Solutions for Fatigue and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome There's something in this report for everyone

Interestingly, many cultures traditionally treat corn in a way that naturally clears it of aflatoxin. The process that these cultures use is called “nixtamalization,” which involves soaking and cooking corn in a limewater solution. This alkalizes the corn, and the presence of vitamin C in the limewater rids it of aflatoxin.

Avoid the harmful effects of aflatoxin by steering clear of the common foods where this mold appears whenever you can, to ensure it doesn’t enter your system. However, keep in mind that, because the foods on which aflatoxin thrives are so common, a preventative treatment cleanse is also necessary to avoid ingesting this cancer-causing organism. I’ll talk more about cleanses in chapter 15.

Zearalenone

Zearalenone, or “zear” is another common and dangerous mold to avoid. Like its cousin aflatoxin, zear is often found in commercial cereal grains and processed foods such as popcorn, corn chips, and brown rice. Zear can lower your immunity, just as aflatoxin does. It furthermore keeps your body from being able to detoxify benzene, which Dr. Clark says is

common in AIDS sufferers. In addition, this mold is linked with estrogendependent

diseases, including breast cancer.

Another mycotoxin, zear is an anabolic and estrogenic metabolite. The mold appears as extra estrogen in animals’ bodies. Many animal studies have shown this mold to have negative impacts on reproductive health, such as infertility and in-utero death.

But such negative effects are not limited to animals. Even beyond breast cancer, Dr. Clark found in her research that zear speeds up the maturing process in females, and could cause PMS, ovarian cysts, and infertility. In males, even small amounts of zear ingested daily could dramatically affect maturation. Whether the toxin stimulates additional estrogen to develop or functions just like estrogen is not yet clear.

High heat is not effective when it comes to purging foods of zear. If your immunity is compromised or you experience any of the other effects noted above, Dr. Clark advises going off moldy food suspects that may contain zear right away.

Ergot

Ergot is a mold whose effects are unusual and felt very fast. It is immune to heat and highly toxic to children. At any age, however, erratic behavior can be a consequence of ingesting ergot. Irrational thoughts, surreal ideas, and unusual emotions are significant red flags. Those who are commonly sick may also be experiencing high levels of this toxin. According to Dr. Clark, the effects of ergot also include paranoia, hearing voices, and even seizures.

If you notice any of these erratic behaviors in yourself or someone you are close to, it would be a good idea to make dietary changes to reduce your intake of ergot. For example, erratic behavior in children is often written off as allergies, when in truth ergot toxicity could be to blame. If you find your child behaving like “Jekyll and Hyde,” Dr. Clark suggests eliminating cold cereals, nuts and nut butters, store-bought baked goods, soy, honey, and syrups for three weeks.

Replace those foods with hot cereals, home-baked goods, potatoes, and honey with added vitamin C. Because alcohol together with ergot is more toxic than each is on its own, alcohol heightens the negative effects of ergot. It appears that alcohol also drives ergot deeper into the tissues. Dr. Clark has found ergot and aflatoxin in beer and wine, and suggests that perhaps some inebriated behaviors are the result of this mold and alcohol combination.

If you intend to consume foods that may contain ergot, Dr. Clark notes that you can detoxify this dangerous mold easily in about ten minutes using Vitamin C. She also notes that honey should be detoxified right away before consumption.

Other Molds to Avoid

Aflatoxin, zearalenone, and ergot are only a few of the toxic molds we need to reduce or eliminate in our diets. There are several other molds to be aware of as well.

Cytochalasin B

Cytochalasin B, or “cyto B,” is another fungus that lowers immunity, which it does by impeding cell division. For example, portions of the liver that are dead are unable to regenerate as they normally would in the event of a toxic encounter. Cyto B it is found mainly in pasta.

Kojic Acid

Kojic acid prevents the body from being able to detoxify wood alcohol, which results in damage to the pancreas, pancreatic fluke infestation, and even diabetes. Dr. Clark advises against eating potato skins and points out that this mold is also found in regular coffee.

