’s response was incredibly swift. His lung function and heart rate returned to normal, even the condition of his skin seemed improved. As the months passed and he took increasing responsibility for his well being, Mike stopped taking his prescription medications. He learned that many of his symptoms were known, and even expected, side effects of all these medications, which he took before turning to serrapeptase. A visit to his doctor and checks of his heart function, blood pressure and lung function, confirmed them as normal. It was agreed that he was very unlikely to need prescription medication ever again and even less to want it. The young man who sat in a wheelchair, wondering when he was going to die and whether he actually cared, recently celebrated another birthday. He said:

‘The search for good health has so much more to offer than freedom from illness. It is as much about new insight as new eyesight and as much about new hope as new health…… It is impossible for a man to be truly free if he will not think for himself… Mike Tawse.’

The ban on nutritional supplements would cause thousands of people distress and close many health food stores. Most serious of all, it could undermine the most fundamental right of everyone: to live long and healthily. The right to life and health is a legal right according to The European Convention on Human Rights and yet the unelected bureaucrats arbitrarily seek to take away these rights without any investigation of the safety of the nutrients, many which have been safely used for over 50 years. Despite this, these bureaucrats, demand that an impossible amount of over £100,000 is spent by any supplier to prove their worth and safety, without considering the implications for sufferers such as Mike Tawse.

© 2010 Naturally Healthy Publications

Written with the help of writer, Jenny Pulling to whom I offer grateful thanks.

Contact Mike at: www.serrapeptaseadventure.me.

Contact: Robert Redfern Robert@goodhealth.nu Tel: 0208 133 0915 www.MyRightToLife.com.

When I wrote that:

I want to understand the processes by which a proteolytic enzyme, Serrapeptase, started and sustained, what I am certain is a life-saving cascade of changes, by which I have returned to and surpassed the good health I once enjoyed.

I received more e-mails and questions than I have for a very long time. Most people were asking why, if I am happy to describe Serrapeptase as The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme, I am so determined to understand how it works, what its impact has been and, more interestingly, what its potential may be.

I am in no doubt that Serrapeptase is deserving of its title, given to it by Robert Redfern, The Serrapeptase Guy, who renamed his book: The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme is Serrapeptase, after hearing of My Serrapeptase Adventure in 2006 and included my remarkable return to good health in the 2009 edition.

The assumption that many people seem to be making is that in order to accept something as a miracle, one must suspend the powers of reason and critical thinking. I do not agree.

Consider the awe-inspiring beauty of a sunset. I understand how the visible colours are produced by light, refracted by atmospheric conditions and the angle of the sun, compared with my position on the surface of the earth. Despite this rudimentary understanding of physics, I am inspired by every sunset I see. In the years before my return to health, I was able to enjoy the beauty of sunsets, even when my eyesight was at its weakest. Now that my eyesight is so much better and I can see small details, beauty on such a massive scale still inspires me. The miracle, for me, is not how the colours are created, but that they have such an effect upon me.

I am convinced that the better I understand Serrapeptase, the more I will see that it is The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme. The first time I took Serrapeptase, my only hope was that it would be an effective painkiller. Within a matter of days, I was learning by joyful personal experience, that it had started a cascade of improvements in my health that I believe saved my life. My Serrapeptase Adventure has freed me from the ‘toxic cocktail’ of prescription medication. I continue to be free of chronic pain, my lung and heart conditions have disappeared and my eyesight and visual perception have improved beyond anything I could have imagined. Neither I, nor anyone who knew me at that time expected or understood that a single enzyme could have such a life-changing impact. I cannot think of a better description of a miracle.

Serrapeptase was discovered in the early 1970’s and it is now in wide clinical use throughout Europe and Asia as a viable alternative to salicylates, ibuprofen (sold as an OTC in the USA.) and the more potent NSAIDs. Serrapeptase is an anti-inflammatory, proteolytic enzyme isolated from the micro-organism, Serratia E15 and has no inhibitory effects on prostaglandins, is devoid of gastrointestinal side effects and offers a sensible alternative.

This immunologically active enzyme is completely bound to the alpha 2 macroglobulin in biological fluids. Histological studies reveal powerful anti-inflammatory effects of this naturally occurring enzyme. The silkworm has a special relationship with the Serratia E15 micro-organisms in its intestines. The enzymes secreted by the bacteria in silkworm intestines have the ability to dissolve avital tissue, but have no detrimental effect on the host’s living cells. Thus by dissolving the silkworm’s protective cocoon (avital tissue), the winged creature is able to emerge and fly away.

