Sunday, March 25, 2012

Pesticides in Shanghai and Globally


Titanium (Cover of Sia, David Guetta)
Collin McLoughlin




Pesticides -- Shanghai Problem

Pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are big problems here in Shanghai. Apparently we live in the city with the highest reported field application of pesticides (kilograms per hectare) out of the whole country. According to the report by Zhang et al 'Global pesticide consumption and pollution: with China as a focus' Shanghai applies 12.72 kilograms per hectare of pesticides, which was the heaviest utilization of 32 cities and provinces studied. The lowest utilization rates were in the least industrialized provinces, Inner Mongolia and Tibet (0.15, 0.01 kg/ha respectively).

Prior animal pharm: Pesticides May Cause U.S.A. Insulin Resistance and Obesity Trends





Pesticides are (Obviously) Toxic and Kill

Pesticides, herbicides and fungicides may not be lethal to large mammalian hosts like humans but the mechanisms in which they wreak chemical havoc to pests, weeds/grasses and fungus/molds can affect us either directly or our gut ecosystem which contains 100 trillion mitochondrial-like creatures (bacteria, mycobacteria, protozoa) and fungi. ~~Half of the deaths that occur worldwide secondary to pesticide exposures are here in China. 'According to a report of WHO and UNEP, worldwide there are more than 26 million human pesticide poisonings with about 220,000 deaths per year (Richter, 2002). In the United States, there are 67 thousands human pesticide poisonings per year. In China, there are 0.5 million human pesticide poisonings with 0.1 million deaths per year. (Zhang et al 2011)'

The mechanisms of toxicity of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides usually target a specific neurochemical or metabolic mechanisms that translate toxicity to the cellular, organ and organismal levels:
--sodium channel disturbances (yes our sodium channels are vital; see prior nephropal Evolutionary Brain)
--glyphosate toxicity (see Dr. Tourgeman's nephropal post: Can Glyphosate Herbicide Formulations Damage Humans?)
--mitochondrial toxicity -- electron transport
--mitochondrial toxicity -- fatty acid metabolism
--mitochondrial toxicity -- respiratory complex
--trace heavy metals -- mercury, asenic, cadmium and lead --which severely depress metabolic enzymes (mitochondrial, thyroid, adrenal, neural, gut i.e. DPP IV, pancreatic/digestive, etc)




Pesticides: Global Problem

Although the knowledge and understanding are incomplete, the data and information on how pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are transported, degraded and distributed into the ecosystem are pretty damning. The toxicity effects may not immediately disable and maim but may be chronically sublethal and epigenetic. Since all life on earth is interconnected, the network of disturbances can be subtle. Damaging effects perhaps act in concert either additively or synergistically with other stressors, gut dysbiotic factors and amplified by our trigger-happy immune systems. Zhang et al say that 99% of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides do not even hit the intended target. 99% of pesticide applications are distributed into the environment and ecosystem by spray drift and surface water runoff. The investigators Zhang et al state 'High-residual pesticides like DDT have been detected in the Greenland ice sheet and the bodies of Antarctic penguins which were resulted from atmospheric circulation, ocean currents and biological enrichment of pesticides.' The early players of the damage and adverse effects are the bees, insectal larvae and algae on land and in related water masses. In the next tier of ecological effects, their predators (insects, fish, sealife) are affected either indirectly by reduction of food availibility or direct biochemical, metabolic, immune, endocrine, sexual and reproductive disruptions.

And... Up and up the PREDATOR ECOSYSTEM CHAIN.

[I doubt humans can claim being apex predators, but perhaps apex pests and homo purgare]



Fish: One of the Most Pesticide-Ridden and Toxic Foods

My family and stopped eliminated 80-90% of our fish and seafood consumption (both farmed and wild) when I was first pregnant 12 years ago. I figured what wasn't safe for my baby and I just was not safe, PERIOD. We try to eat ancestrally but seafood just is not part of the equation at this time. Many cultures who subsist on fish and their marine predators (seal, whale) are documented to have elevated levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs, pesticides, PCBs, solvents, etc) and heavy metals: Great Lake Anishinaabe, Arctic and Greenland Inuit, natives of the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, Amazon Brazilians, Peruvians, and Faroe Islands inhabitants. Where is the source? Pesticides and industrial pollution are bioaccumulated in algae, daphnia, marine life and large predacious fish and marine mammals. Human variance shows that not everyone is severely affected by heavy metals (mercury) and pesticides but certainly some are more sensitive than others or bioaccumulate at extremely higher rates than other individuals. The carriers of apo E4 allele, the ancestral 'efficiency' allele, appear to exhibit higher harboring and decreased detoxification of trace heavy metals (iron, copper, lead, mercury). This may explain the link between increased incidence of central obesity, metabolic syndrome, T2DM, Alzheimer's and dementia and those of ethnic descent where the apo E4 allele is more dominant (Inuit, Amerindians, aborigine subpopulations, northern Chinese, northern European, Africa).



The Jungle: Food Safety in China

Living in China has many 'challenges' (I could list but that would be a brick of novella) but I would have to say food safety TOPS my MANY MANY MANY lists. On one hand Shanghai is one of the most progressive cities of the world I have been fortunate to visit (Paris, Hamburg, NYC, Chicago, SF, Tokyo, Kyoto, Taipei) yet in the context of food safety and standards of quality, I think it is one of the cities with the least quality control and national oversight. For every daily food safety scandal that hit the media, I always wonder how many dozens didn't hit the media under China's scrupulous censorship. We live here in the times that pre-date Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' (free PDF HERE, courtesy of Penn State).

Super wonderful people here in Shanghai have been graciously generous in sharing their food suppliers ('The Avocado Lady'), chains of safe food purveyors and organic grassfed meat and egg sources, CSAs (see picture BIOFarm) and safe homemade goodies. Part of the adventure of expat living has been meeting other like-minded freaks in a foreign country.





References

Global pesticide consumption and pollution: with China as a focus. Zhang et al. Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2011, 1(2):125-144.

Greenpeace 2009 News. Pesticides: Not Your Problem?
http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/news/China-pesticides/

Medscape, Maternal Fish Consumption, Mercury Levels, and Risk of Preterm Delivery: Discussion
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/553133_4

Is "USDA Organic" a seal of deceit? The pitfalls of USDA certified organics produced in the United States, China and beyond
.

Mercury Toxicity and Treatment: A Review of the Literature. Robin A. Bernhoft. J Environ Public Health. 2012; 2012: 460508.

Sources of Mercury Exposure for U.S. Seafood Consumers: Implications for Policy. Noelle E. Selin, Elsie M. Sunderland, Christopher D. Knightes, Robert P. Mason. Environ Health Perspect. 2010 January; 118(1): 137–143.

The influence of nutrition on methyl mercury intoxication.L Chapman, H M Chan. Environ Health Perspect. 2000 March; 108(Suppl 1): 29–56.

Neurobehavioral effects of developmental methylmercury exposure.[low chronic levels cause neurologic effects] S G Gilbert, K S Grant-Webster. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 September; 103(Suppl 6): 135–142.

New Evidence on Variations of Human Body Burden of Methylmercury from Fish Consumption.René Canuel, Sylvie Boucher de Grosbois, Laura Atikessé, Marc Lucotte, Paul Arp, Charles Ritchie, Donna Mergler, Hing Man Chan, Marc Amyot, Robin Anderson. Environ Health Perspect. 2006 February; 114(2): 302–306.

