Cutler advises to use various chelators at regular intervals so that blood levels remain constant so that redistribution of mercury that has been mobilized won't occur.

In that same light, do we know how long Algin remains effective in the GI tract? Put another way, how often would you have to take it to absorb mobilized mercury if you were also taking ALA every three hours?

Hope the question makes sense.

Hey LJJ,

My business partner (Laura) and I both have this type of experience with Algin; We've used it a long time.

If I go out to eat and have salmon, I'll feel the effects of the mercury after. Laura will feel quite bad after and feel pretty grumpy. The symptoms are very predictable and repeatable for both of us.

However, if we take Algin, I will have no discernable symptoms of mercury and she will have only mild symptoms.

Now this works when we take Algin only 10 to 30 minutes before a meal. This must mean that algin is absorbing mercury right in the stomach preventing it from being absorbed.

I also have mild mercury symptoms when I work hard physically or work out. I'll take some Algin and symptoms will begin to subside in about 30 minutes and continue to subside for the next several hours. I have no explaination for this because in 30 minutes, I would assume the algin is still in the stomach so I don't know how it could be preventing reabsorbtion after the bile duct. Perhaps it has a way of slithering down to that point more quickly than I know; I don't know, nevertheless, it really works this way for both Laura and me.

I also notice a longer-term cumulative effect.

For example, if I'm doing physical work for several days and take Algin daily, the symptoms each day will be less and less severe. If I don't take algin at all, the symptoms will become more intense day after day. This makes sense to me because the Algin is occupying more of the colon and therefore absorbing more mercury preventing more reabsorbtion.

So, to answer your question, I would say Algin stays effective a long time, perhaps the entire time it's in the body. I would conclude that taking Algin at the same interval as your stomach's digestive cycle would be the best best. In other words, the amount of time that passes between the moment you eat food and the time the stomach allows it to exit via the pylorus.

This is what I would do, so hopefully this will help determine the interval for taking Algin for you too.

If I can just jump on on this thread. I took Algin after my last amalgam removal - started at 1 three times a day rising to 2 three times a day the next day, and developed the most awful stomach ache. Why would this be? I stopped taking it and the stomach ache subsided over 2 days, and I have no doubt it was the Algin. I know its indigestable fibre - is that why it could have given me stomach ache? I always drink lots of water.

I'm going to make a guess here, but when I had amalgams still in, I developed a stomach ulcer (bleeding). I beleive the basis for it was Helicobacter Pylori (often called H. Pylori). It was very painful.

Through some personal experimentation, I have come to believe that H. Pylori caused this issue with me and that it is facilitated by the presence of mercury. When I took a natural supplement that kills H. Pylori, the pain completely subsided within hours and stayed away for 24 to 48 hours.

(Perhaps the algin is irritating this in you, or mercury that is accumulating in the vicinity of the algin is doing the same.)

Here's what I took:

Gastro-Health

Permanent Link:

Gastro-Health

Hope this helps.

TMI question about Algin. I started taking it the day before yesterday. I took it 3 times yesterday and got nasty heartburn the first two times and felt crummy all day. I don't know if this is relevant but I ate a bunch of watermelon that day. After I ate it my daughter informed me that it makes you retain water. So I hardly went to the bathroom all day. This morning when I got up I drank a glass of water with lemon that brought on a welcome need to urinate. Here's the TMI part, on the toilet paper there were gray smudges. Very strange. It was not from my rear. There was nothing visible in the bowl, just on the tissue. And I've felt much better today. I'm sure you know what I'm wondering....

Another algin question. If one takes algin and feels better is it a fair assumption that they are mercury toxic?

I believe it's a "most likely but not definitely" type of scenario.

Many might want to try digestive enzymes with the algin if you are experiencing digestive ills when you take it. Most mercury toxic people have lacking the proper enzymes to digest many foods including common foods. Mercury destroys the natural enzymes as well as creates gut yeast issues. Algin can absorb gut yeast if you have it and create bloating. If you regularly have gut issues, I have found that taking probiotics and enzymes daily will help get things back in order...along with allow you to tolerate supplements.

Hello, I started taking modifilan which contains algin - it is recommended that you take 3 - 5 tablets sometimes more a day. However, I thought I would go slow so I only took one the first two days and then had two for the next two days and whoaaa!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> very very bad stomach ache!!! I was wondering if it was because algin is high fibre - I know I don't have a problem with ulcers - I have been tested for this . Although, I do have a problem with candida/IBS - maybe this was what caused it, I have since stopped the modifilan and the stomach ache went although it took a few days. I do take probiotics but then heard that wasn't good if you had a problem with mercury either. Maybe will try in a few weeks again but at just one a day I seemed to tolerate that and then maybe up it - slowly.

By the way I had my gallbladder removed 5 years ago, it was after this that the yeast/IBS problems kicked off. I have went from having a cast iron stomach to having lots of problems with it, I don't know if not having a gallbladder would cause me to not tolerate things like algin, or that my stomach is just much more sensitive now in general? I also take Aloe Vera Juice which sometimes seems to help, but was dissapointed that I had to stop the modifilan . Would not having a gallbladder make it more of a problem to get rid of mercury, or should that not make a difference? Any ideas anyone, thanks <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Just to be clear...Modifilan is an entirely different product than Nature's Sunshine Algin.

Modifilan is a brown seaweed extract, containing only about 50% algin. The other 50% is made up of other ingredients that occur naturally in brown seaweed. Two of these ingredients are Fucoidan and Laminarin, which are sulfated polysaccharides—complex sugar molecules that contain sulfur.

Many people with mercury toxicity have trouble with sulfur-containing foods and herbs. Since mercury has an affinity for sulfur, it binds with sulfur molecules. So, substances like fucoidan and laminarin may actually help chelate mercury. This is fine, as long as you can handle mercury chelation.

I don't think you're getting enough algin (by taking Modifilan) to adequately absorb the mercury/sulfur molecule complexes, which means you could reabsorb and redistribute the mercury. Maybe this helps explain your stomachache?

I definitely would not take this product if I still had my amalgams in. If you're post-removal and trying to chelate, you might need to take extra Algin to help offset the detox effects. I would also take lots of Vitamin C - Citrus Bioflavonoids and Vitamin E Complete w/Selenium also. Based on some studies I've read recently, selenium is extremely beneficial for mercury toxicity.

Laura, thank you for the information <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />