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Re: MCS advice, TRACS air purifiers

A Reader writes:

Hi: Ed

I have a question I hope you can help me find the answer to. I have been reading your website on air cleaners. Thanks for your time in developing this. It's been a great source of information.

Anyway, I believe I am developing chemical sensitivities.

I'm a 55 year old male, currently a teacher. I've never smoked nor worked in an industrial setting, but was exposed to second hand smoke from 3 adults as a kid (my parents and grandmother).

It seems about 20 years ago I started to really notice that certain perfumes really stunk. I later started to experience headaches when getting a whiff of certain scented lotions, soaps and laundry detergents. I also believe my sense of smell is more heightened than average.

I recently had a first episode of viral pneumonia and now have a chronic intermittent intense cough and am very sensitive to chlorine (showering and trying to swim with my sons).

Is this possibly MCS based in the history I provided?

What type of physician should I see for further workup?

And what do you think of the TRACS purifiers. They are made close to where I live and reportedly filter as well as the IQAir. I tried an Austin HM+ which seemed to help but found it too noisy. I am going to try the TRACS next as they are made locally.

A Reader.

Ed's Reply

Hey Reader;

TRACS is a premium air purifier manufacturer, their products do compare with IQAir. But hey are a minor player, with very low sales volume and thin support.

I am not real excited about the UV lamp in general, especially marketing claims based on viral suppression. Maintenance issues and costs outweigh the supposed benefits.

If you have an inside line and are sure of future filter and service availability, that would be a plus. TRACS is quality, so I would not discourage you, but I'd personally get the IQ.

You are likely sliding toward MCS. I get many cries for help, and cannot really help the majority.

Most people, especially those with serious health problems, cannot make the leap to accepting full personal responsibility for their own situation.

Dude, only you can help yourself.

The message is there in "air purifier power." The passive role of "patient" should begin to be unacceptable as you gain knowledge of the situation - if this is not happening, try harder.

While this may seem harsh and belaboring the point, self-reliance is the absolute gospel with MCS and related syndromes.

That said, I am much stronger at 63 than I was at 40, due entirely to adopting the above philosophy and complete avoidance of the medical profession, which I regard as compromised (being generous). Medicine is not science, it is a business.

So I cannot suggest a personal physician, other than to say that a naturopath specializing in CFIDS/MCS is far preferable to a conventional M.D.

But if you are planning to run the gauntlet of hospital/nursing home environments, there is no better ally than a smart, aggressive, open minded personal physician. Someone who knows you, your health history, and will show up in person at the hospital to defend your rights.

Good luck finding such a doctor, they face intense pressure to conform. I have known hundreds of M.D.s (medical family), and trust only a few.

Most researchers in the MCS/CFS/FM area are not M.D.s. Very few mainstream doctors will deal with these treacherous waters for fear of a charge of medical heresy. One who has is Dr. Paul Cheney.

See his clinic's website: Dr. Cheney CFS

I do suggest that anyone with any dental metals in their mouth immediately see a biological dentist properly qualified to remove dental Mercury amalgams. So many sick people will balk at this critical step: "too expensive"/"My dentist quotes the ADA, which says Mercury is OK."

What I can do for a few motivated MCS/CFS/FM folks is provide guidance, in the form of suggested concepts and search ideas. The majority will NOT follow this lead and will read an article or two and then drift on.

By focusing your research on what matters, you will save precious time - I have been struggling for 45 years - thanks so much to Al Gore for inventing the internet, the increased intellectual productivity and freedom of ideas has saved my life.

MCS centers around the liver and detoxification. Glutathione, the body's principal sulfhydryl detox molecule, is depleted.

For MCS, immediately get Glutathione powder. I like Jo-Mar Labs. Glutathione cannot be taken through the stomach, but small amounts, dissolved in the mouth, on a frequent basis, will prove beneficial. One very important aspect of recovery is self-confidence. Glutathione used properly will reduce the "herxheimer" die off symptoms and chemical reactions, it's the first step in changing your mindset from suffering victim to being in control of your own cause.

Hydroxocobalamin and Nitric Oxide

What has helped me enormously is switching from the ubiquitous, toxic, synthetic, form of Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocobalamin) to frequent sublingual doses of the Hydroxo version, Hydroxocobalamine.

I recommend all Fibro/CFS/MCS folks study Hydroxocobalamine/Nitric oxide immediately.

Dr. Martin Pall has written a tome on the subject, which involves nitric oxide and peroxonitrite radicals. The book, "Explaining Unexplained Illnesses," is expensive, but Google and pursue these leads for sure.

I think CFS leader Dr. Paul Cheney (above) is using the real B-12 protocols now...

The Methylation Hypothesis

A related concept which I also endorse is The Methylation Hypothesis. The idea is that individual resistance to environmental toxins and microorganisms depends on the availability of methyl groups.

This is another study block which might take several days.

Leaders in this area are researcher Rich van Konynenburg, Ph.D, ("richvank" in the forums) and autism specialist Dr. Amy Yasko.

