What causes autism? - Page 4

[Bestbirths]

I heard that it is not safe to have the amalgams removed while nursing because it stirs up the mercury and can put even more into the breastmilk.

[chasmyn]

Even if it is done safely? Really? I better look into that. I wanted to do it because I'm nursing and it can transfer to the breastmilk. Had I known before I got pregnant just how important this was, I'd have certainly done it then. Sigh.

*****

Just did a quick Googling for info and it appears that you're right on - thanks so much for pointing this out. I'd hope that the dentist I was going to consult with would have said the same, but you never know. I suppose I'll have to wait until DS finished nursing.

Will extra selinium and vitamin C help with DS not being so affected by it?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Tome coming up...

There's a lot here to answer:

Bestbirths

I think you are pretty much spot on in general, but if you've even read a book called Pottinger's cats, you will know that it took four generations of cats to reverse the nutritional damage done in I've forgotten how few generations.... and that was in a short space of time, with more equal conditions, and only involved food, not all the other stuff as well.

When we talk about epigenetics, its very clear that they know demethylation is carried down the generations, but they also know it can be reversed. But its like Bradstreed and Goldman (not Goldberg)... they are only just switching their brains on, and how long will it be before they join all the dots, you know?

Also, in the period from 1894, they used some pretty heavy duty toxic metals for veg and fruit sprays, like Arsenate of copper and Arsenate of Mercury... and then there was DDT... now, the heavy duty sprays are different, but you just have to go to ourstolenfuture.com to see what a mess commercial agriculture is reducing us too, not to mention that GE crops require greater spraying....and its not just us. Animals are starting to see developmental problems, the difference being that they don't tolerate those differences in the wild. Those offspring are killed.

So I guess if this is true, to truely reduce autism it might be a good idea to get your almagams removed, hair test & chelate yourself before you have children.. ain't hindsight grand????

Yes, its true.

Chasmyn

MT, do you know by chance (well, actually by exhaustive research) how long the pill continues to affect one's system? I was on it from 14-21, and I went off it by choice when a nurse told me there were no long-term effects. Even then as unresearched as I was, I knew that that couldn't possibly be true.

That depends on the person, but in Ellen Grant's book she details some changes that can be for life, such as vascular changes, but others that she details can be reversed. If you are really interested, to on to a second hand book place like Abebooks.com and put in her name and "sexual Chemistry" Also "The Bitter Pill " 1985 Hamish Hamilton and Corgi, but last time I looked for that one it was about 180 US :. I found Sexual Chemistry enough for me, but the Bitter Pill was the one she first wrote when her patients started having problems and she wanted to collate what they were finding out at the same time, about the pill.

She also has some stuff at BMJ.com. I went over there and did a detailed search clicking E communications as well, and putting two words pill, and minerals into the search. Here are some of her posts:'

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/elett...7154/329#69506

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/elett...7463/467#72387

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/elett...268/1042#10702

I then did another search looking for letters just using just her name and hormones which came up with...

RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Scientific reasons for rejecting hormonal contraception
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/331/7527/1223-a#122773, 1 Dec 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Unreason in science - Irrational promotion of hormones as medications
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7501/1214#107639, 23 May 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Pharmaceutical Medicine and the truth will out about hormonal contraceptives?
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7496/0-g#106444, 11 May 2005

Full text
LETTERS:
Ellen C G Grant
Reduction in mortality from breast cancer: Fall in use of hormones could have reduced breast cancer mortality
BMJ, Apr 2005; 330: 1024 ; doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7498.1024-a
...for screening, could be due to the reduction in the use of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy after warnings of increased risk of thrombosis....
...Less than 12 months' use of most hormone replacement formulations increased the risk of breast cancer risk; quantified at 45-63% in the million...