T-2 Toxin

Dr. Clark has found T-2 toxin in every case of high blood pressure and kidney disease. She notes that it is found in dried peas and beans, but that this dangerous mold can be detoxified by adding vitamin C to the soaking water for these foods for five minutes. She adds that you should discard the imperfect peas and beans first, as an extra safety measure.

Sorghum Molds

Sorghum molds are found in sorghum and millet. Elderly people are more susceptible to these mold toxins, which cause hemorrhaging and appetite loss, and make it hard to swallow. Dr. Clark advises against buying sorghum syrup, and says that you should rinse millet in water with vitamin C or add vitamin C to the water before cooking.

Patulin

Patulin is the major fruit mold toxin. It is dangerous because the mold that produces it can grow in patches in your intestine. According to Dr. Clark, E. coli and shigella can permeate the colon wall and begin to invade your body, spreading to areas of injury and tumor sites.

Patulin is found in many common fruits when they are bruised. Those with bowel disease or cancer should not consume fresh fruit besides bananas and lemons for a few weeks. After that, all fruit should be carefully inspected for bruising, and Dr. Clark warns to be thorough in the inspection: even a single soft grape can reinfect you.

Mold and Your Diet

The following are foods Dr. Clark says should be carefully considered prior to consumption:

• Crackers: Children should not be fed crackers ever as they are notoriously moldy. Make your own treats in the oven.

• Dried fruits: These are highly moldy and should be soaked in vitamin C water and refrigerated or frozen. Overripe fruit should not be baked or preserved.

• Peanut butter: Nut butters bought in a store can’t be detoxified, so you should make your own.

• Tea: Tea sold in bags is very moldy, so it is better to buy tea in bulk. Store tea in the double plastic bag it comes in, which will also prevent antiseptics in the bag itself. When using fresh herbs, only half as much is required to make tea, which should be done using a sterile

bamboo strainer.

• Maple syrup: Pure maple syrup contains aflatoxin and other molds that you can often see. The aflatoxin can be removed with vitamin C, but the other molds need to be exposed to high heat too. You can bring the syrup to a near boil in its original jar without the lid and

then refrigerate.

• Hot cereal: It is easy to spot the mold here and remove all of the dark shriveled pieces. By adding salt and honey while cooking, you can detoxify your hot cereal grains further. Grains shouldn’t sit in your cupboard for more than six months, and should not be refrigerated

(only frozen) if not kept in the cupboard.

Against the Grains

According to Dr. Clark, our grain consumption should be very limited. Many molds in pastas, breads, and cold cereals can’t be seen or smelled. Potatoes are a preferable option, as you eat them just the way they were harvested. When grains are processed, it opens them to a variety of molds. Potatoes should be scrubbed prior to eating, and all eyes should be removed.

Coexisting with Mold

Mold could be called a necessary evil. While it is vital to the balance of the environment, if not carefully monitored, it can make us very sick in a variety of ways. It is not complicated to co-exist with mold, but it does require diligence on our parts to make sure that what we put into our bodies is as safe as it can be.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to go to extremes with this all at once. The first step is knowledge and awareness. Once you have that, you can start taking small steps to reduce your exposure to molds, then build on it over time. This is only one part of the bigger picture when it comes to managing excesses, deficiencies, and stagnations in your diet.

Now you’re aware of the serious threats that toxic and moldy foods pose to our dietary balance, and how they can undermine the Wellness Model of Health™. But there is one more culprit when it comes to sabotaging health through diet: inflammatory foods. The next chapter will take you through everything you need to know about these foods, and show you how you can eliminate them from your diet to promote greater wellness.

Chapter Review

• Toxic foods harm our white blood cells and weaken our immune systems.

• Five common immunosuppressants you should try to avoid most in foods are: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), benzene, asbestos, azo dyes, and heavy metals.

• Molds are a form of fungus, usually microscopic, that live and reproduce on organic matter such as plants or animals.

• Some forms of mold are toxic and dangerous, and can be found in common foods we eat.

• Mold spores spread through the environment through the air.

• Some foods that commonly contain mold include: crackers, dried fruits, peanut butter, tea, maple syrup, and hot cereal, as well as pastas, breads, cold cereals, grains, and potatoes.