The mechanisms of action of Serrapeptase, at the sites of various inflammatory processes consist fundamentally of a reduction of the exudative phenomena and an inhibition of the release of the inflammatory mediators. This peptidase induces fragmentation of fibrinous aggregates and reduces the viscosity of exudates, thus facilitating drainage of these products of the inflammatory response and thereby promoting the tissue repair process. Studies suggest that Serrapeptase has a modulatory effect on specific acute phase proteins that are involved in the inflammatory process.

Although my recovery is an amazing gift, my improved eyesight and still improving visual perception is different. My eyesight was impaired from birth, as a direct result of the congenital impact of cerebral palsy. This means that improvements in my sight, and particularly in my visual perception, represent the development of new abilities that are even more remarkable than the recovery of old ones.

Does this mean that the remarkable enzyme, Serrapeptase, can overcome the impact of congenital brain damage? There is now some research, based upon studies of newborns, suggesting that inflammation may be amongst the underlying causes of cerebral palsy. One indicator for this was the elevated level of inflammatory cytokines. I am not yet sure that it is possible to extrapolate from this that reducing the level of inflammation in adulthood, could help to mediate the effect of congenital damage, but am sure that it is a question worth asking, and that the answer will be a fascinating one to find.

I believe that miracles are given to us as gifts. They are not to be passively accepted, but they provide unexpected opportunities to gain new understanding. It is for this reason that I am sure that Serrapeptase is The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme and that I can look forward to understanding the miracle.

Post Reviewed: May 16, 2012

January 3rd marked the first full day of the fourth year of My Serrapeptase Adventure.

February 18th was another milestone. It was the first full day of my fourth year, free from the ‘toxic cocktail’, popularly known as prescription medication.

I continue to be inspired by the fact that Serrapeptase began to free me from my symptoms within hours, and then, within weeks, from the medications, which I now believe may have been known and expected to cause, or worsen them.

April: On April 17th, as part of my research, I visited my optometrist. My intention was to discuss the technicalities of the test procedures, used by optometrists in the UK.

As I have said before, it is often difficult to convert the scores given by visual acuity tests, into useful information for daily life. When one tries to apply this information to daily life, it becomes very difficult to find agreement, even amongst professionals, about the best way to do this.

After some detailed, and very useful, discussion our conversation turned to my own condition and I was offered an unexpected eye test. My improving eyesight is one of the most remarkable hallmarks of My Serrapeptase Adventure.

The tests showed that my eyesight has remained stable, with the possibility of a very slight improvement in my near acuity, used for reading. The optometrist suggested that although the mechanics of my sight were stable, it was clear that I was finding the reading test much easier, and that this might indicate an improvement in my visual perception.

For the first time, I am delighted that the optometrist suggested that the improvement in my visual perception is worthy of further research.

May: On May 6th, I received a reply, from The Institute Of Optometry, to some of my questions. The Institute is not able to offer specific advice about my condition, or to comment upon the details of my adventure, thankfully, the information I have received includes a detailed explanation of two widely used measures of distance visual acuity: The Snellen Chart and notation, most used in the UK and The LogMar Chart and notation, most used in North America.

The advantage of The LogMar rather than the traditional Snellen notation is that LogMar allows analysis of visual acuity scores more effectively and comparisons of results more precisely.

I am still hopeful that I will find an equally logical scale, which can be used to interpret near acuity results. I am still looking for an opportunity to learn more about the processes and impact of visual perception upon the way I can now see and understand the world around me.

June: The day that sparks flew was June 15th. I was narrowly missed by a lightning strike. Once I recovered from the shock of such an enormously loud sound, and bright flash, I realised that even this drama was another opportunity to learn more about my improving health.

It is difficult to imagine that there is anyone who would not have been shocked by such an experience. Cerebral palsy still makes me prone to jump (spasm) in response to unexpected sounds, or suddenly changing light levels, so, of course, I jumped at least twice… and it hurt for a few seconds. My surprise came, when I realised what my body was not doing.

Since the earliest days of My Serrapeptase Adventure, I have been thrilled that I do not jump as much as I used to, and that when I do, it does not usually hurt any more. On this rare occasion when I did have spasms, which hurt, I expected my body to respond similarly to the way it would have, when painful spasms were a daily event. Thankfully, I was wrong. The spasms only lasted for a few seconds, rather than the several hours, with which I was so familiar. Even more surprisingly, they did not spread throughout my body, or lock my spine.

July: In July, I made it to my 40th birthday! At the time, I wrote:

Now, more than halfway through the fourth year of My Serrapeptase Adventure, as I look ahead to my fourth decade of life and beyond, it still amazes me to know that I have a future.

My joy does not come from reaching a certain age. It is drawn from countless gifts of time, kindness and opportunities to learn, which My Serrapeptase Adventure continues to represent. …I have been given another opportunity to reflect on the awesome power of the determination of people who are willing to share their knowledge and experience to make each day better and each person stronger.