Impacts of traditional food consumption advisories: Compliance, changes in diet and loss of confidence in traditional foods. Claire McAuley, Loren D Knopper. Environ Health. 2011; 10: 55.

The Changing Landscape of Arctic Traditional Food. Tim Lougheed. Environ Health Perspect. 2010 September; 118(9): A386–A393.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) allele distribution in the world. Is APOE*4 a 'thrifty' allele? Corbo RM, Scacchi R. Ann Hum Genet. 1999 Jul;63(Pt 4):301-10.

Apolipoprotein E and atherosclerosis in Greenland Inuit. Boudreau DA, Scheer WD, Malcom GT, Mulvad G, Pedersen HS, Jul E.Atherosclerosis. 1999 Jul;145(1):207-19.

Synergy between the C2 allele of transferrin and the C282Y allele of the haemochromatosis gene (HFE) as risk factors for developing Alzheimer's disease. [the effects areextremely exacerbated in apoE4 carriers] Robson KJ, Lehmann DJ, Wimhurst VL, Livesey KJ, Combrinck M, Merryweather-Clarke AT, Warden DR, Smith AD.J Med Genet. 2004 Apr;41(4):261-5.

Alzheimer disease: mercury as pathogenetic factor and apolipoprotein E as a moderator. Mutter J, Naumann J, Sadaghiani C, Schneider R, Walach H.Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2004 Oct;25(5):331-9.

An observational study on the influence of the APOE-epsilon4 allele on the correlation between 'free' copper toxicosis and EEG activity in Alzheimer disease.Zappasodi F, Salustri C, Babiloni C, Cassetta E, Del Percio C, Ercolani M, Rossini PM, Squitti R.Brain Res. 2008 Jun 18;1215:183-9.

Bioaccumulation syndrome: identifying factors that make some stream food webs prone to elevated mercury bioaccumulation. Darren M. Ward, Keith H. Nislow, Carol L. Folt. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2010 May; 1195: 62–83.

Fish Consumption and Advisory Awareness in the Great Lakes Basin. Pamela Imm, Lynda Knobeloch, Henry A. Anderson, the Great Lakes Sport Fish Consortium. Environ Health Perspect. 2005 October; 113(10): 1325–1329.

Evaluation of Mercury Exposure Reduction through a Fish Consumption Advisory Program for Anishinaabe Tribal Members in Northern Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. J. A. Foran, A. D. DeWeese, M. J. Hudson, N. E. Kmiecik. J Environ Public Health. 2010; 2010: 802584.

Adult Women’s Blood Mercury Concentrations Vary Regionally in the United States: Association with Patterns of Fish Consumption (NHANES 1999–2004). [higher mercury in the more affluent, more Asian, more coastal, more fisheating] Kathryn R. Mahaffey, Robert P. Clickner, Rebecca A. Jeffries. Environ Health Perspect. 2009 January; 117(1): 47–53.

Elevated Mercury Concentrations in Humans of Madre de Dios, Peru. Katy Ashe. PLoS One. 2012; 7(3): e33305.

Research into Mercury Exposure and Health Education in Subsistence Fish-Eating Communities of the Amazon Basin: Potential Effects on Public Health Policy.José G. Dórea. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2010 September; 7(9): 3467–3477.

A preliminary study of mercury exposure and blood pressure in the Brazilian Amazon. Myriam Fillion, Donna Mergler, Carlos José Sousa Passos, Fabrice Larribe, Mélanie Lemire, Jean Rémy Davée Guimarães.Environ Health. 2006; 5: 29.

Hydroxylated PCB metabolites and PCBs in serum from pregnant Faroese women.Britta Fängström, Maria Athanasiadou, Philippe Grandjean, Pál Weihe, Ake BergmanEnviron Health Perspect. 2002 September; 110(9): 895–899.

Levels of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and Three Organochlorine Pesticides in Fish from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.Sara Hardell, Hanna Tilander, Gretchen Welfinger-Smith, Joanna Burger, David O. Carpenter. PLoS One. 2010; 5(8): e12396.

Re-evaluation of blood mercury, lead and cadmium concentrations in the Inuit population of Nunavik (Québec): a cross-sectional study. Julie Fontaine, Éric Dewailly, Jean-Louis Benedetti, Daria Pereg, Pierre Ayotte, Serge Déry. Environ Health. 2008; 7: 25.

Assessment of dietary exposure to trace metals in Baffin Inuit food.H M Chan, C Kim, K Khoday, O Receveur, H V Kuhnlein. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Jul-Aug; 103(7-8): 740–746.

Determinants of polychlorinated biphenyls and methylmercury exposure in inuit women of childbearing age.G Muckle, P Ayotte, Dewailly E, S W Jacobson, J L Jacobson. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 September; 109(9): 957–963.

38 comments:

J. Stanton - gnolls.org said...

One benefit of a grain-free diet is that it withdraws financial support from many of the more toxic excesses of industrial agriculture.

Can't believe no one else has commented on this! I think pollution is somewhat of an awkward issue for many of the casual libertarians within the paleo community. Unfortunately the issue of externalized costs doesn't lend itself to easy, sound-bite solutions from either side, especially with Big Agribusiness controlling US farm and environmental policy. It's like asking "Which fox would you like to guard the henhouse?"

JS

(Note that Nephropal is no more and the links to it are dead.)

v/vmary said...

Why did you move to China? That is the last place I would go to if I cared about my and my family's health. If you want the Chinese culture, Taiwan is much less polluted now that a lot of Taiwanese factories have moved to China. I worked in Taiwan's version of the EPA from 88 to 91. What i learned is the situation is even worse because of all the lying and corruption. The number one thing you could do for your health is to get out of China.

zazendo said...

I can't access that nephropal blog post but the sodium channel disturbances makes me very curious as I understand that sodium channel blockers seem to aid ppl suffering from bipolar disorder and some schizophrenics. It should be obvious that pesticides could (and do) cause many mental disorders; this is nothing novel. Im curious as to how they are disturbed and what the prevalence is of ppl affected directly.
Your blog, btw is fascinating. I'm an avid reasearcher(when I have time) of biochem and this post intrigued me especially. I'm also looking for some connection between pesticides and chronic pain disorders such as fibromyalgia. Any elucidation would be appreciated.

Dr. B G said...

Stanton,

Thanks for your comment. My vpn went down as you know... Sorry was slow to get back!! Absolutely there are many benefits to grain-free living but we do rely on agriculture in many ways and I'd love to see these more sustainable without causing so much toxicity to the environment and the unborn generations...

Have you seen the documentary 'Thrive'? A new friend just mentioned it to me. Apparently only a few elite banking families control money, power, Big Ag and probably much more that we aren't aware Morgans, etc).

Many things will not change for a long time until enough people get sick (literally) to create and enforce change... 30-50 years ago many rare disorders like autism, autoimmune disorders and cancer had incidences of ~1:10,000-1:100,000, however now the statistics are 1:100-1:1,000 if not higher for these.

http://www.thrivemovement.com/banking-history-timeline-follow-money



v/vmary,

Thank you for your kind concern! I hear ya and totally agree. Food scandals and heavy metal poisoning stories abound nearly daily... *sigh* Please contact me directly -- I'd love to hear your horror stories... My husband first moved out here for international work and I followed as a 'trailing spouse'. I've been so lucky and extremely grateful for the sources and contacts that I've made here that make living in China healthy and bearable!!!!

Dr. B G said...

zazendo,


The toxic burden is extremely high for anyone who has a chronic illness -- be it endogenous (intestinal permeability with 'poop' and pre-poop leaking into the blood and lymphatic circulatory systems and causing havoc; neurotoxins from gut microbes pathogenically overgrowing like Candida, Clostridia, parasites, etc) or exogenous (heavy metals, pesticides, organic solvents, neurotoxins from food, mycotoxins from food/environment, etc).

My feeling is that fibromyalgia is an autoimmune related disorder where the muscle 'parts' are being targeted by auto-antibodies that resemble food peptides or gut microbial peptides, combined with faulty mitochondria and lack efficient energy production. What is always implicated are toxins, metals, hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism and above all gut dysbiosis. Fix these, you'll fix the mind and muscles... Find an integrative practitioner who will get to the bottom of the gut permeability issues and toxic burden.

I'm sorry about the nephropal links (and thanks Stanton). Below are the links. Someday I'll repost here.

http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/33/5/543.abstract

http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146%2Fannurev.en.34.010189.000453

www.springerlink.com/content/v0016j34147070w6/





I love Melissa and her insights -- I posted this below... Most gluten and dairy intolerance is related to the annihilation of DPP-IV, an enzyme which degrades GLP-1 during normal digestive processes. Heavy metals like mercury will bind and inactivate these DPP-IV enzymes, among many enzymes that we crucially need like thyroid, adrenal and brain cognition enzymes.

Worse, our body startes to auto-attack the protein complex composed of the metal+DPP-IV and naturally this leads to more intestinal permeability and really epic gluten/dairy dietary intolerances.
http://huntgatherlove.com/node/704


A friend recently cleared out a ton of mercury (being vegetarian + canned tuna for too long). He eats rarely gluten but never has bloating or the same degree of reactions anymore when he does. So. What comes first????! Mercury toxicity on the DPP-IV enzymes + auto-antibodies generated against DPP-IV+Hg complex or the subsequent mercury-related gluten intolerance???! Like the chicken or the egg...

I don't think gluten is necessary a problem....!
http://legacy.autism.com/medical/research/vojdani.htm


The EWG did a cord blood study on 10 random babies [click on the baby at top-L]. EVERY baby had mercury. 8% of babies near Lake Superior have elevated mercury from suspected local fish eating. Mercury is a growing problem that I think trends with the epidemic of gluten intolerances...
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/testresults.php?view=chemical&clientid=081104
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/topics/studies/newbornhglsp.html

Dr. B G said...

BTW, DPP-IV breaks down dietary gluten and casein for us. Our microbes make this enzyme too, particularly those found in sourdough bread and other fermented foods... Celiacs appear to have less DPP-IV, but my feeling is that again there could environmental origins besides genetic (HLA DQ2/8) not examined well yet.

zazendo said...

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. You've given a lot to go on. My wife has fibro and we've been somewhat successful with a strict paleo lifestyle but she still has a lot of pain and fatigue issues.

I have celiac and several other food intolerances but the paleo diet knocked that out-took about a year.

There are so many chicken or egg scenarios it's hard to know where to start sometimes. Heavy metals is something that we looked into with a chiropractor but no luck.

I'm wondering still if fibro is even real in and of itself. I mean, how far fetched would it be to say that maybe one person has all the symptoms of fibro but they are actually manifestations of say, mercury toxicity for example? Seems plausible to me and that is another thing we will be looking into.

Many of these issues are clouded by the profit seekers. And there are many websites and blogs done up by so called "alternative health" practioners that only serve to disseminate woo woo. I feel like they are propped up by the profit seekers in order to confuse those like myself that seek good science and not smoke and mirrors health care.

Alas, there isn't any money to be made on the healthy.

Thanks again Dr. BG.

Dr. B G said...

zazendo,

You're very welcome! You've helped me! Actually your question spurred finding something that I was looking for...

You know...PALEO IS 'WOO SCIENCE'...

We have only 4 prospective clinical trials by Frasetto, Lindeberg et al total and countless wheat-free/gluten-free prospective dietary trials for chronic, autoimmune, inflammatory and mental conditions. It is not presently embraced by mainstream physicians and in fact probably shunned and ridiculed in many places.

We only have seen 4 paleo trials that we hang our big Texan hats on!!!

It is excellent that you examine the studies and science yourself (though it is painstakingly time consuming and often rudderless, as my experience). Real medicine is ego-less. The results speak for themselves.

In my prep for the AHS11 talk 'Rainforest in your gut' I tried to gather the most scientific, relevant, seminal studies by peer reviewed and respected researchers. I found that 100% of the common chronic conditions (except rare genetic diseases) are related to intestinal permeability.
http://www.slideshare.net/ancestralhealth/drbg
http://vimeo.com/27958611


Fibromyalgia is really no different than obesity, autism, Hashimoto's thyroiditis or essential hypertension. Per conventional academic medicine and the revered ivory towers, the causes are 'ETIOLOGY UNKNOWN.' The drugs for FM (fibromyalgia) are ALL pretty useless too.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19746561

Drugs are pretty d*mn garbage EXCEPT (per Pubmed and my clinical experience): probiotics, thyroid replacement (T3, Nature-throid, SR-T3 -- even for those with 'normal' panels which indicate peripheral T3 hormone resistance/euthyroid sick illness), exercise, pool exercise, balneohydrotherapy, relaxation exercises, mitochondrial nutrient supplementation (CoQ10, magnesium, fish oil etc), medicinal diets +antioxidants, vitamin D replacement, low dose cortisol (for those exhibiting super low cortisol), low dose Naltrexone, and SIBO/intestinal permeability treatment (glutamine, NAC, antimicrobials).

zazendo said...

Glad to be of service even if indirectly!

Ha! Paleo IS woo science which is why I prefer J Stanton's term "functional paleo" as it pertains more to biochemistry than speculative anthropology. Even though a lot of the Biochemisty is speculative too I find it much easier to navigate and use.

I love science and although I have no formal education in it outside of some organic chemistry in college, I'm a life long researcher.

I actually saw an old post of JS's (you should be able to tell by now I'm a fan of his) that he mentioned your talk in relation to what we are dealing with here so I'm going to watch it again since I have some more insights to go on.

I didn't know you were from Texas! That just gave you more credability(joking but only partially).

I stumbled on something completely new to me today that resonated deep in the details of our situation (way too many to details to get into here) and that was Primary Carnitine Deficiency. Not too long after we started the paleo diet my wife's pain and fatigue issues increased exponentially. I never thought the two could be related until I read about PCD today.

I had terrible glucose metabolism issues before paleo(severe reactive hypoglycemia) and so after some tweaking, I moved to much higher fat and lower carb macronutrient ratio. It works for me. But not for my wife. She has never been able to fully adapt and I couldn't understand why until the PCD insight.

Ok, her sister (they are both in mid 20's) suffers from all the same symptoms except she has some heart rhythm and anemic issues my wife does not. So there is the possible genetic connection.

I understand many cases of PCD are mild and the symptoms mimic things like CFS and Fibro.

I had suspected some mitochondrial dysfunction before and tried the Mito sups like Co Q and the like but to no avail.

PCD is a bit different than the other mito disorders and I never suspected impaired lipid metabolism. I bought some ALCAR this evening and I'm having her take it in the morning on an empty stomach(damn competing aminos) with some vitamin c.

Does it sound like I'm on to something to you or am I barking up the wrong tree here? Since my education is limited in this area and so are my resources I'm basically relegated to shooting in the dark.

Sorry this post is so long but your insights and my accidental discovery has gotten me excited.
Thanks again

zazendo said...