Recommended Resources

ElectroCleanse

Developed by the Dr. Clark Research Association, the ElectroCleanse is a powerful tool that can aid you in the recovery of many major medical disorders. Find out more at www.losethebackpain.com/productreviews/electrocleanse.html.

Dr. Clark Research Association You can learn more about the tools available to clear toxins from your system from the Dr. Clark Research Association at www.drclark.com.

Clark Therapy by Ignacio Chamorro Balda

You can get even more information about the tools and methods that have arisen from Dr. Clark’s work in the book Clark Therapy by Ignacio Chamorro Balda.

Lyme Disease Testing (see Appendix Lymes)

A6) Vitamin D K1 and K2 deficiency

Micronutrient test available through a laboratory called SpectraCell that measures 33 vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in your body. I am a fan of this test because it measures the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants inside your cells. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend that clients take the Vitamin D3 test (technically called 25-hydroxy Vitamin D). This testing measures the amount of Vitamin D3 that is floating in your bloodstream. However, it does not measure how much Vitamin D3 is inside of your cells. So why would I run a Vitamin D3 test along with a micronutrient test when the micronutrient test looks at the amount of Vitamin D3 that is inside of the cell? I’ve found that clients, especially clients w h o h a v e v e r y s e v e r e symptoms, have a Vitamin D3 level within the recommended 60-100 ng/mL range because they have been supplementing with Vitamin D3, but their micronutrient level is low. Clinically, this indicates that there is inflammation at the cellular level and the Vitamin D3 is not able to get into the cell at an optimum level. This is why knowing both numbers is so important! Treating someone with a Vitamin D deficiency is very different than treating someone with a generalized cellular inflammatory problem. Vitamin K2 is also extremely important and has a close relationship with Vitamin D3. While there is currently no standard blood test for Vitamin K2, the micronutrient test does test for Vitamin K2!

Tests to analyze the following: Vitamins Minerals Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, Biotin, Folate, Pantothenate Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper

Amino Acids Asparagine, Glutamine, Serine

Antioxidants

Carbohydrate Metabolism Fatty Acids Alpha Lipoic Acid, Coenzyme Q10, Cysteine, Glutathione, Selenium, Vitamin E, Total Antioxidant Function, Chromium, Fructose Sensitivity, GlucoseInsulin Metabolism, Oleic Acid

Metabolites Choline, Inositol, Carnitine

Biotoxin Testing

A7) Cardiovascular Testing (Good and Bad Cholesterol)

A8) Male & Female Sex Hormone Testing

A9) Allergy Testing

A10) Methylation Testing

Step 2 : DRAIN

B1) Supplements, Vitamins and Minerals

Balancing minerals in the body is extremely important when preparing someone to go through the next steps they will need to take to restore their health. By definition, essential minerals or macro-minerals are those minerals that the body must have more than 100mg of per day in order to maintain proper health. Micro or trace minerals are those minerals that the body requires less than 100mg of per day. Good minerals encourage the bad heavy metals to leave the body. Having the right amount of good minerals in your body is essential when trying to remove such toxins as mercury, lead, arsenic, antimony, aluminum, etc. Scientist don’t yet understand exactly how this process works but we do know that minerals compete with each other. Too much of one mineral affects the other.

To give you a glimpse into the complexity of minerals, let’s look at a few examples. Copper lowers uric acid in the blood while molybdenum raises it. The relationship between copper and zinc has been studied extensively. Researchers are specifically looking to see how they compete and how they cooperate. Studies96 have shown that low magnesium can lower selenium, but low magnesium will also raise manganese in the bone, liver, and kidneys. When iron stores are depleted in the body the absorption of cadmium rises. A high intake of zinc lowers magnesium, but high zinc does not lower copper. High iron lowers both copper and zinc. While all of the implications of these interactions is not yet known, we do know that the list of the ways minerals cooperate with each other and hinder each other is endless.

