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If you are heavy, it could be making you sick and tired and age prematurely. And I don’t mean heavy with fat …

I mean heavy with heavy metals — like mercury!

Unfortunately, toxic mercury problems are common. Along with polar bears, beluga whales, ducks, otters, panthers, and all river fish as well as most large ocean fish, we humans are poisoning ourselves with mercury at ever increasing rates.

There’s no doubt about it, mercury is the most alarming, disease-causing source of environmental toxicity that I see daily in my practice. Many of patients have toxic levels of mercury — and they’re not alone. I personally suffered from mercury toxicity and chronic fatigue syndrome –which I cured myself from, in part by getting rid of the mercury in my body. So I know about this first hand.

I became toxic because I polluted myself by growing up on tuna fish sandwiches, eating sushi, living in Beijing, which heats all its homes with coal — the major source of environmental mercury load — and having a mouthful of amalgam (a.k.a. mercury) fillings.

All of these exposures, combined with genes that prevent me from effectively detoxifying metals in my body, led to a slow and significant poisoning of my cells and mitochondria. And the effects were obvious …

I felt weak, tired, and couldn’t think. I had muscle pain and twitches, insomnia, digestive problems, food allergies, depression, and anxiety. And it was only by discovering high levels of mercury in my hair and urine — and slowly detoxifying myself — that I was able to get better.

I have seen this over and over in my patients, too. From chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, to depression, anxiety, obesity, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, heart failure, and heart disease, the message is clear …

We are being poisoned!

This is such an important public health and personal issue for so many people that I’m going to use this blog and next week’s blog to fully explain the extent of mercury issues and give you a comprehensive plan for reducing your exposure and healing from mercury toxicity. I’ll show you the science behind mercury toxicity, share some stories about my patients who have suffered, and talk about the way we need to deal with this major health problem.

First, I’d like to share with you what I learned at one of the most important international conferences on mercury yet to be held. It was called “The Impact of Mercury on Human Health and the Environment” and was presented at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.

There, a unique international group of policymakers, environmental scientists, toxicologists, biochemists, journalists, academic physicians, practicing pediatricians, neurologists, and dentists gathered.

We were there to make sense of the environmental impact, toxicology, basic science, public policy and health implications of one the least studied and perhaps greatest potential threats to our long-term health — mercury. And I want to share some of what I learned at that conference with you.

Mercury Levels Are on the Rise

Barry Kohl, Ph.D. is an adjunct professor in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Tulane University. At the conference he provided a unique overview of the impact of industrialization on environmental mercury levels through a description of the levels of mercury in the ice core extracted from the pristine Freemont Glacier in Wyoming.

There were small peaks in mercury concentration in the ice core from the 1815 Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia, the 1850-84 gold rush in California where mercury was used for smelting, the eruption in 1883 of the Sumatran volcano Krakatau 10,000 miles away, and the more recent Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980.

Overall, the changes in environmental mercury levels have been dramatic. Over the past 100 years, there has been a 30-fold increase in mercury deposition, 70 percent of which is from human sources. In fact, there was an exponential peak in mercury occurring in the last 40 years due to major industrialization. Much of this mercury comes from coal-fired industrial plants and from chlor-alkali plants that use mercury in the process of making chlorine used in plastics, pesticides, PVC pipes, and more.

One note of hope was the reduction in industrial mercury emissions from 220 million pounds to 120 million pounds a year over the last 10 years. But that’s small consolation when we’re talking about a substance that is toxic in parts per million, not in millions of pounds.

And the more mercury we are exposed to, the more we are likely we are to be toxic.

Risk Increases with Dose

Harvey Clewell from the ENVIRON Health Sciences Institute, Ruston, Louisiana, reviewed the epidemiologic studies from the Seychelles and Faroe islands. He showed that your risk of toxicity increases with higher doses of mercury.

Now, there are different types of mercury. Nearly all human exposures to one type, methylmercury, come from fish.

In the Seychelle Islands, there seemed be little effect on kids from mercury; however their fish consumption was predominately from low-risk small reef fish that don’t contain much mercury.

On the other hand, in the Faroe Islands people eat whale blubber, which contains high levels of mercury — over three parts per million. There, high levels of mercury were found in umbilical cord blood and correlated with reduced performance in neurologic testing in 917 mother-infant pairs.

The health effects from methyl mercury upon infants and children depend on the dose. Severe symptoms start with exposure to doses of 100 mcg/kg/day, mild symptoms with more than 10 mcg/kg/day, and sub-clinical symptoms with less than 1 mcg/kg/day. These symptoms include late development in walking and talking and decreased performance on neurological tests.

Dr. Clewell also reviewed the limitations of various forms of testing for mercury.

Methylmercury (also called organic mercury) is found predominately in red blood cells, which is what doctors check when they do a blood test for mercury. But unless you’ve been eating fish with mercury recently, you won’t see your total body level of mercury.

Plus, mercury is lipophilic, meaning that it concentrates in fatty tissues, especially in the brain, which is made mostly of fat. That means that blood levels aren’t an accurate measurement of total body burden of mercury.

Inorganic mercury from dental fillings (amalgams) is found in plasma but is rapidly cleared and stored in your tissues. Inorganic mercury is also converted from methylmercury by the body and is the main form of mercury in brain, which can lead to dementia, autism, ADHD and more.

All of these are reasons you need to get comprehensive testing done to assess you total mercury load. I will review the test you need in a moment, but first I want to talk about how mercury gets in your body and what it does to your body and brain.

Health Effects of Mercury

We get mercury in our bodies from many different sources including mercury vapors in ambient air, ingesting it via drinking water, fish, dental amalgams, vaccines, occupational exposures, home exposures including fluorescent light bulbs, thermostats, batteries, red tattoo dye, skin-lightening creams, over-the-counter products such as contact lens fluid and neosynephrine, and more.

You absorb about 80 percent of inhaled mercury vapor and nearly 100 percent of the mercury in fish through your gut.

Once this mercury is in your body it is then primarily distributed in the kidneys and brain and can be readily transferred to the fetus via the placenta.

The only way it can get out of your body is via urine, feces, expired air, and breast milk. The major reason it is toxic to human biology is because mercury has the ability to bind to sulfur-containing molecules in the body (found in nearly every enzyme and in the mitochondria), as well as other chemical binding sites in the cells.

We’ve learned a lot about how this mercury effects us and our children from reported exposures to mercury over the last 100 years. These include epidemics such as the Minimata Bay exposures in Japan, acrodynia or pink disease in children from calomel (HgCl) used in teething powder, “mad hatter syndrome” or erethism, and methylmercury fungicide grain seed exposures in Iraq and Pakistan.

The symptoms and diseases these exposures have caused are varied and mimic many other conditions. Nervous system toxicity can cause erethism (“mad hatter syndrome” as mentioned above) with symptoms of shyness; laughing, crying, and dramatic mood swings for no apparent reason; nervousness, insomnia, memory problems, and the inability to concentrate.

