Dec

9

bodyburdenbookcoverLet’s face it.

We’re all loaded with chemicals, toxins, heavy metals, and biological waste products of various types.

You’re loaded.

I’m loaded.

We’re loaded no matter how hard we try to avoid environmental exposures from food, water, air, soil, furniture, work, transportation and so on.

We need to get them OUT.

It is not easy.

It’s especially not easy to get them out when one has a MTHFR defect or their methylation is hampered in some way (and there are many ways).

[To remind you, if you’re new here, I have MTHFR. In fact, I am compound heterozygous MTHFR and so is my middle son, Mathew. My youngest, Theo, is homozygous for A1298C. My wife and oldest son, Tasman, have only one A1298C. Lucky dogs.]

The way that you move them out is critical – or you’ll make yourself worse.

It’s safer – and much easier – to prevent them from getting into you in the first place.

There are a few very effective ways to reduce our overall body burden.

Body Burden?

Body Burden is the total amount of naturally-occurring and man-made chemicals that are present now in the human body.

Body burden is highly dynamic for two main reasons.

  1. Some days you get exposed to more of these chemicals than others.
  2. Some days you eliminate more of these chemicals than others.

Let’s discuss Point 1 today and then another day I’ll discuss how to eliminate them.

The biggest and fastest impact you can do to support your methylation and MTHFR defect is to reduce the daily burden! It takes time to remove the chemicals and toxins – but it is ‘right now’ that you can reduce putting garbage into your body. Of course, some things cannot be avoided but many can.

The main ways you increase your body burden is done silently – daily:

  • factories
  • air
  • water
  • food
  • lifestyle

Find out who is increasing your body burden by visiting Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site.

Here is what I am exposing myself and my family to – daily.

When I worked with patients and clients, I always asked many environmental questions.

Here are three key questions:

  1. “What year did you start getting sick?”
  2. “Where were you living at this point – zipcode please.”
  3. “What is your current zipcode?”

With a little confusion, they’d respond and I’d plug into Scorecard.

Sometimes my treatment recommendation was one word:

MOVE.

Extreme? Yes. Effective? Absolutely. If they moved to a less toxic place.

When I worked with Dr William Rea of Environmental Health Center – Dallas, I saw first hand how extremely sick the environment made people. Many times when they moved, they regained their health – or they at least were able to function.

The other ways which affect your body burden are within your control:

  • Food:
    • organic?
    • microbes present?
    • processed or unprocessed?
    • providing nutrients or taking them away?
    • fresh or rancid?
    • burnt or raw?
    • cooked with gas or high heat?
    • hormones?
    • GMO?
    • glyphosate (RoundUp ready foods)
    • allergen or intolerance?
    • arsenic??
    • glycemic load? (more insulin secretion = more oxidative stress)
    • overeating or undereating?
    • eating while stressed or relaxed?
    • chewing or eating like a snake?
    • digestive enzymes present or not?

We eat organic foods most of the time. We eat out on occasion and I am fully aware that we are increasing our body burden. We don’t eat fast food ever but still – restaurant food is definitely not ideal 95% of the time. We cook with electric – not gas. I work hard to keep the food nutritious and balanced. Not easy when kids are in school and the peer pressure to eat crap is high. We do pretty well with this through educating our sons what that ‘yummy food’ actually is. We buy our meat from a local rancher or I catch wild Salmon once a year and eat that. Chicken consumption has dropped significantly due to high levels of arsenic found in it.

Now that many are gluten-free, rice consumption has increased tremendously. Rice, rice milk, rice cakes, rice ice cream, etc.

You need to know that rice can be quite high in arsenic.

According to the NHANES recent study of common sources of arsenic exposure in those living in the USA, they found:

In a nationally representative sample of the US civilian, noninstitutionalized population, fish (adults), rice (children), and rice cakes/crackers (adolescents) had the largest associations with urinary DMA. For MMA, rice beverage/milk (adults) and rice cakes/crackers (children, adolescents) had the largest associations.

For this reason, I have switched away from rice milk, rice ice cream and do not consume rice itself much. Instead, I use almond milk and also coconut milk. It is quite easy – and tasty/nutritious – to make your own almond milk. Search online for recipes. If you have a great one – please post it in the comments below!! 🙂

BTW – getting arsenic OUT of your system is NOT easy. Thus, it is incredibly important to reduce the amount getting in.

In order to eliminate arsenic, one has to have adequate levels of glutathione (body’s primary detoxifier/antioxidant) AND SAMe (the body’s primary methyl donor). Having your doctor test your RBC levels of glutathione and methylation profile (SAM/SAH ratio) is important. Issue with both tests is I don’t think they really give the most accurate picture. Instead, Spectracell’s Lymphocyte testing may provide a better job of intracellular levels of these important nutrients; however, I don’t think it is perfect either. Supplementing with liposomal glutathione and SAMe may be supportive in eliminating arsenic – along with chelation. Talk with your doctor to find what is best for you.

Learning how to eat is so important and there are a ton of great books out there.

I’ve been recommending one lately – a lot – The Metabolic Makeover

So much applicable information, easy to understand and answered a lot of important questions for me – and will definitely do for you.

It’s WAY more than just food – it’s biochemistry, lifestyle and how to be energetic again.

  • Air:
    • air fresheners (air fresheners don’t clean or purify the air AT ALL – in fact, they load it with chemicals)
    • cook with gas in your home?
    • drive to work in traffic?
    • flatulent family member? (couldn’t resist 🙂 )
    • mold spores?
    • off-gassing furniture?
    • where do you live? (www.Scorecard.org)
    • location of home – airport, freeway
    • heating and cooling? forced air?
    • location of gas furnace? gas water heater? (in house? garage? by bedroom?)
    • allergens?
    • by sea? mountains? forest?
    • oxygen concentration?
    • carpets or wood/tile floors?
    • neighborhood use of chemicals?
    • perfumes? colognes? scented dryer sheets?
    • cleaning supplies?

