I was pleased to read recently that Dr Sarah Myhill who has had a lot of success in treating difficult chronic fatigue cases with a multi pronged approach that included detox was reinstated by the General Medical Council.
Dr Myhill, a private UK general practioner, has been hounded for over 10 years because she dared suggest that Chronic fatigue or ME is a physical problem and not a psychological one.
Her most recent fall from grace was triggered by a paper that she published showing that ME was connected with a problem in the mitochondria, the power house of the cell.
After thousands of people she helped signed an online petition and wrote to the General Medical Council with evidence of how she helped them they decided she had no case to answer and the latest hearing was cancelled.
In fact, they came to the conclusion that she has substantially improved the health of 70% of ME sufferers.
So how has she done this?
Dr Myhill states “the most important point to recognise about chronic fatigue/ME is that it is a clinical picture and not a diagnosis. It is important to treat CFS/ME as a symptom that has many causes”.
She looks at a number of things in the body including thyroid function, adrenal function, gut function, diet, sleep, lifestyle as well as mitochondrial function.She discovered that the people with the worst fatigue had the worst mitochondrial function.
The mitochondria are tiny structures in the cells that produce energy. With cutting edge biochemical tests it was discovered that in people with CFS/ME there was lowered energy output in their mitochondria.
More state of the art tests showed that these energy blocks resulted from either nutritional deficiencies or toxins.
The most common nutritional deficiencies are magnesium, Vitamin B3, C0-enzyme Q10, Acetyl-Carnitine and D-Ribose.
The toxins could be either internal from, for example, products of gut fermentation or external from pesticides, heavy metals or volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Gut fermentation can be caused by small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) or yeast overgrowth.
Heavy metals include such things as:
- Mercury from dental amalgam which Dr Myhill says is the biggest problem.
- Nickel from stainless steel saucepans, jewellery and cigarette smoke.
- Vaccinations ( often contain heavy metals)
- Lead, cadmium antimony, arsenic
- Depleted uranium in Gulf War Veterans
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
- Poisoning from un-burnt hydrocarbons such as oil, gas, coal and wood. Free standing gas heaters are particularly bad!
- Aerotoxic syndrome – ( cabin air is pulled in over the engines and may become contaminated with unburnt fuel and organophosphates).
- Vehicle exhaust fumes
- Solvents used in carpets – new carpets are the worst.
- Paints
- Glues
- Printing inks
- Cleaning agents – bleach
- Disinfectants – often include formaldehyde or related compounds.
- Sterilising agents – “Milton”
- Cosmetics – many are toxic especially hair dyes
Drugs
Many prescription drugs such as beta blockers inhibit mitochondria directly. Statins inhibit the body’s own production of co enzyme Q 10 – an important anti-oxidant in mitochondria.
Most drugs are detoxified by the liver and put an extra strain on the liver detox capacity.
How to improve mitochondrial function
Once the underlying cause of the mitochondrial blocks are known there a number of things that can be done to improve their function.
1. Supplementing the nutrients that are deficient.
It’s probably best to be guided by a Functional Medicine doctor or nutritionist as to the doses and best absorbably forms of the nutrients to take.
2. Avoiding chemicals as much as possible.
Use only natural cleaning products in the home and natural personal care products and cosmetics. Avoid all chemicals in the home.
3. Treat gut fermentation.
Cleaning up the bowel with colon cleansing and dealing with gut fermentation is the first step. If this is not done then the toxins from the gut will continually overload the liver detox system.
4. Detox heavy metals and/or toxic chemicals.
Tests can be done to determine if the mitochondrial blocks are caused by heavy metals and substances such as liquid zeolite or HMD can be taken to detox them.
Dr Myhill recommends the use of far infrared suanas to detox pesticides and volatile organic compounds together with a good detox diet. Epsom salt baths can also be useful.
If you are struggling to recover from chronic fatigue then the good news is that you can beat it with a multi pronged attack that includes detox.
I just found your site and am excited to read more of the great information you’ve got here. I know that I feel like as I get older things seem to bother my system more. I also have friends who have Chronic Fatigue and I think detoxing would be just the ticket for them…now it’s a matter of getting them to do it!
Hi Darci, It’s always hard to convince other people to do something they have not considered or know much about. You know the saying, You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.”
They often need to talk to someone who has recovered from Chronic Fatigue with detox like I did.
Sandy
Sounds like this doctor is relly on to something and the medical community is resisting her new methods I wonder why?
Hi Mike,
It takes the Medical Profession many years to accept a new theory even if it is scientifically based. The tests are also not tests that are used routinely. You have to remember that the standard blood tests that are done do not reveal any abnormality when people have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or ME as it is now called in the UK. This led them to think that it must be all in the mind.
Fortunately there are some doctors like Dr Myhill who have delved deeper and found abnormalities with different tests.
Sandy
What about the sauna detox? I’ ve read that in sauna, you can get all of the chemicals out of your body faster when they are sweated out of the pores. This helps especially when you want to have an alcohol or drug detoxification.
Very informative post, thanks for sharing 🙂
Yes, you are right Elena. Sauna can help sweat out toxins as well but not everyone has access to one or can afford it. In these cases you have to use different methods.
Sandy
this is a good article. as for me, the good way detoxifying is to eat the right food and take the necessary supplements. i’ve read from another article (http://www.goodhealthmedicine.com/what-are-food-supplements-and-a-list-of-food-supplements.html) on supplements. Thank you and I hope I can convince more people to go on alternative ones. Thank you for your article.