McMinn Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol

The podcast "Wellness Connection MD" focuses on providing evidence-based, commercial-free wellness information. It aims to empower listeners with practical solutions for optimizing health. On today's show we proudly announce Dr. McMinn's new book, "McMinn Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol," which offers a natural approach to helping patients with chronic sinusitis and rhinitis by focusing on reestablishing a healthy sinus microbiome. Unfortunately, the traditional treatments for sinusitis, which include antibiotics and surgery often fail. This leaves millions of unfortunate patients with no hope as they continue to suffer with the misery of chronic sinusitis, often for many years. Dr. McMinn offers a tested, safe, and natural alternative therapy based on cutting-edge science, and on a functional and integrative approach. The heart of the protocol involves five steps: some basic principles of nutrition and lifestyle to improve sinus health, and overall health, weeding out bad bacteria, preparing the sinuses by breaking down biofilms and reducing inflammation, seeding the sinus cavities with beneficial bacteria, and then feeding these good bacteria with the specific prebiotic nutrients that they need to thrive and to become the dominant organisms in the sinus cavities. "McMinn Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol" is available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback. Hopefully, this will be helpful to you or someone that you care about.

Chapters

• 0:02 McMinn Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol Book
• 10:21 Sinus Microbiome Healing Protocol

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MB podcast. We're grateful to have you with us today. In our episode today I'm excited to present to you my new book called McMinn Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol. Imagine if you could get relief from chronic sinusitis with no antibiotics or surgery. The key to such success lies in your sinus microbiome.

Speaker 1: 0:22

Over the years I saw many patients in my practice who had chronic sinusitis which was resistant to standard medical therapy with antibiotics and surgery. These unfortunate patients seemed to be at a dead end and they felt miserable and they had no hope. They challenged me to come up with a functional medicine protocol for treating this sinusitis. So I married cutting-edge mainstream research with some tried-and-true functional medicine principles to produce an all-natural McMahon sinusitis microbiome protocol. I have used this on my patients over the years and I found that almost everybody got better with no known untoward side effects. So I introduced this one-of-a-kind protocol to you via my new book, which is appropriately entitled McMahon Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol. You can find the book on Amazon, both as an e-book and as a paperback. The e-book runs $4.99, and the paperback runs $9.99. It is my sincere hope that the protocol helps you or someone you care about, and I hope you enjoy the show.

Speaker 2: 1:23

Welcome to the Wellness Connection MD Podcast with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsay, where we bring you the latest up-to-date, evidence-based information on a wide variety of health and wellness topics, along with practical take-home solutions. Dr McMinn is an integrated and functional MD and Lindsay Matthews is a registered nurse and IIN-certified health coach. Together, our goal is to help you optimize your health and wellness in mind, body and spirit. To see a list of all of our podcasts, visit nickminndcom and to stay up to date on the latest topics, be sure to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite podcast player so that you'll be notified when future episodes come out. The discussions contained in these podcast are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease. Please do not apply any of this information without approval from your personal doctor. And now on to the show with Dr McMinn and Coach Lindsay.