I work from home. We buy furniture that is wood or glass. If we got stuck with an off-gassing piece of furniture (new couch), we keep it in the garage or outside until it has reduced the stink significantly. Ideal? No. Realistic? Yes. We have our gas furnace out of our house and in the crawl space venting through the roof. We are planning a new form of heat – considering an electric heat pump. Our air intake for our furnace has a high quality HEPA air filter which I change out every three months. We have on-demand gas water heating which is located outside. We are a few miles from the freeway which is not ideal but it’s big city Seattle and I am not going to uproot my family from this amazing city. We all love it. We don’t use dryer scented sheets and we mop the floors with steam cleaner.

I use a high quality Alen HEPA air filter (actually 3 of them). When one of our sons gets ill (which is rare but happens), I turn on the unit to suck in the viruses and bacteria to reduce exposure to others. I used to have them running all the time on low – and need to start doing that again. Kids keep unplugging them to plug in other things…

I air out the home quite often – about once a month – and that entails opening windows and doors, turning off the heat (we don’t have AC – it’s Seattle), and letting out the stuffy air and good fresh air in (making sure no yard equipment is running or cars idling or other noxious things like neighbor dryer scented sheets, etc).

Here is what I and my family are breathing though – out of our control (source: Scorecard):

airqalitykingcty2

 

 

Do you stink?

Perfumes, shampoos, makeups, etc need to be evaluated.

Many skin and hair products are full – absolutely full – of garbage. Check yours out by using the Skin Deep Database provided by the Environmental Working Group.

 

  • Water:
    • well?
    • city water?
    • filtered? how?
    • spring? where?
    • storage tank? made out of?
    • pathogens? bacteria?
    • arsenic level?
    • fluoride?
    • chlorine level?
    • near airport? perchlorate level?
    • near fracking?

The obvious thing to do here is to obtain pure water. Bottled water is not the answer long term – especially as it is bottled in plastic. One should know that BPA Free does not mean it is safe if it is still plastic. There are other harmful components in plastic. Bottom line: Do not drink out of plastic long term. When traveling, it is unavoidable or nearly so.

Getting a water purifier is the long term solution. Knowing which one to get is not easy. There are two that I recommend – three actually – but the third no longer exists it appears.

Before I get into what I recommend, I want to mention that I do not recommend reverse osmosis water purifiers or distilled water. These waters are ‘dead’ and deplete your minerals and possibly vitamins as well. If adding high quality minerals back in before drinking, that is helpful but I still don’t recommend it.

Berkey Filters is what I recommend to people who want to have very pure water with minimal fluoride. It took me years – a decade and a half actually – to figure out which water purifier to use and recommend – and this is finally one that I have total confidence in. Turns out that Sean, our graphic designer, provided this golden nugget. It’s awesome working with people who believe and live by a similar mindset. After doing my own research and emailing the company multiple times, I was very impressed.

berkey

Berkey water purifiers remove a ton of different contaminants – including fluoride – but need a fluoride water filter if you choose to remove that as well.

What does Berkey remove or reduce signifcantly?

  • heavy metals
  • bacteria
  • viruses
  • chlorine
  • Trihalomethanes
  • dirt
  • solvents (VOC’s)
  • nitrites!
  • odor
  • foul taste
  • discoloration / rust
  • arsenic

The amount of volatile organic compounds it removes is very impressive. That is important to me. Goodbye jet fuel.

I just purchased the Royal Berkey Water Filter along with 2 fluoride filters and 2 black filters (don’t tell my wife as it is her Christmas present 🙂 )

 

akaiAkai Ionizer Plus is the other water system I recommend.

If this one is so great, then why do I recommend two?

Because the Akai Ionizer Plus is what I have used now for over 15 years. It also functions differently. This water purifier not only purifies the water, but it also makes the water:

  • more alkaline
  • uses UV light to eliminate microbes and pathogens effectively
  • smaller clusters of water so more easily absorbed into your cells.

When my wife and I first started using the Akai, we drank and drank. It was an interesting experience. We actually felt like we had been dehydrated for years. Why else would we ingest so much water and not pee it out? I cannot explain it more than that. Our systems just absorbed more water and penetrated our cells more deeply.

If you mention ‘Dr Lynch’ when ordering the Akai Ionizer Plus, you will save a couple hundred dollars I believe.

It will be interesting to compare how we feel when drinking water from the Berkey water filter vs the Akai Ionizer Plus. I will update this point when I have more information.

If I were to choose between one or the other, which one would I pick?

I cannot tell you now which is why I am recommending both. In a couple months, I believe I will have a decision and will revise this post for you then.

Here are some things to help you make a decision now:

  • If finances are an issue (and when aren’t they?), the Berkey water purifier is a significantly less expensive investment
  • Cost per gallon is less with the Berkey
  • The Berkey water purifier does not require electricity to run. The Akai does.
  • The Akai has a UV light. The Berkey doesn’t.
  • The Akai provides smaller water clusters for increased absorption into the cell. The Berkey doesn’t.
  • The Berkey doesn’t waste any water. The Akai produces acidic water when it makes more alkaline water. The acidic water is great for cleaning, watering plants or washing clothes. The alkaline water is great for drinking – obviously.
  • The Berkey removes fluroide quite well. I am not quite sure how much the Akai does. Something you need to ask.
  • Akai is easier to use and looks nicer. Definitely less bulky.

Given that humans are significantly composed of water, it is essential we take care what we put into our system.

