Do you think raw people are more sensitive due to a change of the blood brain barrier? For example, SAD eaters are not sensitive to toxic food.


[en.wikipedia.org]

these are some quotes from wikipedia. Basically, the BBB creates a bubble that protects the body toxins from entering in the brain. Thus, a person eating junk (a SAD eater) does not feel the toxins in the brain. This person would feel OK even when the body could be a cesspool of toxins. Some toxins can go in but others can't. It is a changing filter.

"The blood–brain barrier acts very effectively to protect the brain from many common bacterial infections. Thus, infections of the brain are very rare. Infections of the brain that do occur are often very serious and difficult to treat. Antibodies are too large to cross the blood–brain barrier, and only certain antibiotics are able to pass"

"There are also some biochemical poisons that are made up of large molecules that are too big to pass through the blood–brain barrier. This was especially important in primitive or medieval times when people often ate contaminated food. Neurotoxins such as Botulinum in the food might affect peripheral nerves, but the blood–brain barrier can often prevent such toxins from reaching the central nervous system, where they could cause serious or fatal damage.[7]"

"When the meninges are inflamed, the blood–brain barrier may be disrupted.[5] This disruption may increase the penetration of various substances (including either toxins or antibiotics) into the brain. "



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2013 10:22AM by Panchito.

I think SAD eaters senses are dulled to such a point that they don't experience the same reactions as we RAW eaters do to toxic foods & other substances. I know when I ate SAD years ago, I didn't have as high a sensitivity level as I do now.

SAD eaters are still getting toxic doses of substances, they just don't realize it - until it's too late.

Thanks for posting this, Panchito. I've been having some health issues - environmental - relating to the blood brain barrier, but I hadn't really researched it until I read this info. I think I'm experiencing these problems because being raw has made me much more sensitive to chemicals and other airborne particles, like mold, etc. This is very depressing with the mention of MS and Alzheimers. Also notice the reference to nano-particles. That's why I'm suspicious of all the nano technology these days.

But I'd rather be sensitive to the environment and have a pure body. I wonder if the blood brain barrier can thicken itself or rejuvenate itself or heal itself, whatever.

I very doubt there are any significant changes to the blood brain barrier, it just doesn't happen in this way.

9/10 the sensitivity comes from what i suspect is digestive problems, although the average raw foodist seems to interpret this as toxicity or toxins rather than simple digestive distress. Most of it is mental perception though, you cannot feel the majority of these toxins pure and simple and especially not by eating a few seeds or some cooked quinoa like ive seen others complain of the toxins they felt.

Doesn't it make you guys cautious that even people on a SAD diet are more tolerant. healthy and immune to these chemicals, than you guys eating all this raw food?. And this is coming from someone who previously had multiple chemical sensitivity.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 08:31AM by powerlifer.

Hi PL. That is not so. For example, just recently (within a few years) it was discover that cooking produces acrylimide, which is a carcinogen. I said many times that the body changes. It is not a fix entity. So yeah, you can be happy being tolerant but I prefer not to.

Panchito Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi PL. That is not so. For example, just recently
> (within a few years) it was discover that cooking
> produces acrylimide, which is a carcinogen. I said
> many times that the body changes. It is not a fix
> entity. So yeah, you can be happy being tolerant
> but I prefer not to.

I wasn't even referring to cooked food solely Panchito but to gourmet raw or even nuts and seeds that people often complain are "toxifying" them, i was also referring to the intense sensitivity issues that many long term raw foodists report. People often have to move out into the countryside away from the city or can't even leave there home anymore because the chemical sensitivity gets so bad.

That alone suggests to me something isn't quite right with the raw diet. Isn't the whole theory of the raw food diet, that its meant to make the body stronger ?, not more susceptible to these chemicals. Id find it quite worrying if people on a SAD diet were able to tolerate these chemicals better, dietary purity might great but if your body is reacting to every chemical under the sun that it comes into contact with, then your body is going to be constantly weakened from the immune response.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 10:44AM by powerlifer.

I have to be tolerant, these chemicals are everywhere you will never avoid them unless you live in a bubble, my body can actually handle these environmental chemicals unlike before.

As someone who had pretty severe multiple chemical sensitivity i can tell you that i used to react to just about everything, i could pick up plastic water bottles and instantly be dizzy or touch cardboard boxes and feel like i was tripping from dissociation. Thats not taking into account every food i would react to. I could hold a coin in my pocket and id react to it, my face would instantly swell and was pretty much always puffy/swollen face from adrenal insufficiency anyway due to constant allergic reaction.

But this was because my body was weak and in particular my adrenal glands had completely crashed. Now i can eat and tolerate pretty much anything i come in contact with, which is a massive change from the multiple chemical sensitivity problems i had for years.

