Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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 YOU Tool 6
Petoxify Your Life tend to think of toxicity as consisting of extreme examples—swallowing poison, smoking exhaust pipes, sticking your head in a microwave. But the truth is that toxicity can happen in less extreme circumstances, and that's why it's important to know the toxicity equation: simply, it's the intersection of the danger of a chemical (don't bathe in dioxin baths) and the duration of your exposure to the stuff.
So be prudent if you're getting a lot of exposure to just about anything in life that might be toxic. |
Devra Davis
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 If scientific knowledge about the toxicity of a substance in humans could be accumulated instantaneously, there would not be the concern that science delayed or incomplete was justice denied. If scientists could instantaneously have the best human evidence of toxicity, they would not need to piece together animal, mechanistic, genetic, structure-activity, and other inferential evidence. If diseases could be identified at an early stage, left their signatures, or did not have long latency periods, there might be a lesser need for various kinds of non-human evidence. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 BPA is a known estrogen mimicker, and can cause hormone-disrupting effects, toxicity, neurotoxicity, low sperm counts and even cancer. Some of these effects occur in concentrations as low as two parts per billion, and yet various studies have shown that plastic bottles or canned foods can often expose consumers to far higher concentrations (sometimes hundreds of times higher).
More than 200 animal studies show that BPA is toxic at very low doses, and the Centers for Disease Control explains that it has found BPA in alarming concentrations in 95 percent of patients being tested. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 That's its natural function, so it significantly reduces toxicity. Vitamin E succinate is powerful at inhibiting excitotoxicity, as are all of your antioxidants. They found combinations of B vitamins also block excitotoxicity.
Mike: Let's talk about restaurants. I can't even eat at restaurants anymore at all, even those natural restaurants. They don't know they have MSG, because it's in one of the sauces or something.
Dr. Blaylock: I talked to them, and they said, "We get our food in these big crates, so there's no ingredients listed." It's the same thing for hospitals. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 There is such a thing as vitamin A toxicity. That's because vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, and there have been studies showing the levels of toxicity associated with consuming this. But I think it's very difficult to reach a toxic level of consumption with vitamin A, unless you're taking it as an isolated vitamin. If you go out to the store and buy a vitamin A in capsules or gel caps and start chowing down on that, then sure, you could potentially get an overdose of vitamin A, and before long you're going to start showing toxicity symptoms. |
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, FRCP (C) and Dr. Harold D. Foster, PhD
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 Liver Toxicity
Between 1940 and 1950, when the toxicity of niacin and niacinamide was first studied, the LD,0 for rats was determined - the amount, if given as
138 one dose, that would kill 50% of the test animals. It was very high, about 4.5 g per kg. However, at autopsy, the animals showed elevated fatty acid in the liver.
In 1950, a deficiency of methyl groups was known to cause fatty livers. Niacin and niacinamide are methyl acceptors. It made sense, therefore, to consider the possibility that too much vitamin B-3 caused fatty acid livers by producing a methyl deficiency syndrome. |
| The RDA is said to be the amount of vitamin that provides the least risk of inadequacy and the least risk of toxicity. These adequacy and toxicity levels were not determined scientifically, however. Nevertheless, they persist because they provide a simple intake level that generally prevents acute deficiency.
Two important points are worth noting. First, most RDA standards are based on extrapolated data, which means they were not measured in actual experiments on real people. |
Mehmet C. Oz., M.D. and Michael F. Roizen, M.D.
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| But the truth is that toxicity can happen in less extreme circumstances, and that's why it's important to know the toxicity equation: simply, it's the intersection of the danger of a chemical (don't bathe in dioxin baths) and the duration of your exposure to the stuff.
So be prudent if you're getting a lot of exposure to just about anything in life that might be toxic. For many of the dozens of commonly used products on the market, no one honestly knows if they are safe yet, but to be fair, we don't know if they're dangerous either. Here's our advice based on what our families do. |
Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
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 Real Vitamin and Mineral Book, told me: "Various studies have shown that long-term intakes of up to 500 to 750 meg per day have produced no signs of toxicity in humans. Data extrapolated from animal studies suggests that toxicity does not occur in humans ingesting less than 1,000 to 2,000 meg per day." researchers wanted to see whether selenium supplementation had any affect on the incidence of skin cancer. Half the participants received one 200 meg tablet of selenium a day, the other half got a placebo (an empty sugar pill). Turns out the selenium didn't have much of an effect on skin cancer. |
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, FRCP (C) and Dr. Harold D. Foster, PhD
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| In the case of vitamin C, there appears to be little toxicity from high doses, which offer the promise of extended health and resistance to many chronic diseases. The costs of vitamin C supplementation are low, while the potential benefits are high. By contrast, the health costs of sticking to the low RDA could be enormous, whereas the benefits are minimal.