Also like to add that we've tried most of the approaches you mentioned, and have had several tests run on hormones, vitamins, etc. All the basic panels run by MD's and a couple extra.

We went through the heavy metal chelation therapy (not sure if mercury was dealt with tho as it wasnt mentioned by doc-again, autodidactic here so I may have missed something I shouldn't have). Weve done HPA axis treatment protocols, and several other things not backed by any science whatsoever(not proud of those but like you said-egoless).

In my case intestinal permeability and celiac were definitely present and now I have no issues unless I get "glutened" and even then it's not as severe a reaction as before.

Just didn't want you think I wasnt taking in any of that part of your response. I don't cherry pick my sources, I investigate everything.

Thanks so much and again I apologize for the length of these posts as I'm sure you are a very busy person as am I.

Dr. B G said...

z,

Sorry -- I was typing as I rec'd your comments.

Actually I'm not from Texas but right now I hang out with someone from there... rubbing off!

Definitely i agree, there are genetic susceptibilities shared with siblings -- my 3 other siblings and all have ALL had autoimmune disorders. Figures?

You two are a dynamic duo. OMG you've done a lot and delved deeply... I hope you find what is perhaps missing...

Good luck to you and your wife and please do not hesitate for more resources.

Carnitine is an awesome mitochondrial nutrient... pretty much everything in our neolethal lifestyle and diet depletes carnitine (low protein, low animal organ consumption, high grains, allergenicity, stressors, metabolic syndrome, blah blah blah).

She is probably deficient many nutrients not just carnitine given the sustained duration of any chronic debilitating condition... Anyway I have a couple of suspicions given what you've said. Many labs appear 'normal' despite a patients presenting symptoms and exhibited phenotype. We just are not at that brink of technology like Star Trek where one wave of the 'health decoder' gives the prompt diagnosis and cure! We'll no doubt get there someday but not even close.

Ck out resistance to thyroid hormone below and the related HPA dysfunction that is highly corelated to FM. All labs will be NORMAL however low body temps, poor resistance to low glucose (as you mentioned you used to have, so did J. Stanton and Asclepius and I). Certain pathogenic gut microbes and parasites wreak havoc and cause subclinical infections. One lab test can help shed light on this. There is something I believe you are probably missing if things are not improving or clearing up...

Dr. B G said...

[cont] Does she have the common triad of FM, anxiety/depression, and IBS? Edema? Headaches? Sun sensitivity?

Pimental Lin et al (ARD 2004) showed that the more pain symptoms correlated to more intestinal permeability (CFS 84%, FM 100%, control 20%). Your wife appears to me to still suffer from permeability issues.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15020342

Maes and Leunis showed that by normalizing 'leaky gut' (e.g. intestinal permeability) on a leaky gut protocol and gut specific nutrients (NAC, glutamine, zinc) there was improvement and remission of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) symptoms and pain after 10-14 months. It does take time for healing and to deal with the floating immuno-protein complexes circulating that cause tissue damage. Seal the gut, heal, and deal with the triggered immune system and auto-attacking antibodies. Maes found that IgA and IgM (measures of hyper-immunity) against gut microbes [Hafnia Alvei; Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Morganella Morganii, Pseudomonas Putida, Citrobacter Koseri, and Klebsielle Pneumoniae] were attenuated. These are common gut residents but when they trespass, they cause havoc with the immune system if excessive.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19112401

Does your wife have access to a pool? There are benefits for hydrotherapy and pool exercises.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14508601
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2577947/?tool=pmcentrez (avoid vegan diets and foods that cause allergenicity! if one is allergic to meat, then consider free base broad spectrum amino acids incl glutamine)

Dr. B G said...

[cont 2]

This is a good complilation of diagnostic and treatment ideas:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2329575/?tool=pmcentrez
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12749618 [Cymet, John Hopkins Medical]

http://www.fibroandfatigue.com/documents/clinical/Thyroid%20Resistance.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16259310

http://www.leakygut.co.uk/Dr%20Sharma%20Article.htm [Dr.Sharma's leaky gut protocol -- avoid fermented foods until pathogenic yeasts, microbes are controlled]

http://www.holtorfmed.com/dr-pdf/Diagnosis%20Treatment%20CFS%20FM.pdf [adrenal function must be addressed and fixed, for its the foundation of health, optimal body temperatures, fighting infections, and immunity]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10335725 [most FM exhibit low cortisol, low NE, and high EPI, particularly responses to acute stressors; EPI/adrenaline perforates our brain and gut barrier linings...avoid hypoglycemia and low blood glucose swings]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10335725 [most FM exhibit low cortisol, low NE, and high EPI, particularly responses to acute stressors; EPI/adrenaline perforates our brain and gut barrier linings...avoid hypoglycemia and low blood]
http://www.browardacupuncture.com/tenstest.pdf [ten lab tests that might be helpful to narrow the problem down that are utilized by integrative medicine practitioners]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gquery/?term=mercury%2C%20fibromyalgia [checkout both pubmed central and pubmed and related citations]

Dr. B G said...

One more thing...

Dr.Semon MD PhD wrote a book about fibromyalgia; he and his lawyer wife have an autistic child who appears recovered now.
http://nutritioninstitute.com/?page_id=166

We need Candida in fact for normal excretion of heavy metals. The problem is that the industrial era is wrought with neolethal factors that promote antibiotics and intestinal permeability (oral contraceptives, birth control, stress, antibiotics antibiotics antibiotics, GMO Bt corn and GMO crops, NSAIDs, excessive alcohol, fluoride and alum in municipal water, mercury, un-necessary vaccines (take vitamin D, zinc, sunlight!), etc). Pathogenic gut strains like Candida go nuts. My experience is that during chelation as the metals are excreted, the pathogenic strains go nuts some more. This has to be addressed for full recovery.

zazendo said...

Man doc, you are amazing! I have so much to go on now and you have saved me a huge amount of time.

I will be investigating gut issues a lot more with her.

She does have the sun sensitivity, anxiety/depression, but NO edema or IBS.

Let me give you our protocol:

Food:Paleo(duh) diet
We only buy animal products from US Wellness-this includes tallow, lard, and butter.
Eggs and veggies from farmers market-not conventionally grown-eggs are hormone/antibiotic free chickens scratch and eat bugs, snakes, etc not soy feed or some other crap

Supplements:
Andrea(wife)---5g creatine mono hydrate
1500mg Durham's Queen's Delight
3000 IU D3
Country life whole food liquid multi
2g omega-3(molecularly distilled)
And I just started her on the ALCAR and vitamin C today at 1000mg each
We tried 1250 mg magnesium malate for a couple months but had no effect at all-didn't even make her sleepy. I've seen the best improvement since adding the Queen Delight and the creatine, but only in mental symptoms and energy. Doing the dishes still wipes her out tho so the early fatigue is not being addressed. She takes all these daily except for the multi-I don't really trust multi's it's more just to cover her bases.

Daniel(me)---1250 mg magnesium malate
3000 IU D3
0.25-2mg melatonin(only as needed)
200 mg l-theanine(only as needed)
I just got some Himalaya Stress Support and took some today. Fantastic stuff for the adrenals; I noticed an immediate effect. I'll probably cycle it too. My job is super stressful and I work terribly long hrs and so my sleep isn't what it should be.

Andrea's issues are mostly the pain/fatigue, sunlight sensitivity, and absolutely horrible sleep.

I've tried a slew of supplements. You should see my cabinets. $1000's of all kinds. You name it, I've got it.

