Detox Talk is a lively and frank discussion of natural techniques, therapies and products designed to create optimum health.
Thursday, 28 January 2010
We're tweeting!
Just a minor post to say that we're now tweeting @thedetoxshop. We'll be revising our whole Detox Talk section shortly so as to combine our blog and tweets to make it much more fun for you to learn and share your experiences.
Those who know me know that I follow a very healthy diet, predominated by raw fruits and vegetables with a little helping of nuts, seeds plus occassional superfoods like fresh pollen, blue-green algae and seaweeds. It's seen me in good stead; in my 30s I'm undoubtedly in better shape than a decade ago.
It was therefore nice to spend an afternoon in the sunshine talking with others who follow or wish to follow a frugivorous diet. In my personal experience and having talked to many others, one of the biggest blocks to following a raw diet as well as one of the most overall damaging things that can happen to one's health is exposure to the heavy metal mercury.
Mercury exposure typically comes from one of two sources, although there are other ways to get poisoned by it. The two most common routes people get exposed to mercury are from eating seafood and from mercury amalgam filings in their teeth. Avoiding seafood is relatively straightforward! Vegetarians have been doing this throughout their lives and mankind's striking genetic similarity to other primates suggests that we didn't start out as fish eaters. Certainly no other monkey eats fish and there are plenty of other concentrated sources of Omega Essential Fatty Acids. Nuts and seeds provide these in abundance - an occassional serving of hemp, flax or walnuts provides ample for our needs.
Amalgam filings however are another question, especially if you've got one (or more) implanted in your skull right now. Amalgam filings are the dark coloured metal filings often given as standard free filings on the UK NHS. They are made from a mixture of metals including mercury. They are commonly given since they are very cheap and generally are long lasting. Yet aside from these benefits, a wealth of research now points to them causing many health issues and indeed their use is now illegal in both Sweden and in California.
Once in, amalgam filings can cause issues by three methods according to the works of the pioneering dentist and health researcher, Dr Hal Huggins. The three are:
1 - By leaking mercury vapour. They'll do this often and particularly while you eat or drink. This YouTube video illustrates the point well:
2 -By harbouring bacteria. Amalgam filings often shrink as they age and the gaps down the side harbour a particularly toxic type of bacteria. Safe there from brushing, their secretions suppress the immune system and damage digestion. My partner had suffered from allergic rhinitus (blocked and runny nose with lots of sneezing) together with bloating immediately after eating and poor digestion. Her filings showed visible gaps when photographed closely and her immune system showed it was working constantly against something. Within one day of removing her filings all symptoms massively reduced.
3 - By electric charge. The mix of metals in an amalgam can create an electric charge which is activated whenever anything steel is entered to the mouth, for instance a fork. This was my own personal case. Approaching my 30s I had spots like a teenager, despite good healthy habits. I also had forgetfulness. I had my mouth measured with an instrument that checked electrical charge and sure enough, there was an electric charge every time we put steel on the filing. It was literally shocking my nervous system every time I ate. After I removed the filing, my mental clarity improved vastly, almost like awaking from a dream and my spots cleared to now just an odd one after a naughty indulgence. My memory is also very sharp and I can recall words, events and faces well without hesitation.
There are some excellent testimonials from clients who've seen Dr El-Essawy, a dentist specialising in mercury amalgam removal on London's Harley Street, here:
To have a mercury filing removed is a vital first step towards health. Numerous health experts from as far back as Professor Arnold Ehret in the early 1900s have stated the dangers of mercury toxicity and Dr Brian Clements, director of the world reknown Hippocrates Healing Institute, told me flatly when I met him in London last year that without dealing with heavy metal toxicity immediately, further inroads towards health may be cut off. Patients need to treat it as a matter of priority.
Yet having a mercury filing removed is not something to be undertaken lightly. There are dangers - ingesting just a small piece of the filing would have the potential to cause severe illness. I personally know of one lady who was a lively professional life coach, full of energy and joy. She had a filing removed by an ordinary dentist with no experience or awareness of the dangers of mercury toxicity. She slipped into a deep depression and lost her energy after the proceedure. Three years later she's out of work, suffers from a variety of health issues and has little lust for her work, marriage or life.
To have a mercury filing removed, it would be best if the dentist provided an immune strengthening programme in the lead up to the proceedure. I had mine removed by Dr Philip Wander who was not only Beckham's dentist, he founded and chaired the British Homeopathic Dental Association. Prior to my removal, he checked my immune system to ensure it was strong enough to handle any extra stress and gave me an immune system supporting diet and supplement regieme to follow. I also took a homeopathic remedy to make my system more effective in shedding mercury from it on the finals day leading up to the removal, on the day and for a day or two after.