Which is why i can't see developing multiple chemical sensitivity to be a positive thing as the result of following a raw food diet or any diet that causes this to occur. This is surely a sign that your body is weakening not getting stronger.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 14 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 11:05AM by powerlifer.

powerlifer,

Curious - How "Raw" are you? What percentage?

And, I'm having trouble understanding where you are going with your posts. In regards to chemicial sensitivity, where do you feel the problem lies for the raw foodist?

Are you suggesting that the problem for many raw foodists may lie in the adrenal glands, or even other parts of the endocrine system for that matter?

Also, I don't really feel that people on a SAD diet are more tolerant, healthy and immune to these chemicals. Rather, SAD people are also on a dozen meds, so they are in so much turmoil that they can't even properly describe to you how they really feel.

The guys I work with have pains here, pains there, are sleepy all day, skin problems, you name it. They work with chemicals on their hands a lot, and you can see the effects of that on their skin as well.

I would suggest that we raw fooders are more in tune with out bodies & we notice subtle changes that the SAD dieters do not.

Of course, those with severe symptoms, such as dizziness/vertigo, allergic reactions to touching objects...don't know...I guess more research is in order.

A good discussion topic, to be sure.

veganjuice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> powerlifer,
>
> Curious - How "Raw" are you? What percentage?
>
> And, I'm having trouble understanding where you
> are going with your posts. In regards to chemicial
> sensitivity, where do you feel the problem lies
> for the raw foodist?

Im not sure what causes the extreme sensitivity to occur although it definitely isn't a positive sign. I can only theorize that malnutrition is at least involved on some level. Low levels of nutrients such as Zinc not only impair adrenal hormone production but generally weaken immunity at a cellular level. The raw diet is so abundant in Copper to Zinc that toxic mineral imbalances often occur long term that cause changes in immunity. Lack of Vitamin D(if not getting sunshine), B12, Zinc, poor amino acid quality/low protein, lack or no overt fats etc etc, is an accumulation of potential problems waiting to happen. Whilst the raw diet is very rich in some nutrients such as Vitamin C, overall as a diet it isn't very balanced or even nutritionally complete without supplements such as B12, so its not that shocking to me that many(most) have problems long term on a raw diet.

Ill say though its not a problem ive heard many, if anyone complain they developed from following a cooked wholefood vegan or vegetarian diet, only from raw.

People often don't like to hear it but orthorexia is a cause of the increased sensitivity from foods they deem non pure usually cooked or gourmet raw, some raw foodists even class nuts, seeds or vegetables such as onions toxic. Truthfully most human beings will not be able to feel the difference in toxins from non-raw nuts for example.

The general common symptoms people complain of after consuming nuts such as sluggish, bloating, fatigue etc are simply from poor digestion of fats, nuts are a harder to digest food, especially if you have been eating mostly mono-fruit meals. Low fat diets long term have been shown to cause bile and the gallbladder to stagnate, so this is another reason why people become fat intolerant. This has nothing to do with getting "toxified" or toxins.

My raw intake is probably about 20% raw these days which comes mostly from fruit. Although id guess by weight my diet is probably 80% plant/whole foods but many of these are lightly steamed/cooked/fermented such as the dark green leafy vegetables to make them more digestible. This works well for me.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 12:53PM by powerlifer.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? (The raw or the MCS - Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) For myself, I had multiple chemical allergies decades before going raw. I started falling apart in my 20's when I was SAD. And as I started gradually eating more healthy, but not vegan or raw, the chemical sensitivies became worse. After going raw twelve years ago, the rest of my body/health became much stronger and healthier - no colds, viruses or flu ever - but the environmental sensitivity became worse.

Right now, even my mouth is sensitive. If I eat garlic, lemons or vinegar for two days in a row, my mouth is sore and I may get a cankor sore. If I smell a chemical, I immediately taste it in my mouth. If I smell various other chemicals, I get vertigo. If I smell cigarette smoke or other pollutants, I get phglem/mucus in my throat.

I think it's a matter of acute vs. chronic. The healthier our bodies become, the more sensitive we are to chemicals. It's like an unhealthy GMO fruit or vegetable can withstand anything and last forever, but a fresh live fruit or vegetable is very delicate and goes 'bad' and dies in a few days. If you threw the GMO produce in a dark, moldy, chemical laden room, it would be great, no change, but if you threw the beautiful organic produce in the same room, it would perish.

I also think it's like an onion - layers of 'allergies'. I was an allergy detective for decades with my three children and what happens is - at first, the person has so many sensitivities to food and environment, that it's impossible to know what the culprit is. As you gradually discover and eliminate each one, the more Transparent (yes, that's the operative word) the reactions are, and the easier it is to pinpoint the cause.

Also, there are many who are not all raw who have chemical sensitivities. I've spoken to a lot of people who are SAD and were going on their merry way when Wham! an exposure to a chemical threw them over the edge, and they suddenly had MS or Parkinsons.

