I'm new to eating raw & vegan but have some special challenges due to chronic mercury poisoning. I have low stomach acid due to the poisoning & possibly compounded by eating a SAD diet. Low stomach acid caues malabsorption of iron & other nutrients. It is often mis-diagnosed as acid-reflux & treated w/ antacids which in turn make the problem worse in the long run. I have low ferritin (storage iron levels) as a result of low stomach acid & low ferritin contributes to my hypothyroidism, metabolic issues, fatigue & pain. I can't take high doses of iron supplements because my body thinks it is a heavy metal (common in mercury poisoned people) & works overtime trying to remove it which in turn makes my fatigue much worse. I can eat iron rich foods as they usually do not have high doses of iron. Antioxidents also help raise ferritin so I try to get a lot of antioxidents. I also have been taking betaine hydrochloric acid (HCL) w/ meals as directed by my medical provider but have not been able to work up to the full dose yet. I started eating a 75% raw vegan diet three weeks ago & the the other 25% is a gluten-free,low soy vegan diet. Before that I had been eating a low soy gluten-free (as of three months ago) SAD diet. I read that eating meat uses a lot of stomach acid. Ironically I started eating a lot of beef last yr to try to raise my ferretin levels at the advise of others. I'm sure I made things worse in doing so.

So,does this mean eating a Raw Vegan diet may increase my stomach acid which in turn would help my body absorb more iron & nutrients? Are there any foods in particular that may help raise stomach acid levels? I can't eat foods really high in sulfur so preferably lower sulfur foods. I also have food allergies to banana's & cranberries. Does anyone know of a good plant based Betaine HCL? The one I have now has animal products in it (which I know is not vegan) but I really do want to switch to a plant based supplement.

ama,

I am sorry you are going through this. As far as things that will raise HCL acid levels go, I am not sure that there are specific foods or categories of foods that do this. I tend to think that healthy, easily digested, organic plant foods would not tax the first stages of digestion, and would help you to use whatever synthesized acid you can, and to naturally correct the imbalance in the longer run.

What has been done to correct the mercury poisoning? As long as this is still an active condition, very little healing can be done by the body. I would suggest looking into the chelating properties of things like activated charcoal, chlorella, cilantro, etc. It is unfortunate that you must avoid sulfurous food, as sulfur is a compound that helps detoxify tissues; this also decreases the amount of oxygenating greens you may eat, as they can be sulfurous. You may find fruits, especially ones high in enzymes, like papaya and pineapple, beneficial.

I am sorry that I haven't been more useful. Hopefully, the more sciencey types here will chime in with advice. Good luck.

I'm following Cutler's Mercury chelation protocol & have been doing so for the past 11 months. I have improved my health around 30% doing so but for how bad my health was to start with it most likely will take up to three years to safely & effectively rid my body of the mercury. It's kind of complicated to explain the protocol completly but it is not the same as what most N.P.'s teach or practice. In a nutshell I take Alpha Lipoic Acid (which is sulfury) exactly every three hours during the day & every four hours at night on three day rounds w/ at least four days between each round. I tried the an N.D."s way & it created further neurological problems that took me 9 months on Cutler's protocol to undo. Chollera, activated charcoal & cilantro are all not an option for me as they don't go w/ the protocol for varying reasons. There are a lot of different opinions out there on mercury detoxing & I respect other peoples right to choose how they want to treat it but I'm sticking to what I know won't make me worse.

I can have little bit of sulfur foods but things like eggs,onions,garlic, asapargus or other things really high sulfur content make me feel much worse. I have food allergies to pineapple (digestive problems) as well but I will try eating papaya to see if my body can handle that. I too am thinking that a diet like you mentioned that is not taxing on my digestive system will help my body heal faster. In fact I have been able to triple my chelation dose since I started eating mostly raw three weeks ago & most of my IBS symptoms are gone when I eat raw.

how on earth did you get chronic mercury poisioning? was it leached into your water source?

why is charcoal not able to be used ? how about clay?

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

It started w/ amalgam dental fillings that I had put in as a child & then removed w/out safety precautions as a teen & adult Then I had a couple of flu shots. The last flu shot in 2007 did me in & I have not been the same since.