Speaker 1: 2:17

Hello and welcome to Wellness Connection MD, the evidence-based podcast on all things wellness. We thank you so much for joining us today. As always, we come to you to bring you honest, commercial-free, unbiased, up-to-date, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented information, along with practical solutions to empower you to overcome your healthcare challenges and to optimize your wellness in mind, body and spirit, and to become a great captain of your ship when it comes to your health and your wellness. Before we get going, let me just remind you that our podcast remains commercial free so that we can stay completely unbiased. However, it does cost us money to produce these podcasts and we put many hours of work into each episode. So think of us like public radio and consider making a contribution to help us keep this valuable information coming to you. There are a couple of ways you can contribute to the show. First, if you buy nutritional supplements, then consider purchasing physician-grade supplements from our Fullscript dispensary at a 10% discount. You can see the link to Fullscript below in the show notes, or go to mcmindmdcom and the link will also be there at the bottom of the homepage under helpful links. It's quite simple Just click on the link and they'll guide you through the process. It's a classic win-win you get high quality supplements at a discount and we get your support for the show, for which we are very grateful. If you have any trouble with this, then just reach out to me at drmcminn at yahoocom, and I'll do my best to guide you through the process. You can also safely make a contribution to the show directly via credit card or by PayPal at the Support the Show link, which is also in the show notes. And finally, please don't forget to subscribe to the show and tell your friends and family about us, so that we can bring this valuable information to even more listeners. Thank you so much, and now on to the show. On today's podcast, I'm excited to introduce to you a new book that I have just published on Amazon, both as an e-book and as a paperback, called MacMinn Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol. In the book, I describe a revolutionary natural approach to helping folks with chronic sinusitis rhinitis, and that includes mild cases as well as hard-to-treat cases which have failed other therapies. Since Wellness Connection MD is the evidence-based podcast, I'm going to discuss with you some of the latest science pertaining to sinus health and also share with you the basic principles of my sinusitis microbiome protocol. But let me start by telling you why I went down this path to start with.

Speaker 1: 4:37

Over the years in my functional integrative medical practice I saw many patients who presented to me with sinusitis. Sometimes a problem had been going on for years and these patients were miserable. Most of them had been on multiple rounds of powerful antibiotics, and some of them even had surgery, and they just could not seem to get well. Their symptoms included things like congestion, runny nose, post-nasal drip, facial pain and pressure, headache, reduced sense of smell and trouble breathing through the nose. Some of them also had things like sore throat, cough and bad breath. The accepted first-line standard medical therapy for these folks was to treat them with powerful antibiotics. Often, when they took these antibiotics, they sometimes felt better for a while, only to see the symptoms return with a vengeance, usually after a couple weeks of stopping the antibiotics.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Also, it's worth noting that there are many potential adverse side effects from the antibiotics. Most of the antibiotics that we use on sinusitis are powerful broad-spectrum antibiotics, which means that they are like indiscriminate killing machines. They don't just go after the bad bugs, they go after all bugs, and they don't just go to your sinuses, they go all over your body. As such, they can seriously alter the gut microbiome and if you listen to some of our previous podcasts then you know how important the gut microbiome is to overall health. Some experts suggest that the gut microbiome can never fully recover from a round of Cipro, which is a commonly used antibiotic for sinusitis and, by the way, cipro, or its cousin Levaquin, can also cause a mean case of tendoninitis After failing a few rounds of antibiotics.

Speaker 1: 6:05

Then doctors usually resort to sinus surgery. Just like every other surgery, there are always risks involved in sinus surgery and with general anesthesia Also, my patients have reported to me that the aftermath of sinus surgery was very painful. But worst of all, after going through all of this, even after surgery, the persistent infection sometimes came roaring back. Through all of this, even after surgery, the persistent infections sometimes came roaring back. Now this is not a trivial issue. Let's look at the numbers.

Speaker 1: 6:31

The incidence of chronic sinusitis has been estimated to be about 23% of the general population. So for America alone we have about 330 million residents. So therefore 23% of that comes to about 80 million folks who suffer from chronic sinusitis. Studies show that the failure rate with antibiotics from chronic sinusitis is anywhere from 3% to 30%. So let's take in the middle of the range and say about 15%, that comes still to 12 million miserable Americans who suffer with sinusitis which is resistant to antibiotics. Now let's say that these folks go on to have surgery. There's a wide range of estimates for a failure rate of surgery to treat sinusitis, from 5% to 50%. So let's take a conservative number such as 20%, and that leaves about 2.5 million Americans who continue to suffer with their sinusitis after both antibiotics and surgery. If you extrapolate that to the whole world, then we're dealing with a whole bunch of folks. It's worth noting that the McMinn Protocol may help with these difficult to treat folks, and if somebody uses my protocol then they may not have to use antibiotics or surgery at all.

