Category: Toxins

Some individuals develop significant but difficult to diagnose and treat health issues and bounce around the health care system trying to get help for health issues which seem almost impossible to correctly diagnose – let alone develop effective treatment protocols.

This newsletter article from the Clinical Rounds section of Functional Medicine University discusses one type of condition that can cause this issue: MCS – Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Here is the article:

MCS can be difficult to diagnose because it can mimic a spectrum of other conditions.

A 25 year old woman named Jan begins her new career as a 2nd grade school teacher. After many of years of preparation, Jan is ready to serve the public and help her young students learn how to read and write. Beginning in a newly renovated school is an extra bonus which makes our new teacher proud that she became part of the educational system. Everything is moving along fine.. she couldn’t be happier!

Three months pass by and Jan has noticed that her concentration is just not right. She has been getting a little “edgy.” Definitely not like her. Her husband is concerned that maybe she is pushing herself a little too much and encourages her to simply slow down and pace herself. As the weeks go by, she begins experiencing headaches over her eyes and the back of her head. The headaches are now occurring more frequently; a minimum of 3-4 times a week.

Six months into the school season and her symptoms are getting worse. In addition to her headaches, lack of concentration and irritability, Jan is now having insomnia, cries over nothing and has noticed an unusual tingling in her face, hands and feet. Concerned, our once “excited” trainer of children decides to see her family physician. After a brief consultation and a basic physical evaluation, her physician is confident she is again just overdoing it and recommends she lighten her work load. In the mean time, she is prescribed Xanax, a mild tranquilizer to settle her nerves. Feeling reassured that nothing is seriously wrong, our teacher returns to her young students and pushes on.

Another three months pass and this time our once highly motivated teacher is only a “shadow” of herself. It takes every ounce of energy to get started in the morning. She is having greater difficulty preparing her school assignments and simply is just exhausted! In a state of desperation she is referred to a psychiatrist. He diagnoses her with depression and prescribes an anti-depressant and also recommends counseling.

After two emotional years of trying an assortment of anti-depressants and hours of counseling, Jan is stuck in a nightmare.. a web of medical labels… depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, stress … just name a few!

Is It Possible Something Has Been Missed?

Every year thousands of teachers are afflicted with a condition that simply “zaps” the life right out of them. Most physicians are at a total loss to understand what is behind this mysterious illness. Unfortunately, many people are looked at as hypochondriacs and continue to suffer year after year.

The Diagnosis

By a stroke of luck and a lot of prayer, Jan stumbled on a medical article that “painted” an exact picture of her health challenges. She was amazed to find that she was not alone and that thousands of other teachers were experiencing the same problem.

She was able to find a physician who was trained in making this difficult diagnosis and learned that she was suffering with something called “Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS).” Some physicians have coined the term “The Toxic Teacher Syndrome” due to the numbers of teachers suffering with the same symptoms.

What is MCS?

Chemical Sensitivity is not a new term. It has been around for many years. The diagnosis MCS was researched by allergist Theron G. Randolph, M.D. (1906-1995). Dr. Randolph discovered that many of his patients became ill from chemical substances that were normally considered safe at the recommended dosage. In the 1950s, Dr. Randolph concluded that people were failing to adapt to modern-day synthetic chemicals. As more research was done on the effects of MCS, doctors suggested that the immune system is like a barrel that continually fills with chemicals until it overflows and symptoms appear. Potential chemical toxins include:

  • Formaldehyde which can be found in foam insulation, plywood, particleboard and press cabinets, fabric finishes, new carpet, polyurethane foam rubber (used in pillows, cushions, mattresses and rug padding), mobile homes, adhesives, synthetic clothes that crease resistant, wrinkle resistant
     
  • Oil vapors: from oil furnaces, motor-oil air-conditioning filters, electric kitchen appliances such as food processors, blenders, can openers.
     
  • Polyethylene plastics: fake leather, artificial flowers, shower curtains.
     
