Another toothpaste recipe

I know, I have another toothpaste recipe in my blog, but if you are a biomed parent, you understand how your child's sensitivities can change like the wind!  It's very hard to find a preservative-free, GFCFSF, mint-free, flavor-free, low-salicylate, toothpaste that is also free of excitotoxins.  That is a mouthful, isn't it?  Literally, tehehe.

 I haven't had time to write about our latest dietary adventures, but I can tell you that my new toothpaste recipe is in direct relation to some things, ok a lot of things, we are trying to avoid.  I will refer to the original toothpaste post for all the reasons to avoid commercial toothpastes, toxins at their best, and YES they do get into your bloodstream via the blood vessels in you mouth.  You can read more about that here.  In the meantime, as a home-schooling, multi-chef-hat-wearing, uber-researching, no-time-for-me mommy, I am going to get on with this post.  =)

Ingredients
-1/2 C. water
-1/2 C. xylitol (birch sourced only)
-1/4 C. baking soda
-1/8 C. Redmond's sea salt (independently tested as being the lowest in heavy metals)
-1/4 tsp food grade hydrogen peroxide (optional)

I have to warn you that this recipe is very salty, so if you have an aversion to salt flavor, you could reduce the salt in the recipe, but it's very good for cleaning, mineralizing and offering a safe abrasion for scrubbing the surface of the teeth so I wouldn't remove it completely.  You could add flavorings, if you tolerate them, in the form of essential oils, but be aware that they are very high salicylate.

Heat all of the ingredients, except the hydrogen peroxide, just to the boiling point, then reduce to low.  Let this simmer until the liquid is all gone, stirring frequently.  It will take a while, so do something else rather than watching the pot, lol.  When it's fairly thick, like a paste, turn off the heat and let it cool.  If you are adding the hydrogen peroxide, add it here and then blend in a blender or the Magic Bullet which is just the right size for small recipes like this.  Your toothpaste will be less of a paste and more of a thin gel.

I like to keep ours in a glass dropper bottle.  After we use up a supplement, I clean it out with boiling water, take the dropper out and cut an X in the tip of the squeezy part of the dropper cap.  Shake well, turn it over and squeeze the dropper cap to dispense!  It works like a charm!  You could also use a nice little hand pump lid for the texture of this toothpaste.  A little goes a long way.

My teeth feel super smooth and clean after using this toothpaste, I have even grown to like the saltiness (I didn't at first), it makes my mouth feel clean! 

Pharmaceutical minefield

Be careful what you wish for.

We want doctors to listen, we crave guidance from the very souls who inject our children with poison and send them reeling in toxic blood baths.  Why the bittersweet battle?  In one word - MONEY!  We want our children to benefit from our costly health insurance and rightfully so!!  Who wouldn't want their health issues addressed by their doctors and covered by their insurance?!

Be careful what you wish for.

What happens when mainstream doctors finally DO acknowledge that our children are walking medical books rather than genetically neurological head cases?  Are we really ready for that?

Cha-ching!

This is already in the process of happening, so we KNOW what will transpire the minute doctors realize they can cash in on "curing" autism symptoms.  Notice I said curing symptoms?  Mainstream medicine is a pharmaceutical conundrum, the proverbial symptom band-aid, if you will.

Take PANDAS for example.  PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus.   Let's thank ADHD.com for this detailed description of the 5 diagnostic criteria for the diagnosis of PANDAS below.

What are the diagnostic criteria for PANDAS?
Pandas is diagnosed if there is an episodic history of the following symptoms associated with strep infections.

• Presence of Obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or a tic disorder, ADHD symptoms or oppositional behaviors
• Association with neurological abnormalities (motor hyperactivity, or adventitious movements, such as choreiform movements)
• Pediatric onset of symptoms (age 3 years to puberty)
  Episodic course of symptom severity. (symptoms come and go)
• Association with group A Beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection (GABHS)
• GABHS evidenced by either a positive throat culture for strep or positive for streptococcus serology (ASOT or AntiDNAse-B)
• A history of Scarlet Fever or Rheumatic fever

What is an episodic course of symptoms?

Children with PANDAS seem to have dramatic ups and downs in their OCD and/or tic severity. Tics or OCD which are almost always present at a relatively consistent level do not represent an episodic course. Many children with OCD or tics have good days and bad days, or even good weeks and bad weeks. However, patients with PANDAS have a very sudden onset or worsening of their symptoms, followed by a slow, gradual improvement. If they get another strep. infection, their symptoms suddenly worsen again. The increased symptom severity usually persists for at least several weeks, but may last for several months or longer. The tics or OCD then seem to gradually fade away, and the children often enjoy a few weeks or several months without problems. When they have another strep. throat infection the tics or OCD or associated behaviors return just as suddenly and dramatically as they did previously.

It is quickly gaining popularity with mainstream doctors.  And what is their treatment for it, you ask?  Well, medication, of course....pharmaceuticals.  One of the worst things you can do to a child with an autoimmune disorder such as autism is prescribe them antibiotics, it messes with their already dysfunctional immune system.  It tears down the already lacking terrain of their gut and it messes with their ability to fight off ANYTHING, let alone the nasty strep infections.  In fact, one of the reasons people have problems with oxalates, is because antibiotics kill the oxalobacter formigenes bacteria and there is no known way to replenish it, via probiotics.

And when parents become desperate, because antibiotics no longer work (the bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and they build a matrix of biofilm to protect themselves) they are instructed that the only next step for them is a treatment called IVIG where blood plasma with protective antibodies is provided via a blood transfusion.  Sounds ideal, doesn't it....a quick fix?!  One IVIG treatment requires upwards of 10,000 donors!!  Knowing what I know about illnesses like Lyme Disease, you couldn't pay ME to have this done with my kids.  I don't want someone else's undiagnosed illness.  Think about how hard it is to detect Lyme Disease, and how common it's become!! Even, if I were assured and RE-assured that the blood was specifically tested for Lyme Disease (among other illnesses), that would not be enough for me to risk my already fragile kids lives with the possibility that even one of those 10,000 donors could have Lyme Disease.  There are other ways... 

