bolam56
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The Pathological Detoxifier and MCS - 2009/06/14 23:42
Just a few months away from my 5 year anniversary coming down with MCS and after literally thousands of hours researching the topic online, I stumble across "pathological detoxifiers" while reading about cytochrome P450 in Life Extension's wonderful "Disease Prevention and Treatment" book they gave me when I became a member.
When I google "Pathological Detoxifier" I can't believe what I find! While the AMA and nearly everyone else in mainstream healthcare is saying there's no such thing as MCS, or that it is a psychological phenomena, mainstream medicine is acknowledging pathological detoxifiers can have remarkably severe problems with chemical sensitivities! Not only this, but the nuts and bolts of pathological detoxification seem to fit like a glove in my personal journey through chemical sensitivities and how I found relief.
A quick google of "pathological detoxifier" will come up with a several great sites on the subject, so I won't go into it in depth here, but basically, is has to do with the "two stage process" by which some toxins, particularly petrochemicals, (which are the bulk of the problem with MCS) are broken down in the body.
Petrochemicals are first broken down by enzymes known as "Cytochrome P450" (or CYP-450) into intermediate compounds that are often far more toxic than the original petrochemical was... These highly reactive intermediates are then normally, (and usually quite swiftly) broken down by a completely different, 2nd detoxification pathway. These processes are known as "phase 1" and "phase 2" detoxification/metabolism.
If one's "phase 2" detoxification pathway is damaged, or can not keep up with the highly reactive intermediate compounds generated by Phase 1 CYP-450 during the initial phase of petrochemical breakdown, a remarkably amount of "oxidative stress" can occur throughout the entire body including the brain.
Phase 2 detoxification is normally much easier and more efficient than the phase 1 process, so few people have problems with pathological detox... For the few who do, the problem can be impressive to the person suffering, but difficult to diagnose by the general practitioner, or even a toxicologist, unless he is specifically looking for it.
The good news is, phase 1 and phase 2 metabolism can normally be manipulated (fixed!) through supplements, or even simple dietary changes. Grapefruit juice for instance "down-regulates" CYP-450, and vitamin C and NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) can boost phase 2 metabolism. Curcumin, (in turmeric) not only inhibits phase I enzymes but also stimulates phase II enzymes.
Sometimes there is a "missing link" like a magnesium, zinc or vitamin deficiency which prevents part of your detox system from working properly. With proper diagnostic tests like caffeine and/or sodium benzoate clearance, which test the efficiency of phase 1 and phase 2 respectively; one can narrow down and solve the problem.
Just as some things can help pathological detoxifiers... Other can hurt! Drinking alcohol and exposure to dry cleaned cloths (which outgas fluid vapor for weeks!), glycols and other petrochemicals will "up-regulate" CYP-450 levels in our bodies, which can then overwhelm phase 2 enzymes by creating large amounts of toxic metabolites to process in a short period of time.
I urge all who are interested in MCS to look into this matter... Feeling better, or helping someone who has this problem may be easier than we think, and having a process mainstream medicine can measure and observe will offer "the evidence" many are saying is necessary before MCS is accepted as a "real problem".
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