Allopathic or not, there is a propensity for any particular doctor to treat people with a one size fits all within the scope of their tests and knowledge/understanding.

Autism is thought by some to be a heavy metal toxicity... it could have started at conception with a metal toxic mother and/or father, altering/mutating/adapting the DNA and then brought to fruition with, environmental exposures including vaccinations,canned baby formulas and foods, etc. etc.

My whole point is that "life" will find a way. I believe that life will struggle to survive, even in the face of the most harsh environment. To that end, genetic mutations and adaptations occur continuously, as the environment changes that enable one person to better tolerate, live, and reproduce in an environment that would certainly make another sick or even kill them.

Take primitive tribes in the Amazon... would a 2nd or 3rd generation city dweller last a month, a week without falling over exhausted, ill or even die from exposure... maybe fall victim to the food, drink, bugs, reptiles, animals, poisons in that environment... how about a week to a month in the Arctic, living off the land? Reverse that, and place the native in the city... city food, city pollution, everything... illness and possibly death would result again.

That said, the natural environment of centuries ago changed slowly over time; this is no longer the case... and mutations/adaptations are occurring at a much more rapid pace now with many more "errors" than "successes".

This is why I believe that those who make slow changes in their diets for the better and include the addition of missing minerals through foods (primarily) will see a slow progression back to the way they should be. We may even be able to push the clock back a generation or two within our generation if particular care and effort is made to grow and eat our own foods... However, I believe as my chiropractor does that we must, expose ourselves to small doses of these poisons (our day to day environmental exposure is enough for me without adding foods or cosmetics to the soup) to allow our bodies to learn how to deal with and metabolize them... things are only going to get worse, why tempt fate?

Let us say an individual has a very high level of lead in their system and the body, for what ever reason and for whatever purpose (life will find a way) has learned to deal with the high lead exposure somehow... I am not saying the person is well... if that person were to provide their body with absorbable, usable forms of complementary minerals, including calcium, in a greater quantity than their exposure to the lead, it would eventually enable the replacement of the majority of lead in their tissues, particularly the bone, it is quite possible that the person would then see improvements in health and enhance their reproductive success and longevity.

However, attempting to rid the body of one substance, in this case lead, without replacing it with the necessary minerals that the lead has replaced/stood in for, could lead to issues and problems much worse than the original cause... illness, shortened life span and death.

So my question is... are we nutrient depleted? AND/OR, are we as a species mutating/adapting to function on what may be available finding a way to adapt, mutate, survive in the midst of this toxic soup we live in?

Food for thought...

Hi PTree,

"My question is...should one wait until after the chelation to replace the minerals?"

No... chelation of heavy metals and undesirable halogens, etc. will be much more effective with adequate mineral intake to begin with. The body in its wisdom, wants to rid itself of harmful substances... this is why fat stores and bone can become filled with toxins... to protect vital organs and system functions from their ill effects.

As one ingests adequate minerals from foods and/or food sourced supplements, chelation can and does occur at a faster rate with less adverse reaction to the living organism, be it yourself, plants or pets.

"Aren't they going to be chelated along with the heavy metals, etc.?"

YES! However that is what must happen initially in order for the chelation to be effective. With any luck, enough minerals are ingested to start replacing the toxins...

"I've had the same concern about using probiotics during a candida or parasite cleanse...won't the anti-bacterial action destroy the good bacteria?"

Anti-bacterial action of what? Effective pre-biotics and probiotics will help to reseed the intestines with good bacteria and effectively minimize the bad... this is what you want. Is it throwing money away? Only you would know this... I think someone with a good diet and a healthy gut should not need probiotics... your food would have a good amount of so called pre-biotics in them and perhaps even cultured or fermented foods as well.

"I just don't want to be spending money that is going to be flushed down the drain...literally!"

No one wants this. If you feel you are doing this, I would suggest dropping the supplement or what-have-you and see what happens. You can never go wrong with a good food.

"Also, have you had experience with Citramins II?"

Sorry, I have not.

Hope I have helped.

grz

I am convinced that we must live with and accept NATURAL microflora... bacteria yeasts etc. as being beneficial for us. THEY are NOT bad for us. They are absolutely essential for our health, well being and survival.

There are 10's of thousands of these microorganisms that are either beneficial or benign... and only a handful that are harmful... in the case of bacteria... 130+ known I believe (may be a few more since I last studied this)... out of all of the known bacteria species - in one liter of water there were once found 20,000 different species of bacteria... this was the kind of water we were meant to be drinking... free flowing, clean, unpolluted water... full of mineral ions and bacteria, green algae, and who knows what else.

Things have changed with us and our wanton abuse of these water resources though....

If you have good well water feel very fortunate... AND for gods sake if it has tested good to excellent, do not distill it.

Each of the harmful bacteria are easily kept in check with a healthy terrain and full complement of beneficial microorganisms... no zappers, Beck, CS, etc. needed EVER... They should also be found in large numbers on the skin... NEVER use antibacterial soaps and such or you will upset the balance.

NOTE: We are NOT discussing the harmful man made bioengineered organisms here...

Unfortunately, humans and Science never really figured all of this out... beneficial bacteria were starting to be understood and were being used in medicine shortly before the advent of cheap to manufacture, highly profitable Antibiotics TO ACCOMPLISH THE SAME THING... with NO side effects.

Before we understood it all as we should have (science and medicine still doesn't fully appreciate or understand it), germ "theory", and its extremely lucrative revenue producing business model took root along with pasteurization and sterilization of our foods... the use of Antibiotics became commonplace... among other things, like the irradiation of foods to "kill" these bacteria... which produced sick people and an endless circle of the consumer paying for the very foods that made them sick requiring medical services to make them well...

