How long till my body normalizes?

[Apple-Blossom]

I suffer from anxiety/panic attacks/constant brain fog and I get them all the time. I linked them to digestion and lack of serotonin production. Before I started raw 2 weeks ago I was constipated all the time and I often feeling groggy. Well I cant really say I officially started 2 weeks ago because I was munching on rye bread and triscuts daily which until recently I noticed is a no no.

Since I took meat out of my diet and most processed foods my bowel movements have been much more frequent like 3x a day, but also my symptoms have been amplified! and I believe this may be detox. My chest is all tense with anxiety and my brain fog is horrible, ive basically just been playing video games to ride this storm out.

How long will this detox last if I keep letting it flow like this?

[MysticTree]

It's a good start with the dietary changes but sitting about playing video games really won't help - certainly not with the anxiety. Gentle walking would make more sense. Also it would help to work out what the cause of your symptoms is. It may be more than just dietary. Heavy metals would give you those symptoms. Have you been tested for that?

[Arky]

I suffer from anxiety/panic attacks/constant brain fog and I get them all the time. I linked them to digestion and lack of serotonin production. Before I started raw 2 weeks ago I was constipated all the time and I often feeling groggy.

Do you have silver dental fillings?

Panic attacks and brain fog can often be associated with heavy metal intoxication, since certain heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, lead, copper etc. can penetrate the central nervous system and interfere with it's functioning in various ways. Obviously, there are other possible causes, but heavy metals are at the top of the list of potential causes for your stated symptoms. Also, bear in mind that dental fillings are absolutely not the only possible source of heavy metal intoxication (I'm an example of this myself).

Whilst it may be tempting to simply write off your constipation as having been due to lack of dietary fibre, it may, in the context of a heavy-metals hypothesis, indicate biliary exhaustion, since the liver relies upon expelling them via the bile, and if overwhelmed by a constant stream of heavy metal molecules, bile excretion may exceed the rate of bile synthesis in the liver. Since bile is a stimulant of bowel peristalsis, a relative lack of bile may therefore be expected to contribute towards a reduction in bowel peristalsis, rendering the patient constipated to some degree.

Since I took meat out of my diet and most processed foods my bowel movements have been much more frequent like 3x a day, but also my symptoms have been amplified! and I believe this may be detox. My chest is all tense with anxiety and my brain fog is horrible...

This does support the possibility that your constipation may have been perhaps more due to a previous lack of dietary fibre than to biliary insufficiency, but we must nonetheless consider your symptoms within the context of the larger overall picture, which still points towards a more predominant possibility of intoxication of some kind (of both the liver and perhaps the CNS), even if this doesn't turn out to be metal-related.

Having been through a similar situation, I would suggest you at least discuss with your doctor the possibility of testing for thyroid function, and consider doing your own private testing for heavy-metal intoxication - it's a very simple hair-sample test to get the ball rolling, and is economical. If you're amenable to this, let me know and I'll give you more details.

In the meantime, whatever you do, at all costs, please avoid consuming cilantro (also called coriander), or parsley.

If you get tested and find that heavy metal intoxication is not indicated, then that's great, it's a step further forwards to narrowing down what may be the underlying cause of your unpleasant symptoms. If the tests do indicate heavy metals, then you will find a great deal of information already posted here on RFT, and I can provide you with any additional information you might require.

[Arky]

I've just noticed that you were the poster in another related thread:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthrea...d=1#post709132

Perhaps it'd be easier for everyone if you would confine the discussion to one thread or the other, rather than both.

All the best.

[johnie]

It sounds as if you have a serious neurological problem which cannot be fully solved by changing diets. Have you ever spoken to your GP? Or someone else? If your symptoms are amplified it might not be related to the food but maybe it is simply the next step of something else. Get it checked! Distance diagnosis is difficult. All best, johnie

[MysticTree]

It sounds as if you have a serious neurological problem which cannot be fully solved by changing diets. Have you ever spoken to your GP? Or someone else? If your symptoms are amplified it might not be related to the food but maybe it is simply the next step of something else. Get it checked! Distance diagnosis is difficult. All best, johnie

What is your qualification to make such a statement?

[Ravenna]

Arky, why to avoid cilantro and parsley? is it because of heavy-metal intoxication?

And, where to get hair-test for heavy metals?

Thanks!

[damaru]

Hi! I think playing video games is fine to ride out the difficulty. Be patient with your symptoms and remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Remember how many people have become healed with raw foods. You are on the RIGHT path. Keep it up!

[johnie]

What is your qualification to make such a statement?

Hi mystic tree,
you seem to be really angry. ? So here is why I wrote that:
My qualification is my experience - my mother had similar symptoms and never saw a doc until she was forced to and it was discovered that she suffered from a hyperventilation syndrome in combination with an axonotmesis (an injury of a nerve). After being treated, she fully recovered btw.
I am not saying that Apple Blossom suffers from that, but I just recommend that it is better to get it checked by someone who is trained to do so. I am hoping it is not that thing my mother suffered from, but I wanted to point to a possible other source of her symptoms, it is not always simply a question of nutrition.
I hope that is enough justification for everybody involved. I do not mean to scare people, but from my own experience, things are sometimes not as harmless as they seem.
Regards, johnie

[MysticTree]

Hi mystic tree,
you seem to be really angry. ?

Nope, just asking. You perceive anger where there is none.

[johnie]

okay :-)

[Arky]

Arky, why to avoid cilantro and parsley? is it because of heavy-metal intoxication?

I typed out a detailed reply to you, just now, but then the javascript crashed my browser and I don't have the time to re-type it all - sorry.

The short answer to your question is 'Yes', and if you search for my posts on the subject of heavy metals / mercury / cilantro etc., you will find I have answered in great detail therein.

And, where to get hair-test for heavy metals?

If you're following the Cutler Protocol (and if you take the time to properly research the available options for chelation, and if you truly care about not putting your brain at risk of permanent damage, you'd be frankly crazy not to choose the Cutler Protocol), then you'll find one of the best options for hair analysis is the DDI (Doctor's Data) 'Hair Elements' test.

Note that DDI offer a 'Hair Elements' test and a 'Hair Toxic Element Exposure' test, and the temptation is to choose the latter, but that's actually misguided because the 'Hair Elements' test already contains most of the toxic elements within it, anyway, and it is vital to also have measurements of ordinary, non-toxic, elements in the hair, because some toxic elements (e.g. mercury) cannot be relied upon to yield an accruate measurement, at face value, and under such circumstances, one needs to examine the non-toxic elements to identify typical patternsof non-toxic element levels which can indicate the presence of mercury, since mercury has the ability to interfere with the transport of such elements within and between the cells of the body, including those of the hair follicles. Therefore, it is the ordinary 'Hair Elements' test which is the one you should choose. Please trust me on this; I've walked this path myself.

You can obtain a DDI hair test via DirectLabs.com

directlabs.com/TestDetail.aspx?testid=68&locale=en-US

If you have any other questions, I'm happy to help, but do please search my posts here on RFT, first, since there is a huge amount of information already posted.

Take care.

[Ravenna]

Thank you very much, Arky!