Other neurologic symptoms may include encephalopathy (non-specific brain malfunction), nerve damage, Parkinsonian symptoms, tremor, ataxia (loss of balance), impaired hearing, tunnel vision, dysarthria (slurred speech), headache, fatigue, impaired sexual function, and depression.

Kidney toxicity leads to proteinura (protein in the urine) and acute renal failure.

Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and colitis.

Skin toxicity causes allergic dermatitis, chelitis (cracked corners of the mouth), gingivitis (gum disease), stomatitis (sores in the mucous membranes of the mouth) and excessive salivation.

Clearly, mercury toxicity is VERY serious business!

Dentistry and Mercury

One of the more controversial sources of mercury toxicity is dental fillings. Silver dental fillings, or amalgams, contain inorganic mercury. Mercury exposure from amalgams is estimated to be between 3 to 17 micrograms per day from chewing, brushing, grinding, and even slow corrosion.

Questions have arisen about whether or not this amount is toxic … I am going to clear up the confusion here.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no significant neurologic or behavioral changes in children who had mercury amalgam (silver) fillings, compared to kids who had composite (white) fillings placed. But there were significant problems with that study …

First, the duration of the study was short and the effects subtle. Second, they failed to emphasize the significance of the fact that the kids who had the silver fillings had much higher levels of mercury in their urine than the kids with white fillings.

This is one of the most important details of that study, because it proves that mercury fillings in your mouth release mercury vapor that is absorbed into your body, ending up in your urine. It is deposited in your organs, including your brain, where it accumulates over time.

Whether your fillings are new or old, the mercury in them is constantly absorbed into your body. And even if you stop being exposed to that mercury, it sticks around. It takes up to 18 years for the body to clear half of the dose of mercury from the body. Once mercury is in the body it comes out only VERY slowly.

In fact, people with amalgam fillings have significantly elevated blood mercury levels, three to five times more mercury in the urine, and two to twelve times more mercury in their tissues than those without amalgam fillings.

However blood and urine mercury levels don’t necessarily relate to the mercury load in your body tissues or severity of clinical symptoms.

Research on sheep and monkeys with dental amalgams has shown that blood mercury levels remained low — even though their tissue mercury levels were raised.

Urine mercury levels aren’t much better as an indicator of your total mercury load. They mainly reflect the cumulative dose of inorganic mercury in the kidneys and there exists only a very weak correlation with levels in other target tissues.

Another speaker at the conference, Mike Robichaux, a practicing dentist, reviewed his experience with removal of amalgams fillings. He showed a remarkable video of mercury vapor being released from a 25-year-old tooth. You can watch it on the website of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology.

But other dentists aren’t so concerned. In fact, the American Dental Association still says it is safe to use mercury or silver fillings. That’s something I’ve always wondered about, since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers old mercury fillings that have been removed from the body toxic waste that has to be disposed as such.

Let me put this another way. It’s apparently all right to put mercury fillings in your mouth — but not to throw them out in the garbage!

The danger of amalgam fillings has been confirmed by research from around the world.

At the conference, Anders Lindvall, M.D., from the Foundation for Metal Biology in Sweden, reported his work on the health effects of dental amalgams and presented a review of the controversial literature on dental amalgams and human health.

Many of his patients reported a symptom complex consistent with chronic fatigue syndrome that they believed were related to dental amalgams. So in 1990, Dr. Lindvall began a study at Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden to diagnose and treat 796 patients with suspected amalgam-related illness and to develop and evaluate diagnostic tools to assess toxicity from dental amalgams. (i)

Besides conventional measures of quality of life and symptoms, unique laboratory assessments were used to determine the presence and immunological toxicity of metals.

One was PIXE, an accelerator-based test on single blood cells that assesses intracellular levels of trace elements, which showed that, in lymphocytes (white blood cells), mercury is found in the nucleus, particularly in places where zinc is low.

The other was MELISA, a test of lymphocyte reactivity to metal compounds. Information about the MELISA test is available at www.melisa.org. (ii)

Dr. Lindvall’s patients were treated with antioxidants (B complex vitamins, vitamins C and E, and selenium); infections and jaw dysfunction were addressed; and selective removal of any incompatible dental material was performed using low-emission amalgam removal techniques and bio-compatible materials to replace the amalgams.

The cost of these procedures was covered by national health insurance.

Laboratory follow up at one year showed over 70 percent of patients reported significant improvement in symptoms after amalgam removal!

Unfortunately, this study had some problems too …

The clinic was closed after the study was published, so there was no further access allowed to the records, which contained over 1,000 untreated patients who could have served as a control group. And since 1999, amalgam dental restorations in Sweden are no longer covered by insurance.

But Dr. Lindvall’s study still suggests that silver amalgams can cause health problems — and that removing the fillings can help relieve these problems.

And other studies have had similar effects.

Research has found that patients with chronic fatigue and autoimmune thyroiditis show improvement in their health status after their amalgam fillings are replaced with composites. (iii)

In another study, 71 percent of people with autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, improved after amalgam removal. Low-dose exposure to inorganic mercury may be a contributing factor in the development of autoimmune diseases. (iv)

Animal and lab studies suggest that exposure to metallic mercury may cause nerve cell damage and promote the production the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. (v)

Plus, we know that mercury levels in the human placenta correlate with the number of maternal amalgam fillings — and a substantial amount of mercury from amalgams reaches the fetus.

Worse, mercury from dental amalgams in pregnant women may also contribute to development of autism in their children. In one study, mothers of 94 autistic children had statistically more amalgam fillings during pregnancy than 49 mothers of healthy kids. (vi)

In contrast to their higher mercury exposure during pregnancy, these autistic children had reduced mercury levels in their first haircut (mercury exposure can be measured in human hair). This may reflect a reduced capacity to excrete mercury from their body, which in turn may lead to elevated brain mercury levels.

And approximately 20 percent of the general public may experience sub-clinical central nervous system and/or kidney function impairment due to amalgam fillings.

When taken collectively, the research forces us to question the safety of dental amalgams. In my view, there is no doubt about it … they are a danger.

But before you start yanking out your fillings, there is something else to consider …

Genetic Variations in the Ability to Detoxify

Some of us are very good at detoxifying mercury and other toxins, while some of us store toxins like a toxic waste dump. Genetic variations (called polymorphisms) make some people more prone to metal toxicity.

One gene in particular is very important because it’s related to the body’s production of glutathione, our most powerful detoxifier and antioxidant. Your body can only excrete mercury when it’s bound with glutathione.

The polymorphism of the gene that controls the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase (GSST) prevents excretion of mercury. That is the gene problem I have that led to my mercury toxicity. When that happens, the mercury stays in tissues and does damage. Plus, mercury also binds to key enzymes that help us produce glutathione — in effect helping itself accumulate in our bodies.

