Back to school!

As happens when children go back to school, they share their germs. Most of the family is dealing with a cold right now. Lots of Vitamin C (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10543583) and rest.

It's almost a given that a "stomach bug" of some kind will start going around our school community within the next few months, and I know I'll feel guilty that almost no one knows molybdenum can help prevent the unpleasant nausea and vomiting that usually accompany gastrointestinal viruses. So I wrote up a short, relatively simple summary of why I think it helps. Here it is:

“Stomach bug” going around?

Molybdenum can help!

A typical part of a viral gastroenteritis infection is damage to the mucosa (lining) of the proximal small intestine (the part of the small intestine closest to the stomach).[1] Our bodies use hydrogen sulfide (H2S) while working to protect the gastric[2] and intestinal mucosa,[3] but the hydrogen sulfide must be broken down quickly because hydrogen sulfide can be toxic at higher levels. The final step of breaking down hydrogen sulfide is one in which sulfite (SO3) is converted to sulfate (SO4). Ingested “sulfites” are known to cause nausea and have other unpleasant effects on health; the FDA had to ban putting sulfiting agents on restaurant salad bars in the 1980s because many people were having to go to emergency rooms after eating sulfited food from salad bars.[4]

The enzyme our bodies use to transform sulfite to sulfate is called sulfite oxidase. It is one of five known enzymes in the human body that use the element molybdenum (element #42 on the periodic table). Molybdenum is an essential trace mineral in the human diet and is typically found at high levels in beans, liver, barley, and oats. Molybdenum bound to the amino acid glycine can also be purchased as a food supplement. By not being deficient in molybdenum, we can help our bodies break down excess sulfite before it makes us nauseated.

Author: CE Taylor (I'm not a medical doctor, just someone who noticed a connection between molybdenum-containing foods and lower levels of "morning sickness" and then whose sister tried molybdenum for a stomach bug and was surprised to find that it protected her from nausea and vomiting. Molybdenum is not a medicine; it is a trace element that already is found in the human diet.)

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[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1089575 - Widerlite L, Trier JS, Blacklow NR, Schreiber DS. Structure of the gastric mucosa in acute infectious bacterial gastroenteritis. Gastroenterology. 1975 Mar;68(3):425-30.

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28346391 - Bronowicka-Adamska P, Wróbel M, Magierowski M, Magierowska K, Kwiecień S, Brzozowski T. Hydrogen sulphide production in healthy and ulcerated gastric mucosa of rats. Molecules. 2017 Mar 27;22(4). pii: E530. doi: 10.3390/molecules22040530.

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17241876/ - Wallace JL, Caliendo G, Santagada V, Cirino G, Fiorucci S. Gastrointestinal safety and anti-inflammatory effects of a hydrogen sulfide-releasing diclofenac derivative in the rat. Gastroenterology. 2007 Jan;132(1):261-71

[4] http://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/09/us/us-issues-ban-on-sulfites-use-in-certain-foods.html - Molotsky I. U.S. issues ban on sulfites’ use in certain foods. The New York Times. 1986 July 8.