Oh yeah and we only drink water from Ozarka that we get delivered to our house. 15 gal a month. The jugs are made from a combination of ceramics and something else. Super pure water--I had it tested!!!!

We only use Dr Bronners Magic Soap to wash our hair and I buy bar soap from a local soap maker that does it the old fashioned way. We use Thai Crystal Deodorant and I make toothpaste from NaHCO3 and H2O2.

I clean the house with vinegar, Murphy's Oil Soap, and other non chemical organic cleaners.

Even our cats eat a evolution based diet-Blue Buffalo Evolution Diet and they drink the same water we do!

Exercise is minimal(unfortunately) bc my job is pretty physical and she just can't do it.

I'm trying not to leave anything out here since you've been so kind to help me and I'm sure this is pretty important stuff......

I'm working on getting my personal trainers liscense so I can get away from my current job situation since it is totally discordant with my lifestyle. That, and I'm good at this stuff. I've helped many others, but I can't seem to fix Andrea.

Oh yeah we've been totally "barefoot" for two years. Vibrams and Merrells only.

Anyway, as you can see I'm pretty much on top of things and that's what makes this all so frustrating. It's also what keeps me leaning in the mitochondria direction.

I'll look into all those resources you sent me as well as the gut issues and I'll dig out my l-glutamine.

Thank you again so very much for taking the time to help us. This is the most help we have received in a long time on these issues as most MDs it seems are ignorant of anything not sold by Big Pharma or pushed by Big Brother. Not to mention nutrition, evolution, epigenetics, and all those other great sciences. I am looking for a functional medicine doc in Austin now; but I'm going to vet the heck out of them first.

Dr. B G said...

Daniel/zazendo,

No prob! My pain is (hopefully) your gain! I had the song 'Titanium' on this post because that is what affected my gut (a cosmetic titanium dental implant which was drilled on)... combined with collateral damage from a tetanus shot with thimerosal (I was in shock and failed to insist on either postponing or requesting an mercury-free injection *EPIC FAIL!!*)

Andrea appears to still be struggling with gut dysbiosis since the pain and fatigue with easy exertion are not abated yet. The immune system only starts to calm down and symptom improvement occurs as the dysbiosis clears up. That is great to hear of the things that are working!

I can tell you a couple of things that progressed suboptimally as I have learned from my personal experiences:

(a) taking vitamin D without mineral support, full broad spectrum besides Magnesium alone. Taking D without zinc and mag is a prescription for further immuno-compromisation because anyone with chronic health issues already is both zinc- and magnesium-depleted. We're all depleted and vitamin D just makes this worse for those susceptible. Mag is UBER CRITICAL for muscles, therefore consider the value of continuing to meet needs and full repletion. The gut absorbs mag and therefore with compromised metal carriers at the surface of the intestinal lining, very little mag may be absorbed. Consider the excellent value of skin as the primary absorptive surface and continue oral supplementation. Mag oil is sold at iherb.com! It can cause a rash, so rotate sites. Mag salt baths are great; I have not confirmed but Epsom may contain heavy toxic metals -- it's cheap but probably not the best source. Both warm baths and cool bathing have benefits also! How is her zinc? We all need zinc and it takes miniumum 6-12 months to become replete...

(b) Chelating before the liver/gallbladder/gut and other excretory pathways for heavy metals are good (not perfect, but adequate). This is a problem. Consider the value of amping up and fixing the liver, gallbladder/bile, and gut systems before attempting more chelation. The adrenals need to be perky as well -- it coordinates many things and the burden from metals may take a toll if the adrenals cannot handle it. Your Himalayan Adrenal support is great stuff!!

Also chelation further depletes magnesium and zinc unless replenished pro-actively. Under adrenal fatigue, mag and zinc never replete... Cortisol is a mineralocorticoid and helps to maintain our mineral levels when it is performing its function optimally. Too much, not good. Not enough, not good for minerals either. She must get her cortisol OPTIMAL and I cannot stress this enough for FM/CFS syndromes because they all have burnt and fried cortisol... the pattern is so distinct (and unfortunately modern medicine does not address until near-death, end-stage). Don't wait. It is very biochemically stressful to have all your muscles and mitochondria attacked or malfunctioning, just as those with celiac have their primary absorptive surface for nutrients (intestines, DPP-IV which is part of the immune system) auto-immuno-attacked...

Here are the signs of dysbiosis (which often overlap with CFS and adrenal fatigue because our gut requires 25% of our energy output and produces 80% of the serotonin for neurologic functions):

--diarrhea or constipation
--excess gas, cramping, bloating
--bad breath
--weight gain/loss
--allergies, sinusitis and asthma
--headaches
--acne, dermatitis
--neurologic, nervous system problems
--autoimmune disorders
--fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue
--smelly stools, floating stools
--gall bladder stones and attacks
--easy bruising
--nausea, cravings, hunger
--sun sensitivity (porphyrins)

Dr. B G said...

zazendo,

Your diet is pristine but with a microperforated gut, anything one is eating can be causing immuno-reactions (food peptides, cell wall fragments from candida, yeasts, parasites, enterobacteria, etc).

Do you like lab testing? Elimination diets are effective also -- the most common food triggers are egg whites, nuts, citrus and soy/corn-fed meat and dairy. The MELISA IgG do help to illuminate hidden food triggers.

I run the Metametrix GI fx profile on everyone. Half have come back with parasites...! 100% have come back with abnormal Candida, yeasts. It is necessary to know which populations are missing because the 'good friend bacteria, yeasts' actually help prevent inorganic mercury from converting back to organic mercury and being re-circulated back into our bodies.

Guess what? I talked once with the possibilty of Paleo making us chelate well, with Robb and he thought it is quite plausible. I think people do get very healthy with paleo initially then what may happen is that the toxic burden load starts to chelate and be excreted. Unless we have great antioxidants in place, optimal glutathione and amazing excretion pathways, the metals and toxic burden start to create bad health... The metametrix profile also tells (somewhat) gallbladder, bile and pancreatic enzyme function as well as parasite, mycobacterial and other pathogenic species.

Another test that is a porphyrin test which also is wonderful to identify the suppressed pathways caused by a range of different heavy metals. Sun sensitivity is related to porphyrins. No she is not a vampire! Just most likely harboring heavy metals!

http://www.metametrix.com/files/test-menu/interpretive-guides/porphyrins-ig.pdf

http://www.drinkdeeplyanddream.com/realvampire/porphyria-info.html

Good CFS/FM source for nutrient support. You are on the right path I believe!! Keep up the strong work!
http://www.altmedrev.com/publications/5/2/93.pdf

zazendo said...

I love panels actually, they are a wonderful diagnostic tool, but only in the hands of a competent doctor.

We are looking for an integrative medicine practioner now as I realized through reading all the literature you provided and your comments to me that while I may be on the right path, not having access to panels (I can't run them myself you know!) severely limits my ability to help her. It's one thing to have a targeted supplement program, another to just throw sups at her and see what happens.

My only real prob with MD's is their education and focus. How can we trust someone that knows only what the ADA and FDA tells them about diet and the related? If I go to a doctor that believes evolution is just a theory or not true at all, how can I trust them? I can't.

Anyway, this has been extremely illuminating and was just the push I needed to go look for a like minded doc. We had pretty much given up on them.