How should PANDAS be treated?  I'm no doctor, of course.  All I can tell you is that our older son had all of the symptoms associated with PANDAS at one point, errrr ok many points...HAD is the key word there though.  I'm not convinced that all of the children being diagnosed with PANDAS actually have it, because many bad bacteria can exhibit the same symptoms.  In fact, although Grayson had Hemolytic Strep bacteria, his more dysbiotic bacteria was Clostridia.  My guess is that none of these doctors are checking their patients for heavy metal toxicity (properly) and I am sure they aren't considering a GFCFSF diet or any other diet for that matter.  Like Lyme, Clostridia, Klebsiella, yeast overgrowth (and so many other pathogenic illnesses), PANDAS responds well to all the same methods of recovery being used in biomedicine. Ironically, camel milk has been compared to doing IVIG, perhaps this is one of the other reasons we are seeing such results with our treatment choices.  If you want to learn more about why camel milk works, this link will take you to an earlier blog entry on camel milk.

If I were to consider all aspects involved with PANDAS, this is how I would approach it (wait, this is how I DID approach it, although in a slightly different order).

• GFCFSF diet
• Avoid refined sugars, simple carbs, and food coloring
• Introduce camel milk
• Add a liver support like artichoke extract or Liver Life.
• Natural anti-microbials for yeast, bacteria, parasites and viruses
• Weed and seed - It's EXTREMELY important to replenish the good bacteria with very high numbers of probiotics when you are spending most of your day killing off the bad guys.  I call this weeding and seeding...we give about 350-500 billion CFUs nightly, at least 3 hours away from any natural antimicrobial.  We were careful to increase their probiotics slowly, because this can cause significant die too.
• IgG food sensitivity testing and removal of all IgG positive foods
• Rotation diet for foods that are approved in diet
• Clean up toxins in environment like play-doh, markers, lotions, shampoos, and toothpaste, to avoid the gluten and casein as well as cleaning products, their mattresses, plates, pajamas, etc.
• Organic Acid Test from Great Plains (addressing issues as per the results)
• If high oxalic acid comes up on OAT, immediately start the low oxalate diet, heck, I would even go as far as to recommend trying a low oxalate diet for any and ALL kids with chronic pathogenic issues 
• Supplementation for possible deficiencies
• The biofilm protocol (without EDTA, very important!) for persistent bacterial and yeast infections
• Hair "toxic and essential elements" test via DirectLabs.com (it's called Hair Elements-DDI KIT) to assess toxicity levels (reviewed against Andy Cutler's book, Hair Test Interpretation)
• Andy Cutler chelation protocol - this is another great link for his protocol
• Possibly even do a stool test anywhere along the way for the sake of knowing exactly which gut bugs you are dealing with so you know how to tailor your antimicrobials

So yep, doctors are finally on board with PANDAS, but what exactly does that mean?  Do you also want their assistance with autism? I don't.

Be careful what you wish for.

UPDATE December 8th...This just in  from MercuryExposure.org!

From a 1984 study by Rowland et al. Antibiotics and Milk play a role in the efficency of Hg Excretion. In this study rats were given high doses of oral antibiotics the half-life for excretion of mercury increased from 10 days to >100 days. If the rats were also on a milk diet the excretion half-life increased to over 300 days. These results are consistent with the theory that demethylation of methylmercury by intestinal microflora is a major factor determining the excretion rate of mercury.
Effects of Diet on Mercury Metabolism and Excretion in Mice Given Methylmercury: Role of Gut Flora

ABSTRACT.
Mice fed either (1) a pelleted rodent diet, (2) evaporated milk, or (3) a synthetic diet (high protein, low fat) exhibited different rates of whole body mercury elimination and fecal mercury excretion after exposure (per os) to methylmercuric chloride. The percentage of the total mercury body burden present as mercuric mercury was highest (35.3%) in mice fed the synthetic diet (which had the highest rate of mercury elimination) and lowest (6.6%) in the animals having the lowest mercury elimination rate (milk-fed mice). Mice fed the syn-thetic diet had lower mercury concentrations and had a higher proportion of mercuric mer-cury in their tissues than the mice from the other dietary groups. Treatment of the mice with antibiotics throughout the experimental period to suppress the gut flora reduced fecal mer-cury excretion and the dietary differences in whole body retention of mercury. Tissue mercury concentrations and proportion of organic mercury in feces, cecal contents, liver, and kidneys were increased by antibiotic treatment of mice fed the pelleted or synthetic diets.
These results are consistent with the theory that demethylation of methylmercury by intestinal microflora is a major factor determining the excretion rate of mercury.

Discussion
The marked diet-related differences in whole body retention of Hg after MeHg exposure confirm the re-sults of Landry et al. 3 In addition, the differences in whole body retention were reflected in the amount or concentration of Hg present in the carcass (the major site of deposition of Hg in the mice), brain, blood, liver, and kidneys. The effect of diet on Hg concentration in brain (a target organ for MeHg toxicity) suggests that diet may influence MeHg-induced neurotoxicity since the concentration of Hg in tissues, particularly the central nervous system, has been correlated with the inci-dence of neurotoxicity in rats and mice.· 19 20

The three diets used in this study have many differences which make it difficult to differentiate the effects of specific dietary components1 although it would appear that dietary fiber is not an important factor governing the rate of Hg excretion since both the milk and GIBCO diets contained little indigestible residues.

Although differences in concentrations of Se were found in the three diets, it is unlikely that these were responsible for the differences in Hg elimination rates since the RMH3000 diet contained by far the highest Se concentration, yet mice fed this diet had an intermediate rate of Hg elimination. These results agree with those of Stil-lings el al., 21 who found that though dietary Se reduced the toxicity of MeHg, it did not appear to influence Hg elimination in feces or urine.