UPDATE December 9, 2014:

Someone just asked me “What about entire home water filters? It’s important to shower and bathe in clean water.” It is actually in the comments below but I felt it was too important not to share in the main body of the article.

First, entire home water filters are great as they do indeed filter water for the entire house. That said, they also are terrible because they are designed for quantity – not quality.

It is extremely important to me to have the water filter do as much filtration as possible – not just reduce chlorine and dirt and some microbes – but also heavy metals, fluorides, solvents. An entire house water filter is NOT going to remove those. Not a chance.

This is why I recommend the Berkey water purifier or the Akai Ionizer Plus. However, in terms of filtering the most contaminants, I think the Berkey water purifier beats the Akai Ionizer Plus. I just received an email from Akai today about this and will review.

Showering:
I totally agree with this and should have discussed this here but cannot remember every detail in one shot (It’s the MTHFR blocking me 🙂 ).

Installing a shower water filter is extremely important.

Why is a shower water filter important? Because chlorine:

  • damages mucous membranes – lungs, skin, eyes, nose
  • irritates or contributes to:
    • skin disorders of eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, dry skin
    • asthma, chronic cough
    • dry eyes
    • brittle hair

The chlorine shower filter that I have been using for well over 15 years is the Rainshow’r shower filter as seen here.  As I am writing this, I need to get replacement shower filter cartridges (just bought 2). It’s been over a year since that I’ve replaced my sons’ shower filter and the master bathroom unit. I’ve noticed a bit of chlorine smell coming through the shower head whereas with a working cartridge, no chlorine smell is detected.

The Culligan shower filter appears to have great reviews but it won’t work for us as we have our shower head on a 5′ hose so we can move it around.

Bathing:
I love baths and so does my wife and our three boys. I tried the bath balls by Rainshow’r but found they didn’t work very well. We used them for years. After lots of research, I discovered I learned how to remove the chlorine from bath water by using a vitamin blend.

This led to one of the first products I ever created which is not widely known sadly – but should be.

When I draw a bath, I allow the bath to fill about 1/2 the way and then I add 1 heaping teaspoon of Pure Bath to it. I then stir my arm around in the bath water and that’s it. Chlorine neutralized.

Bath ready to go!

Doubt it works? Test it.

  • Draw a bath.
  • Close the door and leave the bathroom fan off.
  • Come in when the bath is half full and take a whiff.
  • Chlorine pretty potent, right?
  • Add the Pure Bath, turn on the fan and open the bathroom window.
  • Finish drawing the bath and then enjoy.

Now obviously this will make the chlorine smell go away if you have the fan on and window open. Point is I didn’t want you wasting the bath water.

The next time you take a bath, do the same steps, except add 1 heaping teaspoon of the Pure Bath earlier, shut the door and leave bathroom fan off. Come in when the bath is half full and you should notice…no chlorine smell.

You also feel a difference when in the bath as well.

That is the end of the update.

Some interesting water hydration facts – in the human body, water constitutes:

  • 78% of body weight of a newborn
  • 65% of body weight of a 1 year old
  • 60% of body weight in adult men
  • 55% of body weight in adult women
  • 73% of the brain is water
  • 73% of the heart is water
  • 83% of the lungs are water
  • 64% of the skin is water
  • 79% of the kidneys are water
  • 79% of muscles are water
  • 31% of bones are water
  • Fat repels water so if overweight, you may be more dehydrated – and more toxic – as water is needed to flush out toxins, chemicals, etc

Think water is important??!

Summary:

  1. MTHFR’s are more prone to toxicity and environmental contaminants and biological compounds than others.
  2. Body burden is affected by what you put IN and how you get it OUT.
  3. Reduce body burden immediately by reducing what you put in – now.
  4. Know what to eat – and how to eat. Change it over time. Drastic big changes don’t stick. Evolve with it.
  5. Clean up your air.
  6. Purify your well or tap water – and drink it.
  7. Filter your shower water
  8. Purify your bath water

Start making these changes today.

Bit by bit, you’ll reduce the burden on your already messed up MTHFR enzyme, as a result, bit by bit, you’ll feel better!

Next article, I am going to let you know how to effectively get toxins, chemicals and compounds OUT of your system – by using SAUNA.

Properly….that’s the key.

As promised, here is the article describing SAUNA: Benefits and How to Sauna

UPDATE: Feb 11, 2015:

YOUR FEEDBACK IS HELPING OTHERS: Please Read Below

Someone commented on this article today about how she enjoyed all the recommendations but …

There must be no buts…

“I know BUT” statements immediately prevent one from moving forward in a positive direction.

Do what YOU can even if it is a small step in the right direction.

Not everything healthy requires money.

Identify what is the MOST harmful thing in your life RIGHT now AND how to eliminate it at NO cost.

I know you are creative and I know you also have some fantastic ideas how to do this.

What I’d love to see is YOUR INPUT.

In your comment, I would greatly appreciate you sharing the following with people – so they can move beyond the things which are making them ill on a constant basis:
1) Top thing which was negatively affecting your health
2) What you did FREE or inexpensively to remove #1
3) The outcome – what was the result
4) Great FREE or inexpensive resources that you know about that you know are reliable, trustworthy, credible and helpful. For example, I like MilkShare, Eat Wild, etc – all found here – https://mthfr.net/additional-resources/

I’d love to expand on this list.

There are many many people who will gain tremendous benefit from your input.

Thank you for your contribution!

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128 Comments
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stephenie
9 years ago

Dr Lynch, what type of mattress do you recommend? I know conventional mattresses are full of toxins we breathe while sleeping. Organic cotton is quite costly….. do you have an opinion on wool or natural latex? Is there a company you recommend?

Missy
9 years ago
Reply to  stephenie

I second this question. I have a foam mattress that I purchased some time ago. This summer I purchased a wool topper for it, and I love it. At the same time, I purchased a wool pillow (from the same company). I’d like to look into a wool mattress too sometime in 2015 to replace the foam one. It was very costly and I couldn’t do both at the same time.

MICHELLE
9 years ago
Reply to  Missy

I also would like your opinion on a mattress. I had to move out of my house in September due to mold. They did not get rid of it completely and the combination of that and the chemicals made me sicker than I already was. I purchased a new mattress and the chemicals cause a Hashimoto autoimmune disease flare. I’ve had Hashi for 2 years and haven’t had to take meds because it’s been ok. So I’ve been sleeping on an air mattress ever since. I’m afraid at this point to buy a new mattress due to the flame retardant chemicals. Thank you.

Ann Meiring
9 years ago
Reply to  MICHELLE

Michellle,
I was able to get a mattress without the flame retardant. State laws on this may vary, so you would have to check. I had to get a prescription for it from my ENT due to my chemical allergies. The mattress was made by Holder Bedding in Muncie, Indiana, made right there on site, in business for 67 years. I do not know if they would make it and ship it to you. The cost wasn’t anymore than a traditional mattress and the peace of mind is priceless. Holder Bedding Anderson, Indiana 765-642-1256. Also in Muncie, Indiana 765-747-8103 http://www.holderbedding.net. I am not affiliated with this company in any way, just a happy customer!

Marilyn
9 years ago
Reply to  stephenie

William Rea, MD, Environmental Health Center of Dallas (mentioned in the article above) recommends a completely organic cotton futon. Every time we have bought one for someone in our family, we had to get an Rx in order to have them leave out the flame retardants (bromine). Certain manufacturers offer a layer of wool, which some claim can be used as a fire retardant. Be sure to ask questions regarding source of wool and processing as I believe I read somewhere that some contain toxins, which is not what you want in your mattress.

I believe we got our latest organic futon from LifeKind and the price included free shipping across the country. We have also bought them from Heart of Vermont and White Lotus Futon. The quality on all was wonderful, but it’s been awhile, so before ordering, investigate carefully in case things have changed. If you can’t afford a 100 percent organic futon, another option is getting an all organic topper, which would definitely help.

For anyone with EMF issues (sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation), I learned at an EMF seminar help by an expert from Toronto, that you must avoid any metal in the bed, which includes coils, as the metal acts like an antennae pulling in EMF. Ditto regarding metal on the bed frame. We found some all-wooden platform bed frames for futons that work great for this. They even allowed us to chose the wood type, finish (we chose none to avoid the chemicals in the stain and topcoat), and the number of slats to support the futon. Heart of Vermont carries these, although I think the company who makes them was somewhere in the southern part of the country.

Michelle
9 years ago

Dr Lynch,
Do you know of any MTHFR docs in the Los Angeles area?

Melanie
9 years ago

Hi and thank you for the wealth of information. Just curious what your thoughts were on a kangen machine. Our family has been using one for two years now. We keep it on the clean alkaline (7.0) level. Are minerals taken out of it. I just recently found out I have this mutation. Thanks

Daniel Anear
9 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Ben Lynch

If you ever do learn more or research Kangen I’d love to hear your point of view. My massage therapist has been trying to sell me one, shes convinced it’s amazing. She’s finally convinced me too but mostly of the need for alkaline water not necessarily that I need to pay Kangen to get that water. Thanks for all you do (Dan, Adelaide South Australia).

Stephanie Martin
7 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Ben Lynch

LIFE IONIZERS!!! I researched Kangen and found all of the same features (and better) at about half the cost (non-MLM company, I feel the same way Dr. Lynch). Look at Life Ionizers, they purify, kill any potential bacteria and alkalinize the water as well. We got the under the counter model about 5-6 years and we love it. It has never been any trouble, and the filters are affordable and easy to change. I have become one of those people that brings my own water everywhere! I am a chiropractor, RN and I do not have any affiliation with the Life ionizers company. We like ours so much that we bought one for my sister-in-law and their family.

Jennifer
9 years ago

I’m curious as to why you wouldn’t have a whole home filter? That is what I am considering buying. Don’t like the idea of breathing in the contaminants and letting them in through my skin when I shower.

9 years ago

If you have well water and live in the country do not assume your water is safe. Took me a number of years to track down the source of my illness. After many, many doctors and naturopaths etc, none ever suggested heavy metals. Then I began on my path to many years of training in nutrition and health. My second year I was taught how to run a hair tissue mineral test and discovered my results showed uranium right off the chart. Yes, turned out to be our well water. It was very high in uranium and radon. Tasteless, ordor less, but very toxic.The consequences have been significant. Switched to reverse osmosis water treatment after trying many other types of treatments. Now, six years later, test shows I have released most of the uranium but still deal with the secondary consequences daily. Lesson learned, test your water. In our state we can send samples directly to the state testing lab.

Holly
9 years ago

I just want you to know I am adopting you as a big brother. Your articles have been so helpful to me, even thogh I am only heterozygous for MTHFR and have not yet been able to tolerate methyl donors because of other homozygous mutations like MTRR A66G, but we are just now starting tiny tiny doses of hydroxycobalamin and methylfolate every few days so I don’t get sick this time (late stage lyme and babesia so I’m crazy sensitive, though improving now by leaps and bounds). I have been using a far infared sauna…I guess I will find out soon if I am doing it right!

Joe
9 years ago

Dr Lynch –

You need to research the 4th phase of Water – Dr Pollack @ U of W. Reverse Osmosis water is the only water to drink.