Your advice on gut dysbiosis opened up a new avenue of research for me though and I'm grateful for that. I had studied on it some years back but put it aside bc it seemed that there wasn't much known at the time and there was scant treatment options short of fecal transplant, probiotics and prebiotics. Now I know different but it is still something I'll have to take to the docs(again, panels).

I've printed all you sent me so I can take it with us-it'll help along with all my notes.

I did find this interesting site last night tho--
http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Fermentation_in_the_gut_and_CFS
Extremely interesting site and she really seems to know her stuff.

Thanks again for all your help. You'll be hearing from me over time--I'm def going to be a regular at Animal Pharm.
When I find blogs I like, I comment on EVERYTHING bc I love feedback. Just ask J Stanton-he has to reply daily to my comments but I do try to keep them in check. I love to talk to ppl!

v/vmary said...

i went through a complete pregnancy in taiwan. my daughter had a grwoth under the eyebrow that kept growing and had to be surgically removed when she was a year old. later i say a baby a neighbor had with the exact same growth. during my pregnancy we had been buying water that had been advertised as being filtered by reverse osmosis. i was stupid to go through a pregnancy in taiwan...

v/vmary said...

forgot to add- make sure you are up to date on all hepatitis shots.

one of the advisors to the head of the taiwan epa at the time told me he lived in an apartment complex that had an advanced water filtration system. another advisor told me that certain water treatment plants were treating extremely polluted river water for drinking water (factories directly dumped waste water into the rivers). i asked if the people living in those towns knew how polluted the water was, and he said it was not public knowledge because it would cause a panic. traditional chinese culture places a premium on avoiding "luan4" or chaos. so in his thinking there was nothing wrong with keeping the degree of pollution a secret- it was avoiding "luan".
if i were you i would get recommendations from other expats on companies that had installed water filtration systems for them. but i would go a step further and actually try to find a way to test their water to see if the filtration system was actually working. if it was, i would install it in my house so that any water in the house, including water for showers, was filtered for things like heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, etc. you have to be careful dealing with businesses in china because lying to make money is seen by many as a virtue there. of course you can find that attitude in america, but the scope and degree and lack of monitoring is what is different between the two countries.

Dr. B G said...

z/Daniel,

I love Stanton...!! he and Melissa McEwen are the only precious ones that I am aware of in our paleosphere discussing sustainability, commoditization, farming and livestock.

I'm glad you discovered Dr. Myhill! I have 2 of her links -- look at the R-side of the blog...

You and Andrea have made substantial and miraculous progress! For one, she is not on pharmaceuticals, which I abhor. None work and worse, they raise oxidative stress at the cellular level. The only 'drugs' that work are natural thyroid replacement and hydrocortisone, which is the closest bioidentical hormone to our self-produced cortisol (short lasting and million-fold less downstream adverse effects compared with the potent, halogenated counterparts on the drug market, which effectively will functionally shut down the brain).

These below nutraceuticals used by integrated practitioners are far FAR improved and better:

http://www.iherb.com/Bezwecken-Inc-IsoCort-Adrenal-Support-240-Pellets/30335

http://www.iherb.com/Nutricology-Adrenal-Natural-Glandular-75-Vegicaps/3412



The medical academics still are clueless to the origins of FM/CFS and therefore the drug strategies are aimless and only address band-aiding the myriad of symptoms and vague signs (insomnia, pain, arthralgia, anxiety, etc), completely, wholly missing the heart of the problem. Your DIY strategies are far better and by avoidance of pharmaceuticals the brain stayed intact from degradation of hypothalamic signalling and our natural hormone fluxes.

Be heartened. Here are 2 stories I'd like you to consider:

(a)Becky's mercury issue-- http://paleohacks.com/questions/106844/what-could-cause-physical-and-mental-fatigue-besides-thyroiditis/114481#114481

(b)Dave Asprey's metal issues-- http://www.bulletproofexec.com/podcast-transcript-12-sexification-with-roger-lawson/9/


We live in a toxic world, much more toxic than our ancestors from 10 - 45,000 years ago... Each generation for the last 5-10 generations have had more and more toxic burden of heavy metals, micronutrient deficiencies, gut dysbiosis, antibiotics, herbicides, petroleum derivatives and etc. No one is exempt and each person's sensitivities varies (and even with time/circumstances).

Even Otzi had arsenic poisoning (which contributes to coronary heart disease, lowered immunity to Lyme disease, blah blah blah)... see Stephan's wholehealthsource blgo.

Not everyone is blessed with spontaneous healing and health recovery; the rest of us have to work a little.

OR A LOT!!! ;)

ALL chronic conditions are related to the gut, insulin resistance and hormone dyscrasias. This is how our bodies evolved. All neolethal factors put kinks in the above. You mentioned 'disconcordance' in our lives. Metals can cause this more than any other neolethal factors because of a couple of influences, IMHO: (1) we live in magnetic fields and metals involve fields (2) enzymes have affinity and binding for trace metals and thus toxic heavy metals cause massive enzyme dysfunction which affect every neuromuscular-endocrine cell/tissue/organ (3) metals are now ubiquitious in our environment; hello... look in our mouths or our mother's mouth... these are 'downloaded' between generations via our grandmothers and mothers, bioaccumulated...

The vast range of signs and symptoms of modern illnesses are a tautology... reflective of our vast, intoxicated environment encompassing magnetic fields, disrupted circadian fluxes, air, earth, water, plants and minds.

Dr. B G said...

Additional resources for you (Christian W. is a practitioner, guy aligned with my paleo heart):

http://blog.vitalobjectives.com/2011/09/lesson-about-art-of-reading-lab-results.html

http://www.flcv.com/damspr17.html

http://livingnetwork.co.za/lifestylefunctional-medicine/hormones/adrenal-fatigue/

http://www.jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/12_11/pdf/591_12_11_article.pdf

http://www.zrtlab.com/download-document/133-program2module3.html

Dr. B G said...

v/vmary,

Thank you for all your stories. I do appreciate them as they are among many concerns on my radar. Hope your daughter is doing well now. It is amazing how resilient they are, especially when young. Don't chide yourself too hard -- you probably safeguard her from neolethal factors more than 99% of moms out there!!

It took us a few months of research but we installed a reverse osmosis system and had the resultant tested (only 8-17 ppm remaining from original 150-200 ppm). We have not however conducted any testing for remaining metals. We've upped our trace mineral intake, ca/mg, zinc since the water contains now ZERO/ZILCH. We have still yet to get a chlorine filter for the shower/bath.

Seriously. I know you don't have Chinese genes (right?) but by osmosis I think you qualify! Chinese people have 'cockroach genes'... no joke. I see how we have survived the millenia and it boggles my MIND. Chinese cover the earth! From Peru to Tanzania to NYC!!

Love your stories, UR A RIOT! ;) *bow down* You survived ASIA.

G

zazendo said...

Dr BG:
Yes JS is great Have you read his book? It's terrific and don't tell him I said this but he's kinda a hero of mine. MM is SO FORKIN SMART. They are both doing a HUGH service to the world by expanding this paleo thing past the diet and exercise talk and into the rest of our surrounding world. JS (especially with The Gnoll Credo) has established the only mental and attitudinal discussion relating to all the myriad factors of our evolution, the modern world, and what it is to be truly HUMAN (a predator, instead of a damn cow). At least that I've seen.

Anyway, when I asked you for elucidation, I got it! I try to see things from the bigger picture while maintaining my grasp of the details for thats where the practicality and actionable concepts exist. You have helped me see that in light of the circumstances we've come very far especially since I pieced all this together with no help(you are literally the first person I asked-I've discussed other things with JS but no questions). So again, I thank you for that.

