Hi everyone,

I have a question concerning the mercury detox diet. I also have candida and am a bit confused about the protocol I should follow here. Should I concentrate on the mercury first, on the candida first, on both at the same time...

I know both diets are very similiar (no sugar, no grains at all or in moderation, no yeast, no alcohol, no dairy from milk). But according to the anticandida diet you can't have fermented foods because it will feed the yeast. I know natural fermented foods like sauerkraut (spelling?) and apple cider vinegar are supposed to be good for the immune system, but I am afraid they will feed the candida. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> because they are fermented foods.

I have read Dr Mercola's mercury detox diet. I know dairy is forbidden, but what about kefir??? it is supposed to feed the good bacteria right?

Any help on this issues would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot
Alicia

Hi Alicia,

Even though I don't have specific answers I found this quote and I thought you would find it interesting:

Quote by Robert B. Johnson, DMD, ND, MT.

"Many times when the heavy metals are removed and chelated from the body, yeast drops significantly. It is now understood that the body is able to use yeast to combine with heavy metals to render them inactive. Less damage to your health is done with high levels of yeast than heavy metals so it is thought that the body uses higher levels of yeast to protect itself from dangerous toxins."

The source of the theory came from Dietrich Klinghardt, MD. He said that the body prefers candida to heavy metal and that the candida attaches to mercury.

If this is so, then too-vigorous efforts to kill off candida might be a bad idea for persons with amalgam fillings. Better to remove the fillings and wait until symptoms of heavy metal poisoning are gone and then attack the candida.

Personally, the doctors I am working with have me on a candida defense program while they are chelating me. For example, I eat an anti-candida diet, just as you described, but I have not dairy whatsoever. I take olive leaf extract and caprylic acid as antifungals and I take as many probiotics as I can afford to buy. I like the "All flora" brand. I am using DMSA for chelation and this activates my candida. I get very achy when I do chelation with DMSA. It's tough to decide exactly how to tackle it, but I don't believe we can ever really get rid of the candida until the mercury is gone, because it's the mercury that's causing the candida to begin with. I think you need to keep the candida under as much control as possible while you get the mercury out.

Sandra

Hi Alicia,

I'm not familiar with Mercola's mercury detox diet, but I do know that mercury interferes with the body's immune functions. I also believe mercury suppresses the natural growth of healthy colonic flora, and both of these factors will contribute to the overgrowth of "bad bacteria" like Candida.

My business partner, Russ, was unable to get rid of his Candida problems during the last year of so before he got his mercury fillings removed. However, once the fillings were out, the Candida disappeared all on its own and has never been a problem since.

So...if you have all the mercury fillings already removed, I would tend to think that gently detoxing the mercury will get to the root problem causing the Candida. Some people like to take Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) or chlorella. There's also a product called Heavy Metal Detox. Whatever you take for mercury detox, I highly recommend taking Algin. Algin will actually bind to (absorb) the mercury being expelled from the tissues and pull it out of the body via the colon. This is, in my opinion, the most important step in the mercury detox process! The reason, if you don't have anything to absorb the mercury that's being expelled from the tissues, the mercury will just get reabsorbed and redistributed, which can make some people very sick and really exacerbate their condition. (I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I've tried detoxing without Algin and I got very sick...so have others I've known. In fact, someone posted a while ago that they had tried fibers like psyllium, but they didn't work nearly as well as Algin.)

If you do want to take things to help with the Candida while you're going through mercury detox, you could try it and see if it helps you. Sandra mentioned she takes Olive Leaf Extract and Caprylic Acid...both of which are very good for combating Candida. I've posted some information about both supplements in case you want to know more about them:

Olive Leaf Extract

Caprylic Acid helps maintain the delicate balance of intestinal flora in the colon, keeping levels of Candida yeast in check. Caprylic acid is a natural fatty acid known to have an antifungal action against Candida albicans. Caprylic acid is quickly absorbed in the intestines; therefore, timed-release or enteric-coated formulas are typically preferred, as they enable the contents to be gradually released throughout the intestinal tract.

By the way, I've read that many "fermented" foods, like sauerkraut, contain nitrates and/or nitrites. According to one website I came across, nitrites in the stomach can react with food proteins to form N-nitroso (nitrosamine) compounds, which have been found to be carcinogenic in test animals. Sauerkraut and most fermented foods are also linked to migraine headache: Migraine Elimination Diet

Hi Laura,
Have your personally tried Heavy Metal Detox product? It seems to have all the ingredients mixed in and I am wondering if it may be too strong. What would you recommend as a dose to start with? I see that it already containts Algin but I assume it would be beneficial to take Algin with it anyways to counter the effects of some potent chelators such as cilantro and ALA. I have still not decided to try anything else other then selenium/vitamin e, calclium/magnesium, vitamin c and Algin. I am also taking a probiotic from nowfoods that contais 2 billion live bacteria to keep my candida under control. It has now been 5 months past removal. Do you recommend, and if so when to start using the Heavy Metal Detox and how much? Thanks, Nina

I haven't personally tried the Heavy Metal Detox product but I do like the combination?it's very well thought out.

As you suggested, I would personally add in extra Algin to counter the detox effects if I were to take it; and I probably will. Even though I'm 4 years post removal, I believe it's about time for a "deep detox" and this is probably the product I will use to do it... with extra Algin , of course.

For someone who's just has their amalgams removed, I wouldn't recommend it unless they are feeling?at least?mediocre or better.

All the best. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />