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Approaches to Detoxification
Overview –
Environmental toxicity (organic pollutants and heavy metals) is a grave threat
to health – your health and that of your descendents. Lifestyle factors (which
you can alter) interact with genomic “weak links” (which we can analyze and help
you accommodate) to determine at what age you will become ill (when the toxins
will get to you). The most important thing that we can do (after getting you
through an acute health care crisis) is to optimize your intracellular
nutritional status, and then move Heaven and Earth to identify, and then remove,
every toxic molecule from your body – to return your biochemistry to the
pristine state that Evolution and/or Our Creator intended. These concepts are
outlined below and are discussed in greater detail on heartfixer.com and in our
presentations (YouTubes and information sheets are available to you).
Diagnosis – Which toxins do you bear and why do you retain them?
1. Genomic Analysis: While we can and will detoxify you without knowledge of
your genomic status, an understanding of your inherited weak links will alter
(and improve) our approach.
Methyl Cycle Nutrigenomics: The Methyl Cycle is the backbone of your
biochemistry. Methyl Cycle defects prevent you from coping with environmental
toxins, viral and bacterial invaders, and compromise proper reading of your
genetic code. Chronic, difficult to explain disease states, neurodegenerative
conditions involving the young and premature “age related” conditions, likely
reflect an interaction between environmental toxins and Methyl Cycle
predispositions. While we can’t change your DNA, if we know your weaknesses, we
can create nutritional “work arounds”, improving your ability to detoxify and
defend.
Detoxification Genomics: We vary in our ability to activate (Phase I) a
toxin, and then to combine it with a chaperone molecule (Phase II) that escorts
it out through the kidneys or GI tract. If we know your detox weak links then
we can support them with specific supplements/dietary interventions.
Oxidative Stress Genomics: Here we look at, and then take steps to
optimize, your intrinsic ability to neutralize the free radical oxidative stress
that you are experiencing on the basis of your toxic burden.
We have an instruction sheet to help you obtain this data (starting with 23and
me.com) which I can analyze, and then suggest “work arounds” for any genomic
predispositions that you bear.
2. Organic Pollutants: These are non-metallic, fat-soluble molecules that
bioaccumulate and compromise our physiology (and that of our offspring),
particularly with respect to weight gain, diabetes, and neurologic disease.
Agent Orange, phyllates, bisphenol A, pesticides, and petroleum products are a
few of the 100s of organic pollutants to which we (and our Mothers) have been
exposed to (yes, this stuff readily crosses the placenta). These molecules
disrupt our endocrine system, lead to oxidative stress as we attempt to detoxify
them, and produce rents in the cell membrane, facilitating metal ingress. Fat,
liver, and nerve biopsies would give us the most complete measure of organic
pollutant burden but obviously are not practical. We can estimate your tissue
pollutant burden with:
A. The US BioTek organic pollutant screen looks at seven common organic
pollutants and compares your personal levels against that of the rest of the US
population. This $125 test is easily done at home (a dipstick is dipped in a
morning urine sample and then sent to the lab).
Its downside is that it weighted more towards recent exposure then to chronic
body burden.
B. The Genova Labs NutrEval and Metabolics studies give us markers of Styrene
and Petroleum product exposure, along with a great deal of ancillary information
regarding nutritional and detox function. NutrEval and Metabolics testing is
covered by Medicare (not by Medicare Advantage plans); with commercial insurance
the out-of-pocket co-pay is $170. This is the best single test in Metabolic
Medicine.
3. Heavy Metals: Metals enter our tissues, bind to proteins, and leave only
slowly - if at all (the half-life of mercury in the nervous system is 10-20
years). Metal exposure may vary, in relation to where you live and work, but as
innate detox is so slow, metals bioaccumulate. Tissue levels rise with age,
with a concomitant increase in your risk for metal-induced or metal-aggravated
disease states (conditions associated with inflammation or oxidative stress –
neurologic and cardiovascular). We need to estimate your body burden and then
remove these elements that do nothing but harm. So how best to estimate the
level of metal accumulation within your internal organs?
