Detoxing for Life

Detoxing for Life – Staying and Getting Healthy in a Toxic World

By Dr. Chas Gant, M.D., Ph.D.

Being healthy in a toxic world requires taking on a new understanding of what is involved in both staying and getting healthy. Living on the edge of a 200-year industrial revolution, which has brought us astonishing benefits, has also caused unintended problems like chemical and energetic pollution and malnutrition from eating processed food, all of which are driving toxicity-related health problems.

We are discovering that many medical and psychiatric problems are caused by toxicities, so preventing or resolving them requires a straightforward process. Step one: avoid or minimize exposure to toxins. Step two: enhance the detoxification of toxins already stored in the body. We are now learning the importance of step three: make detoxing a way of life.

Limiting exposure to toxins can be relatively simple. For example, adopt a routine lifestyle habit that includes consumption of organic food and filtered clean water, and avoidance of air pollution wherever possible. Minimize contact with Wi-Fi, microwaves and high power lines, and wear devices which decrease their biological harm to offer some protection. If you are a health care provider or healer, since toxicity is the cause of so much disability, make it a routine activity in the care you provide to design a program to mitigate this exposure side of the equation.

A far more challenging problem is what to do about toxins which are already stored in the body, especially if they are causing psychiatric and medical problems. Firstly, this entails some understanding of what our body does to rid itself of toxins, and then we can make some intelligent choices about helping it out.

Detoxification is a two-step process of oxidation and conjugation. This is analogous to a two-step process that many people use to get rid of trash in their backyards, by first burning it (oxidation) and then carting it away (conjugation). In the body, toxins are first oxidized to make them reactive, and then conjugated to (connected to) certain molecules, which generally make the toxins more soluble in water and easier to excrete.

What researchers are also now learning is that each individual body is different in its ability to perform these functions. Genetic factors which accelerate or inhibit oxidation rates as well as conjugation capacities often dictate a person’s vulnerabilities to accelerated aging and medical and psychiatric symptoms. Now that testing of detoxification genetic quirks (called SNPs or single nucleotide polymorphisms) is widely and inexpensively available to consumers, those who are most vulnerable to toxicities and require focused detoxification programs, can be identified.

Toxins that get lodged in the body are not only those taken in through the food, air and water. They can also be toxins from germs like Candida (mycotoxins) and Lyme. The health of the gastrointestinal tract, where over 60 percent of the body’s immune system resides, can be a very important factor in both generating toxins and clearing them from the body. Toxins also interfere with brain function and cause depression and other psychiatric disorders. When toxicity-related psychiatric symptoms prevail, especially in those most genetically vulnerable, many resort to psychotropic medication, alcohol, tobacco and illicit substances to “take the edge off,” which of course makes toxicities worse and ultimately, psychiatric symptoms are magnified.

Many chronic psychiatric and medical problems are thus often caused by toxins derived from chronic infections, environmental exposures from the air, food and water, psychotropic drugs, medications, genetic vulnerabilities and gastrointestinal imbalances. Efforts to help patients detoxify can take up the lion’s share of the clinical time in an integrative medical practice. Here are a few simple things you can do to help your body’s attempts to rid itself of toxins.

  • Sweat more—while exercising, in saunas or in the bathtub. Many toxins are removed through sweat. For baths, add a few cups of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate, which assists in the conjugation process) to hot bathwater and soak 30 minutes daily.
  • Eat more detoxifying foods, such as garlic, onions, broccoli and parsley, which are high in sulfur, a toxin conjugator and take probiotics.
  • Drink lots of purified water—three to four quarts a day.
  • Eat plenty of fiber.
  • Get genetically tested to determine if you are especially vulnerable to living in the modern age.
  • See a biological or holistic dentist to get your mouth cleared up from toxic metals & infections.
  • Adding years to our lives and life to our years can be related to how successful we are at detoxifying for life.

Dr. Chas Gant, M.D., Ph.D., is an author, physician and practitioner, specializing in molecular health and healing. For more information, call 202-237-7000, ext. 104 or visit DoctorChas.com.

The Road to Recovery

On The Road To Recovery; What Are My Options?

by Dr. Chas Gant, M.D., Ph.D.

Questions and Answers About Using A Nutritional Support Program;

Why do so many people use chemicals to improve their mood?

