heavy metal detox

cmdh

New Member
Has anyone done a heavy metal detox? difficult child has a heavy metal overload and we were discussing if we should go with IV or medications. I read that each IV can take 90minutes to 3 hrs... also read that 6-9 sessions may be necessary. Part of me doesn't even want to think about IV therapy but the rational side tells me how overly sensitive she is to ALL medications that have to go into her stomach and doing it that way may end up to be even more torture.

I am 'ASSUMING' difficult child will get really bad during this process from the kill off.????? Guess what our meeting to determine if she qualifies for an IEP is scheduled for next week :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Any insite would be greatly appreciated

Christy
 
I really question the helpfulness of a heavy metal detox. I would research the subject and decide whether it would truly benefit your child. You could do a benefit analysis.
 

cmdh

New Member
There is soooo much to understand it's overwhelming! :Bonkers:

Her tests came back that she has a heavy metal overload and she is deficent in minerals. The dr explained that the metals could be the reason her body's isn't absorbing them. Also it could be a complication in her digestion and enzyme problems. Her liver workup also came back high.

Yes these things could have a thousand reasons why but my research supports what the dr. said....that there are more than enough grounds for the detox. I would however LOVE other opinions. I never know if I'm doing the right thing!!!!

I should have gone to medical school!

:Warrior: :Warrior: :Warrior:
 
Here is one article from the Reuters news service:
Benefits of 'detox' diets doubted

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An array of short-term "detox" diets promise to flush toxins from the body, but some critics say these regimens are more likely to only purge people's wallets.
Detoxification diets take many forms, with a parade of books, "detox kits" and other products available at health food stores and over the Internet. But the main tenant of all the plans is that the body needs a hand in removing the toxins that people normally ingest through food, water and air.

A typical regimen may have a person eschewing things like refined sugar and caffeine, drinking a large volume of water and subsisting on raw, organic fruits and vegetables for a week or two -- usually accompanied by herbal products and other dietary supplements meant to enhance the cleansing process.

Detox diets are nothing new, having been used in the traditional healing systems of India and other cultures for thousands of years. Some advocates argue that a periodic detox is more important now than ever, given the exposures of modern living-including food additives, heavy metals such as mercury, pesticides, and hormones from animal products.

But critics say the theory has no grounding in science, and at worst, could be dangerous for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, or for children, teenagers, pregnant women and older adults.

There is "absolutely no evidence" that detox diets eliminate toxins from the body, Dr. Peter Pressman of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles told Reuters Health.

Writing in the magazine Food Technology, Pressman and Dr. Roger Clemens, a nutritional biochemist at the University of Southern California, contend that detox diets serve up "empty promises."

The body's own finely tuned detox apparatus -- the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys and immune system -- handily neutralize and remove toxins, they explain, and there is no evidence that following a detox diet enhances this process.

"Sure, it can make you feel good -- initially," said Pressman. But that energized feeling, he added, is probably the result of cutting calories and cutting out junk food, and not from an expulsion of toxins from the body.

However, Dr. Richard DeAndrea of the Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine in Santa Monica, California, said that before a judgment can made about a given detox diet, "we need to be on the same page about what's meant by 'detoxification."'

DeAndrea is co-founder of 21 Day Detox, a three-week program in which clients spend the first week on an organic plant-based diet, then move on to a "raw" diet of uncooked vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, and finally to a week on a liquid diet-drinking a green concoction of blended fresh vegetables and fruit. For a $199 fee, clients attend workshops where they're taught, among other things, how to shop for and prepare the food.

DeAndrea said there is a "low likelihood" that a detox diet will, for instance, help remove heavy metals from the body.

But reducing the amount of toxins going into the body may aid its own toxin-fighting system, according to DeAndrea. Though little research has been conducted on detox diets in the U.S., he pointed to some study findings supporting the detox notion.

In one published study, researchers at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, found that 25 healthy adults reported greater well-being after a week-long detox, and those improvements were accompanied by an increase in "liver detoxification capacity" -- determined by a measure of the body's caffeine clearance.

According to DeAndrea, his program is intended as "a way to press a restart button." When the three weeks are up, clients are encouraged to keep following a largely plant-based diet and to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

He agreed that certain individuals -- for example, cancer patients, people with heart-rhythm disturbances and people on blood-thinning medications -- should avoid detox regimens, or follow them only under the supervision of their doctors.

According to Pressman, a short-term detox is unlikely to harm a young, healthy person, and may indeed leave them feeling better. But, he said, good health ultimately boils down to the often-repeated advice to exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy.