  • Household chemicals such as dry cleaning chemicals in clothes, mothballs, rug-cleaning products, paints, solvents, stain removers, air fresheners, window washing compounds
     
  • Polyesters in clothing, upholstery, drapery, furniture and stuffing for pillows and quilts.
     
  • Pesticide residue on cottons and woolens; residues from exterminators.
     
  • Epoxy adhesives on plastics, electronic equipment (TVs, microwaves,) which release gases when heated up.
     
  • Common school paraphernalia such as carbon paper, ink, mimeographic and duplicating chemicals, glue

How Do These Chemicals Cause Health Problems?

For most people the constant exposure to the above chemicals may not pose any health challenge. However, an individual may come in contact with a freshly painted room and begin to experience dizziness, nausea, headaches etc.. Usually, however, it requires the constant everyday exposure to various toxins that simply become cumulative and eventually overwhelm the body’s ability to eliminate them. When your detoxification system is in good working order, it protects you from low level chemical build-up. It is interesting that most of the sixty thousands chemicals in current use today have been developed in the last forty years. In other words, it seems quite clear that these chemicals are being made at a faster rate than our bodies are able to get rid of them.

Chemicals are known to injure the part of the cell that produces energy causing swelling of the cell membrane and a decreased ability to pump out chemical toxins. When this occurs you can experience fatigue, weakness, poor memory, migraine headaches, insomnia, anxiety, etc..

So What Happened to our Teacher?

When Jan first arrived in her new school, she was greeted with fresh paint, new carpet, new furniture etc.. which was all piled in her small room. This was further complicated by inadequate ventilation. When the chemical load to her system was too high, some of the chemicals were simply unable to be detoxified. This resulted in the slow accumulation of chemicals backing up in the blood causing her health to slowly spiral downward.

How Was She Helped?

Our school teacher was thoroughly evaluated receiving a physical examination, blood tests for liver function, comprehensive detoxification blood test and chemical toxicity assessment.

Detoxification Profile: This test is used to determine how well her body is getting rid of toxins.

Click here for a PDF copy for better clarity
of the following lab test

Comments and Results:

As you can see above ( please review PDF copy to allow for improved readibility), Jan had a normal phase I detoxification function but her phase II revealed a high plasma cysteine with low plasma sulfate and an impaired glucuronidation detoxification.

** Detoxification is much more complicated than most doctors (not trained in the diagnosis of detoxification) make it out to be and commonly will cause more harm than good.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

A healthy liver uses two mechanisms, called Phase I and Phase II detoxification to remove toxins.

In Phase I, your body’s enzymes activate toxic substances to make them more accessible to Phase II.

In Phase II, other enzymes convert toxins to more water-soluble forms, which your body eliminates through urine or stool. Major Phase II pathways include glutathione, sulfate, glycine, and glucuronide conjugations. Individual xenobiotics and metabolites usually follow one or two distinct pathways.

Chemical Testing

A chemical blood exposure test was also performed. This test is extremely valuable in determining the levels of chemical toxins in the blood.

A checklist of suspected chemical toxins was done as well as an assessment of the schools ventilation system.

The Results

After suffering for a little over two years, her tests revealed the following:

  1. The Liver Profile was normal
     
  2. The Detoxification Profile revealed a compromised phase II detoxification with high plasma cysteine with low plasma sulfate and an impaired glucuronidation detoxification resulting in an inability to process the load of chemicals.
     
  3. The Chemical Testing revealed high levels of: Formaldehyde,Toluene and Xylene
     
  4. The checklist accurately correlated with her high levels of chemicals in her blood.
     
  5. As suspected, although the school received a face-lift with new furniture and a fresh coat of paint, the ventilation system was functioning at approximately 40% efficiency and needed a major overhaul!!

The Treatment

The first step was too begin treatment on improving Jan’s ability to detoxify by improving her impaired glucuronidation detoxification and decrease the total load of toxic elements.