Speaker 1: 7:31

So my patients who suffered with chronic sinusitis challenged me to think outside the box. They just weren't getting the help they needed elsewhere, and I'm not saying this to bash any of the other doctors. They were excellent doctors and following standard protocols. But my patients asked me to see if an integrative and functional approach might bring some relief to these miseries. So I accepted the challenge and as I began to do my research, I ran across Dr Andrew Goldberg, md, director of Rhinology and Sinus Surgery at UCSF, that's, the University of California, san Francisco, one of the top medical research institutions in America. He once said that, and I quote, the premise for our understanding of chronic sinusitis and therapeutic treatment appears to be wrong and a different therapeutic strategy seems appropriate. End quote. After seeing many of these unfortunate and miserable patients, I agree with Dr Goldberg and I feel that it's time to think different, as the old Apple computer commercial used to say, and to offer a new approach to treat these stubborn infections. That's why I developed the McMahon Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol. To be clear, the standard medical approach continues to be the antibiotic surgery protocol and my protocol would have to be considered experimental. Therefore, before using the McMahon Sinusitis Protocol, you should check with, and get approval from, your personal doctor. However, it is accurate to say that, even though the McMinn protocol is not the standard treatment regimen for sinusitis, it has worked for my patients who got no relief from the antibiotic surgery approach and, to my knowledge, my protocol has produced no significant untoward side effects.

Speaker 1: 9:02

As I continued to research sinusitis, I decided to look at it from the perspective of the sinus microbiome and inflammation, since these are the two main defining underlying problems that contribute to sinusitis. For many years, I've been interested in the science of the human microbiome. That includes the microbiome of the oral cavity, the skin, the genitourinary area and especially the gut microbiome. I theorized that some of the protocols that I used to improve the microbiome of these other areas might also help people with dysbiosis in the sinuses and, by the way, dysbiosis is just another word for an altered microbiome.

Speaker 1: 9:38

My interest in the sinus microbiome then led me to some interesting studies by Dr Susan Lynch LYNCH, a PhD Associate Professor of Medicine, also at UCSF. She found that the sinuses are a host to a diverse microbiome that includes good, healthy, protective bacteria, which I will call good bugs, along with some pathogenic or disease-causing bacteria also known as bad bugs. The good bugs and the bad bugs are constantly competing with each other. Ideally, the good bugs will win this competition and they will remain the dominant bug in the sinuses, keeping the bad bugs in check. But an unhealthy ratio of the good bugs and bad bugs, with the bad bugs more dominant, is a causative factor for the development of sinusitis.

Speaker 1: 10:21

Dr Lynch's studies demonstrated that sinus mucosal health is highly dependent on the composition of the bacteria that inhabit the sinus cavities. She found that people with sinusitis, as compared to healthy people without sinusitis had a particular pattern of sinus microbiome dysfunction. They tended to have too many of a particular bad bug called Cornibacterium tuberculostericum in their sinuses and they had a noticeable lack of a good bug called Lactobacillus saecii, also known as L-saecii. Similar studies by Professor Sarah Labier, l-a-b-e-e-r, phd, found that Lactobacilli bacteria like L-saecii were up to 10 times more prevalent in nasal passages of healthy volunteers than in those suffering with chronic sinusitis. So the lactobacilli seemed to be the key. In fact, dr Lynch concluded that L saecii is the keystone bacteria in the sinuses.

Speaker 1: 11:13

The word keystone is important in this context. Keystone is most often associated with the structural arch, where it is defined as the central stone at the top of the arch, locking the whole thing together. Without this keystone, the arch will fall. Likewise, the alzachii bacteria may be thought of as the essential keystone good cop bug that maintains the microbial health of the sinuses by keeping the bad bugs in check. Without the proper amount of alzachii, the bad bugs tend to proliferate and may become the dominant bug, causing inflammation and then frank sinusitis. So it's like when the police force is on strike and then the crooks and the looters will come out of the woodwork and the crime rate goes up. When we don't have enough L-sachii, the bad bugs proliferate, gain control and eventually this contributes to clinical disease, and eventually this contributes to clinical disease. Furthermore, dr Lynch's work suggested that if the underlying cause of sinusitis is due to alterations in the sinus microbiome, then restoring the naturally occurring healthy, beneficial good cop keystone bacteria to the sinuses may be an effective way to treat sinusitis.