Charcoal removes toxins from the gut but I have been told that it also absorbs medications & nutrients so if that is true it would be best used for only for acute cases such as after dental work is done or after the end of each chelation round possibly. I'm not sure about clay but I know that it is not a chelator of mercury. There are only a few things that are known to chelate mercury& ALA is the only one that crosses the blood brain barrier. Cilantro does chelate mercury but the half life of cilantro in the body is unknown & I follow the thought that taking things at the wrong timing cause redistribution instead of riding it from the body. I've read that it is when mercury settles in the brain & nervous system that it causes problems. Some people excrete mercury at a faster rate than others & some never excrete on their own... depends on your biochemistry & genetics. Our bodies natrually remove mercury from the blood & digestive system on their own. Sometimes a lot of foods can be like kerosene in the body to a very mercury poisoned person. I have so many food issues but I am thankful to learn abt raw food because it expands my menu choices & makes them more exciting. Most people might feel limited by it but I am finding it to be the opposite.

ama,

Just did some reading up on the Cutler program(I am assuming it's Andrew Hall Cutler). Two things:

I would caution you and your doctor to closely monitor your liver; I don't know exactly what you are doing, but Cutler recommends a lot of adjuncts and that's a heavy load for the liver to metabolize, especially as its primary load is mercury already.

Did your food issues precede the amalgam removal in your teens, or did they crop up afterward? I am wondering if your immune system is offline from the toxification, rather than that you have genetic predisposition to allergy to certain foods. The former will respond better to a raw foods regimen, so I'm hoping that's what it is.

What are adjuncts?

I think that most of my food allergies are a result of toxicification except possibly sensitivity to gluten which seems to be common in my family. Most of the food allergies started after the first flu shot in 2005. My food allergy list in 2006 was about three times as long as the last one I had done in November 2009. After I stopped taking all toxic medications & got some thyroid/adrenal treatment I was able to eat more foods again & digest healthy fats again.

Sorry if this is too off topic from raw foods.

ama,

The adjuncts in Cutler's therapy are all the supplements and drugs and herbs and stuff.

The flu shot has boatloads of things, like unrelated animal cells and formeldahyde, that would send the average person's immune system into a tizzy, resulting at least in the misidentification of foods as allergens.

It's good that you are off toxic medications. Anything that you eliminate that is hard on your system should help bring you closer to healing.

"low stomach acid"

ama,
How are you set for dietary sources of the minerals that make up gastric acids?

"Gastric acid is a secretion produced in the stomach. It is one of the main solutions secreted, together with several enzymes and intrinsic factors. Chemically it is an acid solution with a pH of 1 to 2 in the stomach lumen, consisting mainly of hydrochloric acid (HCl) (around 0.5%, or 5000 parts per million), and large quantities of potassium chloride (KCl) and sodium chloride (NaCl)." -Wikipedia


There are raw sources for some, others might be easier to get as salts. Intrinsic factor is needed to digest foods containing vitamin B12, some taking B12 sublingually to get around the possible lack of intrinsic factor. Maybe check for dietary sources of--

Vitamin B12
Chloride
Potassium
Sodium

Thanks both of you have given me some things to think about. I do have some conditions that can cause me to lose too much water & electrolytes.

I started using coconut oil & drinking coconut water very recently which is high in potassium. I will continue that.

I have been drinking some celtic sea salt water but propably not enough. I feel better when I do. I've been reading some other posts about how to get salt from vegetables will probably try that as well.

B12 sounds like a hard one. I read that spirulina and seaweed both have B12 but I may need to take some B12 sublingually as well. I need to research more about B12. Seaweed would be good for my thyroid.

I'm going to do some more research & make a list of foods w/ electrolytes & B12 that I can eat.

Thanks for your inquire on how to build up our stomach acidity.
I ate raw for years and now I don't. I still love raw foods but...

I am a B12 defficient patient who didn't know anything about it until I've got rushed to the hospital for blood transfusions last year.
Also, an iron deficiency which is chronic since I was a teenager. My GI did all sort of tests and just simply sent me home with antiacids-Omeprazole. Which makes the problem worst, we know.
I eat meat because I have an atrophic gastritis that will not let my stomach absorb B12; I get weekly injections for life. B12 is under control.
Iron is not. Ferritin, as of last week, is 5. Going for a cycle of Venofer IV therapy next week, and for the following four weeks.
Upset. Angry.

didn't complete sentence on eating meat...I began eating meat for iron deficiency anemia like 15 years ago. I workout a lot and am convicted of the need my body has for animal protein. I was vegan but I never looked healthy, contrary to (honestly) I'd like to preach here
Thanks,

I have some other tips in numerous threads about how to raise stomach acids with natural herbs and supplements such as bitters on the back of the tongue, raw apple cider vinegar etc.