Therapy involves using methyl donors, notably Methylcobalamin (the "real" vitamin B-12) and TMG (trimethylglycine).

I would do this even if I wasn't ill, because the methyl donors recycle Homocysteine, elevated levels of which are implicated in virtually every degenerative disease.

Notably, methylation of DNA is associated with the shift in candida albicans polymorphisms - changing the notorious yeast from its invasive myocelial form into the harmless coccoid form.

Paraphrasing the Terminator: "Google methylation if you want to live".

"Fibromylagia" and Fluoride Toxicity

In my opinion, another issue every chronically ill individual should research is Fluoride Detox. This enzyme toxin and thyroid killer bio-accumulates in fat cells and bone. This stuff is everywhere, not just in food and water, but very heavily added to many pharmaceuticals.

Chlorine is heavy in the water supply. Bromine is in baked goods and flame retardants added to many products, like mattresses.

Fluoride loves Aluminum, carrying it through the blood brain barrier, which along with easily-oxidized unsaturated fats (corn and soy oils...) excitotoxins in "food" - glutamate/MSG and aspartate/Nutrasweet - and heavy metals, promotes Alzheimer's.

In my humble opinion, many of these recently introduced autoimmune spectrum diseases, named by the establishment as distinct (MCS, CFS, FM, ME, Lyme, Gulf War...), though they are multi-factorial and include multiple opportunistic disease organisms (mycoplasmas, L-form bacterial residues, viruses, spirochetes...) all start with endocrine and immune damage from key toxins: Fluoride/Bromide/Chlorine/Mercury/Cadmium/solvents/endocrine disruptors...

Many of the above toxic initiators come from Medicine/Dentistry.

Those with light chemistry background should at least understand "halogen substitution" - the tendency for Fluorine, Chlorine, and Bromine to hog spaces where the larger ionic radius of Iodine belongs.

Fluoride detox, which readers should study in detail for themselves, involves Iodine supplementation, virgin coconut oil, boron (also Borax), magnesium, and avoidance of Fluoride in all its' disguises.

Just for instance, vegetable juice from concentrate is often made with fluoridated municipal water. Put that in an Aluminum can - "healthy" time bomb.

People with severe MCS should not jump into Fluoride detox without first getting control of their chem sensitivity symptoms.

Do the real B-12 thing FIRST before trying to kill microbes or detox halogens/metals in a big way.

Low sugar diet, Glutathione and real B-vitamins come first.

Google "dr abraham iodine," I use low dose Ioderal tablets. Iodine will displace the competing halogens, but it takes time. I would start with extremely small doses - a whole Iodoral tablet has 12 mg of iodine, which in many will provoke a Herxheimer reaction.

Note: I do NOT supplement extremely controversial Vitamin D. Vitamin D is practically a mainstream industry, with promoters everywhere. But see "The Marshall Protocol" for the anti-D view.

I currently do NOT advocate vitamin D, and have evoked extreme, excruciating, toxin mobilization with higher doses. Vit D is a fat soluble prohormone sterol, NOT a vitamin. It has a half life of 3 weeks in the blood. Overdosing can create a long-term bummer, look what happened to vitamin promoter Gary Null.

Mobilizing Fluoride - boron/Borax really brings it out of deposition - will generally produce a rush of unpleasant symptoms. Once I feel the "rush," I am generally in a pretty big hurry to ingest the stage two substances.

The second stage of halogen detox is neutralization/excretion. I add Magnesium citrate powder, baking soda, and Celtic Sea Salt to freshly distilled water, raising the pH to strongly alakline.

Magnesium and Boron have a high affinity for Fluoride, forming water soluble salts for urinary excretion. Glutathione is extremely helpful as well.

Aluminum-chelator and energy cycle intermediary Malic acid is included in my regimen. Non-acidic forms of Vitamin C (mineral chelates like magnesium ascorbate) will also help move the toxic halides/metals.

I see no point in aggressive antibiotic protocols for the infectious micro-organism component of the diseases, as advocated by many prominent researchers and physicians (Trevor Marshall, Paul Cheney, Garth & Nancy Nicholson), until the B-12 regimen and maybe Fluoride detox have been run (6 months?). This applies especially to all with hypothyroid symptoms, subnormal body temperature being the biggy. All who have low body temperature should check out virgin coconut oil in depth.

Sugar Blues

My first success, after 30-plus years of struggle, came with the discovery of the yeast-carbohydrate link and acetaldehyde toxicity. Perfumes and scents are often aldehyde based, hence the yeast-toxic person is sensitive to them.

Now the hard part. While acetaldehyde can slowly be removed from the body with b-vitamins, glutathione, MSM, and other supplements, you MUST stop eating all sugars, alcohols, all grains - all high glycemic index foods have to be avoided completely. No exceptions!

Alcohol in all forms is completely toxic, without exceptions. The "French Paradox," which was used to promote wine, is a good example of health disinformation ("two drinks a day is OK"). The polyphenols in wine can easily be extracted from grape skins and seeds without the aid of fermenting organisms.