  • Ruled out hypothyroidism (delays maturation of conjugating enzyme)
     
  • Correct nutrient deficiencies
     
  • Increase intake of nutrient cofactors for glucuronidation
     
  • L-glutamine, aspartic acid, niacin, vitamin B6
     
  • Support other Phase II pathways, especially sulfation and glycination, to reduce burden
     
  • Increase intake of cruciferous vegetables (induces conjugating enzyme)
     
  • Had teacher purchase a Four Stage Air Filtration System for her classroom to improve ventilation
     
  • Our teacher had a comprehensive safe environmental check of her classroom. Chemical toxins were replaced with non-toxic products. This was carried over to her home as well.

The Outcome

Within 2 weeks, Jan began to notice an improvement in her health. Her energy gradually increased, headaches were reduced to 1 every 2 weeks, the depression lifted, insomnia was replaced by sound restful sleep. By the end of 2 and half months, Jan felt like her old self again and has continued to do well ever since.

Our Comments:

This article presents a real case and demonstrates the sad fact that thousands of people are suffering needlessly. Unless a physician has studied and been trained in the diagnosis and treatment of environmental illness, many more people especially teachers and other professionals working in similar environmental surroundings will continue to develop MCS and unfortunately be “branded” undiagnosable and sadly a hypochondriac. The truth of the matter is.. there is an answer and this answer can pull many people out of this nightmare.

Today I want to share with you an article written by Ron Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., DACBN, MS, CFMP from Functional Medicine University on the topic of Excitotoxins.

Excitotoxins are chemicals substances that overstimulate certain type of cells in the brain, all of the nervous system and many other organs.

In high and excessive amounts these cells become damaged and may die.

The underlying mechanism of excitotoxins has been attributed to the following diseases: alzheimer’s, parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, strokes, autism, huntington’s disease. 

Excitotoxins have also been found to be associated with the following diseases: migraines, diabetes, atherosclerosis, sudden death from heart disease, eye diseases, digestive disorders, autoimmune diseases, growth of tumors, spread of cancer and obesity.

The Most Common Excitotoxin is Glutamate

Glutamate is the main component of Monosodium glutamate (MSG)

As a general rule, the more a food is processed, the more likely it is to contain MSG. Foods that commonly use MSG include potato chips, flavored crackers, canned soups, dry soup mixes, canned meats, diet foods, soy sauces, salad dressings, cured meats and poultry injected with broth. But reading the labels won’t always help you.

When a food product is 99 percent pure MSG it is called “monosodium glutamate” by the FDA and must be labeled as such. However, when a food product contains less than 99 percent MSG, the FDA doesn’t require that the MSG be identified. So it often appears on labels in various disguised forms, such as “hydrolyzed vegetable protein,” “spices” and “natural flavoring.”

Here’s a quick list of potentially suspect ingredients to watch for:

Ingredients that may contain 30 to 60 percent MSG:

hydrolyzed vegetable protein
hydrolyzed protein
hydrolyzed plant protein
plant protein extract
sodium caseinate
calcium caseinate
yeast extract
textured protein
autolyzed yeast
hydrolyzed oat flour

Ingredients that may contain 12 to 40 percent MSG:

malt extract
malt flavoring
bouillon
broth
stock
natural flavoring
natural beef or chicken flavoring
seasoning
spices

Ingredients that may contain some MSG:

carrageenan
enzymes
soy protein concentrate
soy protein isolate
whey protein concentrate
some soymilk

Although I have presented the downside of excessive glutamate it is important for me to let you know that glutamate does have positive health benefits.

These would include the following benefits:

  • Acting as an important neurotransmitter in the brain — it has excitatory effects, meaning it makes neurons more likely to fire
  • Serving as a precursor for the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system
  • Supporting growth and development of the brain
  • Helping cells survive and differentiate and supporting formation and elimination of nerve contacts (synapses)
  • Supporting cognitive functions, including learning and memory.
  • Stimulating gut movement by increasing gut serotonin levels
  • Producing the antioxidant glutathione
  • Regulating inflammatory processes

So what is one to do when it comes to this special and sometimes detrimental neurotransmitter.

One answer is to test if you suspect glutamate toxicity. If  glutamate levels are high then you have an objective marker to carefully monitor as you get your patients to taper and avoid foods high in glutamate.