Research also shows that people suffering from symptoms like fatigue, irritability, mood disorders, poor concentration, headaches, and insomnia due to their amalgam fillings are more likely than their peers to have the apolipoprotein E 4 (ApoE 4) gene. (vii)

ApoE 4 is known as the “Alzheimer’s gene.” It also promotes heart disease. ApoE 4 reduces detoxifying activity. This means that people with this gene can’t get rid of mercury from their brains, contributing to its toxic effects on this organ.

I know this all sounds very depressing. And it is. But the good news is that there are things you can do to reduce your exposure — and identify if you have toxic levels of mercury. So let me sum up what we learned in this week’s blog and offer some suggestions for reducing your exposure.

10 Truths and Tips about Mercury Toxicity

1. Industrial exposure to mercury is significant and mostly comes from coal burning (220 million pounds a year) and chlor-alkali plants.

2. The main ways that humans are exposed to mercury are from contaminated fish and dental amalgams or silver fillings.

3. Mercury can affect nearly all your organs, especially the brain, heart, kidneys, and gut.

4. Many chronic diseases may be caused or worsened by mercury, including neurologic disease, ADHD, autism, heart disease, autoimmune diseases, and more.

5. Some of us are genetically better adapted to detoxify mercury than others, leading to variable effects within the population.

6. You should reduce your exposure by avoiding large ocean fish (like tuna, swordfish, shark, and tilefish) and river fish. Eat only small wild fish. If it fits in your pan, it is probably okay.

7. Blood tests are relatively worthless for analyzing mercury toxicity, unless you have had a significant recent exposure or eat a lot of sushi or tuna.

8. Hair tests only check for mercury from fish, not from fillings so they only give you a partial picture.

9. The only way to find out your total body load of mercury is to take a medication with sulfur molecules that binds to the mercury like fly paper. This is called DMSA or DMPS.

This test should ONLY be done by a trained physician and involves taking one dose of this medicine, followed by a 6- or 24-hour urine collection to see how much comes out. (In my opinion, the most reliable testing is done by www.doctorsdata.com).

10. If you are toxic and sick, you may consider addressing your dental health by seeing a biological dentist who can safely help you deal with mercury in your mouth.

Going to see a conventional dentist who drills out your fillings without any precautions or protection can lead to serious health consequences. I strongly advise against it. However, amalgam filling removal CAN be done safely and effectively done by a dentist trained in the correct techniques.

That’s all for this week. Next week, I’ll give you more advice on how to safely eliminate the mercury in your body if you find you are toxic. Finding out if you are poisoned by mercury, limiting your exposures, and getting the mercury out of your body is absolutely critical if you want to achieve lifelong vibrant health.

If you would like to read more of the extensive research on the biologic effects of mercury and toxins on human health, please link to this extensive online bibliography. If you have any doubt about the evidence of harm across a broad range of health conditions of mercury, you must do your homework and review the research yourself.

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Do you think mercury toxicity is a legitimate health concern or a bogus problem?

Do you have any symptoms of mercury toxicity and what have you done about them?

Have you asked your doctor about mercury toxicity and if so, what was his/her response?

Are you exposed to many sources of mercury? What could you do to reduce your exposure?

Please let me know your thoughts by adding a comment below.

To your good health,

Mark Hyman, M.D.

References

(i) Lindh U. Removal of dental amalgam and other metal alloys supported by antioxidant therapy alleviates symptoms and improves quality of life in patients with amalgam-associated ill health. Neuroendocrinology Letters 2002; 23(5/6):459-482.

(ii) Stejskal V. Metal-specific lymphocytes: biomarkers of sensitivity in man. Neuroendocrinology Letters 1999;20:289-298.

(iii) Sterzl I., et al. Mercury and nickel allergy: Risk factors in fatigue and autoimmunity. Neuroendocrinology Letters. 1999; 20: 221-228.

(iv) Prochazkova, J., et al. The beneficial effect of amalgam replacement on health in patients with autoimmunity. Neuroendocrinology Letters. 2004; 25(3): 211-218.

(v) Stejskal, J. and Stejskal, V. The role of metals in autoimmunity and the link to neuroendocrinology. Neuroendocrinology Letters. 1999; 20: 351-364.

(vi) Holmes, A.S., et al. Reduced levels of mercury in first baby haircuts of autistic children. International Journal of Toxicology. 2003. 22(4): 277-285.

(vii) Wojcik, D.P. et al. Mercury toxicity presenting as chronic fatigue, memory impairment, and depression: Diagnosis, treatment, susceptibility, and outcomes in a New Zealand practice setting (1994-2006). 2006. Neuroendocrinology Letters. 27(4): 415-423.

Mark Hyman, M.D. practicing physician and founder of The UltraWellness Center is a pioneer in functional medicine. Dr. Hyman is now sharing the 7 ways to tap into your body’s natural ability to heal itself. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on Youtube and become a fan on Facebook.

Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. Andrew Wakefield on His MMR Study examining autism, vaccines and the gut and psychological/behavioral connection.   These physicians are heroes in my book.  Dr. Wakefield is pro-vaccine and is working tirelessly to ensure that vaccines are safe.

I wish I had known then what I know now when it comes to vaccines. I wouldn’t have let them inject my newborn, preemie, immune compromised child with vaccines until she was older and healthier. Does a newborn really need a shot to protect against a sexually transmitted disease (Hep B)?  Since her most likely chance of getting Hep B (aside from sex) is from my blood then why not just give me a blood test before injecting her with a vaccine that contains Formaldehyde and aluminum? I only had 12 vaccines as a child and I’ve been perfectly healthy. She’s had over 40 and she suffers with chronic brain, gut and skin issues. I’m just praying that we will be able to get all the heavy metals out of her body and fix her immune system.

If you’re interested in learning more, this is a very educational interview with one of the most prominent Gastroenterologist in the world who has spent the last few years researching vaccines and their impact on children’s health. He’s pro-vaccine but very concerned about the lack of safety tests and the fact that no safety test have every been done on the current vaccine schedule. No one in the industry knows if the huge increase of vaccines and the combination of vaccines given together is safe. I guess our kids get to be the guinea pigs. And vaccine manufacturers are not liable for any of the damages they cause.

