Symptoms
Toxicity can express itself in many different ways. Some of the most common symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Sinus complaints
- Gut complaints
- Difficulty concentrating and memory loss
- Menstrual disorders
- Skin complaints (including eczema, psoriasis & canker sores)
- Muscle and joint pain
- Headaches
- Sleep problems
- Diminished intelligence
- Puffy circles under the eyes
- Bad breath
Advanced symptoms can be neurological and systemic throughout the body, affecting joints, digestion, the nervous system and heart. Due to the complexity of the disease, symptoms can also overlap with other conditions such as:
Causes
Toxicity comes from many different sources and we often have to consider multiple factors. Some of the main sources are:
Heavy metal toxicity – this includes lead (from exhaust fumes, lead pipes and industrial waste) and Mercury (from contaminated fish supply and amalgam fillings in our teeth). It’s worth noting that mercury is considered one of the most toxic substances known to man, sharing the same category as plutonium.
Mould toxicity – certain species of mold produce mycotoxins, which have the ability to damage health on a cellular level. Mold toxicity is especially an issue to those that have had exposure to water damaged buildings and those that have a genetic susceptibility; this is when the HLA gene prevents the body from eliminating mycotoxins, causing a ‘Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome’ also know as CIRS.
Internal toxins – these are created by overgrowths of bacteria, fungus and yeast.
Treatments
Ensuring the detoxification and elimination processes are functioning correctly is one of the key principles of function medicine; and is something we address in all patients.
With the skill of our practitioners and the use of specialized testing, we can identify the source of toxic load and enhance the body’s capacity to get rid of it. This involves supporting the liver, kidney’s, gut and lymphatic system.
Glutathione has an important role in the detoxification process, as it mops up free radicals and binds to toxins (such as heavy metals) for excretion via the liver and urine.
Although a naturally occurring substance in the body, it is easily depleted. We aim to reduce this depletion with lifestyle changes, as well as direct administration of glutathione through oral and intravenous supplementation.
Where necessary, we can also use chelating agents, which bind and pull heavy metals out of the body.
