Constant exposure to traces of alcohol.

So when a trace of alcohol is ingested, it can bind to a couple of gaba receptors and potentially damage them (does it work that way?). The damage caused by this shouldn't have any real impact on the overall recovery, but what if exposure to traces of alcohol occurs daily? (People constantly using hand sanitizers everywhere i go, eating lots of fruits everyday etc.) Would that slow down the recovery/make things slightly worse day by day?

I don't think that should be a concern.  The alcohol in sanitizer doesn't pass thru your skin  (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22445089/).  There is a little absorption from breathing vapors, but that should be largely avoidable with minimal effort.

 

As for fruit - we evolved with a little alcohol in our environment.  The trace amount of alcohol found in most fruit shouldn't be of concern, and few humans would eat highly fermented (i.e. spoiled) fruits.  Interestingly, there's probably more alcohol in bread than in many fruits (yeast makes alcohol during rising and not all gets baked out).  But don't avoid bread because of alcohol concerns.  Again the amount is really low.

When I was tapering, I used a very small amount of alcohol to make my liquid benzo, to taper with. I felt nothing from that tiny amount, and it was smaller than a ml of alcohol.  I don't think anything that you just put on your skin would effect you either.  The only thing I am wary of, in terms of "trace" alcohol is food that has alcohol in it.  I understand that it takes many hours to cook off alcohol, so many times there is still a bunch of alcohol in the food, so I avoid anything made with alcohol or marinated in it.  However, I will put regular vanilla in things, as it is such a very tiny amount, that it wouldn't matter by the time I eat a small cookie or two. 

It really depends on how sensitized your system is. I reacted strongly to tiny tiny trace of alcohol including cosmetic that I used for face.

 

Every one is different. The only way you know is by listening to your body.

Soy sauce, vinegar, fruit juice, some yogurts and pretty much anything fermented will have alcohol in it. Even soda has alcohol in it. Soy sauce can be up to 2% and vinegar 1%. Anything you eat cooked in wine etc still has alcohol in it. The USDA did a study and found it takes HOURS to cook out alcohol in food. Our bodies produce endogenous ethanol daily. Bread has alcohol in it too. I think 3 loaves of bread as a beer worth in it.

 

It’s really hard to avoid it. I eat tortillas instead of slices of bread (with yeast) since it’s non fermented. I also avoid a lot of the other stuff. I’m probably being too cautious but when you are going through the same fire I am you want to do anything you can to minimize exposure to anything that can set you back. It’s probably a mute effort but OK I feel like I’m dying daily I’ll avoid bread and soy sauce for peace of mind knowing I’m not doing anything to contribute to this hell.

 

Then we have fruits that have benzos in them. I stepped off from a lower dose than you’re get from eating a few servings of fruits lol

 

I also avoid cilantro, coriander, and EDTA to avoid mercury exposure (I’m chelating) and high fructose corn syrup to avoid mercury. Ironically, I don’t avoid MSG and the other sneaky names for glutamate. 

I'm not sure why you'd avoid EDTA over mercury concerns??  EDTA has no mercury in it.  It is a potent chelator - it binds a bunch of cations (Mg, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Hg, ...).

 

Did you see something implicating EDTA??

Then we have fruits that have benzos in them. I stepped off from a lower dose than you’re get from eating a few servings of fruits lol

 

Which fruits exactly? I am too avoiding all the things you mentioned. Even if it won't have any real impact on the healing, I won't have to stress about it.

I'm not sure why you'd avoid EDTA over mercury concerns??  EDTA has no mercury in it.  It is a potent chelator - it binds a bunch of cations (Mg, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Hg, ...).

 

Did you see something implicating EDTA??

 

Hi badsocref

 

The only effective chelators for Hg are ALA, DMPS, and DMSA. The other stuff just pulls it out but redistributes it, including EDTA. You're right, EDTA does not have Hg in it. I can't find the link but according to Dr.  Andy Cutler- Princeton Chemist, EDTA can actually convert the Hg into another form that does something in the liver then is absorbed into the brain. He says that small amounts in foods as a preservative for the mercury toxic probably isn't a problem but I like to be careful with Hg.