A new scientific theory, called the dynamic flow model, provides another guideline. |
Donna Jackson Nakazawa
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 They asked Pastor Pridgen at True Bethel to alert his congregation to the site's toxicity.
Betty Jean, who as councilwoman had a weekly radio show, informed listeners that there was a toxic waste site in their area and that the coalition was concerned that if someone lived in the area that person might be more likely to have lupus. She asked them to call in. "Every week we heard from more and more who were afflicted," she says.
The coalition decided to go door to door and try to find out who else was ill. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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 Over these same 25 years, safety and toxicity studies have also been conducted on black cohosh, and it has been subjected to increased scrutiny, as has hormone replacement therapy. Two areas that receive the most attention are whether black cohosh is safe in breast cancer patients and if there are any adverse effects on liver function.
We don't know with certainty that black cohosh is safe to use in breast cancer patients, but we have compelling safety data that offers much reassurance. There are two recent excellent reviews of the literature on the safety of black cohosh. |
| There have been no significant adverse or intolerant reactions with red clover, no significant change in blood parameters used to measure toxicity, and no evidence of uterine bleeding or increased endometrial thickness. In fact, an 80 mg red clover extract did not increase the thickness of the lining of the uterus in postmenopausal women, despite its high content of phytoestrogens.98
I cannot offer women who have a history of breast cancer the same degree of reassurance about using red clover as I can with black cohosh. |
| Although the potential toxicity of vitamin A in doses this high makes it an impractical approach to fibrocystic breast disease, it is possible that beta-carotene could be substituted, since it has a similar activity without the side effects of vitamin A, or a diet high in yellow and orange fruits and vegetables.
Beta-Carotene
50,000-150,000 IU daily
Iodine/Thyroid Hormone. It has been known for a long time that for the thyroid gland to secrete thyroxine (its hormone), it requires iodine. |
| However, for a period of only one month, as in this study, vitamin A toxicity is of virtually no concern, and I would not hesitate to use it for this amount of time, or up to three months. Using lower doses of 25,000 IU for longer periods of time should be considered in those cases where ongoing Treatment is necessary to control menorrhagia.
Vitamin A
60,000 IU per day for 1-3 months 10,000-25,000 IU ongoing, if necessary, but be aware of potential increase in urinary calcium loss
Note: Vitamin E improves vitamin A storage and utilization, and zinc is required to mobilize vitamin A. |
Dr. Jonathan Prousky, BPHE, BSc, ND, FRSH
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 In terms of toxicity, DW. Lamson and S.M. Plaza have summarized the chromium literature, evaluating its mechanisms of action and exceptional safety profile. According to these investigators, "there is no demonstration of general chromium toxicity in animals at a dose that would extrapolate to humans as 1050 mg daily. |
Charles Barber
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 Some patients needed their blood drawn regularly to monitor for toxicity (lithium) or low white blood cell counts (Clozaril). A common side effect is called tardive dyskinesia. Tardive dyskinesia is a potentially irreversible condition associated with the first generation of antipsychotics, like Thorazine and Haldol. It comes in the form of involuntary muscle movements, typically facial tics, such as quick spasms of the jaw or tongue, or jerky limb movements, which are sometimes accompanied by grunting or sucking sounds. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 Those with lesions on their head can develop central-nervous-system toxicity if they apply the lotion on the head. This is an obvious concern for the many children who are applying this lotion on top of their head for the elimination of head lice, which they may have to do twice. Side effects include dizziness, headache, tingling, and seizures. There have been three confirmed Lindane-related deaths. Lindane is contraindicated in children with uncontrolled seizure disorders and alcoholics. Only one application is recommended. |
Tori Hudson, N.D.