Epi-Paleo Diet is the only way to eat – Dr Jack Kruse @ wwww.jackkruse.com
Learn the real truth to curing patients at his website

Ann Meiring
9 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Ben Lynch

Dr, Lynch,
“People need to eat what is right for them.” I absolutely agree 100%. Years ago (1970’s?) I read a paperback book by Roger Williams (the B vitamin guy – I hope I’m remembering his name correctly.) He either borrowed or coined the term “biochemical individuality.” He seems to have been way ahead of his time with his ideas. Your words pulled that idea right back across 45 years.

Donna
9 years ago

I live rurally, way up in the mts of Idaho, and am grateful to have a lesser toxic load. My water concerns are more about well water, particularly an older well with pre 1985 lead solder attaching galvanized pipes to copper ones. Do you know what filter works best to remove metals? Things like microbes and fluoride are not an issue. Many filters claim to remove metals, and I do not taste them, but I wonder??

Claudia
9 years ago

Dr. Lynch,
What do you reccomend after a single toxic exposure for those of us being treated for MTHFR? My husband just refinished our wood floors, and I am now suffering what seems to be cold symptoms, but I suspect it’s my body detoxing.

Jenn
9 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Ben Lynch

I had the same problem with exposure to builder’s grade paint except I had diarrhea, flu-ish symptoms and woke up in a sweat for almost 2 months. ANYTHING I consumed that I didn’t make started the sweating cycle all over again. Then the sweating stopped and instead just wake most nights around 2am. Now I am more sensitive than ever to any type of toxin. So…does the sauna have to be infrared? My health club has one that is not. Will that work? Does Epsom salt work in the tub?

Mary
9 years ago

Hi Dr. Ben. 🙂
Quick question. My job is a nail tech and an educator and very well known in the industry. After knowing about me being homozygous c677t I have been trying to cut out as many toxins as I can but I’m wondering if I am going to get anywhere do I have to change careers?

Mary
9 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Ben Lynch

Thank you Dr. Ben! I will look into your suggestions. Thanks for your response,

Mary.

Kim
9 years ago

We just bought our home last spring and they did a test on the well. Is that test good enough (it passed) or should we have another test done? I used a reverse osmosis filter for several years because we were always renters and moved often. I was hoping well water would be good for me to replenish some minerals. I’m compound Hetero among other things. My obvious issues are skin ezcema that comes and goes (I definitely have histamine issues) and I got Burning Mouth Syndrome at the same time the histamine issues got worse. I just started working with an Integrative MD and I’m hopeful she can help.

9 years ago

Kim, most typical water testing done for home purchase is very basic, at least in my area. Ask to see the test results and see how comprehensive it is. What to look for depends a lot on where you are located. Here in Maine we live atop a lot of granite thus radon and uranium are often issue along with arsenic. These are easy to test for. Where it gets more complicated is near industrial or agricultural areas or even neighborhoods where people use weed killers and pesticides on their lawns. There are numerous environmental chemicals and pesticides to check but you have to know what to check for specifically. That why I believe the safest bet is to use reverse osmosis filtering for all drinking water. But it is also important to know what you are bathing in as well.
We sold our house and moved to a rental. We were told the water was tested and fine. I ran our own test (thru the Maine state testing lab) and found the uranium here was just under the allowable limit. I have re-tested again 3 years later and found the level very low. That shows it can vary, I don’t know why, maybe related to how much rain in a given period or something. The point is one can never be certain, even with testing. My research on uranium clearly shows even a small amount can pose significant trouble.
I also recommend hair tissue mineral testing (I use Trace Elements Inc), and Environmental Pollutants testing (Lab interpretations LLC) to see what your body burden may be if you have any concerns.

Julie
9 years ago

Thank you so much for your site. I have 2 questions if that’s ok:

1)We live in a brand new house with a sump pump (sp?) And I’m curious if we should be concerned about radon exposure, and if so, what to do about it. (If anything.)

2) I’m not sure if you touched on this topic yet, but is there a link that you know of to acne with MTHFR? I am hetero A129C (I’m also hetero for factor v Leiden). I’ve been getting it worse over the years. I have 3 children and I first noticed getting it when I was pregnant with my first 10 years ago. Is there a protocol you would recommend for me? I’m 30 years old and 105 lbs (I’ve always been small). If it helps, other symptoms I’ve been having recently are: hair loss, receding gumline, cold intolerance (also cold hands & feet), horrible memory, exhaustion during the day, panic attacks/ heart palpitations (more rare now).

I have herpes I, had hpv related cervical lesions (God allowed miraculous healing there after I was treated with essential oils and it resolved), and recently a blood test came back positive for d-dimer, which I don’t fully understand yet, but the Dr said it meant there was a breakdown of a clot. However, full body imaging didn’t show any, but anyway, that’s another topic.

I’m sorry- this is longer than I intended! I wanted to give a clear picture of all my ailments in case it helped. I know you must be very busy…. thank you for any input!

Marie
9 years ago
Reply to  Julie

Hi Julie,

I would suggest you look into adrenal fatigue and low thyroid. The symptoms of each can overlap somewhat. Search for “Dr. Rind metabolic temperature graph” and follow his charting technique to test for issues with both. All you need is a good thermometer, pen and paper to do this home test for a few minutes over several days.

The acne may indicate a hormonal imbalance, perhaps higher testosterone? You can order testing on your own through canaryclub.org. I would suggest getting a doctor’s input for both of these issues though, but choose carefully. Stopthethyroidmadness.com has a list of doctors and more info on hormone balance. I wish you good health.

Sarah
9 years ago

When will part 2 about how to prep for a sauna be avail?