Doctors Data Lab

Doctors Data Lab

If you don’t want to invest in testing the next best step is to avoid foods in glutamate and see if you see an improvement in their symptoms.

Natural plant products and extracts that reduce glutamate and immunoexcitotoxicity

Curcumin, quercetin, green tea catechins, balcalein, and luteolin have been extensively studied to dampen the detrimental impact of excessive glutamate

References:

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00561/full
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8732541/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10613826/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7098326/
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-5836-4_148
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2015.00469/full
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29859974/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7386414/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21288239/
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44120
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3307240/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4478437/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8977545/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26788243/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7260594/
https://europepmc.org/article/med/27185356

Today I want to share with you an article which discusses different ways plastics can damage the body.

Are you looking to develop your own nutritional supplement formulations?  I can help you with that!  Reach out to me and we can discuss how I can help you.

As Ron suggests at the beginning of the article:

“Plastics (or the chemical name, phthalates) are now considered the number one pollutant in the human body”.

In the next edition of our newsletter I will share a further article from Ron which discusses how to detox plastic compounds out of the body.

This article was written by Ron Grisati from Functional Medicine University.

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.,CFMP

Plastics (or the chemical name, phthalates) are now considered the number one pollutant in the human body. They make products flexible, durable, and these chemicals are also in items you would not consider to be plastics, like pesticides, detergents, cosmetics, medications, or your shampoo. They are found everywhere. It is difficult to completely avoid them. 

You can live in the most pristine place on planet earth and still find animals polluted with plastics.

It is an interesting fact that plasticizers are over 10,000 to 1,000,000 times higher in our bodies than any other toxins that have been found in EPA studies.

Unfortunately once in the body, these plastics do enormous damage.

7 Ways Plastics Damage the Body

1: Phthalates damage the chemistry of fatty acids most importantly, the fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). This is the fundamental chemistry necessary for making every cell lining or membrane. These fatty acids are the foundation for brain health including memory and recall.

2: Phthalates can create a zinc deficiency which will compromise the metabolism of vitamins A and B-6. In turn this could lead to conditions such as indigestion, depression, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and accelerated aging. 

As a quick side note the combination of low zinc and low DHA can lead to chronic inflammation. Medical literature has clearly identified chronic inflammation as one of the most common underlying pathologies of most diseases leading to auto-immune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, MS) to cancer and heart disease.

3: Phthalates has been found to be responsible for damaging the pancreas leading to diabetes, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome X. 

4: Phthalates has been found to lower sulfation.  This means that you are no longer able to effectively detoxify like you should. This in turn can lead to a whole host of health challenges.

5: Phthalates damage hormone function, especially thyroid and testosterone.   

6: Phthalates can poison the peroxisomes needed for the control of the chemistry of cholesterol. They can cause high cholesterol while at the same time keep cholesterol from forming the “happy hormones” (neurotransmitters) of the brain. 

7: Phthalates can damage the body’s ability to make catalase. Catalase is absolutely essential for devouring up the hydrogen peroxide that cancer cells make to allow them to metastasize or wildly spread throughout the body. Lack of catalase is a reason why many cancers briefly seem to be in remission after treatments, only to resurface months or years later with lethal consequences.

These are only 7 of the devastating effects of plastics in our bodies. Many diseases will never be cured until the phthalates are out. 

Reference:

Rogers S, Detoxify or Die, Prestige Publishing, 2002

Ronald Peters, MD, MPH

I want to share with you today an article written by Ronald Peters, MD, MPH which gives an overview of a mechanism in the body which is activated when there is a perceived threat which could be viral, bacterial, toxic chemicals and metals etc. called: “The Cell Danger Response”.

Practitioners are familiar with the typical protective reactions that get activated in these situations, however where problems can arise is when this activation is not turned off after the threat has disappeared.  It is suggested that this can contribute to the development of chronic, degenerative disease processes.

