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Comment by argonaut | Hacker News Reader

I would caution against anyone supplementing with NAC for general health reasons (e.g. other than a specific condition like bronchitis).

In mice, very high doses of NAC causes tumors to form. https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/n-acetyl-cysteine-...

More broadly, there is a lot of emerging evidence against directly taking antioxidant supplements. For example, it is well established that antioxidant supplementation counteracts the benefits of exercise in humans (free radicals are a cue the body uses to initiate recovery). https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/NFS-03-2.... You can find similar articles/studies for other antioxidants.

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I'm not sure you can apply those findings regarding antioxidants. NAC isn't itself an antioxidant, but a prodrug for an amino acid that is the rate limiting factor in producing glutathione, the bodies primary endogenous antioxidant. Presumably if you're already "full" on glutathione, the NAC does nothing.

I am not sure how well known it is, but I already have known this. Immunostimulants are not necessary a healthy thing either, especially not for people with an autoimmune disorder. It can cause flare-ups for example. There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS.

Another example: it has been known that many substances do prevent, but if you already have cancer, than your condition will worsen.

Back to NAC: it is healthy for you in the typical doses which is about 200-1000 mg I would say. If you take acetaminophen on the daily, then it is especially recommended.

In any case, I do not recommend taking it long-term, or not without breaks in-between. Take it for 2 months, stop for a month, take it for another 2 months, then stop for a month and so forth. You can do 1 month on then off, and so on. Up to you.

“ There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS.”

I have M.S. What herbs did she take?

Sadly I cannot remember. The story stuck with me because of the quick deterioration. Unfortunately I cannot even remember enough to find it! :(

I have MS as well. Propolis seems to be fine as immunomodulation goes. I also take ALA. There are conflicting results with regarding to resveratrol. You could take a look at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6311642/ if you have not yet done so.

>There is a case of a woman whose condition deteriorated rapidly after having consumed some common herbs and died within a day or two. I think she had MS.

I'm so, so glad I can finally downvote friend-of-a-friend rumourmongering like this. Maybe this is something legitimate, but handwaving an entire anecdote on a forum like this, with no definite information except "a case" involving "a woman" and her "condition", is baffling.

Maybe don't listen to this user's suggestions about NAC without verifying something about it, which was too much trouble for them.

I am too lazy to look for it. It is on PubMed. In any case, there are many cases of n=1 on HN. Plus, it is not unheard of that immunostimulants may be quite harmful for people with an autoimmune disorder, say, MS. I merely mentioned this case because it is an odd one. She was fine. She took some herbs, and her condition worsened until she died like a day after. I will never forget it. Too bad I cannot seem to find it.

>In any case, there are many cases of n=1 on HN. Plus, it is not unheard of that immunostimulants may be quite harmful for people with an autoimmune disorder, say, MS.

That's not the point! Perhaps it is on PubMed, but with the FUD-like "information" you've provided it's just a scary rumour about "herbs", and entirely unhelpful. Is MS even the illness at issue? Should people with that illness avoid cilantro? Milk thistle? Oregano?

>I will never forget it.

You have not remembered it!

It was not intended to be FUD at all, chill. I take lots of herbal supplements and I have MS.

I think I found the article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3130893/ (Acute Demyelinating Disease after Oral Therapy with Herbal Extracts)

So to answer your question: The formulation of tablets (labelled as ‘immunostimulant’) consisted of Echinacea purpurea 45 mg, Uncaria tomentosa 37.5 mg, and Tabebuia avellanedae and Plantago maritima 30 mg.

I only remembered the Echinacea one. It actually has been an issue in many of these cases, so I avoid it. As I said, immunostimulants for people with autoimmune disorder are usually not good. Immunomodulators can be, but that depends as well. For example allicin and propolis reduce production of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α, which from what I recall is good for MS.

Plus:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle... (Activation of autoimmunity following use of immunostimulatory herbal supplements)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32553683/ (The effects of immunostimulatory herbal supplements on autoimmune skin diseases)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6144106/ (Drug-induced autoimmune hepatitis associated with turmeric dietary supplement use)

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