Most people do not like feeling bad. We instinctively look for ways to feel better. In our modern age, science has given us the power to repackage or even invent many kinds of mood altering substances, that mimic and deplete our natural, mood-enhancing brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

What are neurotransmitters?

Neurotransmitters are the natural “feel good” chemicals in the brain that keep us feeling optimistic, motivated, up-beat and relaxed. They also help us sleep, enjoy pleasurable activities, like sex or food, and they modify physical pain.

How do artificial substances work?

Artificial substances or drugs are molecules that are able to fit into the tiny receptor sites designed to accept our natural neurotransmitters. These receptors are on the membranes of brain cells. The artificial drug or the natural neurotransmitter fit into them like a hand fits into a glove.

What happens to our brain’s natural “feel good” chemistry when an artificial drug is consumed?

The receptor sites are stimulated by both the unnatural chemical and our natural neurotransmitter, simultaneously. The brain cells adapt to the over-stimulation by making less of the natural neurotransmitter. This adaptation is a natural protective measure to keep us from being over stimulated by too much “feel good” chemistry.

Why is it so hard to stop using artificial substances?

If enough of an artificial drug is used for a long enough period of time, some of our natural neurotransmitters are simply wiped out. When this happens, a person must continue using the drug just to maintain the way they felt before they started using it. We start out trying to feel better and wind up feeling worse than ever.

Can the brain start re-making it’s own natural “feel good” neurotransmitters?

Yes. Our billion year old chemistry is supremely equipped to restore neurotransmitter imbalances and deficiencies. However, it can not restore them without certain specific amino acids, fatty acids and cofactor vitamins and minerals. These building blocks are specifically formulated in the recommended supplements.

Is it known what artificial substances replace what natural “feel good” neurotransmitters?

Yes. For instance, the natural cocaine in the brain is dopamine; the natural sedative is GABA (gamma amino butyric acid); the natural nicotine is acetylcholine and the natural antidepressant is serotonin.
What causes withdrawal symptoms?

When the brain has stopped making natural neurotransmitters and the metabolism inside our cells has adapted to the presence of the artificial drug, the cells come to “expect” the drug to be around on a regular basis. When this “expectation” is not met, our cells get very “upset” about this change. For some drugs, the withdrawal symptoms can be severe or even life threatening and professional help may be needed.

How can I fill this void when I stop using a substance?

The usual approach is to replace your toxic external support system with supportive and nurturing sober people, places and things. This is important but fails for many people because they have not replaced their toxic internal support system with a supportive, nurturing alternative. This internal gap can be filled with specific nutrients that replenish the natural chemistry destroyed by substances.

Will nutritional products relieve withdrawal symptoms?

We are all biochemically unique, so it is hard to predict for any one person how severe withdrawal may be. However, we all share the same basic heredity and therefore have similar nutritional requirements. The recommended nutritional supplements have been specifically formulated and have brought about dramatic results on the duration, intensity and types of withdrawal symptoms in most people.

What kinds of artificial substances will nutritional products help replace?

Any artificial substance such as alcohol, cocaine, nicotine, etc., which influences mood, probably displaces one or more of the dozen or so natural neurotransmitters. Since it is known which drugs displace which neurotransmitters and we know which nutritional ingredients are used to synthesize each neurotransmitters it is a relatively simple process to design a biochemical recovery plan to restore our internal support system.

How successful has the method of nutritional intervention been?

Treatment centers who use the neuro-nutritional approach have demonstrated markedly enhanced recovery rates over similar treatment centers who do not assist people with their internal recovery. Some studies have shown outcomes of two year sobriety over 80 percent.

Can I become addicted to nutritional products?

No. An addiction is caused by a depletion of our natural neurotransmitters. Nutritional supplements do just the opposite; they increase the neurotransmitters.

Does it make sense to treat a drug problem with another drug?

Since some withdrawal symptoms can be life threatening, short-term use of medication may be required. However, to date there has been no evidence that replacement of one drug with another can eventually help someone get sober. The only interventions that have been shown to assist in long term sobriety are support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and nutritional supplementation.

Who can benefit from nutritional products?

Just about everyone has had their neurotransmitters affected at various times by toxic substances, (like alcohol or drugs), nutritional deficiencies, and stress. Therefore just about everyone can benefit from nutritional supplementation.

How long will I need to take them?