SOURCE: Food Technology, May 2005.
 

cmdh

New Member
I wanted to share an article I found a while back but couldn't find it again. I did find a review of it... it does a good job of giving an overview ... just another opinion about Detoxing


From the Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients
May 2003

review by Irene Alleger

Detoxify or Die
by Sherry Rogers, MD
Sand Key Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 40101
Sarasota, Florida 34242 USA
888-846-6687; www.prestigepublishing.com
Quality paperback, 2002, 409 pp.
$22.95

A 21st Century Paradigm Shift
The author's title suggests a seriousness not usually given to the subject of detoxification in the search for health. However, this author is eminently qualified to assess the gravity of environmental pollution's effects on our health. Sherry Rogers, MD is well-known in the CAM community, as author, educator, and an international specialist in Environmental Medicine. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice, a diplomat of the American Board of Environmental Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. With this broad background and more than 30 years in practice, Sherry Rogers brings together all of her expertise combined with new research in this book. Backed up by more than 700 references, Detoxify or Die goes well beyond the general health admonitions to eat whole foods, exercise, and avoid chemicals (only if you don't eat, drink or breathe!).

A very important point is emphasized by Dr. Rogers in her Introduction: "You have been brainwashed into believing that the diagnosis given to your condition, a mere label, is the end of the line. But nothing could be further (and more dangerously) from the truth. In fact, the name or label that has been given to your collection of symptoms is totally inconsequential. The only thing that matters is what has caused the symptoms…"

Chapter I presents the incontrovertible evidence that environmental chemicals are everywhere and we cannot avoid them. Studies have shown, for example, that breast milk of Inuit mothers reveal some of the highest levels of modern chemical poisons. How do these chemicals get to pristine areas in the Northern hemisphere? Chemicals from industrial smokestacks are disseminated into the air and from there, clouds carry these carcinogenic leftovers from plastic manufacturing such as dioxins and PCBs, into every crack and crevice of the earth.

A chemical called phthalates outgases from all plastic products such as plastic wrap, babies' bottles, and styrene cups. The chemistry of phthalates, unfortunately resembles that of many hormones, making them potent environmental endocrine disruptors, capable of interfering in human development and increasing hormone-related cancers.

The chemical and food industries vehemently assert that small amounts of these chemicals are harmless. That is true, says Dr. Rogers, but they neglect to mention that since we cannot detoxify all of the many chemicals we inhale and digest every day, they bioaccumulate in our tissues.
Heavy metals are another dangerous substance in our environment now. Cadmium, aluminum, mercury, antimony, lead, and arsenic are some of the heavy metals added to the food chain "by industrial discharges, pesticide runoff, incinerator emissions, manufacturing smokestacks, as well as from aviation, auto and commercial vehicle exhaust." Aluminum contamination, for example, is contributing to the rise in Alzheimer's disease. Many readers will be surprised to find that aluminum can be found "in baking powders, aluminum-lined juice boxes and other packaging, plus coffeemakers, thermoses and even as an anti-caking agent added to salt and sugar so that 'when it rains, it pours.'"

Chapter II describes how these chemicals are stored in body fat; our bodies were not designed to metabolize chemicals that were invented yesterday. An EPA biopsy study showed that 100% of people studied had dioxins, PCBs, dichlorobenzene, and xylene stored in their bodies — some of the most potent causes of cancer known to us. These inescapable everyday chemicals permeate every aspect of our lives.

Dr. Rogers explains the body's own "built-in" detoxification system: Phase I enzymes and minerals work to remove toxic material from the body and in Phase II a powerful detoxifier called glutathione sends chemicals through the liver and out with the garbage. But this wonderful system was not created to deal with literally thousands of chemical assaults on our bodies. The system also needs important nutrients from our diet in order to function, and for many Americans, that means they are probably not getting rid of any of the environmental burden. So how can we protect ourselves?

Sherry Rogers is a qualified nutritionist and rounds out chapter II with a detailed protocol of diet and supplements designed to help clear the body of toxic chemicals and keep it that way. Some of her recommendations: Whole Foods, Vitamin C, Lipoic Acid, Glycine, Detox (coffee) enema, and Macrobiotics.

In Chapter III the author makes the case for environmental toxins causing all disease. She describes the major health-destroying chemicals and heavy metals, their sources, EPA studies, and how ubiquitous these substances are in our everyday environment. Studies are cited showing that 95% of cancer, for instance, is caused by diet and environment.

Chapter IV discusses how getting rid of environmental toxins reverses disease, emphasizing sauna for serious detox and leading to Chapter V — "How to Detoxify." This chapter lays out all the proven ways to detox, and a thorough discussion of the many new tests available that can help assess your chemical body burden.

The author has used cartoons placed strategically throughout the book, to emphasize important points and more than 700 scientific references are cited, along with Resources for products mentioned.

Sherry Rogers writes at the beginning of Detoxify or Die "If you are serious about healing, then brace yourself for a crash course in curing whatever ails you. I'll take you step-by-step through the most important paradigm shift of your life…the secret is in getting your body so chemically unloaded and nutrient primed, that it heals itself." Jeffrey Bland, PhD has called Sherry Rogers' new book a "tour de force" and I could not agree more.
 
There are many ways to approach health. One camp feels the need to detoxify, while another feels that building up the body will do the same job. Each person must determine the right approach for themselves.
 
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