Speaker 1: 12:17

One of my fundamental tenets in the functional medicine space is to be open-minded, but always to be evidence-based and outcomes-oriented and to first do no harm. At the time I became familiar with Dr Lynch's work. It was still in the academic study phase. However, dr Lynch and her research seemed to be top-notch and her studies had been published in excellent peer-reviewed medical journals. Therefore, I began to connect the dots and to wonder if her approach might help my long-suffering patients.

Speaker 1: 12:43

The next challenge for me was to figure out a way to transform the information from Dr Lynch's bench science into an actionable clinical sinusitis protocol. I also needed to make sure to approach this in a manner which had significant potential for clinical benefit and which represented a very low risk for any untoward side effects. I decided to combine the information from Dr Lynch's work with a natural approach to the microbiome which I learned from the classic teachings of functional medicine, and it goes like this weed, seed and feed. I learned this in the context of the gut microbiome and I've had quite a bit of success using this approach to treat gut-related health issues with no significant untoward side effects. Therefore, I thought that the weed seeded-feed approach might also work for sinus microbiome dysfunction.

Speaker 1: 13:27

Let me break this down for you in simple terms. Weed means to weed out the bad bugs. Seed means to reintroduce the good bugs, like planting seeds in a garden. Feed means to supply the good bugs with the nutrients they need to survive and thrive and once again to become the predominant organism. This is like adding fertilizer to the soil. However, I have added a twist to this classic approach. Between the weed and seed, I've added another step, which I call prepare the soil. This step has to do with setting the stage for a healthy microbiome to survive and thrive. I'll explain this in further detail in just a bit.

Speaker 1: 14:01

Let's use an analogy to illustrate. Imagine if you had a beautiful flower garden. However, you had to go away for a few years and when you came back home, you had only a few scraggly flowers left and your beloved garden had been overtaken by a bunch of ugly weeds. In order to restore your garden to its previous beautiful state, you must first get rid of the weeds, then you need to prepare the soil, plant new seeds and finally apply some fertilizer. With some effort and patience, your beloved flower garden will once again be restored to its original beauty.

Speaker 1: 14:31

However, in this case, instead of a garden of flowers, we're trying to restore a healthy garden of bacteria to the sinuses. The McMinn Sinus Microbiome Protocol accomplishes this with natural, over-the-counter therapies as follows One, we weed by getting rid of the bad bugs with an all-natural topical spray. Two, we prepare the sinuses by breaking down biofilms and reducing inflammation and swelling, again with natural, over-the-counter products. Three, we seed by re-establishing the good keystone bacteria, which is the L-Seq Eii. Again, this is like planting seeds to grow more beautiful flowers in your garden. We do this with a pure, over-the-counter, topical L-sachii product. And finally, four, we feed by supplying the good bugs with the specific nutrients or prebiotics that they need in order to grow and thrive and to become the predominant organism. Again, this is like the fertilizer in your garden that helps the flowers to grow. Again, we accomplish this with a natural, topical, over-the-counter product.

Speaker 1: 15:28

Now here's the great news. We applied this protocol to some of our chronic sinusitis sufferers who had failed standard treatment both antibiotics and surgery and I was thrilled when these folks came back feeling much better. To my knowledge, none of these patients had suffered any reported downside effects to the protocol. They were happy, and so was I, of the protocol. Before the patient starts the protocol, it may be helpful to first address some general principles regarding your living environment and to improve gut health and overall health before starting the program. Addressing these issues may increase the likelihood of success with the protocol.