Yeasts in the intestine convert these carbs to alcohols, whose first metabolite is acetaldehyde, also very prevalent in urban air from car exhaust.

This is how individuals with little industrial exposure develop MCS.

This idea is so foreign to the majority, many will dismiss it and move on to intellectually appealing and easy health concepts - there are plenty of candidates. I chased hundreds over the years. Most common is "killing candida," a legitimate idea, but a chimera unless detox and diet changes come first.

Again, a major step to stabilizing your damaged neuro-endocrine system is to stop eating grains and sugars. Everything sweet. You don't know you are addicted until you try to quit.

The mind creates barriers to protect addictions.

This step will stall most folks.

What you'll find is that after a few months of low glycemic index paleo-diet, you will need to eat way, way less. Higher quality vegetables, a few low-glycemic fruits, organic will be best, will suffice.

You will feel the change in months, not days.

After diet, the b-vitamins, especially b-1 and b-2, can be used to conjugate and eliminate aldehydes, which have accumulated in the tissues. Glutathione, again I like JoMar Labs powder, (no commercial relationship) can be dissolved in the mouth, not swallowed. It is expensive.

Next comes mineral metabolism, featuring Iodine, Zinc/Copper ratio, Chromium/Vanadium (glucose tolerance factor), Molybdenum (for acetaldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme), and other trace minerals.

I love my juicers, and emphasize green/vegetable with only enough fruit to change the taste.

Organic grass-fed, not grain-fattened, meat should be used in moderation. Mercury and oil-spill free cold water fish (increasingly rare) from a low position on the food chain ( sardines, anchovies, not tuna or swordfish, salmon slipping) is the best protein source. Farmed fish is completely toxic, run away from any that is not wild caught (fast disappearing).

Don't Go Near the Water

The swimming pool, a long standing institution, is very dangerous, to you and your kids. I was on the summer swim team as a kid, loved water. In addition to the halogens mentioned above, our water is contaminated with (among a long list) COPPER. Copper is connected to estrogen excess, they build up together, displacing ZINC and testosterone - more endocrine disruption.

Copper leaches from household pipes, is used heavily in industrial agriculture, added to swimming pool, hot tub, and reservoir water as an algicide. Copper is a major torpedo running.

My nice Houston apartment has three beautiful pools. My wife loved to swim, she would swim non-stop for over an hour, so strong.

After a year or so she came down with an ugly thyroid tumor. She was deathly ill. Her throat swelled closed. Didn't eat for a month.

A specialist performed a needle biopsy, which came back "benign" (sigh of relief). The wise MD then offered synthyroid for life.

I said no way, started investigating the halogen displacement hypothesis, put her on Ioderal Iodine, 1/4 tab daily she is very sensitive, this cured her condition.

We really miss the swimming.

Copper and estrogen resist detox and damage the liver (p450 and other enzyme systems). Bioaccumulation!. Yeast loves these two (candida has estrogen receptors).

Again, remove toxins before aggressive anti-microbials are applied. The aldehydes and their anaerobic yeast source will never go away with just yeast killer herbs or pharmaceuticals. The diet and copper/estrogen must go first. No amount of microbe-killing will restore the thyroid-adrenal damage when toxic halogens are present.

Zinc is not stored, must be replaced daily, is deficient in most diets.

I recommend 100 mg Zinc for 30-60 days. (I take 200 mg with my natural Testosterone boosters on cycle days.) 50 mg after initial to avoid long term copper depletion. Zinc picolinate is easier on the stomach.

Do not take copper, there is plenty in diet, ignore advice to avoid zinc to spare copper, disinformation. Many multi-vitamins, and even worse, prenatal formulas contain unneeded copper.

Oysters, our best dietary source of Zinc, got nuked in the Gulf Oil Disaster.

I recommend you (male) look into the following; "DHT 5 alpha reductase," "natural aromatase inhibitors," "estrogen detox," "zinc copper testosterone." Also look at hormone resistance syndromes, "insulin resistance"..."metabolic syndrome".

Last, essential fatty acids, "omega 3/6 ratio." Use only olive oil, lots of virgin coconut oil, a little organic butter. NO SOY, NO CORN OIL, NO CANOLA OIL...NO HYDROGENATED OILS, NO TRANSFATS. Cell membrane rigidity, oxidation, and inflammation from omega 6 and other hard fats is a key to hormone receptor dysfunction.

Can't say enough good things about virgin coconut oil for the hypothyroid situation.

Ok, there is some bait, it's up to you to save yourself. The majority reading this will not.

This used to be a dog-eat-dog world. At 55, You are almost old enough to remember the "overpopulation" media frenzy of the 1970's, when the Erlich's book "The Population Bomb" was a bestseller.

Notice how it got real quiet after that?

Now it's a dog-eat-dog-eat-dog world. (Literally, did you know that pet and animal remains are routinely recycled, fed to pets and livestock?)

The point is, I reiterate, "Looking out for number one," must be your philosophy, I can only point the way.

Have you read my essay on "Xenoestrogens?"

World Awash in Synthetic Estrogens

Best wishes,

Ed

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