If you have trouble finding i will re post(im eating a large salad the moment lol)

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

Coconana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I dont have much help to offer, but I do know a
> few things that may add:
>
> Best sodium sources are non-vegan, and they are:
>
> Broth made from veal joints (can only be gotten
> from a butcher)
> Mineral Whey (Capra makes a brand, or used to)
> Goat milk and Goat cheese
>
> Best plant sources:
>
> Romaine Lettuce
> Strawberries
>
>
> Also,
> Raw food heals the body. It is all very simple.
> Eat what you are able that is raw, as often as
> possible. Eat SAD food sparingly if at all. And
> you will get better.




Best sodium sources are not vegan? Please tell my why?
Sorry but I think this is a bad statement!

There is plenty of soduim in carrots, celery, avacado, and dulse has a lot of sodium from the ocean and if you get the good stuff it is sun dried and therefore better. Many vegies have small amounts of sodium in them and it is the quantity of them that should be helpful in the long run.

ama-gi to much sodium is not good either so don't overdo it. If it were me I would do more vegie sources as opposed to the Celtic salt. Also I would find a well respected raw food type doctor. In fact I would call Hippocrates Health Institute and see if you could get a phone consultation with Brian Clement. If you are determined to do raw then he would be the only person I know of that is qualified to guide you with such a serious challenge. 561-471-8876

If you eat soaked nuts and seeds, chlorella or raw okra will stimulate acid production among other things but in the long run you need to heal the digestive organs and as powerlifter said stimulat.e the digestive juices with bitters or your choice of organic herbs, good luck

Also I think you said something about B-12, personally I would never take a shot from a doctor. There are many sublingual types on the market and one of the best I believe is Pure Encapsulations, or the Hippocrates formula wich is the only natural living sublingual in the US. The Hippocrates formula is only 8mcg though and might not be enough. I get my B-12 from OrganicPharmacy.com, it's way cheaper than the doctor, less invasive and better for you. Your doctor might not be able to make his mercedes payment but that's not your concern lol.

Stimulating release of stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes etc should always be the first step, the only problem is that you might not have much stomach acid to release anyway. Many of the nutrients needed for stomach acid formation are also acid dependent for absorption so you can end up in a catch 22 situation.

Which is where raw apple cider vinegar or betaine HCL comes into play and or acidified supplements such as zinc citrate, as zinc is an important nutrient in stomach acid formation.

Good call on the natural sodium sources rzman.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

Look what I found u guys!

# Vegetables, fresh (1/2 cup raw) in mg Acorn squash - 2
# Alfalfa sprouts - 1
# Artichoke - 1 medium, steamed - 79
# Asparagus - 1
# Beans, green - 3
# Beets - 49
# Bell peppers - 2
# Broccoli - 12
# Brussels sprouts - 11
# Butternut squash - 3
# Cabbage - 14
# Carrots - 20
# Cauliflower - 8
# Celeriac - 79
# Celery - 54
# Chilis - 5
# Chives - 2
# Corn - 12
# Cucumbers - 1
# Endive - 6
# Eggplant - 2
# Garlic, 1 clove - 1
# Ginger - 6
# Hubbard squash - 4
# Leeks - 11
# Lettuce - 2
# Mushrooms - 1
# Onions - 2
# Parsley - 12
# Parsnips - 7
# Peas, edible-pod - 4
# Peas, green - 3
# Potatoes, medium, baked - 16
# Pumpkins - 1
# Radishes - 14
# Rutabagas - 14
# Shallots - 10
# Spaghetti squash - 9
# Spinach - 22
# Squash, summer - 1
# Squash, winter - 2
# Sweet potatoes - 9
# Tomatoes - 4
# Turnips - 44
# Water chestnuts - 8
# Watercress - 7
# Yams - 7
# Zucchini - 1