A. Blood levels reflect recent exposure, and are of value in monitoring lead
exposure in kids, industrial exposure in adults, and in epidemiology studies.
However, blood metal levels bear little relation to body burden, and are not of
value in adult detoxification medicine.
B. Red cell metal levels tell us what your physiology has been exposed to over
the preceding three months. Red cell metals (and minerals) is included in the
NutrEval, or could be obtained for $160 from Drs. Data.
C. Provocative Challenge is the accepted best estimate of body burden. Here we
administer oral and IV metal binding agents, with metal quantitative in a
subsequent six hour urine collection. Your cost ($250) includes our fee, the
lab fee, and the IV and oral chelating agents utilized.
Treatment
– How do we get this stuff out of you?
Methyl Cycle, Detoxification, and Oxidative Stress Resolution Genomic
Abnormalities: Nutritional supplementation and dietary avoidance measures
are recommended, specific to your individual inherited weak links.
Chelation Therapy for Metal Detoxification:
A generic term referring to the administration of agents that bind to and then
remove toxic metals (but not organic pollutants) from your body.
1. Mg-EDTA: A series (20-40) of 3-hour IV infusions containing Mg-EDTA,
B-Complex and Vitamin C. Mg-EDTA was used in the NIH sponsored Trial to Assess
Chelation Therapy (TACT, which demonstrated an 18-38% reduction in 5-year
adverse event rate when chelation therapy was added to standard
pharmaceutical/interventional management in individuals with prior heart
attack). I have been treating my patients with Mg-EDTA for 25 years; we were
first amongst cardiology practices and third overall with respect to patient
participation in TACT. When Lead and Cadmium are the problem, EDTA is the
most effective chelator, and IV therapy is the most efficient approach. The
magnesium content is also helpful in BP management.
2. Ca-EDTA: Calcium-EDTA alone is infused over 15 minutes. With respect to
metal removal, both IV approaches are likely equally effective, but here you do
not receive IV nutritional support. We favor Mg-EDTA in individuals with
cardiovascular disease/hypertension and Ca-EDTA in younger patients (or if time
constraints preclude you receiving a three-hour treatment).
3. Med Five is an enteric coated oral chelator that is taken concomitant to any
IV chelation (blocks recycling of bound metals from the GI tract back to the
circulation).
4. DMPS: 25 years ago, our only toxin was Lead, and EDTA was all we needed.
Today we are being bombarded with “new and improved” toxins, particularly
Mercury. EDTA does not remove Mercury from your cells! We remove mercury with
“di-thiol” chelators: DMSA and DMPS. DMPS can be administered IV, but this
agent is well absorbed orally, and in this format is less costly and easier to
take. Compared to EDTA, DMPS binds less avidly to Lead and is not an efficient
Cadmium chelator.
5. DMSA: Available over-the-counter or by standard or compounded prescription,
DMSA will bind to and remove Mercury and Lead, but not Cadmium, and DMSA is not
as powerful as EDTA or DMPS. DMSA is typically taken as 3-500 mg, 3 times a
day, over 3 consecutive days, once a month, or within a program of DMSA 500 mg
near bedtime, 10 nights on, 5 nights off.
6. Phosphatidylcholine-EDTA (DeToxMax or LipoPhos EDTA): Phosphatidylcholine
and EDTA are admixed in a fashion such that Phosphatidylcholine serve as a drug
delivery vehicls for EDTA, dramatically enhancing its absorption following oral
administration. Phosphatidylcholine-EDTA serves as a slow and steady approach to
metal detoxification, of particular value to patients with vascular
insufficiency (please see our YouTube presentation).
7. Med Five: Med Five is a patented enteric coated EDTA/phosphatidylcholine
tablet that we feel is better absorbed than standard oral EDTA preparations (see
www.medfive.com). I helped design Med Five and am a co-holder of its patent.
My personal patients can obtain Med Five at a discount (you receive a
password). The discount is a plus for you and resolves conflict of interest
concerns (otherwise I would not be able to talk to my own patients about a
health promoting approach that I helped create).
8. Static Magnetic Field Chelation: Exposure to a static magnetic field
increases intracellular energy potential and increases the efficiency of any
metal chelation program that we might employ (I have been utilizing a negative
field sleep pad for 20 years). Sleep pads can be purchased at
magneticosleep.com.
Organic Pollutant Detoxification:
We cannot bind and remove organic toxins, but we can enhance your ability to
marshal your metabolic resources to do so.
1. Nrf-2 translocators (the classic example is sulforaphane) stimulate the liver
to generate detox and antioxidant enzymes (Phase 1 Detox). All of us will
benefit from this approach.
2. Detox chaperones such as glutathione, taurine, glycine, and calcium-glutarate
can be taken to assist the liver in processing toxins out of our bodies (Phase
II Detox).
3. Ionic Footbath: Your feet or hands are immersed in salt water, in to which
an electrode imparts specific frequencies. The water is ionized; the field
enters your body, and appears to break ionic bonds between toxins and your
normal molecules. The toxins are drawn out in to the water in a sort of
“reverse electroplating” or “forced sweating” effect. That toxins are being
removed has been verified by third party chemical evaluations (with the Asyra
unit). I’m not sure whether metals can be removed by the footbath, but
hydrocarbon toxins are, and it seems to be particularly well suited to patients
with gout. Footbath therapy is low in cost and lends itself well to in-home
use. This approach may or may not remove pharmaceutical agents, and thus we
advise against carrying out a foot bath soon (< 2 hours) after taking in a drug
agent.
4. Far Infrared Sauna (FIS): Sweat carries out with it toxic substances. We
sweat less as we age (aluminum containing anti-perspirants harm us here).
Regular sauna will sweat out toxins, but the extreme heat will not be tolerated
by many of you. FIS utilizes lower heat levels coupled with low level radiant
energy derived from ceramic plates to generate active sweating. FIS is
therapeutic in several cardiovascular conditions (FIS is covered under Medicare,
but we don’t offer this treatment - we can’t have people prancing around the
office in their bathing suits).
5. Asyra Homeopathic Detoxification: The Asyra device imprints treatment
frequencies, specific to you, into a homeopathic carrier liquid – you take
sublingual drops twice a day. Asyra is repeated and new drops are generated
every 2-3 months over 1-2 years. Again, we cannot prove this approach with an
allopathic lab study, but our observation is that our patients receive benefit
from this approach. Asyra testing and therapy is available in Monroe, Michigan.
Costs – Your insurer will not cover the costs of any form of
detoxification therapy. They will describe it as “medically unnecessary” or
“experimental”. I will not write letters to request “pre-authorization” – this
is simply a waste of time and risks labeling you as a “troublemaker”.
Detoxification is a comprehensive and often long-term process, and it is not
inexpensive, but I think that you are worth it. Please consider what you spend
on a new car, or on a vacation, and then ask yourself what your health is
worth. If you do not wish, or cannot afford, to undergo detoxification, then we
can still help you - and we will help you - but our focus then (by necessity)
will be confined to nutritional intervention that you can afford and the
administration of insurance covered drugs and invasive treatments to deal with
the consequences of long-term toxicity. Why not prevent this? I personally
spend a lot of time and money on my personal health (supplements, VSEL
Activation, exosomes, growth factors, detox, and lots of running shoes). I like
the idea of vibrant health and a vibrant mind, and I also realize that being
sick ultimately will cost me more than staying healthy (working one extra year,
because my health is so good, will pay for a lot of vitamins)! I also realize
that “next day” and “fully covered” surgical approaches to preventable health
conditions may not be available to me in later years (what is the wait time for
bypass surgery or a knee replacement in England or Canada)?
Politics
– Leave this at the door. I am not interested in verbally sparing with other
physicians who don’t know anything more about nutritional biochemistry and
detoxification than I do about delivering babies or removing gall bladders. Do
not expect me to compromise on science to meet the expectations of other
doctors, insurance companies, or government agencies that just don’t understand
(or wish to understand) the devastating consequences of organic pollutant and
metal accumulation on our health and the health of our children and
grandchildren.
James C. Roberts MD FACC FAARFM 12/23/23