Since i've started taking Algin ive been feeling so much better. I stopped taking it a couple of weeks ago for a week and within that time i gradually slipped back into a rather bleak place. Within a few days back on the Algin i was feeling quite good again. It reminded me of the hell ive been emerging from.

How long did you take the algin before you noticed a difference? Also did you ramp up taking it slowly, or just start taking a certain dose?

Richard,

I'm so glad to hear about your success with Algin. I try to tell people about it all the time but it takes several times hearing it over and over before they begin to believe it.

Congratulations!

Here is a link to Algin for those who are interested:

Algin

Hi Asus
I take 4 capsules 4 times a day and once at night if i get up. I dont know if thats necessary. I didnt ramp up the dose and started with the above schudule straight off. I think i started noticing a difference after a few days, feeling brighter, less fatigued and less emotionally troubled. Good luck

Thanks, I wonder if anyone who has been moderately poisioned has been sucessful in reducing their merucry load enough by taking Algin alone for a while to regain their functioning? Or do most of you take it as support along side rx chelators like DMSA? Anyone? :-)

I have some algin and took 1 cap after reading this post the other morning. That afternoon, I almost didn't make it in time to the bathroom. I had a very urgent case of needing to have a BM. I was in the dressing room at H&M. I ran out of there like a bat out of hell straight for the bathroom. I had a hugh loose BM that was a strange yellow color. Sorry... kind of gross. I thought it was binding like psyllium. It was a strange reaction. I am affraid to take it again. Also, do I need to take it on an empty stomach? I took my at the same time in the morning with my probiotic and a big glass of water.
Thanks,
chigirl

Hi Chigirl, i think yoursupposed to take Algin one hour after eating, and not to take it with supplements as the Algin might absorb it.
I wish Algin got me going to the toilet, but sadly, no, even if i take 10 at a time.

Hi Chigirl,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Algin. I have no idea why it would do that but if I was in the situation, I would try it again to be sure that it really was the cause, especially considering that so many people have excellent results with it. (could it have been something else?)

If you decide to, please post the results as it would be good to know if some people really do have bad reactions to it.

Dawn,

You should take Algin between meals so it does not interfere with the absorption of the food or supplements you take. It's extremely absorbent.

I usually recommend taking 1500 mg between meals and before bed.

If you are cheating and eating a food that is high in mercury (salmon or tuna), I would take 1500 mg 15 minutes before the meal and 15 minutes after. It completely eliminates any mercury symptoms that I otherwise experience when eating fish (and I've tried not taking Algin with fish several times and experienced relapses of mercury symptoms for about 24 hours).

Russ. I thought about taking this before and after eating fish, but what about the water? I thought I had to drink 1 glass of water for each capsule. It certainly wouldn't be good to drink that much water with a meal. Is it constipating if you don't drink the recommended amount of water?
I was thinking of taking the algin in the morning. should I take it first thing in the morning before I even take my probiotic? If so, how much time should I wait until I take the probiotic? Maybe it would be better to take the probiotic 30 minutes before the algin. What do you think?
I'm thinking that it may be good to take the algin inbetween chelation. I take EDTA and DMSA every 2 weeks.
Thanks for your help.
chigirl

Russ,
I would be intersted to know what the difference is between algin and chlorella for mercury detox. I read the page you are referring to about algin, but it seems to me algin does the same that chlorella does, as in, bind and eliminate the mercury from the intestines.

I already take chlorella for that, do you think I also should take algin?

Or do you think I should actually take algin instead of chlorella?

Which one is better? I always thought chlorella was THE best mercury binder in the intestines.

Thanks,
Andy

Good question, Anonymous, would like to hear some opinions regarding it too.

Here are some answers concerning questions about Algin.


You don't have to drink a glass of water with each capsule. I just take my 3 or 4 capsules with a cup or so of water.


I have heard from a few people that Algin does make them constipated (this didn't happen to me or most people I know of who use Algin). This may be because they have low potassium or are otherwise dehydrated.

For these people, I would recommend eating 1 to 3 bananas per day (depending on body weight), and/or supplementing with Potassium, and/or taking a good hydration drink (not just water), like NSP's Recovery. This tasty drink mix can do wonders for those who are constipated.


Whatever is convenient for you would be fine. I usually recommend taking it between meals and before bed. If you were to skip a dose, I would be inclined to skip the first dose of the day. I would not recommend skipping the last dose of the day (before bed) because of the nighttime liver cleansing cycles.


I would take the probiotic 1 hour before the Algin.


Taking Algin while chelating is important because chelation mobilizes mercury. This mercury eventually ends up in your colon. Algin then helps prevent the dumped mercury from being reabsorbed and redistributed.


Actually, Chlorella and Algin work quite differently and should be used together if possible.

Chlorella actually mobilizes mercury in the body, while Algin prevents the mobilized mercury from being reabsorbed by the body (colon) by absorbing it tightly like a sponge in the intestines.

Algin is a non-digestible polysaccharide and does not go into the body. It stays in the digestive system and simply prevents this reabsorption problem which is very important when mobilizing mercury (detoxing).

To detox with Chlorella (which I did when detoxing mercury), I would take Chlorella on your regular schedule (whatever that is) but make sure you are taking Algin 3 to 4 times per day, 1500 mg each time, between meals to be sure you don't reabsorb the mercury you've successfully mobilized with the Chlorella. If you want to economize (skip doses), I would not skip the last dose of the day (before bed).