This concept was originally hypothesized by Robert K. Naviaux in the published paper:

Metabolic features of the cell danger response, Robert K. Naviaux, Mitochondrion 16 (2014) 7–17 The Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine

It has started to gain a lot of traction within the Functional Medicine community and I would suggest it certainly warrants some consideration with respect to how we approach working with patients.




You and I are wired to escape danger by automatically firing the sympathetic nervous system so we can run away or fight to survive.  However, for the trillions of cells within our bodies, it is not so simple.  They cannot run away. They are programmed to survive dangerous invaders such as viruses and bacteria, toxic chemicals and metals such as mercury by activating the Cell Danger Response, or CDR.  Two key features of the CDR are reduced energy production (ATP) in the mitochondria and the release of inflammatory cytokines.   Once the threat is eliminated the CDR is witched off and energy production starts again, and we resume our normal lives.  However, sometimes the CDR does not stop and we stay fatigued and inflamed.  This pathological persistence of the CDR is believed to be a primary cause for many chronic diseases including autism, PTSD, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and many more. In this article I will review the cell danger response, what turns it on, and, importantly, how you can turn it off once the danger has passed.

CELL DANGER RESPONSE – AN ANCIENT SURVIVAL SYSTEM

Dr Robert Naviaux at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has reviewed the choreography of micro-events that occur as the cells and organs of the body prepare to survive threats, such as invading viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, or, toxic chemicals and heavy metals like mercury, lead and aluminum, as well as excessive heat or radiation. Mitochondria are the powerhouses within our cells as they use oxygen to convert chemical energy from the foods we eat into an energy form that the cell can use, which is called ATP. There are thousands of mitochondria in our cells and they orchestrate the cell danger response, which includes the following:

In response to viral attack, mitochondria sound the alarm and reduce voltage and energy production to prevent the virus from hijacking DNA to make more viruses.

Intracellular attack releases mitochondrial proteins and ATP which sound the alarm to attract other immune cells to attack the invader.

Mitochondria reduce oxygen utilization (less ATP) and reactive oxygen species along with increased hydrogen peroxide are toxic to viruses and support the cell defense.

Bacterial endotoxins activate an enzyme within the mitochondria which decreases vitamin D, thus increasing inflammation, but raising the risk for autoantibodies, especially to the thyroid gland (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis).

Under the oxidizing conditions of the CDR, methionine metabolism is shifted to assist with the production of antimicrobial reactive oxygen species as well as other antiviral and antimicrobial compounds.

De-methylation of histones is stimulated by oxidizing conditions of the CDR to increase pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF alpha.

Sulfur metabolism within cells is shifted to create more glutathione for macrophages and to increase glutathione transport into the brain.

CDR stimulates an enzyme which produces histamine, a potent vasodilator which facilitates the delivery of increased oxygen and immune cells to sites of inflammation.

Arginine metabolism is shifted within mitochondria to create nitric oxide (NO) gas which inhibits mitochondrial energy production.

Damaged cells release hemoglobin and heme into the tissues which stimulates the production of carbon monoxide, a potent inhibitor mitochondrial ATP production.

Cell danger increases lipoxygenase which leads to cell wall peroxidation and stiffening of cells walls in the vicinity of the threat.

Tryptophan metabolism is shifted to increase kynurenic acid which induces IL-6 and inflammatory cytokine, as well as increasing many aspects of immune function.

Toxic metals like mercury, as well as some chemicals will try to steal electrons and the mitochondria respond by reducing cellular energy production to shield the cell from further injury.

Intracellular conditions produced by the CDR lead to sequestration, or accumulation of toxic metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum, arsenic and others, as well as reduced elimination,

When functional vitamin D is decreased by a chronically active CDR, magnesium is lost from the cells.

GUT MICROBIOME IS ESSENTIAL TO HEALTHY CDR


According to Dr. Naviaux, “healthy metabolism acts as a survival engine that computes the optimum chemical solution for fitness based on the developmental history, current environmental conditions, and the genetic resources available to the individual.”