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

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Related Information

• Cry For Vaccine Freedom Wall
• List of Vaccine Ingredients
• Monkeys Get Autism-like Reactions to MMR & Other Vaccines In University of Pittsburgh Vaccine Study
• Flashback: The Hepatitis B Vaccine is Linked to Infant Death, Multiple Sclerosis and Autoimmune Disorders
• Studies show that the countries with the most vaccines have the worst infant death rate – May 13, 2012
• Australia bans flu vaccines in children after vomiting, fevers, seizures
• Gardasil Primer: Doctors & vaccine injured families speak out!
• Major New Issues with Vaccines Are Surfacing, 26 Apr 2012
• BANNED – 60 Minutes SWINE FLU VACCINE – H1N1 Warning!
• Mutating vaccine causes polio outbreak in Nigeria
• Untested vaccines causing new wave of polio-like paralysis across India
• Reuters – Aseptic Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Widespread MMR Vaccination
• Vaccine failure admitted: Whooping cough outbreaks higher among children already vaccinated
• Swine Flu Vaccine “conclusively” Causes Chronic Nervous System Disorders – The nation of Finland has now openly admitted that the swine flu vaccine “conclusively” causes narcolepsy. The Finnish government says it will pay for “lifetime medical care” for 79 children who have been irreparably damaged by the swine flu vaccine
• HPV Vaccine Blamed for Teen’s Paralysis
• Pneumonia Vaccine Shown to Actually Increase Bacterial Infections It Is Supposed to Prevent – Alarmingly, however, buried on page 16 of their report is the acknowledgement that certain hard-to-treat bacterial infections in children are on the rise because of the widespread use of the conjugated pneumococcal vaccines!

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Vaccine Epidemic

This article gives you tips about parasites and yeasts as a possible cause of cancer – and what you can easily do to rectify the infection.

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Sources–http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=214, http://www.allergyescape.com/human-parasites.html

It is very unlikely that a General Physician will ever tell you that the cause of your illness is a parasite.

And certainly none would ever be so trivial as to tell you a parasite was the cause of your cancer. But parasites do cause cancer – they drain you of nourishment and produce carcinogenic waste products like aflatoxins. One of the most common parasites is yeast. You need some in your body, but an excess can cause a serious problem. Yeast infections like candida, fungal infections, microbes, amoeba, tapeworms and flukes are all parasites.

And the fact that General Physicians never even test for these inhabitants is tantamount to negligence. New research from around the world links stomach cancers to a bacterium, and now colon cancers to microbes (Cancer Watch Spring 2006). Then, some arthritis sufferers have been aided by yeast killers like garlic, diabetics by cinnamon (known to kill yeasts in the blood stream). So it´s time to think again.

“I can´t have a parasite!”

Think again. You have eaten imported fruit, you have been abroad, had ice in your drinks, you have tried sushi, smoked or marinated fish. You have eaten undercooked pork and tainted meat. You could have threadworms from the soil. A large percentage of children contract parasites from their day care centers. Children and adults with dogs and cats at home are at risk for getting parasites. Also, those people that eat at restaurants are at a higher risk because food handlers have been known to spread parasites.

Human parasites are just about everywhere in our environment, so it is easy to become infected. The following is just some of the ways people can acquire parasites:

• • insect bites
• • animal feces
• • walking barefoot
• • handling raw meat and fish
• • eating raw or undercooked pork, beef or fish
• • handling soiled litter pans (cats)
• • eating contaminated raw fruits and vegetables
• • eating meals prepared by infected food handlers
• • drinking contaminated water
• • having contact with infected persons (including sexual contact, kissing, and shaking hands)
• • inhaling contaminated dust (parasitic eggs or cysts)

1. The incidence of liver fluke in British livestock has quadrupled since 1997.  Recalls for meat contaminated with Ecoli and Salmonilla are common in America.
2. BUT – yeasts, amoeba, fungi and microbes are all parasites as well. Normally your good intestinal flora – the friendly bacteria – feed off them at night.
3. What if the good guys are not there? Prescribed antibiotics, antibiotics in foods, steroids, cortisone, chemotherapy drugs, stress, nicotine, an acid body and over chlorinated water can kill off the good guys. Even Genetically Modified food is a threat.
4. Whilst fungal infection of the body may show up as yellow toenails, or thrush in women more general symptoms include feeling bloated after meals wind, irregular bowel movements, sudden fatigue, throat problems, a hangover when you didn´t drink, mouth ulcers, allergies.
5. 70 per cent of men and women in the West have yeast or fungal excess in their bodies.
6. Cancer clinics in the USA and UK are quite clear. Every patient has a parasite – at minimum candida. Contemporary Oncology (April 1993) said cancer patients undergoing radio or chemo often finally succumbed, not to cancer, but to Candida Albicans infestation. Every cancer patient has at least a candida or fungal infection.
7. All parasites deprive you of nutrients; all parasites produce waste products some of which are toxins and carcinogens like Aflatoxin B.
8. How can you tell if you are infected? Go and see a homeopath for a Vega or BEST test. Have a stool test.

1. Starve – Cut out all dairy; yeast products (alcohol, bread, marmite, Oxo, vinegars, mushrooms); all sugars and high glycaemic foods (like fizzy soft drinks and refined wheat); all sweet fruits (especially citrus) and cucumbers, marrows, squash; high sugar root vegetables (carrots, beetroot, parsnips).  Parasites thrive on these foods.
2. Kill – wormwood, caprylic acid (coconut), Pau d´Arco, Neem, garlic, oregano, black walnut, clove, cinnamon (made as a drink from fresh sticks), fennel, bee propolis and hot chillies all work. (Look at the protective diets of hot climates). Try Parafree from Neways plus Wormwood. Holland and Barratt sell anti-candi for yeasts. That should sort them out!!
3. Oxygenate – yeasts and fungi thrive in anaerobic conditions Like cancer cells, they hate oxygen. Exercise, learn to breathe, create an oxygen-rich body.
4. Alkalise – cut sodium, concentrate on potassium and magnesium foods e.g. lentils, nuts, bananas, apples, green leafy vegetables.
5. Boost your immune system; Natural Vitamin C with bioflavenoids, chlorella, total Vitamin E, zinc and selenium. Fish oils with added Vitamin D help gastro-intestinal deficiencies. Essiac, astragalus, cat´s claw and echinacea all boost immunity and work against fungi. Take a good mineral supplement too. Take chlorella – it provides B vitamins naturally especially B-12 and seems to help natural flora thrive.
6. Build the good guys – take probiotic supplements, eat live foods. Normally you have over 300 types of good bacteria in your gut.
7. Cut your glucose/Fructose to a minimum. It feeds yeasts and cancer cells. Replace all sugars with Stevia, where possible – it is a sweetener, which is also anti-fungal and anti-parasitic. Many fungi don´t leave, they just become dormant spores. Don´t let them come back to life. Stick to your diet.
8. Detox – No, not some trendy liquid in a jar – use psyllium seeds with in your smoothie, take an Epsom Salts liver flush, or even have colonic irrigation – it´s a quick way to remove all the dead cells. Fasting also helps.

