Cera Products Newsletter #5

Today's armed forces face more than one hidden enemy. One of these is an age-old combatant to American troops sent overseas. It is an enemy that neither officers nor the "rank and file" think about until it hits. And then they spend their time running because of it - the enemy is diarrhea. And, if you are nodding your head in agreement, then consider what U.S. military medical doctors reported in an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine 1. (Diarrheal Disease During Operation Desert Storm, NEJM, November 1991.)

Military Research

The military physicians reported that during the Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia, 57 percent of the troops reported at least one case of diarrhea, and 20 percent had diarrhea so severe that they were temporarily incapacitated or temporarily unable to carry out their duties. Another 32 percent of the troops reported more than one episode of diarrhea. Preventing infectious disease during the Operation Desert Shield was a priority for all branches of the military. Yet, as the New England Journal of Medicine article concludes, "Nevertheless, despite extensive efforts to secure a safe supply of food and water and a high level of sanitation there were epidemics of infectious diarrhea, as there have been throughout history when large numbers of soldiers are deployed."

According to the military researchers, there was not a particular pathogen that caused the outbreaks, although different strains of E.coli accounted for most of the diarrhea. Other pathogens, including salmonella were also culprits and both of these are potentially deadly. Thus, until there are good vaccines against these enemies , it is only prudent to make an oral rehydration product a key item in every soldier's health arsenal.

Complications from diarrhea can pose serious health problems because of dehydration. People typically think of dehydration as water loss but it's more than that - it zaps the body of essential fluids and electrolytes. A rapid loss of body fluid can lead to complications such as weakness, low blood pressure, fainting, rapid/shallow breathing, and even a heart attack or a stroke.

Troops need a product that can effectively keep them going and quickly replace fluids and electrolytes lost during diarrhea. This type of rehydration will help prevent the debilitating and potentially deadly effects of dehydration. CeraLyte, the rice-based digest oral rehydration product currently on the Defense Readiness List, offers promise as a treatment for all military personnel. CeraLyte works rapidly to restore fluids lost, and reduces the severity and length of the illness.

William B. Greenough, III, M.D., an international health expert at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution and former Public Health Service Officer, says we are gradually becoming more aware of the seriousness of fluid loss. He credits the advertising of popular sports replacement fluid drinks for increasing the awareness about the importance of fluid replacement. However, he says, we still have not gotten the message about replacing fluid loss related to diarrhea.
"People understand that if someone loses large quantities of blood then it needs to be replaced with blood. When you lose large amounts of body fluids because of diarrhea or vomiting it also needs to be replaced with fluids of a similar chemical content. With nasty stuff like diarrhea it's not as intutive that you must replace what the body has lost," Dr. Greenough says.

Furthermore, antidiarrheal products do NOT rehydrate, do NOT correct dehydration, NOR do they restore essential electrolytes. These antidiarrheal drugs, like Lomotil® and Immodium®, actually paralyze the intestinal function, often obscuring fluid loss. Antidiarrheal drugs actually stop the intestinal tract motility allowing potentially harmful bacteria to stay within the intestinal tract and increasing the risk of prolonged infection. In addition, due to its clay-like properties, Kaopectate® will produce a more formed stool even as the diarrhea continues. This formed-stool characteristic can provide a false sense of well being, while infection is still occurring within the intestinal tract. Bottom line: these remedies can mask the real problem, which is causing the diarrhea, and can keep the body from ridding itself of bacterial infection. To reiterate, NONE of these antidiarrheal remedies provide rehydration, and thereby leave the body dehydrated and depleted of necessary electrolytes!

CeraLyte and other ORS products DO safely replace fluid lost and restore essential electrolyte balances. The key differences between CeraLyte and other ORS products is its dual action- CeraLyte's rice-based composition helps reduce fluid losses while it rehydrates, it restores essential electrolytes more quickly and it actually assists the body in healing the inflamed bowel more quickly.

The CeraLyte Explanation

The key to all Cera Products is how fast they work! Cera Products line of patented, homogeneous blends of natural rice digest and electrolytes have electrolyte composition that meets standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for oral electrolyte replacement therapy, also known as "ORS" or "ORT."