9 years ago

Hi Dr. Lynch,
I heard you say on a webinar that you were a vegetarian for many years then did a genetic test and found out that you should be eating meat and after doing so you felt a lot better. Can you tell me what on the test let you know that you were supposed to eat meat?
Thanks,
Laurie

James
9 years ago

Dr Lynch

I’m struggling to figure out if I’m over or under methylated. MTHFR and all -/- however I do have +/+ for MAO, NOS and VDR Bsm in addition to a bunch of +/- for COMT.

My memory and cognitive ability/problem solving has taken a rapid nose dive and I’m suffering greatly at work as a result. DMAE worked great at first but gave me a frightening degree of anxiety to the extent I’m frightened to use it again.

My SAH/SAMe ratio is 3.96 (is that considered low?), low glutathione, high oxidized glutathione. I also have high adenosine. In terms of symptoms, my libido is non existent, memory is poor and I’m finding it hard to focus.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks so much 🙂

Any ideas, should I

Suzanne U.
9 years ago

How best to reduce toxic load, I am same as you Dr Lynch: compound hetero 1298 & 677. A recent hair and urine challenge test indicated very high lead and mercury. ND has recommended Bioray’s Organic NDFand Liver Life. Is this the best way to remove heavy metals? Thankyou!

Wendy Dussault
9 years ago

Dr. Ben in your spare time LOL research vortex water attachments there are some good sites on Youtube. It changes the water structure much like water running down a river It’s called Structured Water and you can then add stuff to it. I make it every morning and add Cell Food to mine and drink it through out the day. I also dissolve mineral salts plus I add ionic minerals sometimes, I am having problems with chelation and need to build up my minerals before we can continue.

Linda
9 years ago

Dr. Lynch…..do you still recommend water filtration if you have well water? Ours was just dug for our new home about 3 years ago.

Stephanie
9 years ago

I have been reading everything on the site and can’t find a list of medications to avoid. I thought I had seen that on here before but can’t track it down now. I am homozygous C667T and have had severe adverse reactions to Cipro. I would like to know what else should be avoided in the future. Thank you for all of this information!

Bobette Kyle
9 years ago

First, I want to say I am NOT an “automatic fan,” but require people to really prove their worth before I become a devote follower–they have to be intelligent and NOT a profits-at-no-cost kind of person. You have surpassed the test. After listening to a couple of your guest audios on other sites, I was hooked;’ IMO you clearly have your followers’ and clients’ best interest in mind. I am also compound heterogeneous and my adult daughter is homozygous for A1298C (still trying to figure out the implications for her–she has many other methylation mutations and frequent migraines, both with and without aura).

This concept of minimizing the influx of toxins is what I am focusing on at this point. Have an under-counter Aquafina filter, which removes 60 chemicals and sediment but does NOT remove chlorine. Just got it four months ago, so will consider your recommendations after a while.

Marie
9 years ago

Thank you for the very detailed post with steps that we can take now. We use a Berkey w/PF-2 filters to remove fluoride, etc. from drinking and cooking water, but also a whole house filtration unit to remove chlorine from our showers and baths and the outside spigot we use to water the vegetable garden. We change them yearly. They are made from coconut shell carbon which is very effective at removing chlorine. When I researched the issue six years ago (perhaps things have changed since?), I read that shower filters have a hard time removing chlorine from heated water, so we went the whole house route. We hired a plumber friend to install the housings in the basement where the water line comes in. Interestingly, our showers are very easy to clean now.

I got the filter housing and filters (4.5×20 in.) from purewaterproducts.com in Texas. They also have filters for chloramines, which are harder to remove. No affiliation, just love their products and customer service. I’ve benefited from MTHFR.net and perhaps this can help someone out in return.

Jo
9 years ago

Thanks for the great info Dr. Ben. I have become extremely sensitive to essential oils. I am a soap maker and use a respirator but even so I get palpitations and a sore upper back on the side where I had an ulcer two years prior when I use essential oils.

I am hetro Mthfr 03 and Mthfr 1298. I can’t find much informations about Mthfr 03 and have been told it is nothing to worry about. Do you know anything about Mthfr 03?

Dan
9 years ago
Reply to  Jo

Hi Jo,

According to studies done by Anne Steinemann at the University of Washington, even the so-called “essential oils” emit volatile organic compounds:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3018511/

http://www.drsteinemann.com/Resources/Green%20Clean%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf

Quoting the last paper:

“Are “organic” or “natural” fragranced products any safer?

• No, generally not. In tests, all fragranced products emitted hazardous chemicals, even those products certified as “100% organic” or “green.”

• Products with “organic fragrance,” “natural fragrance,” or with “essential oils” contained similarly hazardous chemicals as products with regular fragrances.”

Terrie
9 years ago

Do the shower filters you recommend remove fluoride?

rowan
9 years ago

are some messages censored or simply checked before they are posted?

rowan
9 years ago

why am i being censored? I’m merely trying to share information.

Dan
9 years ago

Dr. Lynch,

Have you seen these studies suggesting folate may help lower arsenic levels?

They used ‘folic acid’, so I’m wondering if methylfolate or folinic might’ve been even more effective?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18522624

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17921403

Sara
9 years ago

Hello,
A few questions for you:
1) Why is it better to cook with electric than gas … assuming the obvious that you won’t then be breathing in the gas fumes but I wanted to be sure :0(
2) When you air out your house, how long do you usually do it for? It is cold here in the Northeast and we can’t exactly leave our house with all the doors and windows open!
3) Have you decided which water filter is better? Berkey or Akai?
Thank you

Jo
9 years ago

Thanks for the links Dan. After reading them I’ve decided to stop using essential oils, I hope it helps me feel better. Saunas have played a big part in my recovery so far.

Sara
9 years ago

Jo – did I miss something in the links? Why are you giving up essential oils?