These microflora are as much a vital part of our immune system, health, and well being as they are to the soil and all that grows/feeds on them... and that includes us.

They are as important and vital to our intestines/gut and microvilli, as they are to the root of a plant which ensures nutrition is delivered to the organism, while protecting it from pathogens.

They manufacture, Antibiotics , antibodies, vitamins, enzymes, and improve assimilation greatly - perhaps hundreds of times over in some cases.

This little ditty from 2008...

http://www.medmicro.wisc.edu/graduate/courses/720/pdf/07_Stappenbeck_GI_imm_r...

Future perspectives

Although still in it infancy, the experimental studies outlined in this Review, coupled with correlations in patient groups, collectively highlight the complexity of the relationship between commensal bacteria and the mammalian immune system. The emerging recognition of the relationship between commensal communities, the host immune system and susceptibility to inflammatory diseases emphasizes the need for a better understanding of the pathways that initiate and maintain host–bacterial symbiosis. The identification of a cardinal role of IECs as central mediators in these interactions will focus future efforts on delineating the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which IECs recognize commensals and how they coordinate intestinal immune homeostasis in health and disease.
_____

This is why chronic use of enemas, colonics and the frequent ingestion of things like Colloidal Silver and fasting, IMO is NOT at all in our best interests as it weakness us greatly over time.

Sure we may not get sick and feel well... but have we established immunity? No... not at all. If we are to survive, our bodies must be exposed to pathogens and establish immunity to them.

Enemas, colonics, liver flushes, etc. should be done only on an as needed basis, or to act as a segue into this style of life... cleaning out the old and starting anew.

ingesting things that kill off the microflora is not wise either, UNLESS, the action is "medically" needed and concerted efforts are taken to reestablish them afterwards.

Even some so called "parasites" have been found to be beneficial for us. It makes sense in the broad scope of things... look at all of the animals in the natural world that have other animals, birds, fish, insects that are an integral part of their niche - ecosystem... the beneficial creatures, microorganisms, and "parasites" will be attracted to us if we focus on a healthy terrain... they help us to maintain health and well being... even in an ever increasingly polluted world... perhaps especially so as they clean up the "waste" in our systems and make good use of it.

How many times have you seen the use of one bacteria or fungus in waste clean up? There is a reason for this... that is what they do.

All of that said, it is up to us alone to eat in such a way that the beneficial organisms flourish and the disease causing ones are kept in check.

Very difficult to do today with commercial foods, organic, or not. Unless you are growing some of your own and getting dirty nearly every day... with healthy soil full of microorganisms.

Ever wonder why kids seem to eat dirt? it is pure, raw instinct... people used to test soil for planting by tasting it... too acid no good, too alkaline, no good.

As an example of how confused most folks have become... many say that dairy is mucus forming... in fact there are many who advocate mucousless diets now... this is a bunch of bunk and further confusion... due in part as a result of our current food state (dairy began its change away from grass feeding about 1813 with the introduction of distillery grain waste/mash) and environment.

I use raw goat dairy and ingest 10's of billions of bacteria every day in my raw milk kefir, EM containing foods, including home made cultures, kombucha, you name it.

I have NEVER been this mucous free. And my health has bumped to a whole new level... and my understanding has expanded 10 fold.

We got it all wrong - or were led astray on purpose for profit if you want to believe that... a long time ago and understanding health and well being has become one big mass of confusion... to top it all off... many espouse a one size fits all diet - whatever the popular fad of the week... another load of crap.

People ate with and adapted to their environment (environments and the available foods in them varied greatly - and thus their diets and the microorganisms in them did to)... and the microorganisms in it. This is one reason why, along with an individual's terrain (determined by what they "chose" to eat), the variability in microorganism species and their function, (function in one species can vary dependent upon pH) varies, sometimes greatly from one person to the next.

grz-

>>"That's how vaccinations are designed to work...isn't it?"<<

It is much more than developing a strong immune system and establishing immunity with microorganisms though... I believe that they strengthen our DNA... and that things like Antibiotics , etc. weaken it... profoundly.

>>"My dad used to say that one must eat a peck of 'dirt' before they die."<<

Mine stated that "you need to eat a bushel of dirt over your lifetime to stay healthy"... those that did that, and did not die in wars, lived into their 90's and early 100's.

I do not know where you are from, however I believe all the old, self sustaining (not the corporate farmers) farmers said this... before they started spraying poisons on the dirt... then it would make you sick.

Do you find it fascinating that these simple farmers, with little to no education were so very much smarter than those with a degree in their hands?

I did... not any more. They had common sense as a matter of survival in a world where "doctors" or any other kind of educated "help" was nonexistent. Drank raw dairy, including cheeses, yogurt, buttermilk - clabbered milk (just try to find the real stuff now), raised their own livestock, rotated the livestock and plantings, let land lay fallow... planted dozens of fruit trees and berry bushes... wild harvested other foods, hunted a little, aged and preserved their own meats, canned their own foods, made their own cultured vegetables and sauerkraut (25 gallons at a time).

My family at that time also had more than a basic knowledge of the local plants used for medicine... that is what great granddad did... and traveled around helping others who would get sick in exchange for the room and board while he was there helping with the ill... he never got sick, even when around contagious diseases. I remember as a little kid helping him pick apples out of the trees on ladders when he was in his 90's...

grz-