July was also the time for me to renew my gym membership, which was another boost to my confidence.

August: On August 6th, I had the pleasure of being invited, to join The Power Hour, to update the show’s regular listeners with my progress. I also discussed my decision not to accept the swine flu vaccination.

On August 14th, my gym session was very successful and it offered me the best evidence, so far, of my progress.

The weight, or resistance, used in every exercise has been significantly increased, making the exercises more difficult and therefore, I hope, more effective. The largest single increase has been to the resistance setting for the abdominal toning machine, which has been doubled.

For the first time ever, I was able to get out of my wheelchair to use one of the machines (known as a hand bike) which until now has had to be adjusted so that I can use it while staying in my wheelchair, for safety reasons. Although the exercise itself has not changed, the fact that I am able to use another one of the machines (in a seated position) in exactly the same way as any other gym member would do, marks another milestone for me.

September: On September 4th I received information, from a qualified source, which suggests that I may, at least, have good enough reason to be relieved to be free of some, if not all, of the medications.

It is not at all surprising that the information I have been given is full of qualifications and caveats, but set against the background of my own experience, I believe that the message is as clear as I can expect it to be, in the circumstances. At the time, I wrote:

My intention here is not to imply cause and effect between specific medications and the symptoms from which My Serrapeptase Adventure has rescued me, as this information is far too limited to form the basis of any firm conclusions. However, I do believe that it offers a fascinating glimpse of why my health improved so dramatically, once I was able, safely to stop taking prescription medication.

October: On October 14th I was honoured to receive a video from Robert Redfern, author of The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme is Serrapeptase – The 2nd Gift from Silkworms. In the video, Robert discusses my adventure so far, and, modestly, gives a glimpse of his part in it.

On October 28th, I was thrilled to receive the 2009 edition of Robert’s book, which introduces my adventure with the title, From Wheelchair To Wings.

It is an amazing compliment to have my story shared in this way.

December: By December 1st I found the confidence to answer some recurring questions that people have asked, in different ways, since the start of my adventure.

I am often asked if I will want, or need, to take Serrapeptase and my other natural supplements for the rest of my life. My answer is:

… The four years of My Serrapeptase Adventure, so far, have been filled with:

• Life-changing, and measurable, improvements in my health
• The opportunity to move away from medically controlled symptoms towards naturally sustained good health
• The gift of learning from remarkable people around the world
• The pleasure of seeing the awe-inspiring beauty of the world with fresh eyes in stunning detail, which I never thought would be possible
• The welcome challenge of looking forward to a future filled with opportunities, which I would not have dared to dream about before the start of My Serrapeptase Adventure

I am sure that most people would agree with me that these are reasons to celebrate, but I am confident that there are more to come…

I am left in no doubt that I will need, and be happy, to take Serrapeptase forever.

2009 was a year of stability and growing confidence. It has also convinced me that I am now ready to put my gift of naturally good health to good use. Next year, I am looking forward to concentrating upon research. I am also determined to complete the writing of a number of books.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has continued to enable and inspire My Serrapeptase Adventure.

Read The Full Story

My adventure continues to be one of change, progress and improving health, but it is fair to say that my condition is stable and that the improvements are less dramatic than they were in the first two years. Now that this remarkable story is becoming better known around the world via the airwaves, the internet and in print, this seems to be as good a time as any to consider some recurring questions.

No matter how people have learned about the life-changing events, which have returned me to good health, or how amazed they are by my adventure, there are three questions, which people ask most often, even if they express them in different ways.

• You seem to have exchanged a multitude of prescription medications and a nebuliser for a number of natural health supplements and a HealthPoint machine; have you really achieved anything?
• If most of the life-changing improvements in your health occurred within the first two years, what do you think Serrapeptase is doing for you now?
• If your condition is stable, the rate of change has slowed, but your good health is being maintained, do you have to, or will you want to continue taking Serrapeptase for life?

The first of these questions is a logical one to ask, but it represents a misunderstanding of my experience.

Freedom from ‘the toxic cocktail’ of prescription medication is the most life-changing single event of My Serrapeptase Adventure, but it has never been about the number of prescription medications, which I used to take, compared with the number of natural supplements, which I take today and it has not been about exchanging a nebuliser for a HealthPoint, which does an amazing but very different job.

The real achievement of my adventure, which makes it a pleasure to share with you, is the life-changing contrast between my health in the decade between 1995 and December 2005 compared with the life affirming inspiration, which my return to good health has brought me since January 2006.

In the decade before my adventure began, my health had become a relentless downward spiral. The more ill I became, the more prescription medication I was given, and the more ill I became. By December 2005 my deterioration had become so apparent to my friends that some of them were planning my funeral and in a well-meaning attempt not to upset me any more they did not tell me about it at the time.