# Fruits, fresh, in mg Apples, 1 medium - 0
# Apricots, 1 medium - negligible
# Asian pear - 0
# Avocados, 1/2 medium - 10
# Bananas, 1 medium - 1
# Blackberries - 0
# Blueberries, 1/2 cup - 4
# Canteloupe, 1/8 of melon - 5
# Casaba melon, 1/10 of fruit - 20
# Cherries, sweet - 0
# Cherries, sour, 1 cup - 5
# Crabapple - 1
# Cranberries, 1 cup - 1
# Figs, 1 medium - 1
# Gooseberry - 1
# Grapefruit - 9
# Grapes, 1 cup - 2
# Grape leaves raw, 1 cup - 1
# Guavas, 1 medium - 2
# Honeydew Melon, 1/2 medium - 7
# Kiwi fruit, 1 - 3
# Kumquats, 1 medium - 1
# Lemons, 1 medium - 1
# Limes, 1 medium - 1
# Litchi, 1 fruit - 1
# Mangos, 1 medium - 2
# Nectarines - 0
# Oranges - 0
# Passion fruit, 1 fruit - 5
# Papayas, 1 medium - 9
# Peaches - 0
# Pears - 0
# Persimmons, 1 medium - 1
# Pineapples, chopped, 1 cup - 2
# Plaintain, 1 cup sliced - 6
# Plums - 0
# Pomegranates, 1 medium - 5
# Quince, 1 medium - 4
# Raspberries - 0
# Rhubarb, 1 stalk - 2
# Strawberries, 1/2 cup - 1
# Tamarind, 1 fruit - 1
# Tangerines, 1 medium - 1
# Tomatoes - 4
# Watermelon, cubed, 1 cup - 3

Thats natural sodium content in mg.

got that from [www.alsosalt.com]

sorry i havent figured out how to make that a link inside the post, ugh.

Folk,

Please remember that this is a vegan web site, and the post ought to be vegan in nature. Please do not recommend eating foods like eggs, dairy, or meat in your posts.

Thanks from your moderator.

sorry my bad!!!

So I was thinking, "My my, Miss Information, my info's all out of whack." So I scroogled "low stomach acid" and I found a lot of things, including a site that says about 40% of older adults suffer from low stomach acid, and that betaine-containing foods can help.

On this site:

[edtaapp.blog.com]

I found this quote:

Naturally occurring betaine is usually a really versatile substance that is produced by your own body. It has numerous functions. Your body’s natural production of betaine can be supported by eating foods rich in betaine. Beets contain a great deal of betaine, and you will get a lot more betaine from consuming beets than you are going to from taking the betaine that’s synthetically produced. Drinking beetroot juice may perhaps have a positive influence on high blood pressure and may possibly help with cardiovascular difficulties. The fact is, in case you drink 500 milliliters of beet juice, your blood pressure are going to be decreased within the hour. It will continue to decrease over the next various hours and will remain lowered right after 24 hours.


I read that spinach, broccoli, and sunflower seeds are good for betaine too, and that cooking destroys it.

The betaine that these foods contain is not the same as betaine HCL. The latter has an acidic PH which is why it helps with low stomach acid.

The betaine found in these founds is a methyl donor and is essential for methylation. Methylation is involved in some many processes such as neurotransmitter, hormone synthesis, liver aid, reducing heart disease via lowering homocystenine, it is needed for stomach acid formation also.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

There is no non-supplement way to get betaine HCL, then?

Coconana Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There is no non-supplement way to get betaine HCL,
> then?

Yeah no supplement way, betaine HCL isnt a nutrient like i say its used because it has an acidic PH which can be useful for those suffering from low stomach acid. Raw apple cider vinegar can be used in a similar manner.

Bitter herbs on the back of the tongue to stimulate the release of stomach acid and cleanse the liver.

[www.amlaberry.co.uk]

ama_gi-

Have you looked into zeolite or fulvic acid to chelate the mercury? I don't know much about it, but they are supposed to help detoxify the system and help flush out heavy metals.

I've read that zeolite is one of the most powerful negatively charged minerals in nature and acts as a magnet, drawing toxins to it, and has an especially powerful chelating effect, removing heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic, lead, and aluminum.

I see that you are asking about increasing stomach acid, but thought maybe I'd just put this out there for you. I hope you feel better soon.

what about drinking grapefruit juice or eating grapefruit? i'm pretty sure it's great for increasing that, plus when you drink grapefruit juice alone it also actually shrinks the size of your stomach. i think it also helps to stimulate and purify your bile functioning