Detoxification

(see also below under Diabetes, Obesity, Skin, and Weight regulation)

Seagreens® are effective in detoxification through 4 principal modes of action namely:

1. Cleansing of the digestive tract, blood, lymph, kidneys and improved metabolism of food (by a unique range of polysaccharides and pigments including chlorophyll, all the antioxidant vitamins and minerals);
2. Removal of toxic and heavy metals and radiation (by special polysaccharides, the complete range of amino acids and minerals);
3. Improving the alkaline-acid balance and the full metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, helping protect against acidosis - the most alkaline forming of all natural foods, over 75 times moreso than apples - (by the special polysaccharides and naturally chelated minerals, trace elements and compounds);
4. Providing the richest source of natural, stable, fully ‘chelated’ iodine (bound to protein ions) with all the micro-nutrients needed for its metabolism, like selenium. An essential food for the thyroid and hormonal system which in its turn regulates almost every bodily function.

Seagreens® arctic wild wrack seaweeds contain all the antioxidants and important ‘detoxification’ nutrients like zinc, magnesium, selenium, molybdenum as well as all the other minerals and trace elements, enzymes, amino-acids and importan compound nutrients. Dr Robert Gray, the colon cleansing specialist, regards wild wrack as an excellent mucotropic herb (anti-mucous) to cleanse the lymphatic system, and to:

“loosen, soften or dissolve hardened, stagnant or impacted mucoid in the body”... "It has been shown that a diet consisting solely of generous quantities of every known nutrient cannot maintain health. This is because whole foods contain many valuable nutrients not yet isolated or discovered by laboratory science. By taking supplements, we can only get the advantage of a fraction of what the body needs to maintain health" (113).

Heavy Metals
Patients should understand that the prescence of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and other potentially toxic metals are widespread in the environment and that tap water, air pollution, fish, processed foods, dental fillings, old paint, tobacco smpoke, medications, pesticides, cosmetics and toiletries are only some of their most common sources (194).

Seagreens® are uniquely certified free of ocean-borne contaminants (eg. aromatic hydrocarbons, toxic metals (eg. mercury) and microbial pathogens (eg. salmonella).

Heavy metal toxicity may impair mental and central nervous system function and energy levels, and damage vital organs. Long term exposure may lead to physical, muscular and neurological degeneration which can mimic Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis (195).

Iodine of which Seagreens® is an ideal natural source, at 390µg per gram in the Food Capsules and Food Granules used in mercury detoxification protocols, and at 700µg per gram in Seagreens® Iodine+ Capsules, also has an important role, observed in iodine supplementation research. “The results obtained... revealed that in some subjects, the urine levels of mercury, lead, and cadmium increased by several times after just one day of supplementation. For aluminium, this increased excretion was not observed usually until after one month or more on the iodine supplementation.” Furthermore, this author’s research in orthoiodosupplementation achieved “increased urinary excretion of the goitrogens flouride and bromide” (122, 123).

The polysaccharides in Seagreens® including mannuronic acid, laminarin and fucoidin, are the subject of continuing research for anticancer and antitumour compounds. They have been shown to bind and remove barium, cadmium, lead and mercury (131, 21) and...reduce absorption of strontium, barium, tin, cadmium, manganese, zinc, and mercury (114).

Radiation Sickness
There is a substantial and consistent body of international research, particularly Russian, on the stable curative effects of wild Wrack seaweed extracts in radiation sickness. Seagreens® was included in the diet of child victims of the Chernobyl disaster in 2003.

In the 1960s Japanese scientists showed that radioactive strontium in the gut is converted to an insoluble salt which is excreted. Nature published a report showing that wrack seaweed inhibits the body’s absorption of radioactive strontium and cadmium by up to 7/8ths the dose received. It also removed Strontium 90 already absorbed through the gut wall and deposited in body tissues and bone. Other papers on this research (20, 22, 23).

Dental Amalgam Mercury
Following use at the Brompton Health & Dental Clinic in London throughout 2001, Seagreens® Food Capsules were approved by the President of the British Society for Mercury-Free Dentistry, the late Dr J. G. Levenson (28) and may be dispensed by member clinics and nutritional therapists for post-operative detoxification in amalgam extraction and for general purposes of detoxification. Trials have yet to be carried out but empirical evidence is good after more than five years in dental nutrition (95).

Dr Levenson’s protocol: 3 capsules daily (1 with each meal) commencing 5 days before the first treatment, up to 6 capsules on the day/s of treatment and for at least 8 weeks following the completion of treatment, dropping to 3 - 4 capsules daily (1 - 2 morning and 1 - 2 evening) and finally to the normal daily intake of 2 capsules daily over at least the next 12 - 24 months. Seagreens® is enitrely compatible with additional complementary herbs, drugs or supplements which may be used, particularly during the month surrounding the treatment/s, according to patient circumstances and test results.

“Alginate binds to all heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, cobalt, copper and radium and should be consumed over at least a 4 month period to expedite removal of toxic substances stored in the body” - Dr L. Gordin, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mercury remains the largest ingredient in amalgam dental fillings - at around 500mg per filling, as much as in a thermometer: “...a colossal amount of mercury in scientific terms...a teenager with 6 amlgam fillings has 6 mercury thermometers in her mouth” (79).

As long ago as 1996 the Canadian government recommended that children and pregnant women should not be given amalgam fillings. In 1999 the United States Public Health Service’s Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry stated that mercury passes through the placenta into the unborn brain, and a separate report stated that mercury passes to the baby in the mother’s milk. They further confirmed that poisonous vapours from dental mercury go first to the brain and kidneys (79). Since the late 1999 the use of dental mercury in Sweden has not been subsidised and its use has almost ceased. An outright ban remains on the political agenda. In the USA in 2003 a Bill was before Congress to ban amalgam fillings within 5 years. Dr Levenson (President, British Society for Mercury Free Dentistry) has written a comprehensive account based on observations of more than 6000 patients (28) and the British Society for Mercury-Free Dentistry holds regular conferences to raise awareness of the issues and report the latest research.

Detox Therapies
In chelation therapy, some environmental medicine practitioners use synthetic agents such as DMSA (dimercaptosuccinic acid) and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) which may produce unwanted side effects due to an excessive burden on the body’s own detoxification systems. They can be effective nevertheless as a one-off treatment or last resort for chronic poisoning.

A range of natural foods and herbs including seaweed also have powerful, natural chelating properties (196).
Chlorella contains chlorophyll known to bind and remove cadmium, lead and mercury, and glutathione, useful in liver detox (195). Spirulina may be especially useful in lead chelation (197). Cilantro (Chinese parsley and leafy coriander) has been found to assist excretion of toxic metals including mercury (198). NAC, MSM, charcoal, selenium, ,agnesium, zinc, and vitamins A, C and the B complex are all useful adjuncts to therapy, all of which are contained in Seagreens® but may warrant additional supplementation if increased amounts are required. A low fat diet containing plenty of antioxidantsincluding such vegetables as onions, garlic, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale will assist detoxification.

Guardian Weekend voted Seagreens® one of the two “best detox aids on the high street” in 2005.