Since supplements are natural food products, the question becomes, “How long do I need to take the food that I need to feel well and motivated, sleep normally, not have cravings or compulsions and function to my peak abilities?” The discovery of an individual’s biochemical requirements is similar to the self-discovery of their emotional and spiritual requirements. It will vary from person to person.

Can I use nutritional products along with medications?

In general a physician should be consulted before taking any drug or nutritional supplement. A physician skilled in CAM (Complementary Alternative Medicine) should help you decide whether or not there are any conflicts.

Are there any dangers—any precautions?

Although safe, many nutritional products have not been tested with children or pregnant or lactating women so they may not be recommended in these circumstances. One type of drug, an MAO inhibitor, should not be used at the same time with certain amino acids.

Should these products be taken with meals?

Some nutrients are best absorbed with food and others are more active if taken on an empty stomach. To benefit the most, the recommended products that contain amino acids are better taken an hour before meals so they don’t compete with the amino acids in food for transport into the bloodstream and the brain.

Should I continue with counseling while I take nutritional products?

Yes. Nutritional supplements can only help you get the most out of counseling or support groups.

What would happen if I take supplements and continue to use alcohol or other substances?

Even the best quality and most powerful nutrients cannot override the effects of these destructive chemicals. However, there is no harm in taking supplements at the same time, and some people have noticed that they will cut down their use of other substances like nicotine or caffeine when they use supplements designed to replenish brain chemistry.

What would happen if I stop using nutritional products?

There are no withdrawal symptoms from nutrients. However your body will probably not make as much of the natural neurotransmitters it would otherwise be capable of.

Are there any side effects from using nutritional products?

Some of the recommended supplements are also designed to heal the GI tract by providing Bifidus and Lactobacillus (essential healthy bacteria). If you have yeast or other unhealthy species of bacteria in your intestines (often the case with those who use substances), you may notice a clean out or detoxification phase (gas, loose stools). This is temporary as you move towards a healthier state. If this occurs, simply reduce the dose and then gradually begin to increase it.

If nutritional supplementation is such a crucial part of a recovery plan, why haven’t I been told about it before?

There are many reasons why this information has not been widely disseminated. Most people believe that people abuse drugs for psychological, not biochemical reasons. Most professionals do not know about the tens of thousands of studies that have been done in nutritional science. It is human nature to be threatened by new ideas, especially if the older view could be questioned.

Bill Wilson the founder of AA. discovered that vitamin B3 (niacin) could help relieve depression for himself and other recovering people. He spent much of the last decade of his life trying to help recovering people understand that alcoholism is not only a disease of the mind and spirit, but also of the body. The discovery that niacin is a cofactor in the conversion of the amino acid tyrosine to the natural “feel good’ neurotransmitters, catecholamines, did not happen for many years after he died. All Bill knew was that it worked and it was a factor in the physical aspect of recovery.

 

*All information is provided for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the FDA, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it be used as a therapeutic modality or as a substitute for your own physician’s advice.

Quit Smoking Naturally

Nicotine addiction

Quit Smoking Naturally, Painlessly, and Successfully

Dr. Chas Gant, M.D., Ph.D.

Nicotine, the addictive substance in cigarettes, is one of the most powerful poisons on earth. If by some accident a child should ingest even a small amount of the substance through a nicotine patch, he or she would almost immediately go into convulsions that would in all likelihood be fatal. It’s so toxic that as few as two or three drops of pure nicotine applied directly to the skin of an average person will kill him or her within minutes. In lower doses, nicotine can cause high blood pressure, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, heart palpitations and irregular heartbeat, tremors, convulsions, and central nervous system overstimulation. There is no known antidote for nicotine poisoning.

How is it that so many people habitually use such a powerful and potentially deadly toxic substance on a daily basis? Moreover, how is it that smokers who are addicted to nicotine are given prescriptions to the very substance they’re hooked on in order to stop smoking?

The answer to both questions lies in the way our brains work. And by the way, so does the answer to the question, “How can I quit smoking without resorting to using nicotine (and other stop-smoking drugs) and without risking further negative health consequences?”

Brain Neurotransmitters

Our brain cells, or neurons, communicate with each other by means of small molecules, called neurotransmitters, that they manufacture directly from nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. When neurons exchange these molecules with each other, they enable us to stay focused and alert, to be able to deal with stressful situations, and to block out pain, among many other things.

