Availability of transfer factors

No matter what one makes of transfer factors, it is truly a remarkable development that researchers have figured out how to mass produce them—from cow colostrum and chicken eggs, no less! — and that non-pharmaceutical companies have brought them to the public.

For the time being, and for as long as drug companies and the FDA stay within their bounds, and as long as the World Trade Organization doesn't succeed in forcing member states to put more constraints on their supplement industries, transfer factors are available as supplements. Some are generic – they boost immune system functioning in general, particularly Natural Killer cell levels. Others are specific – they contain transfer factors that carry instructions that could help the immune system locate and destroy specific pathogens, like herpes viruses. Some are even packaged with probiotics, bacteria that promote healthy digestive systems. Unhealthy digestive systems are common in people suffering from a wide variety of ailments.

Transfer factors appear to be very safe to take, with few adverse reactions reported in any of the clinical studies in which they have been used. Many users experience mild flu-like symptoms at some point within the first month of treatment. This is generally taken as a good sign – an indication that the immune system working. Symptoms of illness often worsen before improving in those people for whom transfer factors work. This has traditionally been seen as part of the healing process. If a person feels ill because their immune systems are chronically activated yet incapable of destroying the disease causing agent, then jacking up the immune system so that it can make a push to get rid of the pathogen is certain to make some people feel more ill on their way to feeling better. This is one of the paradoxical effects of recovery from viral illnesses for some people — feeling better and worse at the same time.

Many antiviral and even antibacterial drugs pushed by drug companies cannot boast similar safety profiles. Some antivirals are known cause liver failure, and serious side effects from antibiotics are more common than many might realize.

Transfer factors are currently manufactured and sold by a small number of companies, including three that we will discuss another section — Natural Immunity, 4Life Research and ProHealth.