The carbohydrate in any ORS solution is what carries or pulls the water and electrolytes into the bloodstream from the digestive tract. Cera's products contain the complex rice carbohydrate and are prepared by a special enzymatic process, that preserves the natural quali- ties of rice, including the high quality rice protein - glutamine. The reason Cera products work so efficiently is the long-chain rice polymers in the rice digest. Our rice-base provides a larger molecule than the single glucose chain length in other ORS solutions. This feature - long-chain rice polymers - both accelerates absorption and increases total absorption of water and appropriate electrolytes.

CeraLyte has dual action: it replaces fluid losses while it reduces diarrhea symptoms. With faster absorption of water and electrolytes the circulating volume and cell function are restored quickly, helping people feel better faster. Studies comparing rice-based ORS to glucose ORS consistently show the rice helps promote early recovery by reducing the diarrhea fluid losses and shortening the length of the illness. In May 2001, ACTA Paediatricia reports the comparison of CeraLyte and glucose ORS in 174 children with cholera, where CeraLyte is shown to reduce fluid losses 20 to 30% more than glucose ORS during the first 12 hours, prior to the antibiotic action.

CeraLyte's 40 grams of long-chain carbohydrate pulls more fluid and electrolytes from the intestinal tract into the bloodstream than is possible with the 20 grams of the single molecule glucose-based solutions. CeraLyte-70 also has an osmolarity of 220 mmoles/liter, versus the glucose solutions (WHO ORS is at 311 mmoles/L, Pedialyte is 275 mmoles/L). This lower osmolarity means faster absorption.

Double your success in carrying out your daily mission without the interference of another enemy -- use DUAL ACTION Cera Products.

Cera Sport: Helping the Body Defend and Protect Fluid Balance

Did you know that with every breath we expel water - 500 mL or more a day? That's a 16.9 ounce bottle of Diet Coke® - our body compensates for this normal loss. Did you know that someone whose clothes are wet from working, whether fitness or work related, is losing up to a quart or more of fluid an hour? That's a 32 ounce carton of milk. The body needs to compensate for the loss. With a fever, such as one gets when they have flu or an intestinal parasite, we could lose 500 mL or more a day! Yes, the body needs to compensate for that loss as well.

Our bodies are constantly fighting to maintain fluid balances or fluid homeostasis. Whether we lose fluid during exercise, fever, flu, or heat such as hot climate or work environment the principle is the same: essential fluids are lost and need to be replaced with a like substance. Rehydration is essential to prevent minor or major complications associated with dehydration and promote rapid recovery.

William B. Greenough, III, M.D., a Johns Hopkins physician adds, "When fluid is lost under these conditions a lower sodium and potassium formulation is needed than what is used for replacing diarrhea losses because the composition of the fluids lost is different. When peak sweating causes fluid loss of one quart per hour (clothes or bed sheets are wet), that fluid must be replaced.
Although thirst is a good indicator of dehydration, by the time you feel thirst, you are already at least mildly dehydrated. It is better to monitor your output." For example, workouts or exposure to heat for two hours and profuse sweating would require replacing at least two quarts of correctly balanced fluid replacement, one that is specifically geared for sweat loss, such as CeraSport® .

Current sport drinks on the market like CeraSport® , Gatorade® , or AllSport® work well for sweat loss. The rice-based CeraSport® replaces essential fluids faster than the well-known sugary sport drinks. This fast action aids in rapid recovery from dehydration thereby enhancing performance without cramping usually associated with sugary sport drinks. For military troops this is important to know and emphasizes that fluid replacement is essential.

In fact, Cera's products have a variety of chain lengths for a "timed-release" effect, which allows absorption of electrolytes to occur over a sustained period of time; glucose does not have the same sustainability. For example, in a recent study at the University of Iowa, Cera Product was reported to maintain circulating blood volume better than Gatorade at 20, 40, 60 and 80 minutes. At eighty minutes, the drinks began providing similar circulating blood volume - who wants to wait that long?

"For mild-to-moderate exercise, energy requirements can be met before and after exertion. However, for prolonged strenuous exercise, energy is needed during the event," says David A. Sack, M.D., professor of infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Hygiene and Director of the Center for Health and Population Research. "Complex carbohydrates as are found in CeraSport® , efficiently provide this energy. They are in the complex form, therefore they are efficiently absorbed without the side effects from simple-sugar solutions." Troops exposed to excessive heat and continuous exercise or maneuvers are prone to fatigue, muscle cramping, dizziness or headaches associated with dehydration - before, during and after each event.

Thus, CeraSport® is an "effective weapon" against fluid loss for all ranks!

Cera Products is a proud supporter of the US Armed Forces!