When sufficient amounts of nutrients are available to our brains so they can produce and exchange these chemical neurotransmitters in adequate amounts, we tend to stay on top of things, to remain relaxed and happy, and to get pleasure out of everyday life experiences. However, when our brains don’t have enough of the nutrients they need to produce neurotransmitters in sufficient quantities, we can become irritable, unable to focus, angry, even depressed. If neurotransmitter shortages continue for longer periods of time, we begin looking for ways to deal with them.

Among the most common solutions many of us find to this problem is to take up smoking. That’s because, simply put, nicotine, the addictive substance in cigarettes, changes the way our brains work. It artificially interrupts the normal process of manufacturing and exchanging several different types of neurotransmitter, temporarily making us feel “normal” again.

The problem is that once the nicotine is used up, our brains are once again unable to produce the neurotransmitters we require to feel good, and we need another cigarette. If you’re a smoker, as you continued to smoke, your brain got used to using nicotine as a substitute for its normal production of neurotransmitters, and you began to rely more and more on the nicotine and less and less on your brain’s natural ability to keep you focused, alert, and happy. Presto! A habit was born.

The real problem in trying to quit, though, is not the cigarettes themselves but the fact that most physicians don’t have a good understanding of how our brains work. They’re unaware that there is a very straightforward way to rebalance our brain chemistry so that we no longer need nicotine.

Power Recovery Program

It’s so simple, in fact, that even folks who have been smoking cigarettes for years find that within 24 to 72 hours of using a revolutionary new strategy called the Power Recovery Program, their cravings are diminished, and even disappear. Best of all, you don’t have to stay hooked on nicotine, or take any other addictive substance, to stop smoking. What you do need to do is to take measured doses of several key nutritional supplements, which are likely in short supply in your body. Doing this makes key nutrients available to your brain and enables you very quickly to resume producing the neurotransmitters you need to overcome the craving for cigarettes and to begin to feel normal again without them.

Quick Start For Smokers To Quit

There’s a special Quick-Start for Smokers stage in the Power Recovery Program that enables you to understand exactly which nutrients are in short supply and have led to your needing to use cigarettes to make you feel better. Quick-Start for Smokers explains exactly which nutritional supplements you need to immediately provide your brain with the nutrients it requires to jump-start the production of the neurotransmitters that can reduce or eliminate your cigarette cravings and get you off on the right foot toward recovery. Best of all, with the Quick-Start nutrients you have the choice of quitting smoking right away or tapering off the use of cigarettes gradually.

The Quick-Start for Smokers nutritional supplement formula consists of the amino acids L-Glutamine and L-Tyrosine, 5HTP, lecithin, vitamin C, and a combination of other vitamins and minerals that are available by purchasing any one of a number of national brand name multi-vitamin, multi-mineral capsules.

Bottom line: If you are a smoker who has struggled with quitting and feel that you’re hopeless, take heart. The Power Recovery Program approach has had unprecedented success with helping people overcome addictions of all types, including cigarettes. You can do it too!

Helping Those Who are Constitutionally Incapable of Recovery

Dr. Chas Gant, M.D., Ph.D.

Alcoholics Anonymous

“Constitutionally Incapable” is the term used in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous to describe a person who can not recover from addiction. In other words, some individuals are thought to be so morally and physically “bankrupt,” that providing treatment and AA for them is a waste of time. Because of serious flaws in their psychological makeup (mind), their physical/medical condition (body) and/or their disconnection to anything greater than their own selfish interests (spirit), they will find it impossible to stop abusing alcohol and chemicals or establish authentic sobriety.

The founders of AA, building on the work of physicians like Benjamin Rush (1) for over 200 years, offered a window of hope for those who are Constitutionally Incapable of recovery, predicting that someday, when science has advanced far enough, the physical cause(s) which explain(s) why some individuals who appear to be hopeless, will be discovered, and rational, science-based, medical interventions will become widely available. They envisioned that those who seem to be Constitutionally Incapable of recovery will be treated properly and “reformed” into people who are indeed Constitutionally Capable of making a complete recovery.

Age of Neuroscience

That hope basically entails putting the recovery of “body” into the promised recovery of “mind, body and spirit.” Until very recently, the “body” part of that triad was not available. However, the Age of Neuroscience has to come into vogue, and the brain mechanisms explaining the symptoms of mental disorders, such as addiction, depression and anxiety, can now be explained. This phenomenon has been popularized on top-of-the-charts TV crime shows like bones and CSI, where laboratory science investigators collect DNA and other data at the crime scenes to determine the perpetrator.