Over short time periods (up to 5 hrl co-administration of MeHgCI and low-molecular-weight thiol compounds has been shown to decrease blood Hg concentration and increase Hg accumulation by various organs by comparison to MeHgCI given alone. 22-24

Thus, differences in thiol concentrations in the diets and tissues may be responsible for diet-related changes in HHg tissue concentrations. However, in the present study, the thiol concentrations of the three diets were similar, and although some differences were detected in concentration of nonprotein-bound thiols in liver, they could not be correlated with Hg excretion rates or tissue Hg levels since mice fed milk or GIBCO diets had almost identical hepatic thiol concentrations. The con-centration of sulfhydryl compounds in the small intes-tine was highest in those mice fed milk probably due to an increase in glutathione from bile, because the ma-jority of the sulfhydryl groups were not protein-bound. However, it seems unlikely that differences in intestinal thiol concentration significantly affect Hg excretion rate since the sulfhydryl concentrations were greatly in excess of the Hg concentration to which the mice were exposed. It is noteworthy that the administration of MeHgCI increased (by 1-2 JLmoles/g tissue) the concentration of nonprotein-bound thiols in the livers of mice in all dietary groups, presumably affecting an increased synthesis of glutathione in bile.
It is possible that diet may also affect the whole body elimination of Hg via an effect on excretion of Hg in bile, since age-related changes in Hg elimination, can be as-cribed, at least in part, to changes in biliary excretion. 25

The differences in the amount of mercuric Hg in the whole body (Table 2), in the various tissues (Tables 3 and 4), and in cecal and colon contents (Fig. 4) in the animals fed the different diets suggest that diet-induced differences in Hg elimination are related to the extent of MeHg demethylation by the animals. The mice with the highest rates of Hg elimination, namely those fed GIBCO diet, had the highest proportion of their Hg body burden as mercuric Hg.

The previously demonstrated ability of the intestinal microilora to demethylate MeHg6 and its capacity to alter its metabolic activity in response to dietary modifi-cation 13•16 suggest that diet-induced changes in demeth-ylating activity of the gut flora are responsible for the differences in Hg elimination seen. Tlw results of the present study lend support to this theory.

It is clear that in all dietary groups a large proportion of total Hg in the gut was present in the mercuric form, especially in the cecum and colon. In particular, the GIBCO-fed animals reatained very high levels of Hg in the cecum and colon. Furthermore, the major route of excretion of Hg was the feces with only small amounts emerging in the urine, and in the GIBCO-fed mice the increased Hg elimination occurred via the feces rather than the urine. This indicates that MeHg demethylation occurs at sites where the product, mercuric Hg, does not re-enter the general circulation since parenterally administered HgCI2 is excreted mainly in the urine (Landry et al., unpublished observation, 1982).

Treatment of the mice with antibiotics to sterilize the gut contents virtually eliminated the diet-related dif-ferences in whole body Hg retention, in Hg excretion in feces and urine, and in the amount of mercuric Hg in whole body, gut contents, and tissues (especially in liver and kidney). These results are consistent with the theory that demethylation by the gut flora is a major determinant of the rate of Hg excretion after MeHg ex-posure. The almost complete retention of the dose of MeHg (apparent elimination of half-times> 100 days) in the animals without a gut flora and the increase in MeHg concentration in blood and liver is also consis-tent with the theory since it would be expected that the greater proportion of MeHg relative to total Hg in the gut of antibiotic-treated animals would result in greater absorption of the administered mercury dose.

Landry et al. (unpublished observation), using mice give MeHgCI intramuscularly, have reproduced the dietary-related differences in Hg elimination seen in orally dosed animals, but the three diets had little effect on Hg retention after parenteral administration of HgCI,. It would appear, therefore, that if MeHg is demethylated, diet is unlikely to exert any differential effects on Hg ... retention, suggesting that the differential effects of diet oc-cur on demethylation or on excretion of MeHg in bile.
In the mice given antibiotics, some residual formation November/December 1984 [Vol. 39, (No.6)] of mercuric Hg was apparent (Table 2) suggesting that sites of demethylation other than the gut flora exist. One possible site is the liver, although enzymatic demethyla-tion of MeHg by this organ has been little studied. It is also possible that the slow release of inorganic Hg from MeHg in the presence of thiol compounds17 contributes to inorganic Hg formation in vivo. \1\€ have confirmed (unpublished observations, 1981) that this can occur in the presence of thiol concentrations found in bile and in the liver (approximately 5 ~-tmole/mll.

In conclusion, the results of this study confirm previous reports 10 that the gut flora is the major site of de-methylation of MeHg in the mouse and strongly suggest that dietary effects on Hg elimination rates are mediated by changes in demethylating activity of the flora. The result of a high demethylation rate would be the formation in the gut lumen of mercuric Hg which, being poorly absorbed, interrupts the enterohepatic recycling of MeHg. 4

Large variations have been reported in rates of elimi-nation of Hg in human populations exposed to MeHg.18 It is conceivable that this variation may be related to the wide variation in composition of gut flora among individuals.29 Furthermore, if the major differences in gut flora that have been observed in populations in different geographic areas 10 are reflected in their MeHg demethylation rates, it is possible that there are inter-individual as well as inter-regional differences in suscep-tibility to MeHg poisoning.

Effects of Diet on Mercury Metabolism and Excretion in Mice Given Methylmercury: Role of Gut Flora
I. R. ROWLAND, Ph.D. The British Industrial Biological Research Association Woodmansterne Road Carshalton, Surrvey, United Kingdom R. D. ROBINSON, M.S. R. A. DOHERTY, M.D. Department of Pediatrics Environmental Health Sciences Center University of Rochester Rochester, New York 14642
Archives of Environmental Health: An International Journal
Arch Environ Health
Published/Hosted by Taylor and Francis Group. ISSN: 0003-9896.

Homemade toothpaste

I began making our toothpaste when I realized that during homeopathic use, mint will antidote the remedy.  It's very hard to find safe toothpaste without mint!

We have been avoiding dangerous ingredients for much longer, ingredients like sodium fluoride, triclosan, FD&C Blue Dye #1 and 2, sodium lauryl sulfate, and hydrated silica.  And don't think that because you don't swallow the toothpaste that you aren't ingesting it, you are, it's absorbed through the mucus membrane of your mouth which is one of the most sensitive to absorption.  This is why we take sublingual supplements to be dissolved in the mouth, it goes directly to the bloodstream from the mouth!  According to the Physician’s Desk Reference, the mucosa lining inside of the mouth has an absorption efficiency of over 90 percent. Because of this, these carcinogens get into your blood, your brain, and your cells in no time at all – especially when you consider most people use dental care products 2 to 3 times a day.