I believe that potassium, zinc, magnesium, copper, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, and iodine are the most important trace minerals. Technically, potassium and magnesium are macro minerals but I’m including them in this list because they work together with this group of minerals and need attention when working to restore your health.

Zinc is part of Phase 1 of liver detoxification because zinc deficiency can cause an excess of aldehyde to be produced. Zinc primarily comes from red meat. It is the most abundant trace element in cells and plays an important role in genetic stability and function. Deficiency in zinc increases inflammatory cytokines. Since we know zinc plays such an important role in the health of our bodies, we must monitor this closely.

This is where things can get complicated. Cadmium competes with zinc binding sites, lead competes with calcium, and mercury competes with selenium. Copper is necessary for SOD (superoxide dismutase). Molybdenum helps to detoxify the neurotoxin aldehyde, which comes from Candida die-off and is something that Lyme disease produces. Chromium helps the body regular blood sugar levels but is lost through urination when there is an excess of sugar (high sugar consumption effects chromium levels).97

Also, research suggests that 68-80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium. Eating excessive amounts of sugar uses up the body’s storage of magnesium.98 This includes diets such as vegetarian diets that tend to be high in carbohydrates. 56 molecules of magnesium are used during the digestive process for every single molecule of sugar (yes, 56:1!).99

Magnesium is a mineral that is primarily intracellular and involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions. This includes: glycolysis, creatine phosphate formation, nucleic acid synthesis, amino acid activation (protein synthesis), cardiac and smooth muscle contractibility, cyclic AMP formation, and it improves insulin receptors. Magnesium is not accurately tested in the blood or serum. Only 1% of the body’s magnesium is in the blood serum whereas, 60% of magnesium is in the bone and 27% is in the muscle. Knowing how to properly test and analyze the amount of magnesium in your body will have a big impact on your treatment and overall health.

It’s important to note that not all forms of magnesium are alike. Magnesium is not easily absorbed in the digestive tract. Magnesium oxide is the least absorbable form of magnesium because it irritates the intestinal lining. Magnesium citrate has generally been regarded at the best source for constipation relief because of its laxative affect. Despite the fact that magnesium chloride contains only about 12% magnesium, it absorbs into the body better than other forms of the mineral. Magnesium glycinate is a chelated form of magnesium and tends to provide the highest level of absorption and bioavailability (glycine is the smallest amino acid). Magnesium glycinate is also generally regarded as the best for muscle pain, muscle spasms, and for correcting a deficiency of magnesium. Another form that is gaining traction is magnesium threonate.

Magnesium is very well absorbed through the skin! When you are experiencing health issues like cramps in your calf muscles or you constantly have to urinate, topical magnesium (also called magnesium gel or oil) can be applied topically right on the calf muscles before you go to bed or can be put on the lower abdomen right over the bladder to help relax bladder muscle contraction. If your skin feels magnesium deficiency. If you find you can’t tolerate it in its pure form, mix it with a little coconut oil or dilute it with filtered water. Topical magnesium only needs to be left on the skin for twenty minutes in order for it to be absorbed. My favorite time to apply it is before bed because it has a relaxing affect which allows you to sleep better. tingly or prickly after applying the topical gel, that is a sign of severe magnesium

Million Dollar Clinical Tip I recommend that clients combine a 70% Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) gel with topical magnesium gel to relieve pain in the knees, hips, shoulders, injured muscles, etc. DMSO is natural and has anti-inflammatory properties along with anti-pain properties. However, it really shows its worth as a transdermal carrier. DMSO pulls whatever it’s combined with through the skin faster and better than other carriers, which leads to quicker relief.

The best way to use this mix is to apply the topical magnesium gel on the skin of the area you want to target and then put a pea-to-marble sized drop of DMSO over the transdermal magnesium. You can do this as needed (typically 1-3 times a day). If your skin gets irritated, this tends to be because of the DMSO. Decrease the number of times you use the DMSO if this occurs.