In contrast, the four years of My Serrapeptase Adventure, so far, have been filled with:

• Life-changing, and measurable, improvements in my health
• The opportunity to move away from medically controlled symptoms towards naturally sustained good health
• The gift of learning from remarkable people around the world
• The pleasure of seeing the awe-inspiring beauty of the world with fresh eyes in stunning detail, which I never thought would be possible
• The welcome challenge of looking forward to a future filled with opportunities, which I would not have dared to dream about before the start of My Serrapeptase Adventure

I am sure that most people would agree with me that these are reasons to celebrate, but I am confident that there are more to come.

To answer the second and third questions, I will consider them together. Since Serrapeptase gave me back my life, in January 2006, I am convinced that it continues to play a crucial part in enabling me to maintain my naturally good health. For me, this is the most compelling reason to continue to take it for the rest of my life, and to be grateful for each new day. Despite this, I must admit to being fascinated by the question of what Serrapeptase continues to do for me.

In an effort to answer this question, and with my condition stable, I embarked upon an experiment, which I am glad I did, but I now know that I will not repeat it by choice.

For two weeks, beginning on November 1st 2009, I continued to take my other daily supplements: Curcumin and MaxiFocus. I also continued with the other supplements, which I take regularly but less frequently: D-RibosePlus and GlycoBoost. Throughout this time I also continued to use the HealthPoint, to relieve the muscle tension, which characterises cerebral palsy, even now that I am pain-free. Set against this background, I took no Serrapeptase at all for the full two weeks.

My hope was to determine the impact, which Serrapeptase continues to have upon my health by finding out what, if anything, would change in as little time as two weeks. Understandably, I was nervous about what might happen, but the results were fascinating and some of them were not what I expected.

After about 48 hours the tension in my muscles began to increase, so that my movement was slightly more restricted than usual. Thankfully, it never reached the levels, which I had been used to, prior to 2006. Most amazingly of all, the pain, which used to accompany spasticity, never returned.

By the end of the first week I noticed that my breathing was becoming a little more difficult and a persistent dry cough had returned. Interestingly, there was only a very slight build-up of fluid in my lungs and throughout the remainder of the experiment; I retained the ability to clear it easily.

I was also fascinated, and relieved, by the elements of my condition, which did not change:

• Crucially, my heart rate remained stable and within a normal range, throughout
• My digestive system continued to function normally, with no hint of any of my previous problems
• My eyesight and visual perception, which are the most precious gifts of my adventure, were not affected at all. They remained as clear and as exciting as ever

Although my experiment was in no way scientific, I believe that it gave me an interesting glimpse of all that Serrapeptase continues to do for me today, but it also highlighted the fact that the other supplements do more than complement Serrapeptase.  Each of them has a significant role to play in my continued good health. I am also as certain as I can be that it is the HealthPoint, which provides effective relief from the muscle tension of cerebral palsy.

I believe that this experiment suggests sustainable improvements in my health and the ease with which I can manage my condition. It also makes it very clear that Serrapeptase is working for me on many levels. It was Serrapeptase that removed the pain of spasticity, at the very beginning of my adventure, before I learned about the other supplements, or the HealthPoint.

I am now equally certain, that since the pain did not return, but the muscular tension of spasticity increased, while remaining well below the levels it reached before the start of 2006, that Serrapeptase is still a defining part of a more complex solution.

It reminds me that cerebral palsy will always be with me and that it is the combined power of Serrapeptase, Curcumin, the HealthPoint, D-RibosePlus and GlycoBoost, which enables me to manage it.

In 2010, I hope to build upon all that I learnt during these two weeks by doing some detailed research into the scientific basis for these results. I am well aware that the experience of one person over such a short time is not enough upon which to base any conclusions, but I hope that it may provide a springboard for the next phase of my learning. I look forward to continuing to learn from the amazing people who enable and inspire My Serrapeptase Adventure, and to meeting and learning from new people and new experiences in the year ahead.

I am very glad to have returned to the full compliment of supplements, and to find that my condition has returned to its best. I am left in no doubt that I will need, and be happy, to take Serrapeptase forever.

I still need a lot of practice, and must make a considerable effort to improve my fluency, but reading is already a much more useful pleasure than it ever was, before my adventure started.

Some time ago, I heard that The Serrapeptase Guy, Robert Redfern, had decided to include an introduction to My Serrapeptase Adventure in the 2009 edition of his book: The ‘Miracle’ Enzyme is Serrapeptase – The 2nd Gift from Silkworms, with the title, From Wheelchair To Wings.

It is an amazing compliment to have my story shared in this way. Today, I am thrilled to have received a copy of the newly released book, and to be able to read it for myself.

Post Reviewed: May 16, 2012