Hey all,

My Dr. wants me to start take Chlorella. I have taken it for about 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to be having too much of a negative effect (I think its too soon to have a positive effect). However, I noticed twice when I took it, about 30 minutes later I broke out in itchy hives on my neck and arms and stuff. That has happened to me before when I drank certain types of red wine, although not all the time. I know some people get rashes when going through detox, so how do I know if this is a "detox" rash or an allergic reaction? I read on Mercola's site that some people can be allergic to chlorella, or something in it.

Chlorella is a mobiliser of toxins. It's a mobiliser of mercury, but not a true chelating agent. But if it works for some? That is great. I'd advise caution based on some experiences.

However, what you're getting may be a mercury rash, or even toxins/candida. Hives are actually often a healing reaction. This is not unheard of, especially when you are using something that is encouraging toxin elimination via the skin and causing "healing flare ups". The chlorella is very potent, contains many healthy things and could cause flare ups of yeast/toxins and movement of them, which may account for what you're experiencing.

It "could" be allergy, but I would say it's probably toxins moving and possibily coming out which seems to be an allergic reaction.

So long as your body is able to eliminate what the chlorella is pushing around, you may get away with it. Some people don't because their system is too poisoned, too sensitive and they may have a blockage somewhere that is not allowing them to excrete what has been mobilised.

ONe way of possibly finding out if this is toxins coming out, is to have a hot bath, or something that heats you up and causes you to sweat. Usually this will exacerbate those kinds of rashes as the toxins erupt to the surface of the skin.

ARe you taking anything else to help you? Like vitamin C? Vitamin E? B complex? You need a good lot of antioxidants to help your body cope during this.

You can also have hot baths (not too hot to where you can't cope), contain a cup or so of epsom salts (or you can use sea salt and baking soda (cup each), as this encourages toxin elimination via the pores of the skin.

Just be careful on the chlorella and good luck.

PS, allergy to chlorella is more along the lines of those who are unable to digest a part of it. This can cause extreme nausea and vomiting. I have had this myself.

But your hives are likely again, a healing reaction. This was spoken about on another website on a candida website and the response from the owner was that it is common to experience hives in healing. I hope that's somehow encouraging and consoling for you.

Thanks for the advice. I am on B Complex, C, a Multi, B-12 injections, Glutamine, Pro-biotics, and Fish Oil (molecularly distilled). I also am on thyroid and adaptogens to support adrenals, but I am talking to my Dr. about getting on ACE because I don't think the adaptogens are enough.

It does seem that there is differing info about Chlorella, some claim its just a binder since its the cell wall thats supposed to attach to the heavy metals and you can't digest that. Of course Dr. Cutler says its just a sulfur food and likely to just stir things up. Maybe I'll buy some algin and see how that goes...

Yes, Andy Cutler tends to advise against it, or he feels it doesn't really help. However, I hear for some it does and have actually heard of people healing from that alone. Though others can have an unpleasant reaction or not be helped at all. ONe thing, it is packed with vitamins/minerals etc.

The ones to really watch out for are alpha lipoic acid (used at the wrong time in the wrong way), cilantro, cysteine, garlic supplementation etc. They can be far too potent and mobilise mercury into the brain. Though again, some people can handle them.

Depends on the person.

Yeah, going on the ACE, maybe very good. You do need all the antioxidants and the fish oil is great. Fish oil is excellent, because it supports phase II of the liver, which is needed for toxic elimination, along with all the antioxidants as well.

Algin may help you also. Russ, posted a link on here in which is outlined a detox protocol for mercury. Not something Andy Cutler would obviously approve of, but then I'm not totally obsessed wtih Andy having all the answers either. I think he's got the science side of it down regarding movement of mercury, but again, every person is different and not everybody is going to respond to his protocol the same as someone else.

Here is the link Russ posted and see what you reckon.
http://mercurytalk.com/wiki/index.php/Detoxing:Getting_Started_With_A_Detox_Plan

To me, it's not actually too different from what you are already doing! I think it sounds very good personally, but again depends on the individual.

Also, throughout any of this, one of the most important things for a person is to make sure they are supporting their gut and liver. If they don't this can be the cause of most problems when mobilising mercury and other toxins. A candida diet, with proper healthy protein (meats and eggs), plus healthy fats like lard, butter, extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil etc, are essential to help rebuild tissue/heal and encourage bile flow. Along with the healthy vegetables also. Ridding sugar, gluten, yeast, and also possibly fruit, milk and cheese is a way of reducing yeast and toxins in the system, taking the load of the gut and liver and allowing for healing, plus easier toxin elimination.