Extract

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Free lunches and hormone use promotions
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7496/0-g#104469, 20 Apr 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Underreporting of congenital anomalies caused by hormonal contraceptives and nutritional deficiencies
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7481/27#100397, 15 Mar 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Cancer, thrombosis and hormone use
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7487/326-c#97526, 22 Feb 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Re: Re: Hormone use causes zinc deficiency and strokes
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7487/342#97289, 20 Feb 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Hormone use causes zinc deficiency and strokes
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7487/342#96999, 17 Feb 2005

Full text
RAPID RESPONSES:
Ellen C G Grant
Hormone use causes zinc deficiency
http://bmj.com/cgi/eletters/330/7487/342#96901, 15 Feb 2005

none of which you can see, because BMJ has become user pays... if you want to see anything in the last 12 calendar months...

An advanced Google searching putting Dr Ellen C. G. Grant in the phrase and trying other words in the word box might throw up stuff as well...

But Ellen did send me this on 10 December 2004 which seems to be relevant here... when I asked for information on something specific..

:
To the Editor,

Preventing allergies


In “Talking to patients” (Sept 5) Dr Adrian Morris confidently condemns the use of vitamins and minerals in the management of allergies. Dr Morris appears to have little knowledge of the advantages of using Nutritional Medicine to prevent or reduce allergic reactions to common foods and chemicals. The British Society for Allergy, Environmental and Nutritional Medicine (BSAENM) was founded 25 years ago and the Society’s textbook, “Environmental Medicine in Clinical Practice”, is an excellent introduction to this fundamental part of medical science.1


My own original research found that migraine and benign hypertension could be prevented by the avoidance of the major precipitants in the 1970s. Patients with higher serum copper/zinc ratios reacted to more foods. In several studies patients with low red cell magnesium levels were significantly more likely to have reactions. Low superoxide dismutase function in red cells, a sign of copper deficiency, also relates to increased reactivity. In my 45 years experience of Clinical Medicine and Research, these are the most important tests in diagnosing the reasons for many illnesses, including troublesome allergies, because deficiencies in mineral cofactors mean impaired function of hundreds of enzymes. Drug-Promoted-Medicine is trying to hold back the tide of progress towards understanding basic disease mechanisms. 2,3

Ellen C G Grant MBChB, DObstRCOG

Kingston-upon-Thames

1 Anthony H, Birtwhistle S, Eaton K, Maberley J. Environmental Medicine in Clinical Practice. BSAENM Publications 1997.

2 Gershwin M E, German J B, Keen C L. Nutrition and Immunology. Principals and Practice. Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 2000

3.Clinical Nutrition of the Essential Trace Elements and Minerals. The Guide for Health Professionals. Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 2000.

So she knows her stuff...

All this shows you that the issue is there, but the problem is, that since 1960, they've kept their big mouth shut. And Ellen gets into huge trouble with her colleagues, because she won't shut up. She's the only honest one around. Dr John Lee mentions her in his books, so he is listening, sort of...


If you have the patience, this is a long BMJ thread I accessed through a google search, and it might be of interest. Ellen has two letters on this thread. (By the way, John Rumbold turned out to be a troll. So see, even BMJ can't keep'em out!)

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/329/7466/588-b

But I didn't start being aware and eating well until I was 25, and really well until 28. I'm 34 now. Also, I have seven amalgams, which I am having removed this month.

I'd do more reading and researching. You will find it mind-boggling to start with, but it will all come together. I promise you

Will extra selinium and vitamin C help with DS not being so affected by it?

You need to read up on Selenium and also work out whether you are in a selenium deficient state in the USA. Here is the map:

http://www.saanendoah.com/map1.html

Have a look at the foods you eat. Obviously if you pig out on Brazil nuts you might not want to consider a selenium supplement. Selenium is very important, but an excess is as bad as a deficiency.

But selenium is so very important for the immune system you need to get it right:

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/h...ish_309902.htm

http://www.organicfood.co.uk/vms/selenium.html



This next URL is no longer active, but there used to be this:


http://www.rowett.ac.uk/divisions/ce.../selenium.html

Prof. John R. Arthur

The focus of my research is on the mechanisms whereby selenoproteins mediate the essential biological functions of selenium. Initial work on the role of selenium in iodothyronine deiodinases has led to the recognition that the micronutrient influences thyroid hormone and iodine metabolism as well as already widely studied antioxidant systems. This research has also concentrated on the role for selenium in redox regulation of cells as a component of thioredoxin reductase. I am investigating how selenium-induced changes in thioredoxin reductase activity may underlie changes in metabolism of lipids as well as oxidising and xenobiotic chemicals in the cell. These studies are part of our efforts to understand how low dietary selenium intake may contribute to the high incidence of coronary heart disease in Scotland (collaboration with Dr Geoff Beckett University of Edinburgh). I also intend to explore how selenium deficiency may be involved in control of cell transcription factors through redox regulation via thioredoxin. In collaboration with Prof. John Hesketh (University of Newcastle) studies are being carried out to identify mechanisms of enzyme/organ targeting of selenium to selenoproteins involved in antioxidant systems, redox mechanisms and thyroid hormone metabolism.

In projects funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) I am investigating the effects of selenium supplementation of adults with initially low selenium status on selenoprotein expression thyroid hormone metabolism and antioxidant status. This work is associated with further FSA funded studies to assess the influence of selenium status on immune function (collaboration with Professor M Jackson, University of Liverpool).

Recent Publications:

Arthur, J.R., Beckett, G.J. and Mitchell, J.H. (1999).The interactions between selenium and iodine deficiencies in man and animals. Nutrition Research Reviews 12, 57-75.

Arthur, J.R. and Beckett, G.J. (1999). Thyroid function. British Medical Bulletin 55, 658-668.

Brown, K.M., Pickard, K., Nicol, F., Beckett, G.J., Duthie, G.G. and Arthur, J.R. (2000). Effect of organic and inorganic selenium supplementation on selenoenzyme activity in blood lymphocytes, granulocytes platelets and erythrocytes. Clinical Science 98, 593-599.

Villar, D., Nicol, F., Arthur, J.R., Dicks, P., Cannavan, A., Kennedy, D.G. and Rhind, S.M. (2000). Type II and type III monodeiodinase activities in the skin of untreated and propylthiouracil-treated cashmere goats. Research in Veterinary Science 68, 119-123.

Arthur, J.R. (2000). The glutathione peroxidases. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences 57, 1825-1835.

Arthur, J.R. and Beckett, G.J. (2000). Some biochemical functions of selenium in animals and man. In: Trace Elements in Man and Animals 10, Roussel, A.M., Anderson, R.A. and Favier, A.E. (eds.), Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp. 843-847.

Miller, S., Walker, S.W., Arthur, J.R., Nicol, F., Pickard, K., Lewin, M., Howie, A.F. and Beckett, G.J. (2001). Selenite protects human endothelial cells from oxidative damage by tertiary butyl hydroperoxide and induces thioredoxin reductase expression. Clinical Science 100 543-550.

Lewin, M.H., Hume, R., Howie, A.F., Richard, K., Arthur, J.R., Nicol, F., Walker, S.W. and Beckett, G.J. (2001). Thioredoxin reductase and cytoplasmic glutathione peroxidase activity in human foetal and neonatal liver. BBA 1526 237-241.

So plainly, its an important issue...

Other selenium attributes: Man needs sulphur and its natural contaminant, selenium for skin, hair, fingernails and toenails and to build certain amino acids in the cells and brain, and make sulfonated compounds for the joints.

Suphur has a key interaction with selenium, and is often referred to as the stepchild of sulphur...Ohio is very low, Dakota and Nebraska are very high...the wheat and corn grown in Ohio are so low in selenium, that cattle feed was, at one time, shipped from South Dakoa in order to supply adequate selenium, before supplemental animals feeds with Selenium was allowed.

Too much selenium and you can get problems. Acute poisoning causes fever, inceased respiratory and capillar rate, gastroenteritis, myelitis, (inflammation of the spinal cord and hone marrow) anorexia and even death Not to mention loss of hair, nails and teeth, dermatitis lassitude and progressive paralysis.

But in this country, Selenium is so low...that it just doesn't happen.

Oh, on that note, I noticed that the New Zealand recommendations for selenium are higher than the NIH USA. Ours are...Men 85 mcg, Woman 70 mcg, Prenant 80 mcg, lactating 85 mcg, with an upper routine limit of 200 mcg.

