Some people have symptoms from the release of toxins, including skin rashes, headaches, fatigue, nausea, irritable bowel, and confusion or memory problems. If you experience these side effects, take buffered vitamin C or get the help of a Functional Medicine practitioner.
MEDICAL CARE PLAN
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In a medically supervised detoxification program, many other nutrients, herbs, and phytonutrients may be used, including alpha lipoic acid, bioactive whey protein, amino acids such as taurine, glycine, glutamine, calcium-D-glucarate, and methionine.
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Specialized tests, which assess your body’s detoxification system, including genetic testing for detoxification enzymes, and tests for heavy metals, including tests of blood, urine, and hair, may be necessary.
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Detoxifying from heavy metals is an important step on the road to health for many and needs to be done with an experienced and qualified healthcare practitioner.
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SPECIAL NOTE: DETOXIFYING FROM HEAVY METALS
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Aside from addressing hidden food allergens and helping people balance their blood sugar and consume a whole-foods diet, one of the most powerful ways to correct many chronic health problems is a medically supervised heavymetal detoxification program.
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Proper testing, preparation, and care are needed in order for safe and effective heavymetal detoxification. Below you will find the steps I often recommend just to prepare my patients for heavymetal detoxification. I will also outline options available for treatment.
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I want to reinforce that this
must
be done with a qualified healthcare practitioner.
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Below I describe the most important steps to help prepare you for safe metal removal. Once you have improved your health and optimized your detoxification system, you can begin working to remove metals from your body through various approaches, including safe amalgam removal (see
www.iaomt.org
) and the use of chelating agents such as DMSA, which is a prescription
medication designed and approved for lead removal in children, but also effective for mercury and many other toxic metals.
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While there needs to be more research in this area, the current body of evidence, my experience, and the experience of thousands of other doctors and patients make it clear to me that this can be a critical part of the process of healing for chronic illness, including mood, behavior, and neurodegenerative diseases such as autism, ADHD, and dementia.
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For an excellent consensus position paper on heavymetal detoxification developed by the group involved with autism treatment called DAN! see
www.autism.com/triggers/vaccine/heavymetals.pdf
.
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GETTING READY FOR DETOXIFICATION
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These are the general guidelines I use with my patients for you to follow with your doctor. They should generally be done in collaboration with your healthcare practioner and may take a few months.
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1.
Optimize Gut Function
—First optimize your gut function by eliminating the common food allergens and taking probiotics and enzymes for one to two months before detoxifying.
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2.
Optimize Your Nutritional Status for Detoxification
—You can do this by using healthy fats (omega-3 fats, olive oil, and flax oil), the amino acids found in plants and lean animal proteins (which boost your liver’s detoxification capacity), and minerals, particularly zinc and selenium (which help your body detoxify metals).
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3.
Enhance Your Liver’s Detoxification Pathways
—Especially the sulfation and methylation pathways—by taking folate, B
12
, and B
6
, and eating foods that contain sulfur, such as broccoli, collards, kale, daikon radish, garlic, onions, and omega-3 eggs, as well as supplements such as alpha lipoic acid and n-acetylcysteine.
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4.
Use Herbal Support for HeavyMetal Detoxification
—Include alginate, cilantro, garlic, and milk thistle.
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5.
Start Sauna Therapy
—Make sure you take adequate electrolyte and mineral replacement to prevent dehydration and mineral loss from the sweat.
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6.
Optimize Elimination Routes for Metals
—This includes your urine, stool, and sweat by drinking plenty of clean pure water, eating a diet high in plant fibers, and taking daily saunas for thirty minutes.
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