EiR Blog
A Blog For Those Affected By Environmental And Invisible Illnesses Written By Fellow Survivors
Phospholipid Exchange for Chemical Sensitivity, Chronic Fatigue, Autism and More
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Hi everyone. My time is currently very limited due to just returning from a trip to California and having a backlog of studying and assignment deadlines for my degree course. I didn't want to leave another week "blogless" however so I thought I'd just draw your attention to a potentially powerful therapy known as 'phospholipid exchange' which Helen64 posted a question about in the forums this week.
Read the forum thread on phospholipid exchange therapy
To explain the principal of the therapy we first need a little bit of biochemistry. Basically, cells in the human body have a cell membrane made up of fatty substances called phospholipids along with fatty acids. These fatty substances give the cell membrane a level of fluidity that allows them to efficiently allow nutrients to enter the cell and toxins to be expelled amongst other important functions such as maintaining the structure and shape of the cell.
A physician by the name of Richie Shoemaker M.D. determined that environmental illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, autism, and multiple chemical sensitivity were the result of an initial exposure to neurotoxins; be it from viruses, bacteria, parasites, mercury poisoning, or any other source. According to Shoemaker this leads to the breakdown in the integrity of the cell membrane due to disturbances in phospholipid and fatty acid metabolism and this leads to increased inflammatory processes, toxicity, and environmental illness.
Phospholipid exchange therapy is a means to restore the integrity of the cell membrane thus reducing inflammation and toxicity and restoring health.
The therapy involves the administration of phospholipids (predominantly phosphatidylcholine) intravenously along with supporting treatment to achieve the restoration of cell membrane health. Once this is achieved the body is in a position to heal itself as inflammation is reduced and toxins are more efficiently dealt with.
The work of Shoemaker has been built on by a number of doctors and researchers who developed The Detoxx System which incorporates phospholipid exchange along with IV glutathione (the body's major antioxidant), essential fatty acid supplementation, special dietary measures, and other supporting therapies.
Learn more about phospholipid exchange therapy and The Detoxx System:
Article: The Detoxx System: Detoxification of Biotoxins in Chronic Neurotoxic Syndromes
Book: The Detoxx Book
As always, please let us know if you have had experience or are knowledgeable about the therapy discussed by leaving a comment below.
Best of health!
People in this conversation
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Comment last edited on about 9 years ago by Maff Maff
The 840mg PC amount for the Mega PC-35 is actually for a 2 capsule serving so each capsule is 420mg compared to 900mg for the PhosChol.
You may be right about the contaminants and I suspect the ethanol (which seems to be in PPC supplements, as an extraction solvent perhaps?) may be the problem since ethanol is certainly an irritant to the intestinal mucosa.
Anyway, I am just glad that I have now found a PC supplement I can tolerate
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Comment last edited on about 9 years ago by Maff Maff
After trying Life Extension's PPC, and a few other brands, I found I was unable to tolerate it. It irritated my GI tract and gave me unformed bowel movements.
Choline (a major component of PPC) is a methyl donor, and other methyl donors such as SAMe and TMG had caused the same problems, so I suspect the same mechanism.
For the past 3 or 4 months I have been taking 3 1200mg capsules per day of Mega PC-35 from Jarrow Formulas. This is less potent than PPC supplements but three times the strength of lecithin, from which both are derived. Over this time I have definitely seen steady improvements in all areas of my health, particularly liver function and general toxicity.
I would strongly recommend visitors affected by any of the illnesses on this site give any of the phosphatidylcholine preparations (lecithin, Mega PC-35, PPC) a try.
Bill, thanks for posting your experiences here. You continue to be a great asset to the site and a great help to many people I'm sure. Also, the book you recommended looks very interesting. It has been added to my Amazon wish list!Like 0 -
Thanks for the info bolam56. Was that the only thing you were taking/doing for MCS at the time? Or can your success be attributed to other things in conjunction with the PhosChol? Thanks for sharing your info. I ordered the book today.
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Comment last edited on about 9 years ago by Maff Maff
Interestingly, my former EI doc used to give me phosphatidylcholine pushes in my glutathione IVs all the time. Not sure the dose though. Maybe that helped me from not getting much worse. I can't get IVs now since I live in a very rural location and am broke....so am interested in the oral version. What dose are you taking of that? Do you have a brand you can recommend?
The weird thing is that book is not sold through Amazon, like every other book on the planet. I am also concerned that its content is highly scientific like the article. I found your review of the book so incredibly easy to understand. Thanks for taking the time to do that. My brain cannot grasp complicated theories anymore.Like 0 -
I'm sure you'll find the book really interesting and encouraging. A good few members here seem to be having a lot of success with it and it makes a lot of sense from a biological point of view. I am currently using oral phosphatidylcholine and am seeing some very positive improvements in liver function and general health!
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This sounds really really promising. I am going to get the book. Thanks so much for posting about it!
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