 

Other stuff about EDTA. Sorry, I don't have the peer reviewed case studies or the time to search them out. I'll be glad to discuss with you more if you'd like, or I'm sure you can glance around in Cutler's work it's all online since his death. There are other protoculs but that do use EDTA but I'm going with Cutler's protocul as he has the science and credentials and research.

 

More stuff:

 

Basically, ALA must be taken no less often than every 3 hours, around the clock. Every 4 hours for DMSA and 8 hours for DMPS. If taking ALA+DMSA or ALA+DMPS, the dosing must be every 3 hours.

 

The ALA and DMSA dose should start from 1/8 or 1/4 mg per lb body weight, and adjusted upwards in ensuing rounds as tolerated. The same starting doses apply if taking ALA with DMSA. For DMPS, start from 1/4 mg per lb body weight. If taking ALA with DMPS, halve the starting dose of DMPS.

 

Taking it less often means running a higher risk of regression or damage. Taking large single doses or once a day doses can result in permanent neurological and other damage. Challenge tests are an example of this kind of usage. See Testing for mercury for some reports. See the sections below for an understanding of why dosage and timing are so important for safe chelation.

 

EDTA can and usually will cause zinc depletion and people with mercury problems are

invariably low in zinc and don't absorb it well.

 

EDTA is well known to be of no clinical utility for the treatment of mercury toxicity, the old

textbooks from before DMSA say this, it is what continues to be observed.

 

EDTA DOES work fine for lead. DMSA works better for lead. DMSA does not cause zinc

depletion (the elevations of copper and zinc seen in urine when taking DMSAare not

significant since almost all of the copper and zinc excreted actually comesout in the feces

and DMSA doesn't increase this).

 

When someone has a lead problem and does not have any significant amoiunt of mercury,

AND they have a problem with DMSA, then it is perfectly rational to use EDTA.

 

One situation where this might be true is someone who gets neutropenia (a reduction in a

specific kind of white blood cell) when they take DMSA, and who has lead but no mercury.

 

Another situation where EDTA is appropriate is in vascular disease, such aswhen someone

is referred for bypass surgery but doesn't want to be split open like a side of beef and

then suffer enough brain damage from the extensive insult of the surgery tolose 10 or so

IQ points permanently. This is in fact its most common use.

 

EDTA challenge tests for mercury toxic people are also not informative for the same reasons as the DMPS challenge test mentioned above. EDTA is extensively used as an IV chelator, but EDTA will not chelate mercury to any great degree and instead has a strong affinity for lead and cadmium. DMSA chelates lead better than EDTA, and if you are mercury toxic, then IV EDTA can make you much worse.

Then we have fruits that have benzos in them. I stepped off from a lower dose than you’re get from eating a few servings of fruits lol

 

Which fruits exactly? I am too avoiding all the things you mentioned. Even if it won't have any real impact on the healing, I won't have to stress about it.

 

I don't have a break down but this is a summary. I have the article somewhere but for now this could help:

 

Benzodiazepine (BDZ)-like compounds, present in trace amounts in normal subjects increase in the blood of liver cirrhotic patients. The origin of these compounds is still unknown but they are present in medicinal plants and foods. Herein we report the detection of BDZ-like molecules in fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat, milk and cheeses and in different cultivars of potatoes, tomatoes and carrots. The extracted food was separated by HPLC purification and the collected fractions were tested by radioreceptor binding assay in order to evaluate their ability to selectively bind the central benzodiazepine receptors. The mean value was 14.80 ng of diazepam equivalent (DE)/g in fruits, 4.34 ng DE/g in vegetables, 6.35 in cereals and 4.09 in meat. BDZ-like compounds are poorly present in cheeses and completely absent in olive and seeds oil. From these findings it is possible to select food with low amount of BDZ-like molecules useful for cirrhotic diet in order to prevent hepatic encephalopathy.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222675344_Presence_of_benzodiazepine-like_molecules_in_food_and_their_implication_in_the_nutrition_of_cirrhotic_patients

Thanks for the EDTA info.  I wasn't suggesting it be used to chelate things out of your body.  I kind of doubt if the amount present in foods/products (often around 19 ppm) would be capable of doing much in one's body unless massive quantities were ingested. 

 

I guess I'd like more info on the change of oxidation state for EDTA-mercury chelates.  That's an unusual trait for a chelator.