Each of the ingredients mentioned here could have a blog entry all of their own, but I am going to try to keep it simple....Here is a brief description of some of the dangers involved with each ingredient:

Fluoride - Fluoride destroys the brain (accumulates in the pineal gland), the bones, the organs and causes cancer.  It is used in rat and cockroach poisoning!  Did you know that most popular toothpastes contain enough fluoride in four ounces to kill a small child within 2 to 4 hours? (From “Fluoride Retained From Mouth Rinses and Dentifrices in Preschool Children.”)  It is also a little known fact that fluoride compounds were added to the drinking water of prisoners to keep them quiet and to hamper noncompliance with authority, both in Nazi prison camps during World War II and in the Soviet gulags in Siberia. (From The Cold War and the University)

Surprisingly, fluoride has never been approved by the FDA.  A 1990 study stated that fluoride has been shown to NOT reduce cavities and scientists are now linking fluoride to dental deformity, arthritis, allergic reactions and about 10,000 unnecessary deaths each year from cancer. (From “Fluoride an equivocal carcinogen. National Cancer Institute)

More on fluoride here.

FD&C Blue Dye # 1 & 2 - Food coloring is neurotoxic.  They are made of petroleum, acetone and coal tars that are synthetically engineered, ick!  Ironically, food coloring WAS approved by the FDA.  In studies in which rats were given doses of artificial food coloring versus a placebo and then placed in a maze, it was found that the rats were hyperactive and had difficulty staying on task and retaining attention (From "Potential Health Hazard", 2011 Kamel & El-lethey). This is interesting because, as a lot of brightly colored snacks have lots of sugar as well as artificial color, so people blame the sugar for hyperactivity. However, the coloring itself may have something to do with this, as well.  Some parents have concluded this on their own from observations at home, too.  It has even been linked with rashes, asthma and tumors!  If your child has problems with phenol foods, it would be wise to steer clear of these ingredients.  There are many other food coloring ingredients that are not found in toothpaste, but are harmful, as well.

Sodium lauryl sulfate - One of THE most dangerous ingredients used in personal care products.  It's added to toothpaste as a foaming agent.  Do you need your toothpaste to foam?  Really?  It is used around the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant.  Laboratories use it to irritate the skin on test animals and humans so that they can then test healing agents to see how effective they are on irritated skin.  You want that in your kids mouths??  Or on their heads, or on their skin for that matter?  Remember that once this stuff enters the bloodstream, it travels throughout the body.  A study at the University of Georgia Medical College indicated that SLS penetrated into the eyes, as well as the brain, heart, liver, etc.....and showed long-term retention in the tissues.  This study also proved that it penetrated the eyes of young children and prevented them from developing properly as well as causing cataracts to develop as adults.

Here is an MSDS sheet for SLS. 

Triclosan - Pesticide!!  Do I really even need to go further?  Ok, well I will tell you why it is in toothpaste, it's antibacterial.  But honestly, with the sheer number of natural antibacterial herbs, foods and oils, this is just ludicrous!   It's seen increasingly on many other kid's products too, in an attempt to reduce the spread of germs.  If we just took care of ourselves better, washed our hands more, stayed home when we were sick and used natural products to heal ourselves, coating everything with Triclosan wouldn't be necessary.  Oh and one little known fact about Triclosan, while these companies claim it's safe, even the EPA has it registered as a dangerous pesticide.  In fact, they give Triclosan high scores both as a human health risk and as an environmental risk.

Hydrated silica - A whitener that damages tooth enamel....in your TOOTHpaste?  Yup.   Hydrated silica is primarily used as an abrasive in toothpaste, is made from a crystallized compound found in quartz, sand, and flint. (From “The Safe Shopper’s Bible”)

Just by looking at those ingredients, not counting the preservatives, sugars and other additives, how do you feel about putting that glob in your mouth tonight or tomorrow morning?

So let's get onto the toothpaste recipe, right??  Because you certainly can't go on using that toxic time bomb waiting in your bathroom cabinet.  I'm not sure it even belongs in the trash where it will pollute our world.  Maybe you could clean your car engine with it.

RECIPE (finally!)

Place the first list of ingredients into a small pot on "low" heat until it becomes a thick liquid then turn it off while you go onto the next step, to allow it to cool slightly.  ( I don't like putting hot ingredients into my Magic Bullet since I imagine it might have BPA in the plastic)

• 5 generous Tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 3 Tbsp xylitol (be sure it's made from birch, not from corn)
• 2 Tbsp aluminum-free baking soda
• 1 Tbsp sea salt (we use Real Salt, because it is the least heavy metal ridden, per independent testing my biological dentist had done on various sea salts)

Add the remaining ingredients directly to the blender so the heat doesn't damage them

• 2 tsp vegetable glycerine
• 1 tsp aloe vera gel
• 1/2 tsp or less of hydrogen peroxide (this is an individual choice, I like it for some whitening and bacteria control)
• any essential oil mixtures you would like to flavor the toothpaste with (I like spicy clean flavors like clove and cinnamon or even a little rosemary, you could do a fruity flavor or even mint if you are making your toothpaste just to be healthier)

Now you can mix in the cooled mixture from your pot on the stove and blend to emulsify the mixture.  Immediately, pour into a zip lock baggie and roll it so that it stays in the bottom of the baggie while you cool it in the fridge.  Be careful not to leave it too long or the mixture will separate and harden.  I massage it a few times to keep it blended and as it gets thicker, take it out.

When you take it out of the fridge, it should be firm or at least thick with no liquid.  Allowing it to cool to room temp will turn it into a squeezable gel.  Cut the corner into the size hole you want to dispense it through and store upright in a cup on your sink.