I also despise pharmaceuticals having taken them in the past. Even what most consider "harmless" like NSAIDS are terribly harmful-my head hurts...Let's inhibit my prostaglandins! I happen to like COX-1....and my stomach lining, but that's just me.

A little update: I started giving Andrea mag malate again this time with zinc and D, plus the Adrenal Stress Care in addition to the rest she was already taking. I think the addition of the minerals plus the Adrenal supp has made a big difference. She is much more energetic and hurts less. Her more specific pains (pelvis,knee,foot) can actually be caused by adrenal fatigue thru the loosening of the sacroiliac joint which is exactly the joint the chiro determined she had issues with. I LOVE SCIENCE! So , to your point, with the diet change and supp regimen, and TIME, I believe we will kick the crap out of this thing. I still want to take her to a doc tho just in case.

http://www.naturalnews.com/024985_cortisol_blood_fatigue.html

As to Myhill, I totally saw that on your blog roll after I posted it...you have the best blog roll of ANY site in the paleosphere BTW.

We aren't living the way we need to be as a species. We are from this earth, of it, and must live in accordance with natural law. Modern man has decided that for some reason we need to conquer nature and now we are reaping the consequences. And it pisses me off bc those of us with curiosity and passion for life are ostracized but we are all victims. We are given scant choices especially when you consider the massive amount of propaganda being disseminated by the people with power.

But I'm no defeatist and I refuse to accept what I've been given. We have a responsibility to correct this and it's bloggers like yourself, JS and MM (among others) that help this along.

This life is too short to feel like shit all the time-we don't get any of that time back.

Ok rant over. I've really enjoyed this conversation thoroughly and learned a ton.

Oh yeah, and magnetic fields is another thing I'm curious about especially as it relates to brain functioning. Tesla did tons of research on electromagnetic fields in the 1800's and found that the earth has a resonant frequency of about 8 hertz. This is the same as the bottom range of alpha waves in the brain.

The idea that electromagnetic waves can cause disruptions of oscillation in the CNS isnt far-fetched to me. Everything living runs on electricity-metal as conductors, and hence, disruptors, is another aspect of this that hasn't been explored enough.

Fun link with interesting insights: http://www.magnetowasright.com/pages/analysis/the-science-of-magneto.php

More resources! Yay! Got lots of reading....Lol

Thanks again, you rock.

zazendo said...

A point on the 1st 2 resources listed:

A) Andrea's sister has anemic issues-not sure the details but I know she has had a couple of transfusions and she has chronically low red blood cell levels. Andrea has been tested and it showed lowish levels but nothing like full blown anemia and not even close to her sister. Makes me think I may need to have that checked again as well tho. Her sis's RBCs are also small--this bugs me now....

B) since its connected to the mercury mentioned in A) and environmental toxins-- she wasnt in good health before but we moved to an older apt complex in a small town about 3 years ago (just before we went paleo) and that's when she got significantly worse. Can't believe enviro toxins from mold and such got past me!!! ARGGG! But I think I'll try the charcoal-for both of us, couldn't hurt!

On a side note, my nephew is autistic and my mom treated him with a liquid colloidal mineral supp. Did wonders but he's still pretty bad off. I got them to go mostly paleo and it cured her high BP and my step dad's type 2 diabetes is non existent. I've finally gotten her to rid their house of gluten and casein in the hopes that he can see improvement. I sent her the related articles you sent me.
My mom is raising him and his two siblings bc my sis got them taken away bc of negligence. Stupid girl, sad situation--she abused that boy by not feeding him enough and he was listed as failure to thrive but pulled thru. My mom (bless her) took those children, home schools them and is trying her hardest to help my nephew. Your articles were the tipping point along with my insistence and knowledge of biochem and paleo. So you have helped yet another group of people.

Thought you might like to know that. :)

Dr. B G said...

z/Daniel T,

Good luck with your personal training credentials! Consider also a Poliquin certification -- it's better than medical school *winky*. He knows about heavy metals, hormone dyscrasias, industrial toxins, and diet fallaciousness; he's paleo (and quite HOT). Christian W. is certified. I wonder Poliquin will consider an Asia-Pac domination?
Excellent work Mr. T!! Keep it up! Please email me and I'll send you recipes from my sister and her story about the recovery from autism in Jillian, her 3rd daughter.
http://www.blogger.com/profile/15451872961651116061


Feel feel to rant anytime here. Convenionally trained doctors don't believe in autism or adrenal dysfunction (first all, they don't know how to diagnose discordant diseases). GAPS is another great resource for autism. Again, autism, FM/CFS, hypertension, man boobs, bipolar are ALL the same...diseases of discordance.
Your mother sounds like a big-hearted guardian angel like YOU ;)
Ferritin is not diagnosic-- you need the full iron panel. Low iron and anemia are common both to metal toxicity and hypothyroidism. hard to tell which occurs first, like again the chicken-or-the-egg scenario.

We are lucky to have both J. Stanton and MM in our midst. Their unique perspectives are sharp and attuned to truths. Yes - I am almost done with TGC! I'm not surprised you're a big fan. I've already cried a few times... I have a hard finishing good things and certain characters burn deep.
YOUR CRACK ME THE F**CK UP... I appreciate your pharmaceutical insights... 'Let's inhibit my prostaglandins! I happen to like COX-1....and my stomach lining, but that's just me.' *haa ahaa SNORT*


That mag is good. You may consider also adding if you don't have this in your $1000s worth supp pantry: Mag Threonate
http://www.iherb.com/Life-Extension-Neuro-Mag-Magnesium-L-Threonate-90-Veggie-Caps/40244


Oscillations of epi, nor-epi, cortisol, hormones, thyroid, sleep-wakefulness and etc (everything) can be greatly altered by a few things that don't require pills. For me, I cut out yoga and swimming, then I noticed my health faltered. When I added back, almost instantly my health rebounded despite taking the same things and otherwise same routine.


As you mentioned the magnetism effects on our bodies, it is clear that circadian and magnetic rhythms have great influences that are underestimated and under-utilized. I've read only a little about alpha waves. Thank you for the info! The links for adrenal dysfunction and Magneto are C O O L too!! Briffa wrote also about his personal experience with 'grounding'. My sis intro'd to me and I do believe it works for me (e.g. yoga on the lawn but sun is shining too = massive vitamin D)
http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/04/18/earthing-important-discovery-or-mumbo-jumbo/

To me CFS/FM is a state of constant semi-sleep and lack of complete wakefulness. Cortisol is low; nor-epinephrine is low. Water therapy (balneotherapy or hydrotherapy) is deeply steeped in many ancient therapys. I don't believe it is necessary to do cold water treatments but there is merit in pool swimming. The links I provided earlier showed universal improvement in CFS/FM with 37-38C water pool treatments.
I suspect this has to do with things we do not fully understand yet, just like the magnetic fields and meditation with alpha wave 8-12 Hz activation.

Dr. B G said...