Related Articles:

• Human Parasites
• 100 Trillion Bacteria in Your Gut: Learn How to Keep the Good Kind There

This article was written by Chris and posted on his blog, ‘Chris Beat Cancer‘ at: http://chrisbeatcancer.com/four-cancer-fighting-spices/

Oregano, Garlic, Cayenne, Turmeric

These four cancer-fighting spices have powerful health benefits and were part of my daily regimen to beat cancer without chemo.  They are common, but not commonly found in American cuisine, so I had to be very deliberate about adding them to my food. I took copious amounts of these four spices and still do today. They are:  Organically Grown Oregano, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper, and Turmeric/Curry Powder.

The Turmeric plant is a relative of Ginger and has been used for thousands of years in Indian Ayurvedic medicine (the science of long life) as an antiseptic and antibacterial agent to treat infection, inflammation, wound healing, poor digestion, etc.  And as you may know, it is also a staple ingredient in Indian, Persian, Thai, and Malaysian Cuisine.

Turmeric is the business because it contains the powerful cancer-fighting polyphenol Curcumin.

Curcumin has been clinically shown to inhibit growth of various cancer cells including: Bone Cancer, Breast Cancer, Brain Tumors, Colon, Liver, Pancreatic, Stomach, Bladder, Kidney, Prostate, Leukemia, Ovarian, Melanoma, and more!

One of its anti-cancer benefits comes from its ability to induce apoptosis (natural cell death) in cancer cells.

Curry Powder, a common ingredient in indian and asian cuisine, is typically a mixture of coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and red pepper.  Love the stuff.

Oregano has extremely high levels of antioxidants and antimicrobial compounds.  One teaspoon of oregano has the same antioxidant power (ORAC) of two cups of red grapes!  It contains the phytochemical Quercetin, which is known to slow cancer growth and also promote apoptosis (there’s that word again).  And on top of that Oregano is a good source of Vitamin K and Iron.

Garlic is a very powerful anti-cancer spice.  Studies all over the world have shown it to lower the risk of developing all types of cancers especially colon, stomach, intestinal, and prostate cancer.  It has strong antibacterial properties as well as the ability to block formation and halt activation of cancer-causing substances. It can also enhance DNA repair; slow down cell reproduction and, like Turmeric and Oregano, induce apoptosis.

The World Health Organization recommends adults have a daily dose of fresh garlic (approximately one clove).  So not only did I put garlic powder on everything I ate, but I also chopped it up raw garlic cloves into little bits and swallowed them like pills.  Did I reek of garlic?  Oh yeah. Did I care?  No I did not.

Cayenne Pepper contains Capsaicin, which is the active compound that sets your lips, tongue, and everything else on fire.  Turns out Capsaicin is also the stuff kills cancer cells, causing……………..can you guess it?
Apoptosis!

Cayenne is also a key ingredient in The Master Cleanse for its detox abilities.

The Hotter the Better: If you can handle the heat, Habanero Peppers contain 4-6 times more Capsaicin than Cayenne with a Scoville rating of 200,000 units.  Yeeoow!!!

The first time I ate a super hot chili pepper was on a dare when I was 20, my  friend Brad Stanfill bit half and I bit the other half.  It was so hot I couldn’t think straight.  I don’t know if it triggered endorphins or adrenaline or what, but we somehow ended up lying on our backs in the grass in our front yard until it wore off.  Good times.

Here’s a super easy way to add more spice to your life:  I use all four of these cancer-fighting spices in a salad dressing I make from scratch. Read about it here.

Not only do I put these spices on a lot of the food I eat, but I also take them in supplement form:

• Kyolic: Garlic Immune Formula
• Thorne Research: Meriva-SR Curcumin Phytosome Formula
• Source Naturals: Oil of Oregano Capsules
• NOW Foods: Cayenne Capsules

List of unhealthy “Ingredients” in and added to Cow’s Milk

Here are just a few of the unhealthy components found in the average glass of pasteurized and homogenized milk on the American dinner table:

• A Veritable Hormone Cocktail: 59 hormones are found in both regular AND organic milk, including pituitary, steroid, hypothalamic, and thyroid hormones (remember most cows are extremely stressed).  Also cow’s milk contains considerable amounts of female sex hormones. Dairy accounts for 60 to 80 percent of estrogens consumed.  The most dangerous hormone in cow’s milk is called Insulin-like Growth Factor, or IGF-1.  This hormone’s danger lies in the fact that it is basically fuel for cells to grow.  This means that if cancer cells are present in the body, IGF-1 will help them to grow and proliferate rapidly.  In fact, the medical world says IGF-1 is a key factor in the rapid growth and proliferation of breast, prostate, and colon cancers, and we suspect that most likely it will eventually be found to promote all cancers.
• Gastrointestinal Peptides:  Nerve and epidermal growth factors, and the growth inhibitors MDGI and MAF.
• Casein – The protein casein in dairy products creates serious problems just like the protein gluten in some grains like wheat. Casein (and gluten) can trigger an autoimmune response and/or mimic endorphins to cause changes in perception, mood, and behavior. The mechanism involved has to do with a failure of a particular enzyme which disassembles the gluten and casein protein, a digestive process necessary for our bodies to extract the nutrients from these proteins. Because of the failure of this enzyme to do its job, a remaining undigested fragment of those proteins survive, and to our defense/immune system this fragment resembles a virus. Then, thinking that it is a virus, our bodies will trigger an immune/defense response to protect our bodies from the ‘invader’. Because this casein fragment is so similar to various disease-causing viruses, it will generate a complex reaction, an autoimmune response which is suspected to play a role in type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis and autism. Complex immune responses damage different tissues in different people, so the range of diseases is very diverse. Also, the undigested casein fragments look like opium-like drugs which can have a significant influence on our behavior and brains. They are literally drugs – and that is why people are so hooked on dairy and gluten!

• Casein, which accounts for approximately 80% of the protein found in milk, immediately clumps together once it enters the stomach, making digestion very difficult. Furthermore, that component is homogenized in the milk sold in stores. Homogenization means equalizing the fat content in milk by stirring it. The reason homogenization is bad is that when milk is stirred, air gets mixed in, turning the milk’s fat component into an oxidized fatty substance – fat in an advanced state of oxidation. In other words, homogenized milk produces free radicals and exerts a very negative influence on the body. The milk containing oxidized fat then gets pasteurized at high temperatures over 212°F. Enzymes are sensitive to heat, and begin to be destroyed at temperatures of 200°F. In other words, milk sold in stores not only lacks precious enzymes, but the fat is oxidized and the quality of the proteins is changed due to the high temperature. In a sense, milk is the worst type of food.
• rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone): Is a genetically engineered hormone directly linked to breast, colon and prostrate cancer. This is injected into cows to increase milk production. It is not present in organic milk.
  