I take around 150 mcgs in summer plus 3 brazils (can't miss out on my brazils...)

Back to the science.

What does selenium deficiency do? Well, with a deficiency, there is a reduction in the activity of the enzyme gluthathione peroxidase, and this results in reduced immune function, which has its greatest effect on the helper T dependent cells and production of Ig.M is impaired. Which is important since IgM is one of the front line Th1 antibodies which is made in the early stages of an infection.

Deficiency in selenium or Vitamin E also show reduced natural killer cell activity. (So why isn't Bradstreet looking at this? )Neutrophils and macrophages from animals with a selenium deficiency show low glutathione peroxidase activity and a failure to kill ingested candida yeast, yet bacteria killing may remain okay. (so why isn't Bradstreet looking at that?)

With regard to the enzymes. Glutathione is essential for
-detoxification and liver function
-effective immune response
-antioxidant defence
-male fertility (in my experience, low sperm counts can be turned around by organic diets, Vit E, Selenium and a multi-vitamin. Only problem (for some women) is a reported increase in male libido.......)
-blood sugar metabolism
-blood pressure regulation
-tumour inhibition
-inhibition of thrombus formation in diabetes
-prevention of neurodegenrative disorders like Alheimers disease, Parkinson disease, Huntington's chorea, stroke and brain trauma.

Effective Glutathione is important for T cell proliferation, development of large CD8+ T cells, cytotoxic T cell activity and production of CD16+ natural killer cells. Which results in poor response to antigen presentation, and weak immune responses to infectious agents.

Glutathion protects and repairs liver tissue under severe acute and chronic alcohol exposure (not that using it gives you an excuse to abuse even more )

Selenium protects against the toxic effects of the pollutants cadmium, and mercury. It helps prevent chromosome breakage in tissue culture...

It is interesting that children suffering from malnutrition fail to grow when given a recuperative diet, IF THAT DIET IS SELENIUM DEFICIENT, because selenium is necessary for protein synthesis.

While it protects against the toxic effects of the pollutant cadmium, and mercury from all sources, it also increases the effectiveness of vitamin E, and it reduces the chances of all types of cancer. In communities where selenium intake is low, the cancer rate is high.

An adequate intake of selenium for animals is 200 parts per billion, and this is probably sufficient for man. But I don't know how to translate that into a dose. So I wouldn't go beyond 200 mcgs. It is however, crucial for the proper functioning of the human body being a primary promoter of human cells mitosis/meiosis, and human "growth".

In animals selenium deficiency is directly related to nutritional muscular dystrophy, spontaneous swelling and haemorrhages, pancreatic atrophy, liver necrosis and infertility.

It appears to be stored in the liver, and remains constant in the blood until these stores are depleted...

It is the basis of the unique enzyme system Glutathion eperoxidase, which destroys peroxides before they can attack cellular membranes, while the vitamin E acts within the membrane itself preventing the oxidation of membrain lipids.... peroxidase activity represent overal selenium status... anemia in premature infants have been attributed to reduced glutathione activity in erythrocytes. Selenium does not substitute for sulphur in the body, as was once thought... but has a unique biochemical function.

Men have large stores of selenium, and secrete it in seminal fluids.

Selenosis is very rare. Too much selenium, generally absorbed from inorganic salts or from organic compounds in plants, produces toxic symptoms, as it is one of the most poisonous elements in the universe.

These include loss of hair, nails and teeth; dermatitis; lassitude and progressive paralysis. Acute poisoning causes fever 103 - 105... Increased respiratory and capillary rate, gastroenteritis, myelitis, anorexia and even death...

Veg food souces are brewer's yeast, garlic, brocolli, mushrooms, liver, shellfish, Brazil nuts and eggs. Animal sources are richer than vegetables. All foods lose selenium in processing. Brown rice has 15x the amount of selenium as white rice, and whole wheat bread twice as much selenium as white.

So its a balancing act. One I don't have to worry about, because where I live is so chronically short of selenium, its little wonder we have the highest rate of cancer and other selenium deficiency problems...

If you really want your mind boggled do an advanced google search, put selenium in the second box, and pdf in the other, and then sit down and get mentally constipated.

When I was found to have mercury toxicity we tried removing the amalgams, but the results were horrendous for me. I had two years of dreadful health... so all I did was increase my selenium and other minerals along with my normal stuff, and when I was tested a year ago, my tissue levels were very low.


This extract is very important though, for all mothers to consider:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q..._uids=12169835

Biol Neonate. 2002 Aug;82(2):122-7. Related Articles, Links


Maternal selenium nutrition and neonatal immune system development.

Dylewski ML, Mastro AM, Picciano MF.

Department of Nutrition, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.

We evaluated the impact of dietary selenium intake on neonatal immune cell differentiation and function. A low selenium intake during pregnancy and lactation produced reductions in maternal plasma selenium (33%, p = 0.0001), milk selenium (36%, p = 0.001), and corresponding neonatal plasma selenium (47%, p = 0.008). Thymocytes from neonates receiving low-selenium milk showed an impaired activation in vitro (p = 0.001). The percentages of CD8 cytotoxic T cells (p = 0.03), CD2 T cells (p = 0.09), panB cells ( = 0.02), and natural killer cells (p = 0.07) were all decreased in neonates nursed by mothers fed a low-selenium diet. The results indicate that maternal selenium intake impacts neonatal selenium status which in turn influences the neonatal immune system development. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel

PMID: 12169835 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

We know all about this too:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Muscle Nerve. 2003 Jun;27(6):662-8.


Skeletal muscle disorders associated with selenium deficiency in humans.

Chariot P, Bignani O.

Department of Pathology, Hopital Henri-Mondor, Creteil, France. [e-mail]

Skeletal muscle disorders manifested by muscle pain, fatigue, proximal weakness, and serum creatine kinase (CK) elevation have been reported in patients with selenium deficiency. The object of this report was to review the conditions in which selenium deficiency is associated with human skeletal muscle disorders and to evaluate the importance of mitochondrial alterations in these disorders. A systematic literature review using the Medline database and Cochrane Library provided 38 relevant articles. The main conditions associated with selenium deficiency fell into three categories: (1) insufficient selenium intake in low soil-selenium areas; (2) parenteral or enteral nutrition, or malabsorption; and (3) chronic conditions associated with oxidative stress, such as chronic alcohol abuse and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. In low soil-selenium areas, reversibility of muscle symptoms was similar after selenium supplementation and placebo administration, suggesting a role for other factors in the development of disease. In parenteral or enteral nutrition, or malabsorption, muscle symptoms improved after selenium supplementation in 18 of 19 patients (median delay: 4 weeks). The reason that only a minority of selenium-deficient patients present with skeletal muscle disorders is unclear and is possibly related to cofactors, such as viral infections and drugs. Prospective studies of selenium-deficient myopathies would be useful in critically ill patients, alcohol abusers, and HIV-infected patients.

You will find a huge amount of very interesting information if you look hard.

And I believe a lot of this has relevance to autism in children.

The question is, why are they not looking at it?

Why do they just seem to want a pharmaceutical based "treatment"?

[MammaV]

bump

[chasmyn]

Wow, such a wealth of information, thank you MT! I'll be reading all of it, and getting those books - at least "Sexual Chemistry" - from my library. Or buying it if need be.

Apparently I now live in a Seninium deficient area, but until June of 2004, lived in an adequate area. The question is, how much of the produce I ate THERE was grown locally? I have no idea. At any rate, it looks as if selenium supplementation would be a good idea based on the sources you cited.

And apparently amalgam removal isn't recommended for breastfeeding mamas. Maybe selinium supplementation would be sufficient to keep the effects at bay for my nursling? I'm not entirely sure whih is the lesser of two evils at this point (need to do more research) - "safe" removal of amalgams now with selenium/vitamin C supplementation (DS is 5 months old, I intend to do CLW, so 2 more years of nursing at least), or keep them in and keep the supplementation, risking also continued dosing of leached mercury in the breastmilk?

When I first decided to do removal I thought "safe removal" meant no worries. I ought to know better, nothing is as it seems. Always do more research! I am learning that this is true no matter what I think I already know.