ONe may at some point need an antifungal, depending on how bad their yeast infection is. Diet alone is the first and best way of doing this though. Yeast can contain mercury, and killing a lot of yeast with antifungals can be risky, even dangerous for the obvious reasons of the yeast being split open in large number, and possibly releasing a lot of mercury in the process. Hence the need for caution with antifungals. Though again, in extreme cases or at least for a time, they maybe necessary to get over a bad infection.

Thanks for all the info Bex! One thing's for certain is that I have adrenal fatigue. I had an ASI test that showed low cortisol and low DHEA. I have read a bunch of stuff that says that being on ACE, even in tiny amounts really helps the adrenals recover. I am also fairly certain that I have a decent amount of mercury in my system. I had a hair test showing moderately elevated amounts, and I am waiting on the results of a porphyrins test from that french lab. The first one got messed up, so they are doing it over again for free. I'd like to do some FIRs stuff, but my Dr. says I have to get my Adrenals in better shape first, but that she really likes it cause it helps you get out other stuff like pesticides, plastic residues, etc.. in addition to metals, all which helps you lower your toxic load. One thing I am curious about algin is, how do we know its not a chelator? Clearly people have reported very positive results with it, so I'm not sure it matters, but are there links to some articles talking about its exact mechanism? I'm rather curious. Russ?

Hi Asus, you're welcome. It's pretty normal to have adrenal issues with toxicity. The healthy diet with fats can also help heal the adrenals believe it or not. I don't go in for much testing etc, as when the body gets what it needs and you disgard what is bad, it can start to heal itself.

At any rate, I just thought I'd copy this from another website I belong to regarding your hive reaction:

Healing reactions are not allergic reactions.
An allergy is defined as: "A condition in which the body has an exaggerated response to a substance introduced by inhalation, ingestion, injection, or skin contact, often manifested by itchy eyes, runny nose, wheezing, skin rash, hives, diarrhea, gas, bloating, headaches, aching muscles, joint pain, and many others.

Please note that these reactions are exactly the same symptoms as healing reactions.

These are reactions are created by the body's immune system, which are healing responses, indicating that it is working very hard to eliminate and/or minimize the effects of toxic overloads on the body, or the ingestion of a poison

I only copied that little bit from it as I thought you might find it interesting. The website by the way is exclusively based on toxicity/candida and anything that has made a person sick. It concentrates on healing the body via the diet and specific supplements (chlorella is one that is mentioned to use).

here is the website. http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/candidasupport/ in case you're interested in checking out the info there and possibly asking some questions also. You can find out how to get further help with your adrenal glands too.

As for the algin. Russ can answer that far better than me, but from what I gather is, it acts as a "mop", more than a chelator so to speak. It doesn't pull out mercury, but if it comes across any, it will mop it up like a sponge and then the body will disgard it, which is why it can be invaluable in helping with symptoms as you mobilise the mercury with something else. I think it can even help whilst a person has amalgams!

Also, another little tip I got from the other website was this:
Get at least 1 teaspoon of a good ocean sea salt per day; some people will require more, particularly those who have underactive adrenals. The best brand is Celtic Ocean Sea Salt (called Nature's Cargo in Canada).

Asus, have you tried good amounts of the B vitamin Pantothenic acid? This is crucial for cortisol production and adrenals, and is labelled an antistress vitamin. Check the amount in your B complex vitamin, if the others are high then I would just take the pantothenic acid for a while although som biotin and folic acid is required for its metabolism.

Candida feed off B vitamins and sulphur. So if you have candida issues they might be eating up your pantothenic acid which should rather help your adrenals. So take an antifungal with the pantothenic acid so that the candida does not take what you need.........

Chlorella I cannot tolerate either. Some people have a problem digesting the cellwall and some just are simply allergic to all the stuff it contains. For me the vitamin K in it induces a hypercoagulation state so in the end I feel sluggish and low on oxygen. Go with your gut instinct, this will tell you if this is a great product which your body desperately needs more of, or if it is too foreign for your system to handle. Sometimes it just really is the product itself which is not right for your body or mind.