GERMANIUM
Due to laws concerning patents, smuggling and production, germanium was available in Japan for ten years before it was introduced into the United States. Once it entered the US market, quantities were limited. It was generally found in compounds with other substances. It is rare to find this product as a single. Its potential benefits are remarkable.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) imposes severe restraints limiting claims on products as cures for cancer. All such substances must be approved by the FDA. The Asai Research Institute, under the direction of Dr. Kazuhiko Asai, made many attempts to gain this status. Though they never gained approval to market their product for cancer, they did manage to get a US patent on their organic germanium compound (Ge-132 or biscarboxyethyl germanium sesquioxide).
Germanium is a trace element found in the earth’s crust. Many which plants absorb germanium from the soil have been noted to aid the body in resistance to many diseases. The wisteria plant (having high concentrations of germanium) forms a knot when attacked by germs or viruses. This holds true for other plants as well including ginseng, garlic, comfrey, aloe vera, and various mushrooms. The Russians used the shelf fungus, which has the highest concentrations of germanium, for the treatment of cancer. The healing waters of Lourdes, France are also high in germanium.
Many researchers are finding more benefits to this element daily. Germanium was recently selected for clinical testing against AIDS. Japanese and American doctors have proven that it activates the body’s healing response. It has been suggested that it has remarkable benefit to the immune system of healthy individuals as well as cancer patients.
Germanium has assisted in normalizing metabolic function and in decreasing blood pressure and cholesterol. It helps fight chronic conditions such as arthritis, depression, and constipation, as well as viral infections and food allergies. In cases of Raynaud’s syndrome, sufferers feel warmth in their fingers and toes shortly after doses of this germanium. Germanium also serves as a powerful immune stimulant.
The beauty of germanium is that is works from the cellular level by elevating tissue oxidation. Without oxygen our cells begin to wither and die. Restricted oxygen may be the cause of many degenerative diseases.
Along with oxidation, germanium is able to aid each cell in the maintenance of homeostasis. Even under minor emotional, mental or physical stresses, we can deplete our cells of nutrients needed to withstand illness. Germanium is able to supplement the system in times of mental and physical stress to alleviate nervousness, lower blood pressure, and help restore blood biochemistery (pH, glucose, minerals, uric acid, leukocytes, etc.) to normal balance.
Germanium also aid the cardiovascular system. Japanese studies on hypertension and arteriosclerosis both showed beneficial results. Lab tests with animals having normal blood pressure displayed no change, yet those with elevated levels returned to normal after seven to ten days of treatment. In Dr. Asai’s studies on arteriosclerosis patients, all test subjects had a decrease in cholesterol after one month of treatment. Many of the patient’s cholesterol levels dropped from 360 mg to 260 mg.
Nobel prize award winner Otto Warburg believed oxygen deprivation to be the cause of cancer growth since aerobic cells demonstrate normal growth patterns and anaerobic cells display abnormalities. Germanium’s ability to fight free radical activity modulates the effects of tissue injury and disease states including cancer. All cancer patients are both oxygen and immune deficient. In The Journal of Interferon Research in 1984, Fuijio Suzuki and Richard Pollard stated that studies with rheumatoid arthritis and malignant cancers suggest that germanium “restores the normal function of T-cells, B lymphocytes and antibody-forming cells.”
Germanium does not attack the disease itself; it merely stimulates the immune factors within. This kindling of the body’s natural defenses make it an excellent supplement for candida, fungal, bacterial and viral infections. It is for this reason that it was approved for testing by the International AIDS Treatment Conference.
Germanium assists with viral infections because it stimulates the production of interferon. Viruses cannot infect the cells unless there is a deficiency of interferon. In this capacity, germanium has also shown impressive results in influenza research.
Organic germanium is considered both safe and effective, even for children and during pregnancy. Expectant mothers may utilize germanium to prevent toxemia. Lower doses are generally used for preventive maintenance and higher doses (up to 4 grams) have been used for therapeutic properties. As with most alternative therapies, it is always to the client’s benefit to incorporate lifestyle changes as well. Good nutrition and physical activity increase the benefit of any program of supplementation.
While warding off colds and flu may not be the most dramatic property of germanium, it has proven benefical for this task as well. So one does not need to have a serious illness to benefit from this nutrient. Germanium has proven itself to be a power and versatile substance for both regaining and maintaining health.
Sources:
www.karlloren.com/ogc/main.htm
www.karlloren.com/ogc/research/books/book1/page8.htm
www.stopcancer.com/germaniumstor2.htm
Metro, Nancy; ‘Organic Germanium’; Nature’s Field