9 years ago

What do you think of Kangen water. I’m looking into purchasing a machine. Sounds similar to the Akai. Are you familiar? I was surprised it wasn’t one of your choices. Please share if you have any info or thoughts.
Thank you
Trina

Jo
9 years ago

Scroll up 8 comments Sara.

Debra E
9 years ago

I’ve used a bath ball for a year or so, but find the PureBath interesting for removing chlorine! My question though is, would PureBath remove other things in the water such as copper or just the chlorine? I found out recently I have a copper toxicity and need to make sure my bath has all the extras filtered out.

Rachel
8 years ago
Reply to  Dr. Ben Lynch

There is a lot of confusing information about the difference between drinking and bathing/showering with different chemicals, such as flouride and copper, and I’m wondering if you would be willing to take the time to explain the difference between drinking and showering/bathing with various chemicals? I am finding this subject very confusing and it appears I am not alone in my confusion. I am learning crucial and invaluable information from you and this site, thank you so much Dr. Ben! In gratitude, Rachel

Ingri
9 years ago

Dr Lynch

Just received our well water testing kit from Doctor’s Data – not
sure whether to take the sample from the indoor reservoir tank or
from a tap. What do you think?

Thanks for that info and the Berkey filters info-
ingri

Marcia
9 years ago
Reply to  Ingri

Ingri — Dr. Lynch is swamped with his own patients and research. That’s a question you should ask Doctor’s Data to answer.

Lisa
9 years ago

Dr. Lynch,

I suspect MTHFR may be an issue for our family, particularly one of my children. She has severe chemical sensitivities, her toxic threshold is very low. Her symptoms are mostly neurological, cognitive function, speech, behavior, dyslexic traits. Basically anything that is synthetic will set her off.

I have found that giving her detox baths with epsom salt and bentonite clay accelerate her detoxification process. Giving her Kombucha also seems to help her detoxify. After these chemicals leave her body, she returns to normal. Without the detox baths, her detox time is upwards of a week. With the detox method, one two days tops. Have you come across any instances such as this in your research?

I was excited to see that we live nearby, sad to see that you no longer see patients.

Dare Luck
9 years ago

Dr Lynch, we just started seeing a new a MD that has a background in physics. She is adamant that the first step to getting healthy is restoring ENERGY and enzymes in our bodies through vortex water. She says without the energy from water, our cells don’t absorb it well and we just pee it out. I can totally understand this, but to my surprise, she discourages water filters because they filter out important minerals. Would you please address the VORTEX WATER theory. What about the minerals that are filtered out with water filters. We have always filtered our drinking water, so I’m reluctant to remove our filter.

Lora
9 years ago

I just found out I am homozygous MTHFR A1298c. I had a horrible reaction to cipro for diverticulitious in 2011.
Before that I had c. Diff and took vancomycin for 4 months and finally beat it in 2008.
I am 49 years old and feel I am seriously ill. I do sauna, vit c/glutathione infusions, vitd, methyl b12 and bio identical hormones as I have not had a period since I was 46.
I work full time as a deputy sheriff and transport prisoners s it’s highlt stressful and am raising a 12 year old daughter.
I am under the care of a doctor. Any advice?

Katie
9 years ago

The cheapest thing that improved our health was to stop using water from our hot tap – we have copper pipes in our boiler and are dealing with bad zinc deficiency and copper toxicity. Switching to cold tap water boiled in the kettle improved zinc deficiency symptoms a lot.

The next thing was to use a Berkey for all drinking, cooking and bathing water (for the boys – I can’t boil enough kettles for me to have a bath with filtered water!)

A gluten free, low oxalate diet has made the biggest improvement to health – literally transformed our lives, especially my almost-ASD son.

Adding unrefined sea salt to food and drinks helped us loads, and regular use of Epsom salts has improved all of our health.

Ruth Mcloughlin
9 years ago

Least toxic skincare products I’ve encountered:

http://www.moogoo.ie/

Maritza
9 years ago

Medications are the most toxic things one can put in one’s body. I’ve been iatrogenically disabled for almost 4 years now due to psychotropics which I took for situational issue and which left me “bipolar” and brain damaged. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same person again. All of this is great but if you’re taking meds regularly (even OTC), you might as well throw in the towel…

Kelly
9 years ago
Reply to  Maritza

I’m truly sorry you’re suffering the effects of meds you were prescribed Maritza. I agree that they are indeed in general toxic, and there are much better alternatives, but to say they’re ‘the most toxic things one can put in one’s body’ is stretching the truth by far.

You’ll get better — the body regenerates all cells all the time.

9 years ago

Love this post! As a RN and wellness coach, one aspect of making change that has an extremely powerful impact is your perception. If what you perceive is a block or “problems”, in problem solving mode at best you may only correct the problem, at worst it may create a downward spiral of hopelessness. Instead, look at it using the Positive Principle look for the POSSIBILITIES! Positive energy and emotion disrupt the downward spiral, build aspirations, broaden thinking, expand awareness, and generate new possibilities. Can all these positives changes in perception change gene EXPRESSION? YES INDEED! Barbara Frederickson’s book Positivity is a great start. Cost to change your thoughts to POSITIVE ones that inspire an upward spiral of learning and growth – FREE!

Lisa
9 years ago

I find that people can very easily say they can’t afford to make changes that will positively affect their health, like eating organic or buying local meats. However, it is often revealed that they just went on several vacations or they go to a fancy spa every few weeks, etc. You need to look at your priorities and decide how important your health is to you. Yes, there are creative things you can do to save money and also you may need to give up some of the frivolous activities in favor of things that will improve your health. It always shocks me when someone is desperately ill, but then they say they cannot afford to make any of the changes that would help them because they are not willing to put their health before anything else.

