Heavy Metals Cause Free Radical Damage
r
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease of civilized man, and, like many other diseases of our modern age, it is a disease of an overactive and misdirected immune system. The specific reasons for this are unclear, but a prominent theory relates heavy metals like mercury, lead and aluminum as the agents that might replace normal molecules in the myelin sheaths, leading to an onslaught of free radical damage which destroys the myelin sheaths, resulting in MS. In addition, the immune system now sees this tissue as foreign, because of the replacement of heavy metals, and produces antibodies which attack the myelin, leading to further damage. The toxic effects of heavy metals and chemicals are increasingly being recognized by the medical profession as the root cause underlying much of mankind's suffering. The December 1992 issue of The American Family Physician, published by the American Academy of Family Physicians, devoted an entire article to the signs, symptoms and causes of mercury toxicity, and also recommended chelation therapy as the treatment of choice for this affliction. In January 1993, the journal spoke of the ill effects of lead toxicity and recommended chelation therapy for this problem as well. Both mercury and lead can inflict terrible damage upon any tissue. Just how do mercury and lead damage our bodies? We find the answer to this question easier to understand by thinking of an analogy. Let us see our body as if it were a building. Buildings are made of materials such as wood, concrete, plaster, drywall, etc. The materials which make up the form of the building are held together by nails, bolts, screws, and rivets. All buildings are designed according to a plan or blueprint. They need to be carefully assembled. Their form and their function are intertwined. If the form of a building is damaged in any way, its function or performance is, of course, altered. Just as the building materials for a house must be carefully and intelligently put together in the right way, in the right order, and with the proper building tools, so it is with living structures. Our body is no exception. Electrons are the binding materials holding molecules together. They are the rivets, bolts, nails, and screws of the body. Electrons are usually intended to be in pairs as they whiz around the outside of atoms and give stability to the form of the atom or molecule. When for any reason these paired electrons become separated, the molecule is damaged. These damaged molecules are called "free radicals" and are highly reactive, attacking cellular structures to greedily grab electrons in order to become paired again. Usually there are ample free electrons in the vicinity to satisfy the demands of the free radicals, but when the level of free radicals increases beyond a certain point, the cellular protective electron-donating mechanisms, which usually keep these molecules in check, is exceeded. When that happens, great numbers of these free radicals or, in our analogy, terrorists' bullets, are unleashed, all greedily looking for electrons wherever they can be found. So, when heavy metals are in body tissues, there is free radical destructive activity going on constantly. Rapid aging and degeneration are the results. The central nervous system (CNS) is the most delicate and ordered of all our systems and, as such, is the system most susceptible to damage. In our analogy, the CNS is something like the electrical system of a building. It is sobering to realize that the CNS acts like a drainage sink for these metals. Since MS is a disorder affecting nerve cells, it only makes sense that there may be a connection between heavy metal toxicity causing free radical damage in the CNS and MS. Our fragile CNS is usually protected from invasion from outside offenders by an efficient, effective barricade known as the blood-brain barrier. Unfortunately, this barrier does not protect us from substances which were intended to be left deep within the depths of the earth in an ore called cinnabar. Mercury and lead, when inhaled or ingested into our bodies, are absorbed into the blood stream and easily cross over the blood-brain barrier to be distributed throughout precious neurological tissue. Mercury is a Universal Poison. Mercury toxicity can cause nearly every disorder known to man. Infants born to women who had ingested flour made from grain treated with a mercury-based fungicide had brain damage manifested by mental retardation, deafness, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Mercury ingestion leads to delayed CNS symptoms which may not manifest until months after the initial exposure. Early symptoms, according to the American Family Physician article, are often non-specific, such as fatigue, blurred vision, hearing loss, ataxia (unsteadiness of gait), parasthesias (sensations of pricking, tingling, or creeping on the skin), malaise (tiredness or fatigue), and impaired taste or smell. There may also be CNS signs and symptoms including psychological changes, insomnia, loss of appetite, excessive shyness, emotional instability, irritability, depression, headache, and short-term memory loss. Tremor is characteristic of exposure. Tics of various sorts and limb weakness can also be mercury related. Sound like MS? Although the cause of MS is unknown, some conventional explanations include the viral theory. But a virus doesn't stand a chance of entering our cells if our cells are strong and healthy. Viruses are, in reality, rather puny opportunistic "seeds" and only enter cells that are weakened and defenseless. The deeper question is: Why are previously healthy cells becoming unhealthy? Once the underlying cause or causes for unhealthy cells is known, we can get to the root of the problem. Simply stated, if we can make cells healthy again, there will be no MS. Because heavy metals can enter into delicate nervous tissue and cause damage, a therapy aimed at removing the cause for the damage would be beneficial. That therapy is known as chelation therapy. What is chelation therapy anyway? Chelation is the way that reactive metals with electrons spinning around them are put in "cages" called chelating structures so that they can be carried here and there and not react with one another. If they go too close to delicate living structures they might react with them and damage them. Hemoglobin, myoglobin, chlorophyll, aspirin, penicillin, etc., are common chelators. Physical life as we know it could not exist without chelation. Chelation therapy infuses into the blood stream a claw-like molecule ("chele" means claw) called EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) as well asher types which enclose and secure a heavy metal atom, so it can then be taken safely out of the body in urine, stool, or sweat. Chelation used in this way is a process of detoxification. Very often the heavy metals that caused this neurological process have also caused damage to other organ systems leading to a "multisymptom diagnostic dilemma" (chronic illness) with free radical damage that is diffuse and in need of repair. In order to help this individual's body to heal, it is necessary to remove the "burdens" like the heavy metals, chemicals and any occult infections that may be present. Nutritional insufficiencies are also a major factor in any chronic illness. In summary, figure out what the "burdens" are in the multiple sclerosis patient and you are on your way to healing the body.
|