Metabolism is all of the chemical reactions that occur in the cells of the body. Billions are occurring every second to respond to the surrounding environment in order to sustain life and they are intricately dependent on the health of the microbes that live in your body, or, microbiome.  Since there are more bacterial in your body than cells, they have evolved to act as a “living shield to protect us from opportunistic pathogens and keep us healthy”.

About 99% of the bacteria in your body reside in your gut, consisting of 3,000 to 30,000 species which provide a metabolic and genetic diversity which far exceeds that of the human host.

Again, according to Dr. Naviaux, “the composition and function of the microbiome are best considered as an ecosystem that is continuously shaped by the developmental history, diet, health and activity of the host.”  Basically, when the host is sick, the microbiome is also sick.  The chronic activation of the CDR changes the ecosystem in the bowel and perpetuates disease in some people

RESOLUTION OF THE CDR

Once the danger or threat is eliminated, the CDR is turned off by a series of anti-inflammatory messages, normal mitochondrial energy is re-established, and normal cell life begins again.

However, based on genetic predisposition and the intensity and magnitude of the dangerous exposure a dysfunctional and persistent CDR can occur which is the precursor of many chronic diseases.

According to Dr. Naviaux, the following diseases result from a pathological persistence of the CDR:

  • autism spectrum disorders (ASD),
  • attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),
  • food allergies,
  • asthma,
  • atopy,
  • emphysema,
  • Tourette’s syndrome,
  • bipolar disorder,
  • schizophrenia,
  • post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
  • traumatic brain injury (TBI),
  • chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),
  • suicidal ideation,
  • ischemic brain injury,
  • spinal cord injury,
  • diabetes,
  • kidney, liver, and heart disease,
  • cancer,
  • Alzheimer and
  • Parkinson disease,
  • autoimmune disorders like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis,
  • primary sclerosing cholangitis.

According to Dr. Naviaux, each of the metabolic features of the CDR listed above “can be addressed individually with specific treatments, or more globally with a combination of supplements, dietary and activity changes, or with adaptogen therapies.”

I would add the following to the list:

  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Lyme’s disease
  • Mold related illness
  • Multiple chemical sensitivity
  • Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome
  • “Brain fog”

SUMMARY – CELL DANGER RESPONSE

Naviaux and other researchers have found the cell danger response is triggered by various types of environmental stressors:

  • Biological stressors such as viruses, bacteria, fungi such as mold, parasites and more
  • Chemical stressors such as toxic chemicals and heavy metals (e.g. mercury and lead)
  • Physical trauma such as an accident, burn, surgery, or physical abuse
  • Psychological trauma that creates overwhelm and persistent despair, such as the loss of a loved one, divorce, financial struggle, childhood emotional neglect

As Naviaux explains, these are triggers of illness, but they are not the cause of disease. As he presented to the Open Medicine Foundation on 9/28/2017, they all “ring the same bell – the cell danger response. “  In this new paradigm of disease, symptoms arise because a cell danger response gets stuck in the “on” position and can’t complete its healing cycle to turn itself back off as it is designed to do.

In most cases of persistent chronic illness lasting for > 3–6 months, mitochondria are not dysfunctional. They are just stuck in a developmental stage that was intended to be temporary, unable to complete the healing cycle”

Robert Naviaux, Mitochondrion 46, 2019

TURNING OFF THE CELL DANGER RESPONSE – CONSCIOUSNESS AS THE SOURCE AND CURE FOR DISEASE

Illness gives patients temporary permission to act in more open ways emotionally.  But if they cannot learn to give themselves that same permission when they are healthy, then the moment they get well, the old rules again apply, and they find themselves in the psychologically and physically destructive situation that first contributed to their illness.

 Carl Simonton, MD

The cell danger response is turned on by dangers perceived at the cellular level, or, by dangers perceived by the individual in their life experience.  Dr. Naviaux has described the cellular events that initiate the CDR.  And we all have experienced threatening or frightening life events.  The horrors of war can be overwhelming and a soldier will often suppress the intense emotions and later develop PTSD.  For the abused or abandoned child, strong emotions are automatically suppressed, only to be stored in the unconscious mind as an emotional wound.  These wounds will surface later in life and contribute to dis-ease of one kind or another. In both cases the CDR is ignited by the powerful “fight or flight” sympathetic nervous system as it births anger, fear and panic.