As always, MT, you provide much insight and thought-provoking information. Thank you so much for taking the time to offer all of these links for me (and others who find them valueable). You are BETTER than Google because you know what you're looking for.

I feel this is relevant to the conversation also:

My first son was born with a severe heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart system (severely underdeveloped left heart). Fatal - ALWAYS - if no intervention (surgical, sadly). MY gut told me when he was born that a big part of his defect came from my being in a poorly ventilated office sitting next to a warehouse full of TOXIC solvents every day, breathing in those fumes all damn day. Not every day, just on the days that the did restoration of fire/flood damaged items, but as the office was poorly ventilated, did those fumes ever really leave? I propped open the door to the outside no matter how cold it was just so I could breathe some days.

The other part, my gut said, was me. I don't know how exactly, but reading lately, all of the information above and this whole thread, I can definitely see the connection. As far as the medical and scientific community is concerned, HLHS is "random" - they have no idea of the cause, and because of its infrequency, it is difficult to do thorough studies.

At the time I thought I was eating healthy (according to SAD, I was) - I wasn't. Partly organic, mostly unprocessed, but still, many things that now I'd not touch. My amalgams, diet, environment, possible vitamin and mineral deficiencies, depleted adrenals, possible thyroid issues, all of these things I believe were contributors. Honestly mostly that damn breathing in of the toxic solvents, but I can see now where my own biological connection can be made. (Not to take on blame, because really, I didn't know - but to educate myself and possibly others for the future.)

I didn't know enough then - I had him vaxed with that compromised immune system - I KNOW it affected him. Despite his never being sick in his 2 years and 8 months of life, I know it affected him. He had started to speak and then after one of his vaxes (I think MMR but I'm not sure), he stopped altogether. One day he was saying "apple", the next, he forgot almost all of his vocalizations except the very basics (mama, daddy, kitty). My gut told me it was the vaxes once I learned about the damage.

I could go on and on, but my 5 month old requires my attention now. I just wanted to add that to the conversation.

[JaneS]

Will be madly reading tonight!

I want to add that Tylenol/Advil greatly reduces glutathione levels so add that to the standard toxic medical arsenal. (And vitamin C increases it.)

I just think much is not known about breastfeeding and removal. I did bf 1x a day during beginning of removal and I shouldn't have really. It's just NOT worth the worry, trust me. Just another one in a long line of stupid things I've done! My holistic dentist (who is a clw bf'ing mom) said it was fine during bf'ing. My ND not. There was one study of the IAOMT protocol that showed no appreciable raise in mercury blood level while using this advanced protection protocol.

But another study did show breastmilk contained 8 times more than blood level of mercury generally. I think they are at the DAMS site: www.amalgam.org

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Chasymyn, I will get back to you... I have to go to town.

Just quickly wanted to reiterate this.

Originally Posted by JaneS

Will be madly reading tonight!

I want to add that Tylenol/Advil greatly reduces glutathione levels so add that to the standard toxic medical arsenal. (And vitamin C increases it.)

which is why anyone who gets hormone related migraines should never take either. By reducing the glutathione levels, you increase the level of the hormone that triggered the migraine, and that's why so often when people take Tylenol/advil in these circumstances the rebound headache can be worse than the original.

I just think much is not known about breastfeeding and removal. I did bf 1x a day during beginning of removal and I shouldn't have really. It's just NOT worth the worry, trust me. Just another one in a long line of stupid things I've done! My holistic dentist (who is a clw bf'ing mom) said it was fine during bf'ing. My ND not. There was one study of the IAOMT protocol that showed no appreciable raise in mercury blood level while using this advanced protection protocol.

But another study did show breastmilk contained 8 times more than blood level of mercury generally. I think they are at the DAMS site: www.amalgam.org

True. I think like many things that topic is knowledge in progress.

Which is a euphemism for "we are not quite sure yet what it is we should know." Be back later...

[LolaK]

Since we are talking so much about vitamins and minerals here - who is a good person to go to to check out one's personal health in terms of getting the "right" amount of all the important vitamins and minerals? Certainly a classically trained nutritionist would be little help is my guess. Would I go to a homeopathic healer even though there is nothing "wrong" with me? Or a holistic doc?

