CHAPTER IX
Detoxification & Chelation
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f you care about your health and being healthy, then it is imperative to know about toxic elements in our modern environment, and, even more importantly, to know something about how to neutralize or remove toxins that affect our health negatively. Pesticides including insecticides, preservatives in commercial food preparation, industrial pollution products that end up in the air, soil, and water supply, even the discarded portions of prescription medications (antibiotics, hormones, etc.), and most serious of all are the heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum, iron, antimony, etc. All of the above are toxic to our health and cause inflammation in the human body. They also have predilection for causing damage in certain organ systems. For example, mercury will affect the nerve tissue (it is a neurotoxin) and at a certain concentrations will cause paralysis of some muscles or groups of muscles. Case History—The following account involves one of my clients. The patient was a 43 year-old male who had been our client for about three years. We evaluated him and determined that he was deficient in testosterone and growth hormone—the previous eight years he was healthy. At that time he decided to fumigate his office building. We are all familiar with the scene where you see a tarp covering a whole building and the pesticide company comes and puts their chemical spray throughout the building; then, a few days’ later people go back in the building. My client, at that time, did not feel anything unusual, but, in a subtle way, two years later began to feel unwell and a while after that began to feel weakness going into paralysis in his arms and legs. He
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saw a neurologist who felt that this was a case of multiple sclerosis. The patient was placed on the usual medications but was not improving. He had a friend who was a professor of toxicology at Florida International University in Miami, Florida with whom he discussed his illness in detail. The toxicology professor commented that the illness resembled mercury poisoning. My client got his blood tested for heavy metals. It showed trace levels of lead, cadmium, arsenic, but a toxic level of mercury. Then he sought counsel from a medical expert in chelation who initially started vigorous intravenous treatments and then began oral chelating medications, which my client continues to take even now. He periodically checks his blood level of mercury, which continues to fall but is not totally eradicated. His muscle paralysis is making very slow improvement. An interesting but only academic question is whether the mercury poisoning was also the cause of his hormonal deficiencies. The presence of traces of heavy metals and other toxins cause inflammation. Some toxicological experts feel that all diseases are caused by the presence of toxins in our bodies. In other words, degenerative disease (atherosclerosis, arthritis), autoimmune disease (thyroiditis, inflammatory bowel diseases, collagen diseases such as lupus erthematosus), hormone deficiencies, and even cancer may be caused by toxins. There is intense interest by scientists who are hormone specialists to investigate this connection between toxins and hormone deficiencies. In fact, at the annual Endocrine Society conventions, an extra day is devoted to this area, which is called “Endocrine Disrupters.�
Detoxification & Chelation MECHANISMS OF DETOXIFICATION The body has a system of handling toxins (toxicants). Generally, it will try to neutralize the toxin then facilitate getting rid of it. The process is a biochemical one and has been divided into Phase I and II. The organ systems that are involved in removal of the toxin are the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, the skin, and the lungs. The key factor in both Phase I and II is an enzyme or group of enzymes.
CLASSES OF ENZYMES FOR DETOXIFICATION1 Oxygen Radicals
Superoxide Dismutase Catalase Glutathione Peroxidase
Ammonia Removal
Urea Cycle Enzymes Renal Citrate Synthase
Immune System
Cytochrome P450 Flavin containing Monooxygenase Other oxidation-reduction systems such as Alcohol Dehydrogenase, Aldehyde Ketone Oxidases and Reductases such as Xanthine Oxidase, Monoamine Oxidase, Glutathione Peroxidase
Phase II Glucuronidation Conjugation Gluthathione Transferases Reactions S-Methylation and N-Methylation Acetylation Sulfotransferases Thiol Transferases Glycination (making peptide bonds)
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Many of the mechanisms of detoxification can be augmented or enhanced by clinical intervention or measures. Fortunately, there are now very advanced and sophisticated laboratories that can test for most of the toxic substances including heavy metals. There is also testing for some of the biochemical alterations that toxins cause. Examples of such labs are MetaMetrix Institute in Duluth, Georgia and Elisa/Act Biotechnologies in Sterling, Virginia.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS The body has its defense system for dealing with all toxins— detoxification of Phase I and II. The objective is to neutralize the toxin, and then try to get rid of it. Getting rid of a toxin equates to removal through the bowel, the kidneys, the skin, or the lungs. This basic knowledge of the role of toxins, including heavy metals, and the body’s response in detoxification make us appreciate the importance of eating as many greens and fruits (insoluble fiber for elimination of toxins through the bowel and soluble fiber that neutralizes the toxins in the blood stream) as possible. Additionally, the importance of exercise cannot be underestimated—leading to perspiration which promotes elimination of toxins through the largest organ of elimination, the skin. Also, I must emphasize the importance of drinking adequate amounts of fluids, especially water, which facilitates removal of toxins through the kidneys. We must continue eating as much greens and fruits as possible and find creative ways of steadily increasing their intake, such as through juicing or smoothies. Vegetables should mostly be eaten raw, such as in salads (arugula, broccoli, romaine lettuce, etc.) or steamed so as to preserve the potency of the enzymes, vitamins and antioxidants.
Detoxification & Chelation Methods of ridding the body of toxins to effectively preserve potency of phytochemicals and enzymes‌ I. Natural measures A. Fiber (insoluble) in the intestine B. Fiber (soluble) in the blood C. Vitamins (especially vitamin C) in the blood D. Exercise (perspiration) through the skin E. Some toxins are removed through the lungs II. Therapeutic measures A. Toxins cause inflammation. Most, if not all, pathologic conditions in any of the body’s organ systems involve inflammation. Therefore, in fighting any disease, there is benefit in using some form of chelation and/or natural detoxification protocols as well as anti-inflammatory supplements.
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