In order to turn off the CDR, once the danger has passed, we need to understand ourselves and how we create stress and handle emotions. Extensive medical research also shows that digestion, blood circulation, immune activity, hormone levels are but a few of the systems controlled by the mind. Dr. Candace Pert, the NIH researcher who discovered neurotransmitters, said it simply: “The more I look, (at the immune system) the more I’m convinced that emotions are running the show.”

Basically, we need to heed the “message of illness” and consider the dysfunctional beliefs and suppressed emotional pain that are expressed within the fabric of your body as dis-ease. Mindbody medicine is the science of healing at the level of consciousness and represents the next step in healthcare.  It is based on the disturbing and eternal truth that the body is governed by consciousness (both conscious and unconscious).

Mindbody medicine will help you learn the following:

  • The natural intelligence of your body is governed by consciousness.
  • The function of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is activated by fear, worry, anger and frustration.
  • How to enhance your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS), which governs your immune system, proper digestion, and hormone production.
  • The nature of the stressful life experiences which precede illness and how they can be tracked back to childhood experiences.
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and how they compare to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
  • What is the “limbic lock” associated with chronic disease?
  • How to create a healthy gut microbiome, which is required to quiet the CDR and enhance vagal activity.
  • How to find the personal meaning of disease.
  • How reduce stress and live from your heart, the seat of emotion, love, intuition, and “seeing the big picture”.
  • All dis-ease is a personal invitation for healing, growing and gaining self-knowledge, by making the unconscious mind conscious.
  • The “blessing” of the dis-ease in any area of your life as well as your body offers you a window into the stored pain in the unconscious mind and how it can be discharged thereby leading to greater levels of peace and happiness.
  • How to activate the powerful vagus nerve which turns off the SNS and CDR.

READ DR NAVIAUX RESEARCH PAPER

We all know that exposure to airborne particulate matter can cause health issues, however this paper published in Environmental Research suggests that the problem may be a lot worse than we thought as the study showed evidence of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neuron disease (MND) in young individuals.

Regards,

Rob

Summary:

  After examining the brainstems of 186 young Mexico City residents aged between 11 months and 27 years of age, researchers, found markers not only of Alzheimer’s disease, but also of Parkinson’s and of motor neuron disease (MND) too. These markers of disease were coupled with the presence of tiny, distinctive nanoparticles within the brainstem – their appearance and composition indicating they were likely to come from vehicle pollution.

FULL STORY


Researchers looking at the brainstems of children and young adults exposed lifelong to air pollution in Mexico City have discovered disturbing evidence of harm.

Previous studies have linked fine particulate air pollution exposure with Alzheimer’s disease, and researchers have also reported evidence of air pollution-derived nanoparticles in the frontal cortex of the brain.

But after examining the brainstems of 186 young Mexico City residents aged between 11 months and 27 years of age, researchers, including Professor Barbara Maher from Lancaster University, found markers not only of Alzheimer’s disease, but also of Parkinson’s and of motor neurone disease (MND) too. These markers of disease were coupled with the presence of tiny, distinctive nanoparticles within the brainstem — their appearance and composition indicating they were likely to come from vehicle pollution.

This has led researchers to conclude that air pollution of this nature — whether inhaled or swallowed — puts people at risk of potential neurological harm. The brainstem is the posterior part of the brain which regulates the central nervous system, controls heart and breathing rates, and how we perceive the position and movement of our body, including, for example, our sense of balance.

Professor Maher said: “Not only did the brainstems of the young people in the study show the ‘neuropathological hallmarks’ of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and MND, they also had high concentrations of iron-, aluminium- and titanium-rich nanoparticles in the brainstem — specifically in the substantia nigra, and cerebellum.