More On DMSO

According to www.DMSO.org, Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO), a by-product of the wood industry, has been used as a commercial solvent since 1953. According to Stanley Jacob, MD, more than 40,000 articles on its chemistry have appeared in scientific journals along with thousands of laboratory studies. Worldwide, some 11,000 articles have been written on its medical and clinical implications, and doctors in 125 countries around the world including Canada, Great Britain, Germany, and Japan prescribe it for a variety of ailments including pain, inflammation, scleroderma, interstitial cystitis, and arthritis.

Other Mineral Symptoms

Sometimes there are connections between symptoms and deficiencies that you wouldn’t expect. Loss of smell (anosmia) or white spots on your fingernails typically indicate a zinc deficiency. Having white lines on your fingernails tend to indicate a selenium deficiency.

Supplements

from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Natural Remedies

Acetyl l-carnitine: 1,000mg daily for three or four months. Helps energy and weight loss.

Acidophilus pearls: 2 pearls twice daily for five months.

CoQ10: 200mg daily for three to six months. Vitalineformulas.com.

D-ribose: 5mg three times daily. Corvalen, www.corvalen.com.

Omega-3 fatty acids: EPA/DHA 1,000-2,000mg daily - take a mercury-free brand. Fish oil has been shown to improve symptoms in patients with both CFS and fibromyalgia.

Energy Revitalization System Vitamin Powder: 1/2 to 1 scoop a day. www.vitality101.com.

Evening primrose oil: Take with a total of 1,000-2,000mg of EPA/DHA daily. Especially important if you have PMS - research shows that combining omega-3 fatty acids with evening primrose oil (gamma linoleic acid), which also has its own anti-inflammatory effect, is beneficial.

Magnesium citrate: 500mg daily, less if having diarrhea. Reduces inflammation and also is important for cellular energy; shown to be helpful in alleviating fatigue.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC): 500-600mg daily for three to six months.

Revitalizing Sleep Formula:: 1-4 caps at bedtime. www.vitality101.com.

Glutothione

6h) Vitamin B-3, B-6 and B-12 and/or Iodine, Fats and Mineral Deficiencies (and/or mineral excesses)

Possible deficiency in vitamins, minerals or beneficial fats/oils. This is possible as it is known that certain relatively healthy people are incapable of processing B vitamins correctly and require shots.

Lack of trace minerals (modern farming poractices). Coloidial help?

What Even the Healthiest Foods Are Still Missing - The Problem with Our Food Supply Today

One of the best pieces of advice I can give to anyone experiencing health problems is to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. For many people, however, this seems to be a tall order. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be, as you’ll see here in this chapter.

These days, we see a lot of people making a greater effort to eat healthy. One common strategy there is to cut out fast food. But is this really helpful? On the surface, yes. Fast food is loaded with unhealthy fats and excess sugars that should certainly be avoided. But what if I were to tell you that the actual nutritional value of your average fast food meal is not much different than that of a less-processed, home-cooked meal?

We often don’t have time to cook homemade meals because we’re on the go all the time. Even if we do take the time to slow things down and eat a home-cooked meal filled with a good amount of fruits and vegetables, unless they are organic or we grow them ourselves, we can never be sure of their nutritional content. And even then, most produce is grown in nutritionally depleted soil. This means that no matter how healthy you eat, you are still likely to have nutritional deficiencies.

This is scary, but true. Our food today lacks the mineral content that is needed for us to remain healthy. One reason for this is that the fruits and vegetables sold in stores aren’t picked ripe. As a result, they lose up to 80 percent of the minerals that are absorbed during the ripening phase.

Mineral depletion in the food we eat is worsened by our current farming system, which often involves farming the same soil repeatedly without resting it every seven years, as our ancestors learned to do.

Instead of caring for the soil and replenishing its minerals, big business farms pour more and more fertilizers into their soil to get things to grow bigger and faster. And they build dams and levees to stop the natural flooding that has historically restored mineral content to the soil. These disastrous practices have been commonplace on US farms since the 1930s.

Think for a moment about what that means for the food we grow and consume today on US soil, which has become increasingly depleted of minerals over all that time. While we may be growing and eating something that looks like an ear of corn, its nutritional value is a far cry from what it used to be. Vegetables and fruits don’t manufacture their own minerals. They get them from the soil.