This technology has recently become available, and now we can realize the vision of the founders of AA and provide laboratory-based, scientific data about brain chemistry imbalances which undoubtedly cause the symptoms of craving, depression, insomnia and anxiety. Armed with this data, intelligent, rational interventions can be devised to abolish such post-abstinence symptoms. Those who were once Constitutionally Incapable of recovery are now perfectly able to recovery like other “less damaged” addicts and alcoholics. An analysis of outcome data regarding long term abstinence when these technologies are provided suggests that no longer is anyone Constitutionally Incapable of recovery.

Biochemical Risk Factors

Thousands of peer-reviewed, university-performed studies have virtually proven that these biochemical “risk factors”(2) for addiction can be found and reversed, which leads to astonishing outcomes (3). Insurance-covered, diagnostic tests are readily available to test for these risk factors which when corrected, can transform Constitutionally Incapable addicts. Some are food allergies (4), heavy and toxic metal poisoning (5), amino acid deficiencies (6), neurotransmitter turnover (7), essential fatty acid deficiencies (8) and many other imbalances, toxicities and nutritional deficiencies. Consumer friendly books (9) are available which introduces readers to this science.

Unfortunately the science has moved so quickly that most physicians are not trained in the biochemistry related to brain disorders, nor do they know how to order appropriate testing panels to determine the causes of addictions, or how to interpret the tests or how to devise science based interventions.

Generally, the best that conventional medicine and psychiatry have to offer are replacement drugs, which merely cover up symptoms with other, equally addictive psychotropic chemicals, and which do not address the root cause of the problem. Amassed studies strongly suggest that a failure to reverse these root causes of addiction, will trap those who are Constitutionally Incapable of recovery to remain in an endless spiral of addiction.

Functional Lab Testing

Diagnostic testing not only uncovers the root causes of addiction, allowing clinicians to intelligently reverse them. Diagnostic testing also helps to bring a profound change in the psychosocial and spiritual perspective of a recovering individual. Addiction has been recognized as a shame-based disease . Addicts have been prosecuted as criminals, treated as psychiatric patients with psychotherapy and psychiatric medications, and generally given the message that there is fundamentally and shamefully something wrong with them.

Once I lay out the functional lab testing results for an addict or their family, a different message comes through loud and clear – that certain biochemical risk factors unique to each individual are the actual cause of the addiction, and not any of these other moralistic or psychosocial excuses. Patients tend to forgive themselves immediately, and their families forgive them too. The shame is lifted. The self- and other-loathing, which contributed to the condition of “Constitutional Incapableness” melts away. The vision of AA’s founders, scientists and physicians throughout the ages is now attainable. Very few if any addicted or alcoholic people are constitutional incapable of recovery when they avail themselves of these marvelous diagnostic technologies.

References

(1) A signer of the Declaration of Independence and George Washington’s personal physician, strived to make freedom of religion and freedom of healthcare inalienable rights. He was an advocate of treating mental disorders as diseases instead of as moral or religious problems.
(2) Any medical condition can have risk factors which predispose a person to have that condition. This term is best known when applied to heart disease, which has certain risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes etc. Reverse the risk factors and the chances of succumbing to the disorder are lessened.
(3) Gant CE (2000) Functional Medicine:The Missing Link in Addictionology, JOURNAL OF ADDICTIONS NURSING, Volume 12, Numbers 3/4, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
(4) http://www.metametrix.com/content/DirectoryOfServices/0075IgG4FoodAntibodies90-Serum
(5) http://www.metametrix.com/content/DirectoryOfServices/0022NutrientToxicElements-Erythrocytes
(6) http://www.metametrix.com/content/DirectoryOfServices/0010AminoAcids40-Plasma
(7) http://www.metametrix.com/content/DirectoryOfServices/0091OrganixComprehensive-Urine
(8) http://www.metametrix.com/content/DirectoryOfServices/0040FattyAcids-Plasma
(9) Gant CE (2009) End Your Addiction Now. Square One Publishers.
(10) Bradshaw J (1988) Healing the Shame that Binds You, Health Communications Inc, Deerfield Beach, Florida (available on Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Shame-That-Binds-You/dp/0932194869#noop