I'd rather have a chronically healthy raw body and be acutely chemically sensitive, than have a chronically unhealthy body and then develop MS, Parkinson, cancer, etc. when I'm old.

So we're Raw and transparent as opposed to SAD and masked.

The problem is though, if you are reacting to pretty much every chemical you are coming in contact with then your body isn't working properly and your immune system will be chronically provoking an immune response, which isn't healthy either.

The vertigo you mention is exactly what i used to have and it sucks, this isn't true vertigo though in my opinion, what usually happens is because of a massive drop in blood pressure due to the adrenal glands being weak and not outputting what they should to counteract the allergen such as adrenaline, which keeps blood pressure maintained by constricting blood vessels. I got this every time i touched cardboard boxes or coins etc like i say above.

A raw food diet has long been known to be weakening to the adrenal glands both traditionally and from a current scientific nutritional perspective. Whilst most raw diets are excessively rich in nutrients such as Vitamin C which are great for the adrenal glands, they are often lacking in other important nutrients needed for adrenal hormone production including the completely missing Cholesterol, which is a pre-cursor to all adrenocortical hormones. If liver function is compromised then you will not be making your own supply of Cholesterol, dietary Cholesterol may become an essential nutrient.

Surely you can't feel good constantly getting vertigo and other symptoms when you come in contact with all these allergens Kidraw? I know i felt very fatigued and weird everytime it happened to me. Is dietary purity really worth all that hassle ?

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 13 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 01:16PM by powerlifer.

Wow, you edited that post a lot

Anyway, powerlifer, I was going to say to you Thanks for sharing with us this and all your experiences and knowledge. I had been meaning to ask your advice on here or PM you sometime, but didn't get around to it yet.

Especially interesting about how just touching something could cause an immediate reaction for you. I've been there with many substances - especially Plastic comes to mind. And since typing my above post and then thinking on your experience, I've clarified the Allergy/Sensitivity situation in my mind and think I've come up with an explanation/answer, but not particularly on how it relates to being raw or not - at least for myself.

I'll be posting it in a little while when I have more time because it may be lengthy, but now just wanted to say Thanks and I appreciate your input on the board.

Glad to help if i can Kidraw and thanks for sharing your experiences also.

My multiple chemical sensitivity started early on also, i suspect 3 issues played a big role. The first being poor adrenal gland function, the second being poor liver function and the last being heavy metal toxicity. After a few rounds with natural chelating agents such as brown seaweed extract, my adrenal function improved alot and so did my sensitivity to these chemicals.

I now have no chemical sensitivity issues. One of the worst symptoms of it all was the crazy vertigo/low blood pressure which for me also caused intense dissociation. Not the best thing to happen when your out in public and forget you have a hand full of coins lol and then get an intense dizzy spell. Constant puffy/swollen face was also the worst symptom that used to get me really depressed and is a common adrenal fatigue/allergy symptom.

Liver function is very important and blood tests don't often show a true indicator of liver health. Intolerance to chemicals, cigarette smoke, perfumes etc can often be caused by poor liver function, so something to think about. Poor lifestyle adds up i guess and many of us our born into the culture of living poorly these days, too much booze, drugs, junk processed food, late nights, over stimulating activities etc.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 01:56PM by powerlifer.

what all those cell companies don't want you to know

[www.google.com]

I'd love to share MSC stories with you sometime - I'll PM you. In retrospect, my MCS has spanned the whole gamut of my eating lifestyle history. Since in my 20's when I discovered I was allergic to perfume and chemicals and it caused my head to itch, hair fall out, face flushing, and even a psychotic thing. I was SAD then. Around 30, I became a health/nutrition nut and so ate a very healthy whole food diet, then discovered I was gluten intolerant and that changed my life, and then later became raw. I was 100% raw vegan for six years, until I had a few health issues pop up and thought it might be the RFD, so since then I'm intermittent all raw or high raw vegetarian. I'm always experimenting with my diet. But the MCS has been throughout my adult life and they've spanned SAD, whole foods diet, all raw and high raw, so I'm not sure it's related to diet. But on the other hand, I think when we're raw, we're affected by the environment more, but not just toxins. I get a reaction from smelling essential oils.

But what I realized from your experience and my own experiences over all those decades and eating styles with how just touching something can cause an immediate reaction is this -

The allergy itself had built up over a Long Period of Exposure to the substance. Then at a certain point of Saturation, I (we) were 'Sensitized' and that was when just touching or smelling a tiny bit would cause an immediate and severe reaction. Then exposure to the substance was totally Eliminated and after a length of time, small exposures could be Tolerated. It's complex, but it gives me hope that what I'm going through now will pass. But the avoidance is difficult.

powerlifer -

Cooked vegan vs. Raw; If we eat the same foods cooked or raw, what is the difference? I know there are more "processed" food choices in the cooked vegan world, but I'm not sure where the difference lies as far as nutrients, one vs. the other.