Hope this helps.

sorry Russ, everywhere I read on the internet (not user posts but publications from doctors, like for example dr. klinghart) it says clearly that Chlorella only detoxes the intestines by binding the mercury there. This can certainly facilitate body detox but it doesn't directly detox the rest of the body, so I still don't see what the difference is between Chlorella and Algin, and therefore why Algin is useful in addition to Chlorella.
Do you have any link to any research that shows that Chlorella detoxes the whole body not just the intestine?

Thanks,
Andy

Go and look at this link which is one of the best on chlorella I believe:
http://www.mercola.com/chlorella/index.htm

You are right but the point is "Chlorella plays a particularly crucial role in systemic mercury elimination because the majority of mercury is rid through stool. Once the mercury burden is lowered from the intestines, mercury from other body tissues will more readily migrate into the intestines -- where chlorella will effectively remove it."

Thats my point exactly, therefore what is Algin needed for?
It seems it just does the same as Chlorella, also I can't find any other web pages (apart from Russ'es one) about the effectiveness of Algin, while there is plenty of information about the effectiveness of Chlorella as a mercury eliminator from the intestines available.

I see your point. Hopefully Russ may have the answer. I had not heard of algin until I found this forum.

I disagree with the websites you've mentioned that say chlorella stays in the intestines. These statements are most likely being made by doctors who are "erring on the side of conservatism". (It's unlikely that any doctors learned about chlorella in medical school. They are most likely learning about it the same way we are-through personal research.) But I believe the statement errs in the face of common sense (1).

The information I've studied states that "broken-wall" (see below) chlorella is digested, its constituients are absorbed, and for this reason, it is considered a nutritional supplement. Broken-wall is an important distinction here.

The constituents we are focusing on in chlorella are sulphur-bearing proteins and glutathione precursors. Sulphur, of course, mobilizes mercury in body tissues and glutathione mobilizes mercury in the CNS (central nervous system).

It is also important to note that we are interested in broken-wall chlorella because this is the best (perhaps the only) way that these sulphurs will be absorbed because of the nature of chlorella's cell wall. This is why I used Sun Chlorella during my personal detox; because they focused on the importance of the broken wall and had research to show that they did it better than anyone else.

Another "hidden" feature of chlorella is its relationship to methionine, which is essential for the proper utilization of selenium and hence, provides yet another mercury-mobilization pathway. Additionally, methionine plays a role in cysteine synthesis (production), and cysteine is a precursor to glutathione.

Algin, on the other hand, does not leave the intestines. It is a non-digestible polysaccharide. Its action is not ionic but physical; it's very absorbent and is able to absorb up to 70-times its own volume.

This is the reason that I use Algin when cheating on my diet; for example, eating salmon, which I happen to love. When I've taken Algin with fish, I had no mercury symptoms. When I didn't, I had obvious symptoms. This does not work for me using chlorella. If we understand the difference between the action of chlorella and algin, this makes perfect sense.

I hope this helps to answer your questions. I've placed some useful links and quotes below the may shed more light on this subject.



"Methionine is an essential amino acid which contains sulphur. Methionine gives rise to the amino acids cysteine and cystine. Methionine, as well as cysteine and cystine, can act as a powerful detoxification agent, being capable of the removal from the body of toxic levels of heavy metals such as lead. The sulphur amino acids are also noted as protectors against the effects of radiation. From a therapeutic viewpoint, the ability of methionine to eliminate toxic metal loads would appear to be one of its prime uses. As an essential aspect of the body's ability to use selenium, methionine has also shown great importance. It is essential for the absorption, transportation and bioavailability of selenium."

—Thorsons Guide to Amino Acids


Cysteine, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysteine


"Chlorella is a single-celled, fresh-water alga. Chlorella is almost 60% protein...contains all eight essential amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, [color:"red"]methionine[/color], phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine). Its mineral content includes phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, calcium, manganese, copper, zinc, iodine, and cobalt."

—William H. Lee, RPh, PhD and Michael Rosenbaum, MD; Chlorella


(1) "The pharmacokinetics of chlorella in humans have not been studied. However, the [color:"red"]proteins[/color], lipids and carbohydrates in chlorella [color:"red"]should be digested, absorbed and metabolized by normal physiological processes[/color]."

—PDR Health: http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/nmdrugprofiles/nutsupdrugs/chl_0068.shtml


My comment: I agree with this statement, but don't let it confuse you. Chlorella itself has not been studied in respect to it's pharmacokinetics (utilization by the body), yet, it's constituents have. They are being intellectually honest in this statement ("...not been studied") yet they are not neglecting common sense ("...should be absorbed...").

Thank you so much Russ for answering all of my questions. Today is my day to take the DMSA and EDTA. I'm excited to try it in combination with the algin. I was going to take longer then a 2 week break between chelating, but I'm hoping the addition of the algin with help me to tolerate it. If this works, I will be educating my Doctor at my next visit.
chigirl

Good for you! Please let us know how it goes.

I called off sick today from work just in case I had a bad reaction from the chelation. So far, this is the best I have felt on a chelation day in a long time.
I'm so excited!
chigirl