During the mercury filing removal, I had a dam placed in my mouth to prevent any small chips entering my system. I also had an assistant provide a vacuum to immediately deal with any chips. Immediately after my immune system was checked and in that day it more than doubled in strength! Replacement filings were provided in the form of composite filings. These are white coloured filings made from resins and other non-metallic materials. Dr Wander tested a variety against my immune system to ensure bio-compatability before placing them. They've proved to be durable and I've had no problems since - this is about 3 years now.
After removal I continued a mercury detoxification protocol to remove any residues from my system. This involved special tinctures made from Chlorella with Cilantro oil as these cause mercury to be excreted in the urine. I also took a full bentonite colon cleanse and followed that with regular supplementation of ozone since ozone oxidises and forgein material in the system.
The net result of it all has been a phenomenal change in my personal life. I've experienced a return to health that I previously only associated with my youth. My energy levels are high and I've taken to training in martial arts intensely at least 3 times a week. My mind works better than ever before and I've been able to learn a huge variety of subjects. I'd previously wanted to be a raw foodist however I'd always felt myself sick and tired by dinner time each day I tried. I used to have to go to bed by 7pm if I was raw for a day. Not any more! Immediately after having the mercury removed I was able to go fully raw and, although I do on social occassions enjoy cooked food, I can happily say that for about 3 years now I've eaten almost 95% of my weekly food raw. I don't feel sick or tired at all, in fact people associate me with high energy as I'm bouncing off the walls most days trying to work out what I can do to get rid of all this excess energy!
Dr Wander retired earlier this year and I'm very grateful for his care and his work in promoting mercury free holistic dentistry in the UK. I would recommend that anyone who is looking to improve their health consider the materials presented here on the dangers of mercury poisoning. Look at YouTube for video information and read the books of Dr Huggins. The US Food and Drug Aministration (the FDA) has even reversed it's long time stance on the subject and begun issuing warnings on mercury filings and now states on it's own website that there are neurotoxic (that's a fancy way of saying brain damaging) effects. There are plenty of other options to having mercury stuck in your mouth and perhaps it would therefore be a good idea to talk to a mercury-free dentist about how best for you to proceed?
BMC Pediatrics recently conducted studies into the effects of Oxygen Therapy on Autistic children. The results were published by BMC Pediatrics and covered further by BBC News. The exciting development was of a study showing that Oxygen Therapy - in this case through the use of a Hyperbaric chamber - was bringing significant improvement in the social interaction and eye movement of children with autism.
It is theorised from these studies that the additional oxygen supply reduces inflammation and increases the oxygen available to brain tissues. It has already been shown that oxygen therapy is of some benefit in other neurological conditions such as foetal alcohol syndrome and cerebral palsy.
This recent study shows yet again that human cognitive function is improved by the addition of higher oxygen levels. Aside from assisting in the restoration and reduction of impact in neurological conditions, it is worth noting that in the average modern city the available oxygen levels in the air are far less than those which human beings are biologically adapted for. Humans can trace their origins back to the early rainforests in a time period where there was no industrial pollution to decrease the amount of oxygen available.
Just like we feel more emotionally centered when exposed to sunlight levels similar to these environs, we also have an optimal mental function together with greater immune capacity when we enjoy oxygen levels closer to that which we were designed.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy systems have demonstrated real benefits to humans in several ways however they aren't particularly accessible for the average home user! How then can home users enjoy some of the benefits of higher oxygenation? Some of the common ways of increasing blood oxygen levels include liquid formulas as well as ozonated magnesium tablets and powders. These easy to use formulas provide a great way to balance out the lower atmospheric oxygen levels that modern life exposes us to.
You can find out more about these oxygen therapy products together with their health benefits for a wide range of conditions by reading what many regard as the Bible of Oxygen Therapy, Ed McCabe's Flood Your Body with Oxygen: Therapy for Our Polluted World. Alternatively take a course in one and look at the differences in your own energy and concentration levels.
Since launching The Detox Shop in 2008 we've been overwhelmed with just how curious and informed a great many of our customers are! From scrutinising every last ingredient in a formula in detail to comparing protocols used in detoxification regiemes, it's been fascinating for us to hear so many people's ideas, experiences and results. We wanted to be able to give something back and share some of the information coming through to us. Your stories and enthusiasm has gotten us positively buoyed!
To that end we realised a simple and easy way to cover best practices, tips, news, offers and events was appropriate and so Detox Talk was plucked from the ether! We hope you'll enjoy our discussion and we actively encourage you to post comments, good, bad and ugly. Detoxification and cleansing is a passion for us and we're always willing to learn more. In the real world results are different for everyone and by pooling our knowledge we can advance our studies further.
. Alternatively take a course in one and look at the differences in your own energy and concentration levels.