Speaker 1: 16:03

In the book I give a detailed description of how to do this. Also in the book I have a more detailed discussion of the microbiome and I delve into the fascinating topics of quorum sensing and biofilms. Just briefly here. Quorum sensing is the sophisticated communication system that bacterial communities use to coordinate their activities and to respond to challenging environments, both in terms of dealing with threats and by taking advantage of opportunities to thrive, and biofilms are a complex resistant layer of bacteria that forms on, adheres to and coats the lining of the mucous membranes of the sinuses. You can think of it as like a slime which acts like a glue to hold the pathogenic bacteria colony. Together, it also forms a shield to protect these pathogens from antibiotics and from attacks from the good bugs and from the immune system. Biofilms also stimulate inflammation and obstruct sinus drainage.

Speaker 1: 16:52

Studies have shown that biofilms are a significant problem when it comes to attempts to eradicate bacterial infections in the sinuses. Unfortunately, the presence of biofilms is hardly ever taken into consideration by mainstream medicine in standard treatment protocols for sinus infections. That may be a significant reason why these treatments often fail. However, in the McMinn Sinus Microbiome Protocol we have a plan for this. Even though this book is mainly about the sinus microbiome, I also discuss the gut microbiome just a bit in the book. This is because the two microbiomes are connected. For instance, a study from Mayo Clinic published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings and in Science Daily found that over 90% of chronic sinusitis cases were caused by gastrointestinal inflammation, particularly related to dysbiosis in the gut. Furthermore, the Mayo Clinic researchers found that yeast overgrowth in the gut can form biofilms in the sinuses, making sinusitis much more difficult to treat. The issue of yeast is never addressed with standard therapies, whereas it is addressed in the McMahon Protocol.

Speaker 1: 17:49

In the book, I give you detailed instructions as to how you can weed, prepare the sinuses, feed and seed. I also give you a shopping list of products and tell you where you can get each of them. These instructions are very detailed and would really not be appropriate for a podcast. However, everything is laid out step-by-step in the book. As I developed this program, tweaking it over a period of several years, I erred on the side of being very thorough in order to maximize the odds of producing a successful outcome. I covered all of the bases and I feel that doing the entire protocol yields the greatest opportunity for improvement. However, I also have come to realize that the program may seem too complicated and or costly for some patients. Therefore, in the book, I also add some comments as to how you can attempt to simplify the protocol or just to do the bits and pieces of the protocol which are more likely to produce the highest yield.

Speaker 1: 18:37

In summary, sinusitis affects many millions of people around the world, sometimes causing severe and prolonged pain and suffering. The McMinn Sinus Microbiome Protocol was devised based on a combination of cutting-edge science and fundamental functional medicine principles to provide a natural alternative to standard therapy. The protocol has helped my patients and I share the protocol with you edge science and fundamental functional medicine principles to provide a natural alternative to standard therapy. The protocol has helped my patients and I share the protocol with you in this podcast and in the book in hopes that it might also help others. You can get the complete protocol in the book McMinn's Sinusitis Microbiome Protocol on Amazon as an e-book or as a paperback.

Speaker 1: 19:10

I sincerely hope that this is helpful for you. Well, that will about do it for this episode of the Wellness Connection MD podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We hope that we were able to share something with you that was helpful to you or somebody that you care about. Don't forget to check us out at mcmindmdcom, where you can find lots of great resources and the McMind MD blog Also. Please help the podcast grow by telling your friends and family about us. Please do take a moment to rate us on iTunes.

Speaker 1: 19:35

These reviews really do help us out. We've had some feedback from some folks that it can really be difficult to actually do these reviews, so we have a dedicated page on the website to explain exactly how to do this step by step. On your iPhone, you can find this at McMinnMDcom slash reviews. If you want to reach out to me by email, you can do so at drmcminn at yahoocom. Also, you can find me at the facebookcom, slash mcminnmd or instagramcom, slash mcminnmd. I'll have all of our links at the bottom of page one on the homepage at mcminnmdcom. Well, thanks again. So much for listening. We really do appreciate it. This is Dr McMinn signing out. Take care and be well.