[chasmyn]

My answer, for what its worth, is go to a naturopath. And maybe some applied kinesiology would work, too (muscle testing). But definitely a naturopath. I have heard so many people say such wonderful things about really getting to the bottom of things with their NPs.

[JaneS]

Lola,

I agree, see an ND if you need some initial direction. Some people like chiropractors for this as well, it depends on the specialty and skill of the practitioner.

But do a lot of reading on your own to get to the bottom of things... it will be invaluble in finding your own commitment to a life change.

The elements of a healthy diet are as hotly debated as politics and religion. What I think is the optimum diet, Nourishing Traditions, is anathema to others.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Lola K, I work it out myself. Naturopaths don't have as much "invested" in 'getting it right' as I do :

Originally Posted by chasmyn

Apparently I now live in a Seninium deficient area, but until June of 2004, lived in an adequate area. The question is, how much of the produce I ate THERE was grown locally? I have no idea. At any rate, it looks as if selenium supplementation would be a good idea based on the sources you cited.

Well, what some people here have found is that selenium added to their normal schedule has meant they don't have so many infections in winter, if any at all.... but then they are also Vitamin C nuts, and love garlic, so there's some other confoundings for you.

And apparently amalgam removal isn't recommended for breastfeeding mamas. Maybe selinium supplementation would be sufficient to keep the effects at bay for my nursling?

It's hard to be sure, but if vitamin C and selenium have reduced my levels of cellular mercury toxicity, then theoretically it would be logical that it would do no harm to you or her...

I'm not entirely sure whih is the lesser of two evils at this point (need to do more research) - "safe" removal of amalgams now with selenium/vitamin C supplementation (DS is 5 months old, I intend to do CLW, so 2 more years of nursing at least), or keep them in and keep the supplementation, risking also continued dosing of leached mercury in the breastmilk?

Makes you want to run away and hide, huh?

When I first decided to do removal I thought "safe removal" meant no worries. I ought to know better, nothing is as it seems. Always do more research! I am learning that this is true no matter what I think I already know.

Well, "safe" removal was a disaster for me. But then I'm queer.

As always, MT, you provide much insight and thought-provoking information. Thank you so much for taking the time to offer all of these links for me (and others who find them valueable). You are BETTER than Google because you know what you're looking for.

I think when you start to know the language, and understand the biological links, its easier to find stuff on the net.

Before that, its sort of like going into the library and trying to find something in a heap of books with all their covers ripped off.

My first son was born with a severe heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart system (severely underdeveloped left heart). Fatal - ALWAYS - if no intervention (surgical, sadly).

My sister's daughter had something similar, and they were told she would die, but amazingly, she has refused to. She's had various operations for this and that, and now is 26. Every year they tell my sister she might live until shes a few years older than she is now, and every year Anna proves them a load of monkeys.

She has a haemoglobin level of 400, blood that's very thick and refuses to take warfarin. But I would have to admit that discussions with her Heart specialist does now show deterioration in her overall wellbeing. But given that when she was 14, they wanted to do a heart lung transplant, my sister agreed, but Anna told them to stick it, and was prepared to take them all to court (saying {takes off her clothes} "Look at me, I look like a shark attack victim. I've had enough. No more...")

She lives her life to the full, and has packed more into it than many 70 year olds. That's all you can ask I guess.

MY gut told me when he was born that a big part of his defect came from my being in a poorly ventilated office sitting next to a warehouse full of TOXIC solvents every day, breathing in those fumes all damn day. Not every day, just on the days that the did restoration of fire/flood damaged items, but as the office was poorly ventilated, did those fumes ever really leave? I propped open the door to the outside no matter how cold it was just so I could breathe some days.

It's so hard to know s:

The other part, my gut said, was me. I don't know how exactly, but reading lately, all of the information above and this whole thread, I can definitely see the connection. As far as the medical and scientific community is concerned, HLHS is "random" - they have no idea of the cause, and because of its infrequency, it is difficult to do thorough studies.