Tricia
9 years ago

I am homozygous c677t , I am working on cleaning up my home and my mattress is past due on needing to be replaced. I have been researching organic latex mattress’s and am very interested in purchasing one. My only concern is the smell of the organic latex and whether I will have a difficult time handling it due to my issues with multiple chemical sensitivities and migraines. They are quite pricey and are non returnable. Are you familiar with the organic latex mattress and if so, what are your thoughts and/or recommendations in regards to them or another chemical free option.

ThinkingM0M
9 years ago

Easy and cheap lifestyle changes that make a big difference:

I make my own cleaning solution that I use for everything. I fill a spray bottle with: 1/3 white vinegar, 5 drops dr Bronners Castile soap, 10 drops orange (or lemon) essential oil, 3 drops Cedarwood essential oil and then fill the rest up with water. Shake it well before each use. I use this solution for cleaning my kitchen and bathrooms, all my countertops, all my tile floors, even windows and glass.

I make my own coconut oil supplements. I mix organic extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil with organic raw honey and a smidgen of GF vanilla extract. YS Eco Bee Farms Super Enriched honey is the best for both taste and nutritional value. Use a fork to mix together in a bowl with the CO mushy and the honey slightly warmed. I fill up a silicone ice cube tray that makes mini circular cubes with the mixture and put in the freezer overnight. Next day pop them all out and fill a container. I eat 1 a day sometimes 2, and I give my kids one “candy” a day. One of my sons is not a fan of coconut taste so I also make a batch using 3/4 the above mixture and melted enjoy life choc chips which makes awesome somewhat nutritious chocolate circle “candies”. Haha

I use RO water for cooking and drinking, cook with coconut oil, add organic apple cider vinegar to stews, soups and meat dishes, add magnesium to all my kids drinks, trace minerals to one drink a day and add pink Himalayan salt to every dinner.

We recently started using apricot kernel oil as a skin moisturizer and I absolutely love it. Very moisturizing and no questionable toxins.

Also, I highly recommend considering AC chelation (Andy Cutler chelation) if u need to detox heavy metals. Low frequent dose chelation requires commitment and effort but it is extremely inexpensive and very effective. DMSA is affordable but using only ALA is stupid cheap. A 60ct bottle of ALA 100mg capsules for less than $10 was enough to last for a years worth of chelation rounds (weekends). Chelating my son with ALA for a lil over a year (after 6yrs of biomedical healing) was what finally brought full recovery from autism.

Morgan
9 years ago

Hi, my son with autism is homozygous for the c677t gene. He loves to swim and when he does he drinks the water. I know he is ingesting all this chlorine and he is not high functioning enough to stop drinking it or understand the consequences. Any suggestions besides not swimming? We don’t have access to a non chlorinated pool. Thank you.

Tricia
9 years ago

February 12, 2015 at 5:32 pm # Reply
I am homozygous c677t , I am working on cleaning up my home and my mattress is past due on needing to be replaced. I have been researching organic latex mattress’s and am very interested in purchasing one. My only concern is the smell of the organic latex and whether I will have a difficult time handling it due to my issues with multiple chemical sensitivities and migraines. They are quite pricey and are non returnable. Are you familiar with the organic latex mattress and if so, what are your thoughts and/or recommendations in regards to them or another chemical free option.

Tricia
9 years ago

Tricia February 12, 2015 at 5:32 pm # Reply
I am homozygous c677t , I am working on cleaning up my home and my mattress is past due on needing to be replaced. I have been researching organic latex mattress’s and am very interested in purchasing one. My only concern is the smell of the organic latex and whether I will have a difficult time handling it due to my issues with multiple chemical sensitivities and migraines. They are quite pricey and are non returnable. Are you familiar with the organic latex mattress and if so, what are your thoughts and/or recommendations in regards to them or another chemical free option.

justine
9 years ago

Is glitathione safe while breastfeefing?

Lynnet
9 years ago

I’m curious as to why you do not mention the biggest exposure to mercury that most of us have, in our mouths. Coal-fired power plants 30 miles away do not affect us nearly as much as the mercury in our fillings.

Rae
8 years ago

Hi,

I just wanted to throw in my experience with the Berkey water filter (make sure you get the Berkey Black Filters with the fluoride filters, *not* the white ceramic ones which cost less but are significantly less effective and don’t last as long).

Although I’ve been aware of this site for awhile, we purchased our Berkey about 18 months ago completely on its merits and ability. We loved the fact that it’s a tried and true system, no requirement of electricity, no moving parts to break down. It can even take outdoor water (lake, stream, river, etc) and filter it to be safe to drink. Given its standalone qualities, that makes a lot of versatility and a pretty cool back up in case of emergency. We even found they started making a small size to take camping with its signature black filter. The water tastes absolutely amazing. I haven’t ever been one of those people who just love water but the Berkey filtered water is sweet without a hint of harshness or chemicals. We adore ours! If you plan to buy one, I will say this… The size difference between the models is negligible when it comes to taking up counter space but strongly consider buying a size larger than you initially think. We ended up doing that due to a stock issue & it’s the best thing that could have happened. We use it so much that having the larger size means we’re not pulling our hair out always running out of water. Strongly consider adding the glass spigot so you can see how much is left. We used ours with and without & it’s a huge improvement.

The other thing that I was going to mention is that we also purchased a Berkey shower filter. We’d used a couple of the other brands in the past & they were fine but we really have been happy with the Berkey shower filter & it lasts a long time.

Lastly, I’m not connected with the Berkey company in any way. I’m just an person dealing with multiple debilitating chronic health issues myself and when I saw that Ben recommended the Berkey, I wanted to share our experiences. I hope they’re helpful.

MTHFR? This Course is For You

MTHFR? This Course is For You

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