If you would like to know more about the reason I chose the above ingredients, keep reading:

• Virgin coconut oil - coconut oil is antimicrobial and it solidifies at room temp (turns to liquid over 78 degrees, so store it somewhere cool if you are in an exceptionally warm climate).
• Xylitol - balances the PH in the mouth, preventing the growth of bad bacteria and because it's also a sweetener, it naturally sweetens the toothpaste.
• Aluminum-free baking soda - Well, of course we are making our own toothpaste to avoid toxins, so aluminum-free is a must.  Baking soda also increases/balances the PH in the mouth, and body, plus it's slightly abrasive naturally and will scrub the teeth.
• Sea salt - in addition to being an abrasive that suits cleaning the teeth, it will re-mineralize the teeth with the trace minerals found in natural unrefined sea salt.
• Aloe vera gel - aloe is a natural antimicrobial, but it is also soothing and reduces inflammation.  The "gel" part is nice for the toothpaste consistency too.
• Vegetable glycerine - this is not a necessary part of your toothpaste, but it is naturally sweet and helps firm up the toothpaste.  I just like it, but your toothpaste will do just fine without it.  I've made it both ways successfully.
• Hydrogen peroxide - Whitening power!!  It also fights microbes and fungus, but use very little, because it can be harsh in high amounts.  Also, some people don't do well with H2O2, because it is a strong oxidizer, so if you have oxidative stress, consider avoiding this ingredient.
• Essential oils - consider oils that will fight bacteria, neutralize toxins and satisfy your taste, like cloves, lemon, cinnamon, mint, etc.

This can be a fun task to do with your kids so they see each of the ingredients and then the final result.  They will WANT to brush their teeth with their new homemade toothpaste!!  What fun!

Happy brushing to you and your family.

Biological dental exam for yours truly

If there is anything I have learned from my children, it's that my own health is being effected by my 7 amalgam fillings (and one composite with metal, just because it's white doesn't mean it's metal-free) and there is more to come, if I don't have them replaced properly.  I have spent the last 2 years helping my boys heal, and now it's time for me.  Nursing our younger son for 16 months prevented me from even considering any dental work, let alone chelation until more recently.  I am finally pursuing a full dental revision with a Huggins Alliance dentist.  Today was my first appointment with Dr. Blanche Grube.  This appointment is intended to educate us both on the condition of not only my teeth, but my overall health, before putting a significant strain on my body with the procedure.  Huggin's Alliance dentists conduct extensive testing prior to the replacement of the fillings in order to prepare the body beforehand.

I am still reeling from my exam today.  I had to drive an hour and a half and then sat through three hours of testing and discussions about my health, then took that hour and a half drive back home again.  When I arrived home, I didn't realize how much the experienced drained me, but I was so exhausted, I literally had to lay down in bed for a while!

Some information energized me with hope, some downright scared me!  I will walk you through my experience as best as I can recall, considering it was like speed reading from a medical book the whole time I was there!  I really wish I brought a tape recorder with me!

The first item on the agenda was getting a handle on my mouth, by taking pictures and x-rays.  They already had the results of my blood testing along with my hair test so we were just closing the loop on the whole picture.  The dental assistant and the doctor both commented on the impeccable cleanliness of my teeth and gums, saying it was probably the cleanest mouth they have ever seen and considering the crowding I have with my bottom front teeth, that says a lot about our diet and care with fluoride-free toothpaste.  So if anyone doubts you can clean your mouth without fluoride, I can honestly say that since we removed it from our house and changed our diets, neither my husband nor myself has ever had any plague on our teeth during dental visits.  His last appointment with the dentist was well over a year overdue too!  Dr. Weston A. Price has studies saying this very situation is true with the proper diet, and we are living proof!

So on to the appointment, the first thing we did was measure the mercury in my mouth before and after chewing for ten minutes.  The EPA uses 1 mcg/m as the maximum allowable limit for air in a public building or for air in your home. Almost everyone, who has silver fillings in their teeth, will show levels of mercury vapor in their mouth above that limit.  My reading in my mouth before chewing = 0, after = 8 mcg/m.  That means my mouth is putting out EIGHT times the safe level of mercury every time I chew and that doesn't count brushing my teeth and drinking hot fluids like tea and coffee which I do daily.  Gee, I wonder how much a day that all works out to....no, maybe I don't!

Then, after all the pictures of varying kinds (including 18 painfully uncomfortable traditional x-rays) were taken, the dentist came in to review my testing and pictures.  As suspected, my hair test is suggestive of retaining mercury, she called me a "poor excreter of mercury".  I have high arsenic and we tried to figure out the source of the arsenic to no avail initially, so we moved on thinking perhaps the mercury was the cause, although even Dr. Grube who had high mercury, didn't have elevated arsenic.  We addressed a few deficiencies, which I already had supplements on board for.  She was impressed with my knowledge and that I had already taken the steps to get my nutrition in line.

The blood tests are where the plot thickens.  Below are the details that require action of some sort:

• Cholesterol is too low 
• Blood sugar is too high
• Poor protein digestion
• I am eating too much protein for my body type
• Sodium is too low

On this note, if I could break here to say that this is where we discovered my source of arsenic.  I shared with Dr. Grube that I am using Himalayan sea salt in our reverse osmosis water to replenish lost minerals and to replace the lack of sodium.  This is when the light bulb went off!  Dr. Grube told me that they sent multiple samples of salt out to an independent lab (Doctor's Data) for testing and it was determined that Himalayan sea salt was the highest of all salts in guess what?  ARSENIC! So she suggested the top three with no fillers or contamination (Real Salt from the mountains of Colorado, I think, Morton's canning and pickling salt or Diamond Kosher Crystal salt).

• Phosphorous is low
• Thyroid is sluggish - I had already begun adding iodine this past week! 
• I've even learned that the one white colored filling I have contains metals and needs replacing
• and lastly, my red blood count is low, platlets are low and my MCV (size of cells) is high

I should explain what this last detail means.  As she was reading my test results, she stopped here and said there is a big problem, she paused like she didn't want to say it, but she did....there are two possibilities associated with this combination, one being a long-standing infection and the other, cancer.  My body went numb!  Literally.  I have actually heard that the high MCV can mean chronic infection, because Grayson also has this, but his platelets are not low, they are high and his red blood count isn't low either.  What this means is that my bone marrow is putting out immature, very large blood cells and not enough of them.  So Dr. Grube stopped everything and brought her chiropractor husband in to do some muscle testing.  I've read about this for finding cancer and/or infections.  A book I read, called "Healing Cancer Peacefully" was actually a chiropractor who healed her own cancer using natural methods and one of the methods of detection that she used to track the rate of her cancer growth and death was muscle testing.  It was effective and always mirrored the allopathic test results. So I was already prepared for this.  He worked quickly and quietly, listing out his findings as he went, working from the top down:

• Staph infection  from FOUR cavitations are effecting the areas listed below (which is probably why I get a chronic need to clear my throat if I don't take GSE and OLE two to three times a day):
• Inner ear  - this is recurrent with me, pain and ringing
• Throat
• Esophagus
• and to add to this, Dr. Grube found a swollen gland under my left jaw and an irritated and slightly swollen left tonsil, coincidentally, this is also the side with a VERY large filling and it's the same side that I frequently experience gum swelling (you guessed it, at the cavitation site!).
• He found mercury to be settling in the following body parts:
• eyeballs - oddly, the past few days I have had a strange symptom with my eyes since adding iodine to my supplements (iodine encourages natural detox), my eyes have been cloudy, for lack of a better word.  They aren't blurry, but they are very tired, scratchy and cloudy with a decreased peripheral vision.  I had mentioned this to both my husband and my best friend just yesterday.
• Throat
• Thyroid - which is also enlarged
• Esophagus
• Right breast - I actually had continuous trouble nursing on this side, had a decreased milk supply and have had bloody discharge in the past

In addition to the above, he found something to be going on with my gallbladder, although mild, it wasn't specified.  I was asked, if I have trouble with digestion, not significantly, although I can tell that things have been changing for me recently so it's possible.  It was also determined that I have a mold issue!  I lived for years in a home with mold in the basement and then our current home recently had a fairly small mold problem that was re-mediated only a few months ago.  So I don't know the source, but it's obvious that one of our homes had a lasting effect on me.  I would never have guessed this!

This man found a multitude of things that I have had problems with in the past, with no discussion of them previously!

A physical exam resulted in the finding of various bite problems as well and they mostly stemmed from an "infantile tongue thrust reflex" that I never lost.  Approximately 20% of the population has this.  I have exercises that are intended to help normalize my bite imbalances.  I have significant TMJ, which is basically something I just have to live with, I am merely one of the lucky ones, most likely genetically passed on.  And not surprisingly, considering both my hair test and blood test pointed to thyroid problems, she also found an enlarged thyroid.

Adding the four cavitations more than doubles the cost of this procedure....so it's clear to me that I have a decision on my plate.

UPDATE February 27th - Since my appointment, I found myself constantly questioning the fact that I need four cavitations surgically cleaned out and considering the price of each one, the idea of doing all four  makes me feel a little sick to my stomach.  I just needed better confirmation, especially since Dr. Grube herself told me that the muscle testing is usually about 80% correct.  So I sent her a brief e-mail with my concerns and even though it was the weekend, she rapidly responded assuring me that we will use the cavitat machine for confirmation the morning of my appointment.  I feel so relieved!!  If I can save myself even ONE cavitation, I will be thrilled, if not, at least I will know with 100% certainty that I needed the surgery.  The cavitat machine is actually an ultrasound that looks for infection by detecting cavitational porosity in the jawbone.  I am now ready for my appointment, well, except for the blood draw I need for the biocompatibility test.  Doing that tomorrow.  The hotel is booked and our list of what to bring with us is started...moving forward!

ANOTHER UPDATE! - Well over a month past my dental revision, I received test results from an independent lab...I had no idea to even expect this.  Apparently, they sent necrotic tissue and bone from my cavitation sites to be identified, probably to look for cancer too.  Guess what they found?!  STAPH!!  Dr. Grube's chiropractor husband was absolutely dead on!  I had a staph infection in three of the four cavitation sites!

To see my Post dental revision blog entry, click here.

Nutraceuticals for yeast, bacteria, viruses and parasites

There is much discussion among the bio-medical moms about "yeast protocols", but it's more than that.  When we have an imbalance in our gut flora, yeast (also known as candida) grow out of control and can even become systemic. When this happens, it's very likely that there are also other pathogens along for the ride.

Why does this happen?
There are many reasons for yeast, bacteria and parasitic overgrowth, some of which are:

• dysbiosis
• prolonged antibiotic use
• impaired digestion for any reason
• poor diet
• some medications
• immune or autoimmune problems
• poor liver function or liver disease
• nutrient deficiencies or malabsorption
• prolonged disease

It's hard to know what came first, the leaky gut or the dysbiosis, but what it all comes down to is that our children require daily assistance in fighting off these buggers (at least until we can get to the bottom of the problem by removing the cause and chelation does that).  Many doctors prescribe ineffective RXs which are temporary fixes and the pathogens actually have become resistant to them, so we prefer to use natural methods of keeping them down!  And they work!

You will not find the definition of nutraceutical in the Webster Dictionary, it's a fairly new term being used by holistic doctors.  My favorite definition was found on wikipedia

"Nutraceutical, a term combining the words “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical,” is a food or food product that provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease."

I recently decided to start myself on a regimen of the kid's nutraceuticals to see, if they had any effect on me.  I have more energy while taking them and, if I forget a dose (I usually take them twice a day) I notice that my mood becomes more irritable and I get a tickle in my throat forcing me to continue clearing it.  I also notice a die-off effect, if I don't continue taking them on a regular basis, indicating rapid overgrowth in the period that I am not taking them.  The throat-clearing is something I have noticed coming on for years and the only time it goes away is with grapefruit seed extract (GSE).  I also know that I suffer from the virus Herpes Simplex I which is evident by mouth sores and just about every time I get sick, I end up with one or more.

Immune suppression
There are latent viruses and then there are chronic persistent viral infections.  An example of a chronic persistent viral infection is EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) and some herpes viruses.  When a person has a chronic infection like this, their immune system is always slightly suppressed, leaving them vulnerable to other immune attacks.  Imagine an army trying to fight off their opponent, and then while they are fighting, yet another group comes in and attacks them from a different angle, and perhaps even another....they are going to lose the battle merely based on the fact that they just don't have enough guys or energy to fight them all.  This is what is happening to our bodies.  It's not that some crazy mongo-pathogens are growing into Hercules, it's that our immune systems are suppressed with so many daily and bio-accumulative assaults ranging from heavy metals and chemicals to plastics and who knows what else in our make-up, deodorant, lotions, shampoos, toothpaste, pesticides, plastic containers, plastic liners in baby formula and metal cans and yes, in vaccinations too, etc.  We can't fight these pathogens off as readily as we used to be able to so now we are seeing the effects of this phenomenon in GI disorders, autoimmune disease, neurological disease and even cancer.  It used to be only the elderly that were effected by the build up of these toxins, but now, as recent studies have indicated, babies are born sick, pregnant mothers harbor multiple chemicals and our children's rate of learning disabilities, ADD and Autism are significantly on the rise.

The daily grind
So what is our current chosen nutraceutical routine?  We have tried ALL kinds of herbs like Neem, Goldenseal and Uva Ursi as well as Caproyl (caprylic acid) among so many other products aimed at taking down these nasty invaders, but the tried and true products that never fail us are simply the following:

• 3-4 drops of high potency good quality Oil of Oregano (OoO) three times a day.
• 125-300mg of Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) three times daily and even more during rounds of chelation (never take GSE combined with SSRIs, because they both slow phase 1 in the liver detox pathways).  This is the liquid version (each drop is 10mg) and this is the tablet version(each tablet is 125mg).
• 20-25mg of biotin daily (split into 3 doses) - this is a B vitamin that is created by the good gut bugs, so when we are low in those, we are low in biotin and yes, this is the same biotin that strengthens hair and nails, lol.  Biotin prevents yeast from colonizing and morphing into it's more dangerous form, the same form that causes leaky gut.
• 100-750mg of Olive Leaf Extract (OLE) three times a day.  We use Swanson Vitamin super strength, but there is also a smaller dose, both are great and cheap!  If you want an alcohol free liquid, this is a wonderful product, but keep in min, each FULL dropper is only 100mg.  It's great when you are just starting out.

This combination has been fool proof and as many times as we have tried adding to, removing or switching them around, we always end up back at this arrangement, because it works for us. 

Tolerating the nutraceuticals
I have heard so many parents say that their children don't tolerate one or the other and I do know this is entirely possible, however, I think when a child is showing an inability to "tolerate" one of the above by way of an exacerbation of symptoms, I would bet that it's not an intolerance.  This is called "die-off".  In fact, when Grayson's IgG allergy panel showed ALL citrus as something he reacts to, I was sure that his worsening of symptoms when given even 10mg of GSE was related to an intolerance.  I just couldn't get his yeast overgrowth under control though, so I decided I had to push through the first few days to see, if I was wrong.  I am so glad I did!  Notice that above he is now on at least 300mg of GSE three times a day?  Originally, one drop would send him into an emotional, sensory tizzy!  I thought, no way can I give him that!!  When I pushed through what proved to be die-off symptoms (the toxins released into the bloodstream when yeast are killed is multiple times worse than their waste byproducts when they are alive) for the first week or so, we came out on the other side experiencing a new calm I had NEVER seen before!  And since then, we have been slowly increasing his dose to the point where he is fairly consistent unless we are stirring things up with chelation or he gets sick, both increase yeast overgrowth.

I would go as far as to say that all Americans and their children have some form of overgrowth, if they are overly emotional, experience more than typical outbursts or tantrums, sensitive to things like sound, or even if they crave sensory input like loud music and physical pressure (Grayson used to push his hands between two cushions of the couch a lot, a friend's daughter rolls herself under cushions and asks her mom to lay on her).  Increased viral infections (under-active immune system) are another sign and even harder to connect with is the LACK of illness from an over-active immune system.  Grayson started out with hyper-immunity and we thought his incredible lack of illness was a good sign.  We couldn't be more wrong.

Typical (the more common) symptoms of candida overgrowth are:

• Frequent stomach pains and digestion problems
• Skin problems (skin infections, eczema, psoriasis, acne)
• Foggy brain / Trouble concentrating
• Constant tiredness and exhaustion
• Anxiety
• Mood swings
• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Anger outbursts
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Intense cravings for sugars, sweets, and breads
• Itchy skin

I think it's safe to say that most Americans suffer from at least one of the above, no?  And what about our poor diet as mentioned earlier on?  We are seeing this crop up as the cause for so many things now!  I think it's safe to assume that many Americans suffer from Candida overgrowth, at minimum.   It's more evident in our kids by way of neurological symptoms.  Grayson's Sensory Processing Disorder completely evaporates when the yeast condition is under control.  As SOON as he experiences overgrowth that we haven't caught, we begin to see signs of tics, sensory defensiveness by way of frustration with clothing and his blankets at night, sensory seeking which involves bumping, crashing and jumping and one of the biggest signs is an over emotional state of mind.  Within 15 minutes of his nutraceutical dose, it fades away, sometimes after a temporary worsening.  These are very common symptoms in children and I know from talking with many many other bio-med moms that they are fairly consistent across the board, although their sensory symptoms do vary from child to child.  Some are more sensitive and some are less sensitive to the overgrowth, in other words, if you were to test a child for levels of yeast, one child who is VERY sensitive and symptomatic could have lower numbers than a child who reacts less, but has higher numbers on the test.  I am not sure what drives this and what other factors are involved, it could even be related to an actual allergy to the toxins, but that is just one possibility.  One thing I do know is that Grayson is super sensitive to any change, even changes in temperature, weather, and diet, so it makes sense that he would be so sensitive to the ever-changing landscape of his pathogenic burden. 