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| The absorption of vitamin D (as well as calcium, which vitamin D helps metabolize) is enhanced during pregnancy, and since vitamin D tends toward toxicity, supplementation should be judicious to prevent excessive amounts of it from spilling into the urine. Fish oil and sunshine are good sources of natural vitamin D, which benefits the development of good teeth and bones. Herbal sources of vitamin D are alfalfa and nettles. |
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, FRCP (C) and Dr. Harold D. Foster, PhD
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| Given the value of this vitamin in the treatment of pellagra and its very low toxicity, it was decided to begin some therapeutic trials using niacin and other nutrients to treat schizophrenia. Since the formation of adrenochrome involves an oxidation reaction, Hoffer and Osmond also decided to use high levels of an anti-oxidant to prevent its production. Ascorbic acid was the only anti-oxidant available at the time.
The first patient treated responded very positively. |
Erich Grotewold
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 Studies on the toxicity of maackiain and pisatin enantiomers to phytopathogenic fungi demonstrated that in general fungi were more sensitive to pterocarpans of the opposite stereochemistry to that found in their host plant. For example, fungal pathogens of (-)-maackiain-producing plants were more sensitive to (+)-maackiain (Delserone et al., 1992). It has been suggested that this differential sensitivity of fungal pathogens to phytoalexins of the opposite stereochemistry may be exploited for disease control by engineering plants to synthesize enantiomers of the opposite stereochemistry. |
Dr. Abram Hoffer, MD, FRCP (C) and Dr. Harold D. Foster, PhD
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| Other authors also have suggested that niacinamide increases the toxicity of irradiation against tumors in mice. M.R. Horsman and colleagues1?-^ and D.J. Chaplin and coworkers20 found that nicotinamide was the best drug for increasing sensitivity to radioactivity as compared to a series of analogues. This vitamin probably worked because it enhanced blood flow to the tumor.21
Nicotinamide also appears to enhance the effects of chemotherapy. |
| These adequacy and toxicity levels were not determined scientifically, however. Nevertheless, they persist because they provide a simple intake level that generally prevents acute deficiency.
Two important points are worth noting. First, most RDA standards are based on extrapolated data, which means they were not measured in actual experiments on real people. |
Richard Beliveau, Ph.D. and Denis Gingras, Ph.D.
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 One of the great failings of chemotherapy medications is their toxicity toward many normal, healthy cells; this toxicity is responsible for many side effects. Among them, we can cite the drop in immune cell levels and blood platelets, anemia, digestive problems (nausea, inflammation of the gastric mucosa), and hair loss (alopecia), not to mention the various cardiac, renal, or other complications. As a consequence, the duration of the chemotherapy treatment is often limited by the severity of the side effects and does not always allow for the complete elimination of the cancer cells. |
| As described above, the selection of foods by humans is in some ways comparable to the evaluation of toxicity of synthetic molecules, except that this evaluation took place over thousands of years, a period that allowed for the exclusion of any kind of toxicity that might have been associated with that food; the anti-cancer molecule now present in that food is free of undesirable side effects. |
Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
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| These drugs pollute the body, suppress the immune system, and contribute to colon toxicity. It's heartbreaking to consider that pharmaceuticals have become the quick and easy solution to most health problems. Ironically, most of these "medicines" actually interfere with health. Side effects of common pharmaceuticals include weight gain, constipation, cancer, kidney disease, heart failure, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and many other ailments they're supposed to remedy.
Did You Know? |
| Four additional metals that cause damage to the intestinal tract and contribute to colon toxicity are mercury, aluminum, lead, and cadmium. Three of these metals rank in the top 10 on the CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances from the ATSDR.104 Lead is second, with mercury at a close third, and cadmium falls in as the eighth most toxic substance known to science. Aluminum, although not truly a heavy metal, is still an extremely poisonous substance that can accumulate in the body's tissues. |
| This conversion significantly increases its toxicity, causing its effects on the colon to become similar to those of inorganic mercury.
E3 DOCTOR'S NOTE:
Gastrointestinal symptoms of mercury exposure include abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, excessive gas, loss of appetite, obesity, and hemorrhage.
The use of mercury amalgam fillings for tooth cavities has generated renewed concern about this toxin. Once these fillings are in place, they continue to emit mercury vapors into the foods you eat. Once swallowed, these mercury particles end up in your intestinal tract. |
| In fact, mercury's toxicity is so potent that walking into a typical dentist's office can expose an individual to the same amount of mercury (as fumes) as 19 amalgam fillings! The only "safe" amount of mercury in the body is none!
Did You Know?
• Many people have developed colitis from chronic ingestion of J2mm mercury-containing laxatives.
• Many common vaccines contain Thimerosal (nearly 50% mercury in structure) to preserve their ingredients. |
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