• Pus: National averages show at least 322 million cell-counts of pus per glass!^[2] This is well-above the human limit for pus-intake, and has been directly linked to paratuberculosis bacteria, as well as Crohn’s disease. The pus comes from infected udders on the cows known as mastitis.
• Blood Cells: The USDA allows up to 1.5 million white blood cells per milliliter of commonly-sold milk.^[3] Yes, you are drinking cows blood in the milk and the USDA allows this!
• Antibiotics: Currently, cows are in such a state of disease and mistreatment that they are continually being injected with antibiotic medicines, and rubbed down with chemical-laden ointments to deal with their chronic infections. Currently, regulating committees only test for 4 of the 85 drugs in dairy cows. This means that the other 81 drugs in cow’s milk are coming directly into your glasses and bodies. Estimates show that 38% of milk in the U.S. is “contaminated with sulfa drugs or other antibiotics,” according to a study by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and published in the Wall Street Journal on December 29, 1989. A study from the FDA data showed that over half of all milk was laden with traces of pharmaceuticals yet nothing has been done to control this.

More reasons to avoid milk:

• Milk contains many oxidized fatty substances that damage the intestinal environment, increasing the amount of bad bacteria and destroying the balance of the intestinal bacterial flora. As a result, toxins such as free radicals, hydrogen sulfides, and ammonia are produced in the intestine. Research about what kind of process these toxins go through and what kinds of illnesses arise is still ongoing, but several research papers have reported that milk not only causes various allergies but is also linked with diabetes among children. These research papers are available on the internet, so I encourage you to read them yourselves.

How Does This Affect the Cows?

Furthermore, not only are people drinking in these toxins, we are also taking in the energetic effects of the life of the cow.

Studies show that many cows are infected with incredibly painful inflammatory infections such as mastitis. Due to over-milking, artificial hormones, bacteria and medications, cow’s udders can become chronically inflamed, thus altering the color and taste of the milk.

Over time, this bacterial invasion causes harm to the cow’s mammary gland, reeking havoc on the milk being produced. From parasitic worms to cancerous tumors, these diseases are often passed along to the next generation of cows, and more often, into the milk we drink.

Even more, the conditions in which cows live, as well as the rigorous milking regimes, cause dairy cattle to live in a permanent state of sympathetic (stress) response, as well as adrenal over-load. When our adrenal glands are overworked for long periods of time, there is a overload of cortisol in the blood. When we drink this milk, we are then exposed to the millions of stress-response cells in the milk of cows. It is no wonder that we are a chronically-stressed society!

How To Avoid Dangers Related to Cow’s Milk

In conclusion, it might be a good idea to take a cleansing break from dairy. Here are some ways to avoid the dangers associated with cow’s milk:

• Replace cow’s milk with healthy natural substitutes: coconut milk, rice milk, almond milk, raw goat’s milk or hemp milk.
• If you do insist on drinking cow’s milk, make sure to buy only the non-genetically modified, grass fed, organic raw versions.
• Eat less cheese and always buy organic versions. Goat’s cheese is the best for you!

For in depth information on the dangers of cow’s milk I recommend visiting www.NotMilk.com.

Video –

Sources:

• http://www.pureprecisionchiro.com/the-dangers-of-drinking-milk/
• http://www.sott.net/articles/show/225467-Why-Milk-Is-So-Evil
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120229105128.htm
• http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/dangers-of-cows-milk/

“Allergic diseases have reached pandemic levels,” begins David Artis’s new paper in Nature Medicine. Artis goes on to say that, while everyone knows allergies are caused by a combination of factors involving both nature and nurture, that knowledge doesn’t help us identify what is culpable—it is not at all clear exactly what is involved, or how the relevant players promote allergic responses.

There is some evidence that one of the causes lies within our guts. Epidemiological studies have linked changes in the species present in commensal bacteria—the trillions of microorganisms that reside in our colon—to the development of allergic diseases. (Typically, somewhere between 1,000 and 15,000 different bacterial species inhabit our guts.) And immunologists know that signaling molecules produced by some immune cells mediate allergic inflammation.

Animal studies have provided the link between these two, showing that commensal bacteria promote allergic inflammation. But these researchers wanted to know more about how.

To figure it out, Artis and his colleagues at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine treated mice with a broad range of oral antibiotics to diminish or deplete their commensal bacteria and then examined different immunological parameters. They used a combination of five different antibiotics, ranging from ampicillin, which is fairly run of the mill, to vancomycin, which is kind of a nasty one.

They found that mice treated with antibiotics had elevated levels of antibodies known to be important in allergies and asthma (IgE class antibodies). The elevated antibodies in turn increased the levels of basophils, immune cells that play a role in inflammation, both allergic and otherwise.

This connection doesn’t only apply to mice but also to humans who have high levels of IgE for genetic reasons. People with genetically elevated levels of IgE are hypersusceptible to eczma and infections, and antibodies that neutralize IgE are used to treat asthma.

The antibiotic treatments and IgE did not act by promoting the survival of mature basophils, but rather by promoting the proliferation of basophil precursor cells in the bone marrow. Commensal bacteria limit this proliferative capacity.

That discovery is the real insight contributed by this paper. It has been well known for some time that IgE mediates allergies. But no one knew that bacteria living in the gut may use it to check the growth of immune precursor cells in the bone marrow. The finding might have wide ranging implications and help us make sense of other chronic inflammatory disease states that have also been associated with changes in this bacterial populations. Commensal bacteria might impact these other inflammatory conditions—including cancer, infection, and autoimmune disorders—through this mechanism, as well.

Experts have puzzled over the enormous explosion of asthma and allergies in recent years, and been unable to pinpoint the cause. This paper suggests that perhaps the overuse of antibacterial products could be to blame.

Nature Medicine, 2012. DOI: 10.1038/nm.2657  (About DOIs).

Source – http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/03/those-bacteria-in-your-gut-can-protect-against-allergies.ars

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Related Articles:

• Inner Weapons Against Allergies: Gut Bacteria Control Allergic Diseases, Study Suggests
• Probiotics and Allergies
• Probiotics prevent asthma
• Preventing damage caused by antibiotics
• Increased Risk of Developing Asthma by Age of Three After Cesarean
• Asthma Statistics

Parasites frequently contaminate food and water supplies, promoting illness when ingested. Other modes of transmission include air, insects, animals or other people. Intestinal parasites tax the immune system and deplete the body of essential nutrients. To return the body to a state of equilibrium, it is important to consume natural foods that contain anti-parasitic properties. The diet should also be high in fiber to improve colon function, and maintain a suitable intestinal flora (beneficial bacteria).

Gut Friendly Foods

Parasitic infections show up in the human body when the immune system is compromised. This is frequently associated with an overgrowth of bad bacteria, and a lower percentage of good bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus. Include plain yogurt enriched with healthy bacteria in your diet to replenish intestinal flora. According to Larry Trivieri and John W. Anderson in their book “Alternative Medicine: the Definitive Guide,” fiber-rich ingredients are essential to flush out parasites embedded in the intestinal wall. To help remove a parasitic infestation, use a combination of pumpkin seeds, papaya extract, flaxseeds, beet root, citrus pectin and psyllium husks.

 

Anti-parasitic Fruits

According to Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman, author of the book “Guess What Came to Dinner: Parasites and Your Health,” certain foods are anti-parasitic. These include pineapple, papaya, pomegranate and blackberries. These fruits can be eaten, pressed as fresh juice or consumed in supplement form to combat parasites. Drink up to four glasses of pomegranate juice daily for an anti-parasitic effect. Each glass should contain eight oz. of pomegranate juice; to avoid irritating the intestines, limit consumption to four or five days at a time. Pineapple contains the digestive enzyme bromelain and helps to clear certain parasitic infections, such as tapeworms. Papaya seeds contain enzymes that help to digest protein.

Anti-parasitic Vegetables

Foods renowned for their general anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties include onions, garlic, raw cabbage and kelp. To ward off intestinal parasites, consume two cloves of raw garlic daily. Dr. Mark Hyman, author of the book “Ultraprevention,” also recommends various herbs and extracts, including oil of oregano, citrus seed extract, berberine and caprylic acid. A natural source of caprylic acid is coconut oil, composed of medium-chain fatty acids that have shown anti-bacterial and anti-parasitic properties. Oil of oregano, according to the authors of the book “Healing Foods,” contains two powerful anti-microbial agents known as thymol and caryacrol. These substances have shown to be more effective in treating certain infections than the commonly prescribed drug tinidazole.

Anti-parasitic Nuts and Seeds

Ground almonds and pumpkin seeds are great additions to the diet for their anti-parasitic effects. Almonds help cleanse and discourage intestinal parasite growth. According to a study conducted by Desrivot et al, published in “The Journal of Ethnopharmacology” in January 2007, the anti-parasitic effect exhibited by almonds may be related to the high concentration of fatty acids. Almonds also have a soothing effect and help to reduce intestinal irritation. Authors of the book “Alternative Medicine: the Definitive Guide” suggest adding fresh pumpkin seeds to an anti-parasitic diet. The compound curcurbitin found in pumpkin seeds is responsible for the reported anti-parasitic activity. Consume up to one oz. of pumpkin seeds a day.

The Best Parasite Cleanse Stop! DrFloras is the #1 Leader in Parasite Cleanse – Watch Videos www.DrFloras.com and www.CandidaSupport.org

Original Parasite Cleanse Dr H Clark’s recommended complete cleanse kit- $16.77. Made in USA.. www.OneLifeUSA.com

Red Pine Needle Oil 4 ALL Parasites, Bacteria, Viruses, & Mold. Passes blood brain barrier!

 

References

• “Alternative Medicine: the Definitive Guide”; Larry Trivieri and John W. Anderson; 2002
• “Ethno-pharmacology”; Antiparasitic activity of some New Caledonian medicinal plants; Julie Desrivot et al; January 2007
• “Guess What Came to Dinner: Parasites and Your Health,” Ann Louise Gittleman, M.S.; 2001
• “Healing Foods”; Michael Murray, N.D. et al; 2005
• “Ultraprevention : The 6-Week Plan That Will Make You Healthy for Life”; Mark Hyman, M.D.; 2005

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/120655-foods-kill-intestinal-parasites/#ixzz1rpd43WrX

By Carol Ann Brannon, MS, RD, LD

Do the ingredient lists of your child’s favorite foods confuse you? Do you suspect that your child’s diet is connected to his mood, behavior, learning difficulties and attention span?

Your suspicions may not be just in your head. Studies are beginning to show that to maximize brain development, minimize negative behaviors and help children learn, parents should be very aware of what their children are eating.

As parents, it’s our job to make sure our kids are safe and thriving. We monitor what they see, hear, smell and touch with the hopes that our vigilance will ensure their progress and contentment. What about the food they eat? Healthy eating goes beyond just making sure they eat their veggies. Parents need to be aware of possible toxins in food, where those toxins come from, and how to make sure their kids are getting safe food. The safeguarding of our children’s diet becomes even more imperative when it might impact the value of their learning.

Scientific evidence does indicate that artificial food additives, such as preservatives and food dyes, can affect the cognitive functioning and behavior of some children with learning difficulties (and illnesses that can interrupt learning). Other substances in our food, such as pesticides are also being linked to learning differences, ADHD and influence on brain development. In 1999, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reviewed 17 controlled studies (most focused on artificial colors, some examined the effect of allergens like milk and corn) and concluded that diet does adversely affect some children’s behavior, sometimes dramatically. A 2007 study in Lancet involving 153 preschool and grade-school aged children in the United Kingdom reported that dietary intake of artificial food colorings and additives, particularly the preservative sodium benzoate, resulted in an increase in hyperactivity. Many parents already suspect what science is starting to prove, that pesticides and additives in our children’s food can affect their brain development and behavior. Despite the lack of scientific consensus, there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence citing improvement in ADHD symptoms, including sleep problems and mood changes with diet elimination of artificial additives. Children affected by eczema, asthma, allergies, hives and hay fever may be more responsive to dietary interventions.

Optimize Your Organic Choices Organic produce can be expensive. If you can’t make a complete switch to organic, the solution is to prioritize. According to the Environmental Working Group, families can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80 percent just by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating only the cleanest. Families consuming five daily servings of fruits and vegetables from the least contaminated produce would ingest less than two pesticides daily. The chart below lists the “dirty” dozen and “not-so-dirty” dozen.
Dirty dozen Highest in pesticide residue Try to buy organic	Not-so-dirty-dozen Lowest in pesticide residue Okay for conventionally grown
• Peaches • Apples • Sweet bell peppers • Celery • Nectarines • Strawberries • Cherries • Pears • Grapes (imported) • Spinach • Lettuce • Potatoes	• Papayas • Broccoli • Cabbage • Bananas • Kiwifruit • Sweet peas (frozen) • Asparagus • Mangoes • Pineapple • Sweet corn (frozen) • Avocados • Onions
If organic meat is not in your budget…
• Purchase meat from grass-fed animals and/or hormone-free animals. • Choose low-fat meats as most toxins are stored in the fatty cells of animals. • Trim visible fat and skin from meat and poultry. • Limit red meat intake to two times or less a week. • Exercise portion control; 3 to 4 ounces is considered a portion. • Eat vegetarian meals twice weekly.

Children are more vulnerable than adults to toxins since, pound for pound, they eat and drink more than adults. The use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics in our food has become routine. Advances in biotechnology have yielded genetically-modified crops, and the demand for “convenience” foods have contributed to the increased use of chemicals and additives. Since our kids still have to eat (and get to school and soccer practice and therapy/tutoring appointments and play dates and birthday parties), how can a busy family make sure they are eating the safest, most brainhealthy food? The good news is that there are simple steps parents can take to decrease the toxins in their kids’ food and maximize their learning potential.