I could be a multitude of things. They now know that Down's Syndrome can be prevented with folic acid. Sometimes things like fumes take vital minerals and vitamins out of you and you don't know your body is chewing through extra. There could be a whole raft of interrelated issues that you will never know about, becuase they just don't know enough...

At the time I thought I was eating healthy (according to SAD, I was) - I wasn't. Partly organic, mostly unprocessed, but still, many things that now I'd not touch. My amalgams, diet, environment, possible vitamin and mineral deficiencies, depleted adrenals, possible thyroid issues, all of these things I believe were contributors.

But the point is you did the best you knew how then, and that is more than most people do, so please don't beat yourself up about it.

Honestly mostly that damn breathing in of the toxic solvents, but I can see now where my own biological connection can be made. (Not to take on blame, because really, I didn't know - but to educate myself and possibly others for the future.)

Good. That's called responsible decision making...

I didn't know enough then - I had him vaxed with that compromised immune system - I KNOW it affected him.

Well, you know, we were all like that once. If we'd known, what we didn't know we didn't know, we wouldn't have done what we didn't know we should have done.

Or something. :

Despite his never being sick in his 2 years and 8 months of life, I know it affected him. He had started to speak and then after one of his vaxes (I think MMR but I'm not sure), he stopped altogether. One day he was saying "apple", the next, he forgot almost all of his vocalizations except the very basics (mama, daddy, kitty). My gut told me it was the vaxes once I learned about the damage.

Was myocarditis ever found?

[mammom]

:

[Bestbirths]

I am using the writings of Andy Cutler and his books and writings which are available on the internet to determine how much of each supplement to give to ds....So far everything we have done has been a and we have seen lots of gains. Ds is exausted because of yeast die off though, but still we are seeing lots of gains. I am exausted because of dealing with his 31 hour day sleep cycles....and the dosing is keeping me up tonight until I make some kind of situation where it is all laid out for him, and maybe he will take the supplements himself, but its hard to take a chance that he will forget, so I will wake up at 3 am to dose him.

I wonder if anyone is reversing genetic damage quickly......is that what all of the stem cell research is about? YK, it seems they wouldn't want to use the stem cells of fetuses whose parents had amaglams and were vaccinated....I'm just wondering out loud because I believe that if we can find the cure for autism, then maybe finding the cure for genetic damage isn't too far fetched. I think waiting for generations for genetic damage to heal just sucks. It's unnacceptable.

[JaneS]

MT,

How is cellular mercury toxicity tested? How soon did it go down after removal?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

The problem is that we mere mothers are so far ahead of the thinking of the experts that essentially we are breaking ground for them. The problem is its a bit hard to get them to hear, when you yell at them from ten miles ahead, and between you is a blizzard of dissembling from so called experts.

Personally, I say nothing now. I get laryngitis and its not worth it. It's better to concentrate on getting a child up and running.

Stem cell research IMO has no positive in this field. the problem is, now that epigenetics is so strong, they are realising that genes can be normal, but methylated, in which case, they act like defective genes but are not.

Therefore the study of genes is moot.

What you need to study is epigenetics, not genetics.

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Well, good question. Isn't it nice to ask me a question about which I can't answer?

For a change, she's human. The last time they tested it, I was so sick I never asked for an explanation. I had a thyroglossal cyst that was infected, with pleurisy, and thought I was about to cark it. When the doc said "I want to redo " I just said "Shut up and get on with it" shut my eyes, and then went to sleep for three days.

Apart from sitting onthe toilet every now and again, drinking and shifting hot water bottles on my front and back of my chest.

I never bothered to ask, because to me it was academic. I never thought I'd ever get into a discussion on it here, or else I might have asked. In my own defence, that was before I know about internet, in 1999....

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

and... they might do it different now..? :

the same doc tested me for Epo-3 last year, to find I'm clear, which might also explain why it cleared well for me....

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

He uses me as a bit of a guinea pig, becuase I'm odd and defy the odds... .

I don't mind, so long as all he does is take stuff out, and not put anything in. Blood tests and stuff don't bother me...

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Jane S, you know who might know the answer to your question. Long Island...

[BabyDakota]