“The iron-and aluminium-rich nanoparticles found in the brainstem are strikingly similar to those which occur as combustion- and friction-derived particles in air pollution (from engines and braking systems).

“The titanium-rich particles in the brain were different — distinctively needle-like in shape; similar particles were observed in the nerve cells of the gut wall, suggesting these particles reach the brain after being swallowed and moving from the gut into the nerve cells which connect the brainstem with the digestive system.”

The ‘neuropathological hallmarks’ found even in the youngest infant (11 months old) included nerve cell growths, and plaques and tangles formed by misfolded proteins in the brain. Damage to the substantia nigra is directly linked with the development of Parkinson’s disease in later life. Protein misfolding linked previously with MND was also evident, suggesting common causal mechanisms and pathways of formation, aggregation and propagation of these abnormal proteins.

The one thing common to all of the young people examined in the study was their exposure to high levels of particulate air pollution. Professor Maher says that the associations between the presence of damage to cells and their individual components — especially the mitochondria (key for generation of energy, and signalling between cells) — and these metal-rich nanoparticles are a ‘smoking gun’.

Such metal-rich particles can cause inflammation and also act as catalysts for excess formation of reactive oxygen species, which are known to cause oxidative stress and eventual death of neurons. Critically, the brainstems of age- and gender- matched controls who lived in lower-pollution areas have not shown the neurodegenerative pathology seen in the young Mexico City residents.

These new findings show that pollution-derived, metal-rich nanoparticles can reach the brainstem whether by inhalation or swallowing, and that they are associated with damage to key components of nerve cells in the brainstem, including the substantia nigra.

Even in these young Mexico City residents, the type of neurological damage associated with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neurone diseases is already evident. These data indicate the potential for a pandemic of neurological disease in high-pollution cities around the world as people experience longer lifespans, and full symptoms of earlier, chronic neurological damage develop.

Professor Barbara Maher said: “It’s critical to understand the links between the nanoparticles you’re breathing in or swallowing and the impacts those metal-rich particles are then having on the different areas of your brain.

“Different people will have different levels of vulnerability to such particulate exposure but our new findings indicate that what air pollutants you are exposed to, what you are inhaling and swallowing, are really significant in development of neurological damage.

“With this in mind, control of nanoparticulate sources of air pollution becomes critical and urgent.”


Story Source:

Materials provided by Lancaster University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Lilian Calderón-Garcidueñas, Angélica González-Maciel, Rafael Reynoso-Robles, Jessica Hammond, Randy Kulesza, Ingolf Lachmann, Ricardo Torres-Jardón, Partha S. Mukherjee, Barbara A. Maher. Quadruple abnormal protein aggregates in brainstem pathology and exogenous metal-rich magnetic nanoparticles (and engineered Ti-rich nanorods). The substantia nigrae is a very early target in young urbanites and the gastrointestinal tract a key brainstem . Environmental Research, 2020; 191: 110139 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.110139

Today I want to share with you an article from the Hormones Matter website written by  Chandler Marrs, PhD

The article focuses on the fact that many individuals are consuming Metformin considering it to be a magical anti-aging drug.

I am in agreement with Chandra in that personally I have have never been a fan.

There are several considerations for myself as to why I feel this way which she talks about in this article, such as deficiencies that can develop, negative effects on mitochondrial function and a potential negative impact on exercise performance.

I would suggest that berberine provides many of the same benefits as Metformin as well as some such as CV benefits that Metformin does not provide – and berberine does not have any of the same negative effects vs. Metformin.

Following is Chandler’s article

I have never been a fan of Metformin. It seemed too good to be true. Many years ago I had a conversation with a researcher about all of its possible therapeutic indications. His lab was actively pursuing the anti-cancer angle. That should have been a clue that Metformin might be causing more damage than we recognized, but it wasn’t. At that point, I was still enamored with the wonders of pharmacology and hadn’t yet begun my path toward understanding medication adverse reactions. Indeed, it wasn’t until very recently, when a family member began suffering from one of these reactions, that I began my investigation in full. This is what I learned.

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