What about bacteria?
Now that we've touched on yeast and viruses, what about bacteria?  There are some nasty bacterias getting attention out there, like the increased infections involving e.coli and nursing homes experiencing clostridia problems, and what about the strep bacteria, some people get that infection regularly (I can honestly say I have NEVER had one, knock on wood).  Grayson has been tested and has all three of those residing in his gut and I am not referring to the good strains.  We were also able to see from testing that he was not colonizing the lactobacillus strain we give him nightly!  Here is the link to the first blog I wrote when we first had Grayson tested and discovered the clostridia and yeast.  When Grayson is experiencing bacteria overgrowth, we see a completely different set of symptoms arise.  Over time we start to see a worsening in behavior, a defiance starts to creep up, we see a Jekyll and Hyde sort of bouncing back and forth moodiness and then suddenly we realize that our days are completely riddled with explosive, negative outbursts.  Nothing is right, nothing makes him happy, he says mean things, he pokes fun at his brother with pleasure, he slams doors, hits walls, screams and hates everything and everyone.  If we are just keeping the bacteria at bay, we will have days of this, on and off, then we either realize it's happening and increase his OLE and OoO (they are antibacterial in nature) or it gets out of control and then we need the big guns!  The biofilm protocol!  When we first learned of Grayson's seriousclostridia overgrowth we tried three courses of (20 days each) antibiotics aimed to focus directly on the Clostridia and he was a DREAM while was being actively treated, we had our Grayson back.  Within 6-8 weeks, the symptoms would begin to crop up again and before long, we were back where we started.  What it did do for us was prove that the Grayson we knew was hidden under there and needed no prompting to use manners, be affectionate with us or his brother and he was completely compliant again.  We just needed to figure out how to peel off this layer of evil.  This is where the biofilm protocol came in.  Just giving the meds or nutraceuticals just wasn't enough.  But we didn't give up, because we saw that recovery was possible.

Biofilm protocol

Biofilm Maturation

Pathogens develop a polysaccharide protective coating over themselves allowing them to hide from treatment.  That is their ultimate goal, survival! In fact, I think it's their only goal!  Even the bacteria in and around your teeth develop biofilm, known as plaque.  Based on it's exposed location, we are able to remove it every six months when we go to the dentist for a cleaning, but what if it's in your intestines, then what?  The biofilm protocol is a process that involves using enzymes to poke holes in the protective polysaccharides that bacteria build around themselves, allowing the chosen nutraceuticals to get into the matrix and attack the bacteria.  The final step of the biofilm protocol is a mop-up so that the intense die-off toxins are absorbed and ushered out of the body so it can't do any additional damage to it's host.  This is a daily process that is done until the symptoms are eradicated.  We have only had to do this twice, the first time was for about 3-4 months straight (things were REALLY out of control when he was three years old, I'm sure you could find a post from back then to see the details) and then one other time to just keep things under control and we didn't need to use it for long the second time around.  As we near higher rounds of chelation, we aren't seeing the massive swings up and down like we used to.  We have occasional regression which usually has a cause like illness or chelation itself (which stirs things up) and then there is rapid recovery once the trigger is resolved or gone.  He still has a sensitive system and full recovery will require years of chelation, but the progress is encouraging, we are fighting a battle worth fighting!

And I am sure you probably don't even like to think about parasites, but we all have them.  We deworm our pets every 6 months, what makes us think we don't need to do the same?  To see my more detailed post on parasites, you can click here.

Balancing act
These gut bugs are all intertwined in some way.  They communicate with each other, they feed each other, and they hitch rides on one another.  It's important to understand the symbiotic relationship they share in order to treat for them.  Also, having a microbiology test done is a good way to start, otherwise you are aiming in the dark.  When you know what you are aiming at, you are much more likely to hit it.  The best part about many of the microbiology tests available, is that they also test each of the microbes found in the stool against natural and RX anti-microbials to determine what they are resistant to and what works best at killing them.  They provide a scale of what has the best and worst effect that allows you to really target the buggers!!  Once you know what you are going after, it's good to know how they effect each other during treatment.  Typically when someone tells me they are fighting a yeast infection of any kind, I immediately think bacteria.  The reason is that yeast tend to increase when they are trying to fight off a bacterial invasion.  So the symptoms you will see first are yeast symptoms.  You will hear a lot of parents say that their children are giddy, too happy, inappropriately laughing at things or even nothing, almost like they are drunk and suffer from sleep disturbances.  Some even get the drunken sailor walk!  This is because yeast put out ethanol, yes that is alcohol, so they ARE drunk!  Funny?  Not when it's your child.  So back to my point, first you see these symptoms, so you immediately think you need to attack the yeast beast, right?  WRONG!!  Doing so, without also administering an anti-bacterial is going to result in the nasty increase (or unleashing) of whatever bacteria the yeast were trying to control.  We experienced this big time and I will tell you that, if I had to choose, I would take a nasty yeast overgrowth over the evils of bacterial overgrowth ANY day.  My child becomes the exorcist with bacteria, complete with head-spinning and spitting!  Ok, not really, but he might as well!  It's BAD.  So, make sure to ALWAYS treat both together.  This is why we give GSE with OoO and OLE.  And to add insult to injury, if your child is also viral, and/or has parasites....the picture gets even more complicated.  Yeast tend to hitch rides on parasites, actually feeding off of them, one parasite on top of another, nice picture?  And viruses?  When there is viral die off, or shedding, there is an increase in yeast, it actually feeds the yeast.  So this is precisely why we give all three together, because GSE attacks yeast (and also some bacteria, but not all), the OoO is a really good broad spectrum that attacks both also and OLE is an anti-viral and anti-bacterial.  But beware, killing off too much of one can cause an increase in another pathogen.  Killing too much yeast off can result in more bacteria overgrowth and vice versa, etc.  The trick is to experiment with your child (or yourself) to find the right combination.  For example, if you see bacteria signs, there are two possible things you can do, decrease the anti-fungal (GSE) or increase the anti-bacterial (OLE).  I am inclined to raise the appropriate nutraceutical first.  Then I stay at that dose for a few days to see how they respond.  I make adjustments regularly, even today.  If your child is sick, viral die off will feed the yeast, and eating foods that feed yeast will also cause an increase, bacterial infections will show with bacteria signs, etc.  It's a balancing act.

For anyone unsure of the cause of various odd symptoms, like the lists above, consider trying a course of these nutraceuticals to see, if they make a difference.  I bet they would!

IMPORTANT UPDATE - I thought it might be interesting for you to know that even with the use of grapefruit seed extract three times a day for years, our older son, who had an IgG sensitivity to every citrus product known to man, has had an updated IgG and the only citrus left on it is orange.  Grapefruit has dropped off, even with excessive usage of the GSE.  So for those who are afraid to use it, because their child showed sensitivity to citrus, this proves that it should not effect that sensitivity.  Again, EVERY child is different, I am just sharing our experience.