The five most offensive food toxins
The first step is for parents to be aware of what is actually in the food they eat. The words “natural” and “wholesome” on food packaging can be misleading and don’t always accurately reflect how the food was grown and/or prepared. Parents need to become familiar with the following five toxic offenders and in which foods you are most likely to find them.

• Organophosphates (OPs) are the most common class of pesticides used on corn, soy, wheat, and various fruits and vegetables. Although the government has set allowable and “safe” limits for chemical residues on conventionally grown produce, a growing number of experts question the current “toxic threshold” (the lowest exposure thought to be harmful). Research indicates that pesticides and toxins are more prevalent in foods than originally thought. A 2002 study found children ages 2 to 5 who ate conventionally grown food had 8.5 times more OP residue in their urine than children who ate organic foods. A 2004 report released by Environment California stated that children exposed to agricultural pesticides can show deficiencies in intellectual development, stamina, balance, hand-eye coordination and short-term memory. New studies are emerging suggesting pesticides, particularly OPs, are linked to ADHD, obesity, diabetes, and learning disorders. Foods to check: fresh fruit and produce.

• Mercury is released into the air and water from coalfired power plants, as well as municipal and medical waste incinerators. Bacteria in sediments and water convert mercury to the more toxic form, methylmercury, which enters the aquatic food chain, resulting in methylmercury- contaminated fish. The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates that minimizing mercury exposure is essential for optimal child health (especially for pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children) because mercury adversely affects many aspects of development, in particular brain maturation. Food to check: fish.
• Artificial food additives make up the more than 3,000 chemicals that are added to our food. Flavor enhancers, dyes, sweeteners and preservatives all serve to give food a longer shelf-life and a more appealing appearance. Today’s foods are first “refined” (stripped of important nutrients and fiber), then highly processed with artificial additives, and then fortified with vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Foods to check: processed foods.
• Dioxins are unintentional byproducts of industrial activities that are released into the air and settle in water bodies, where they build up in fish and on grasslands where they are then ingested by cows. Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of chemicals used in electrical equipment, hydraulic fluids, adhesives and other products. Although banned in the United States in 1979 due to evidence of toxicity even at low levels, their widespread use and persistence in the environment means that they will be present in our environment and food for years to come. These chemicals are especially toxic to growing, developing brains. Prenatal exposure can result in permanent IQ deficits. Foods to check: conventionally produced meat, fish, and dairy foods, especially those high in fat.
• Lead is a toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around homes. It can enter drinking water from plumbing materials, and may cause arange of health effects including behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Children 6-years-old and under are most at risk. A variety of factors can result in lead-tainted water. See www.epa.gov/safewater/ lead/leadfactsheet.html for facts about how to determine if your drinking water might contain lead.

Web and Print Sources Food toxins and learning differences – Bock K and Stauth C. Healing the new childhood epidemics: autism, ADHD, asthma, and Allergies. New York: Random House; 2007. – Persistent pesticides linked to ADHD, obesity, and diabetes. School Pesticide Monitor. Jan/Feb 2007;7(1):1-2. – Learning Disabilities Association of Maine. Healthy homes and families: how to reduce your family’s exposure to toxic chemicals at home. URL: www.ldame.org. – Lemer, Patty, Envisioning a Bright Future: Interventions that Work for Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Santa Ana, CA: OEP Foundation, Inc. 2008. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17825405 (information on 2007 Lancet study) www.cspinet.org www.toyourhealth.com www.children.webmd.com/… www.beyondpesticides.org/… (PDF) www.feingold.org Choosing organic produce/meat/dairy www.organic-center.org www.foodnews.org www.eatwild.com www.helpguide.org/… www.fmi.org/media/… (PDF) www.organic-center.org www.localharvest.org/csa/ www.eatwellguide.org Monitoring the mercury in fish www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/advice/ www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/… (PDF) http://greenliving.about.com/… Organic container gardening www.planetnatural.com/… www.life.gaiam.com/…

11 ways to detoxify the family diet

Below are 11 simple changes families can make to lessen the toxins in their diet. Remember, small changes make a big difference. Parents can choose one change each month, and within a year all the changes will be routine healthy habits. If your family members are big meat eaters, then you can choose just that one area and commit to eating organic beef or chicken.

1. Focus on plant foods: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds. Try to eat these foods before they are processed (an organic apple instead of apple juice, whole grain bread instead of white bread). Buy local produce since imported produce may be higher in pesticides than US-grown produce.
2. Look for sports drinks and juice that are not artificially colored, or that use natural sources of color (beet juice).
3. Avoid artificial sweeteners. Many products that are labeled “sugar free” contain artificial sweeteners.
4. When it’s feasible, choose organic produce (see Optimize Your Organic Choices).
5. Also when it’s feasible, choose organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy foods because they come from animals not given antibiotics or growth hormones, and they must be fed 100 percent organic feed which is free of any animal by-products, hormones, antibiotics or other drugs. Grass-fed meats are preferable.
6. Test your water for lead which can leach from old pipes or from the solder in pipes no matter what the age of the house. See the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines on testing your drinking water (www.epa.gov). Even if you have lead in your water, you don’t necessarily have to replace your pipes. See the National Safety Foundation (NSF) Web site at www.nsf.org to learn more about water filtration.
7. To help block the storage of lead in your child’s body, serve your family meals that are low in fat and high in calcium and iron, including green vegetables.
8. Be aware of mercury levels in fish.
9. Become fluent in reading ingredient lists and labels.
10. Plant an organic container garden. You don’t need to plow up your back yard to grow your own organic veggies.
11. Consider joining a community support agriculture group. For a fee, families can pick up locally grown organic produce each week. Check out www.localharvest.org/csa/ for more information.

With our busy lives and recovering economy, it’s easy to reach for the convenient and inexpensive food. Changing our eating habits may seem overwhelming and outside the budget, but by setting small realistic goals and by making one change at a time, parents can make a big difference in the safety of their kids’ food. And, safer food means a healthier brain.

Read Part II: Related Article: Making the Connection: How Where We Live Impacts Learning then take the Kids Enabled Making the Connections Survey.

This article has been made possible by a 2008 grant from the Learning Disabilities Association of America, Healthy Children’s Project. It is the hope of the LDAG and Kids Enabled to continue informing parents of the toxic risks that can impair learning, some of which are preventable before birth. If you would like more information on the Healthy Children’s Project and current legislation to reduce environmental toxins please visit, www.healthychildrenproject.org. If you would like to get more involved in reducing environmental toxins in Georgia, please email us at info@kidsenabled.com.

Source: http://www.kidsenabled.org/articles/index.php/200906/511/

Related Article: Making the Connection: How Where We Live Impacts Learning