What say you?

veganjuice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> powerlifer -
>
> Cooked vegan vs. Raw; If we eat the same foods
> cooked or raw, what is the difference? I know
> there are more "processed" food choices in the
> cooked vegan world, but I'm not sure where the
> difference lies as far as nutrients, one vs. the
> other.
>
> What say you?

Cooked vegan diets tend have a broader scope of nutrients because they usually contain more variety, such as ample amounts of beans, legumes, soy and even grains. So overall you get a better nutritional balance although its still not great, amino acid/protein quality is better and higher intake of minerals such as zinc. Not that im a fan of it anymore but a cooked wholefood vegan diet is much more balanced than most of the regular raw diets which are far too restrictive in variety to be healthy long term in my opinion.

So yeah its more about the lack of variety that is the problem rather than a cooked vs raw issue. Although some foods such as spinach and other dark greens are more digestible when lightly cooked.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 07:02PM by powerlifer.

it is amazing how animals can live without all this confusing mental map. People in Germany love rye bread. But guess what? that's the only thing that grows there (hardy). People that live in Alaska love fish and meat. Guess what? I think you guess it right. That's all they can eat there (no vegs). So where ever people go, they eat what they can and they say it is the best and healthiest. But now things are more complex because economical powers have a say on what people eat. The first thing they do is to tell you what you need to justify their role. I guess people love telling other people what they are doing wrong.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/16/2013 07:52PM by Panchito.

Panchito Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> what all those cell companies don't want you to
> know
>
> [www.google.com]
> +radiation

I figured the effects of EMF pollution were about the same as MCS - dizziness, nausea, light-headedness, etc. from the symptoms coco has told us about her sensitivity to wifi.

The question is - can the blood brain barrier be healed, be made less permeable - with the 100% raw food diet and other nutrients?

The Wiki Page says this -

"Anti-oxidants such as lipoic acid may be able to stabilize a weakening blood–brain barrier."

I guess I'll go order some Lipoic Acid...

The BBB Wiki page says -

"An exception to the bacterial exclusion is the diseases caused by spirochetes, such as Borrelia, which causes Lyme disease, and Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis. These harmful bacteria seem to breach the blood–brain barrier by physically tunneling through the blood vessel walls"

-- which is interesting because I've had Lyme Disease a couple times and it's messed me up in other ways.

So doesn't it make sense to avoid whatever crosses the BBB - Mannitol, some antibiotics, peptides, nano-particles, etc.

Also, I ran across this article saying that DMSO and garlic cross the BBB.

[www.healingcancernaturally.com]

(I remember seeing this same article on garlic posted on the board a while ago.)

*******

I'm looking up healing the BBB, and I ran across this article saying that Essential Oils cross the BBB, and they think it's a good thing --

Essential Oils for Healing - The Blood-Brain Barrier

[www.indiadivine.org]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 12:38AM by KidRaw.

If you have heavy metal toxicity you will need to watch with supplementing alpha lipoic acid because it can cross the blood brain barrier.

It is generally recommended that the body burden of heavy metals is lowered first before introducing any chelator that can cross the blood brain barrier. I used brown seaweed extract and chlorella mainly. Although far infrared sauna's were helpful also.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]

Hey, maybe the BBB is responsible for the brain size development. Watch those news 10 years from now

Yes, it would seem like we want to avoid anything that crosses the blood brain barrier if you ask me, but some think that's good for healing, like L-glutamine --

[www.youtube.com]

I've been checking out healing the blood brain barrier --

[www.ovitaminpro.com]

So it's called Leaky Brain - who knew

[blog.primohealthcoach.com]

You can even get patches to correct it -

[www.ovitaminpro.com] (Expensive)

Or just eat broccoli -

[www.nutraingredients.com]

powerlifer, thanks to your previous recommendation, I've been taking the Modifilan and cilantro for a couple months now for heavy metal toxicity, although I've never had a test, and I have metal fillings still.

Cilantro is another chelator that can cross the blood brain barrier, so id watch with that also, as it caused me alot of problems initially. Cilantro is more of a mobilizer of metals and if not combined with a binding chelator such as Chlorella or Alginates(modifilan/brown seaweed) then the metals can end up being redistributed elsewhere in the body.

Hair mineral testing isn't anywhere near 100% accurate but its better than nothing and is usually fairly cheap.

[www.natuhealth.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2013 01:48PM by powerlifer.

I eat Cilantro at a separate meal than the Chlorella and Modifilan, which I have in a smoothie. Is that OK if they're not eaten together?

If there are any other food or substances that you know of that cross the BBB, please let me know.