(cont...) Recently I've been reading about the locus ceruleus ('blue zone') in the brainstem. It adjusts our state of wakefulness/alertness and unconsciousness and is the nor-epinephrine nervous system. It can be re-mapped by damage. Apparently being thyroid deficient reduces it's function (T3 hormone). Also being in constant 24/7 warm temperatures shuts it down.
Cool showers activates it and in studies show alleviation of mood disorders like depression and narcolepsy.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/12/18/depression-cold-shower-02.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18274271
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21551575
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6181980
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18461718


I believe we have now at our disposal many effective therapeutic lifestyle interventions that perhaps help bring concordance to our ancient DNA and conversed neuro-endocrine pathways:
--hydro pool therapy
--grounding/earthing (real barefoot!! no vibrams allowed)
--adrenal diets (100- 150 grams non-allergenic carbs daily spaced 4-5 small meals; 50 to 75 grams non-allergenic protein first thing in the AM)
--sunlight exposure (on skin and eyeballs --no make up/sunscreen) in the AM and noon (circadian rhythm setting; vitamin D -- without triggering sun sensitivity or burning)
--cool temperatures in the evening (reset of locus ceruleus)
--meditation, yoga, and other alpha-wave activation
Charcoal works -- I started it after meeting Dave Asprey in January. It binds toxins without side effects (separate it 1-2 hrs from other pills and vitamins). He takes it when he consumes salmon or fish to find mercury and other toxins...

I'm glad you believe in open-source medical information. There is nothing magical about healthcare...

v/vmary said...

now i just have to survive my husband lol!! if you can not filter the bath/shower water i would not take hot showers as i believe any toxins would be more easily absorbed into the skin and thus circulatory system. i think i remember that R/o filters were the ones of choice in taiwan. i don't know if there are different kinds of ro filters.

i would think you and your children are getting even more fluent in mandarin. and hopefully your children will learn xiao4sun4 fumu since american culture sure doesn't emphasize that.

aelephant said...

Dr. B G, it took me a while to follow up on my intention to check out your blog more thoroughly, but I'm so glad that I did. Almost every post is regarding something I have a keen personal interest in.

I'm Adam, the pharmacist from Seattle you met at the dinner with Seth Roberts. Feels good to know there's such a kindred spirit here in Shanghai!

Dr. B G said...

vmary,

thanks for the tips!! I'll check out the r/o filters soon! The great migration is starting... many moms+kids return to the states for the summer like we are this year.

I didn't understand 'xiao sun fu mu' but you are correct the kids are becoming fluent and better at writing/reading! (for adults, little more difficult! I'm probably at ~200 characters but would like ~400-500 before the end of year ;) *ha ahaaaa!*

did you have air filters in your house? Shanghai is not as bad as Beijing but I feel that I should probably get some air filters...at some point.

G

Dr. B G said...

Hey Adam!

Hope you got my email ;)

Sorry it took so long to reply... that dinner was fun!! It's funny I was reading your stuff at LessWrong and yeah I agree we have some similiar interests besides being total drug dealers!

Kick ass on your exams... Hope to see you at David's or Tim's soon (or dinner again)...

Talk soon,
G

David said...

Hey G-

It's been way too long since I've stopped by! Great stuff on pesticides. Also really enjoyed reading through a lot of the above comments.

Have you developed any opinions through your experiences as to really good detox agents for removing PCBs, solvents, POPs, etc.? Have you used chlorella and/or MCP (PectaSol)?

David

David said...

Hey G-

It's been way too long since I've stopped by! Great stuff on pesticides. Also really enjoyed reading through a lot of the above comments.

Have you developed any opinions through your experiences as to really good detox agents for removing PCBs, solvents, POPs, etc.? Have you used chlorella and/or MCP (PectaSol)?

David

Dr. B G said...

David!

I've been meaning to write to you -- am currently studying Cutler's books and protocols. I am finally having all the amalgam and titanium and gold alloys removed. The Clifford testing apparently showed immuno reactivity to 100% of all the mercury alloy amalgams. Nothing surprises me but this did.

Your question is good! I was gonna ask YOU mega genius smarty pants ;) I searched once on Ifm and metametrix links but didn't find much. Let me get back to you soon. We're shipping out back to shanghai next wk...

G

Chis C. said...

Dr BG,

Just stumbled upon your website from a mention in Free The Animal blog.

Im planning to move to China in a couple of weeks with my girlfriend and I'm wondering if youve got a list of places to find the best quality food?

At this stage, we're planning to live in the South (Guangzhou or Shenzhen).

Do you have any resources on where I can find organic grassfed beef, free range chicken and eggs, etc.?

Thanks very much,

Chris

David said...

Cool. Cutler has some good ideas. I don't agree with everything, like he's really against using chlorella. The Klinghardt devotees and the Cutler devotees can really butt heads sometimes. I see value in learning both approaches and gleaning the good stuff from as many directions as possible.

I have some opinions about detoxing those chemicals, but I'm always curious about what others think.

Chlorella can detox pesticides, PCBs, etc. Kind of a "broad spectrum" detox agent that gets a little of everything. Interestingly, sauna therapy has been shown to be pretty effective at reducing those chemicals as well.

I'm still a big fan of Quicksilver Scientific's Intestinal Metals Detox (IMD- silica saturated with thiol groups). Great interview wtih Dr. Chris Shade (the inventor) here: http://www.oneradionetwork.com/health/dr-christopher-shade-a-better-way-to-go-about-detoxing-mercury-july-17-2012/

Dr. B G said...

Hopefully I'll get some WAPFy sources later (reliable dairy, fermented foods, locally sourced organic and hormone-free meat/poultry/fish, etc) later... This below is from a friend, John.

Affordable organic vegetable CSA, grassfed eggs, grassfed chickens, organic strawberries (dried and fresh), and other organic groceries items:
www.biofarm.cn

International grocery stores that deliver (they carry a varied stock):
www.cityshop.com.cn
www.fieldschina.com
www.feidan.cn
www.carrefour.com.cn

Dr. B G said...

David,

I'm sorry for such the slow response~!


I used chlorella but alone, and apparently it is useless alone for metals but for other toxins perhaps it is suitable. I probably didnt do enough fiber or the zero clay/charcoal so may not have had adequate elimination. I'm aware of the other chelators like IMD but have not heard many people with deep experience. My 'circle' have had wonderful experiences and recovery with Cutler mostly, yet I do believe Klinghardt has immense value and does successfully recovery health as well. Yes, it is indeed funny the disparity in the their views of the die-hard but the similarities in their passion for optimal health and detoxification are identically screaming HIGH. Haa aha...

I'll ck out the video! Thank you so much for the information!

For solvents PCBs pthalates pesticides and POPs I think many many things work well, safe and effectively. Any combo product will make it easier, palatable and convenient which increases patient compliance (and of course success). It really is a pain to take more than 10 pills/supplements in addition to close attention to diet, gut, sleep, blah blah blah... (I know this).

I'll talk more to you but to update I did the Clifford -- am totally allergic/REACTIVE to all amalgam tested products, e.g. the 3 remaining in my mouth 2 months ago. Had them all removed in addition to a gold crown (which previously touched a mercury amalgam, up til Jan when I had that amalgam dig out by my awesome biological UCSF trained DDS back in Jan -- life got a ton better). This summer I had both titanium (the implant) and all mercury removed. My kids and I are now all officially mercury-free, I can really proudly finally say FYI.

I find these below particularly useful. I've heard great results from people I know on the DFH standard protocol: Paleo cleanse + Hepatotone/Amino-Detox... without or without EDTA suppositories (if Aluminum or other non-Hg metal present on testing).


You are already thoroughly aware of all the below info...

http://www.bioclinicnaturals.com/ca/en/articles/4/conditions-and-diseases/13/detoxification/show/17/is-toxin-exposure-clinically-relevant
http://www.functionalmedicine.org/files/library/toxins-diseases_001.pdf
http://drhyman.com/downloads/Toxins-and-Obesity.pdf

g