I'm Stuck on Mastic Gum Aug. 2008

FHN Complementary Medicine Monthly Newsletter August 2008

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I’m Stuck on Mastic Gum

Mastic gum is a resin from an evergreen shrub found in the middle east. It has been utilized for centuries for digestive disorders.

There have been several recent and not so recent articles on mastic gum healing ulcers.

The first was in 1998 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that mastic gum inhibited 7 different strains of H. pylori, including three that were resistant to antibiotic therapy. A 2007 study from the University of Athens showed a 30 fold reduction in the colonization of H. pylori. The same people studied the effect’s on Crohn’s disease and showed a reduction in the inflammation molecule tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha).

Patient usually show marked improvement in two weeks of therapy and substantial improvement/ healing in thirty days. Before some asks, mastic gum is a resin that they put in capsule form, so you won’t have to be chewing it.

Sincerely

Drs. Glenn and Julie Smith

Complementary Medicine