Mercury, Fructose, and the ME-CFS Connection

Several prominent ME-CFS researchers have questioned the role mercury plays in causing this disease. As you know, mercury is a deadly poison, and overexposure can have horrible health consequences. More and more of the stuff is getting into our food, primarily from the burning of coal. Coal is high in mercury, and the more of it that is burned, the more mercury goes into the upper atmosphere, where it eventually ends up in our oceans and water supply. Microalgae - the tiny green micro plants found in every body of water - absorb the mercury, and the animals that feed off them concentrate the stuff all the way up the food chain.

Would you like to know how much mercury you ingest from your diet? Take a look at http://www.gotMercury.org to get the numbers in a blink of an eye with their cool calculator. ME-CFS and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) seem to go hand in hand, and new research is uncovering some interesting findings. In a fascinating study recently presented by Dr. Kenny De Meirleir, 45% of ME-CFS sufferers had a condition known as fructose intolerance. This is a condition where the body does not effectively absorb this common sugar, and this can result in IBS, bacterial overgrowth, and leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky gut syndrome is an inducer of low grade systemic inflammation, which can cause all the biological abnormalities observed in ME-CFS. Dr. De Meirleir is getting good results in his fructose-intolerant patients by having them observe a fructose modified diet. ME-CFS patients with frequent digestive complaints should consider keeping their eyes on this research. Our editorial staff will do the same, so look for more information from ProHealth and ImmuneSupport.com soon on the relationship between ME-CFS and IBS, fructose (and lactose) intolerance, and leaky gut syndrome.

I hope you are enjoying a lovely Spring, and I wish you a symptom free day.

Warm regards,

Rich Carson,
CFS Patient and ProHealth Founder

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Hormone & Thyroid Specialist Kent Holtorf, MD, on Treating CFS & FM

Kent Holtorf, MD, says patients in his CFS and FM practice tend to have hypothalamic, pituitary, immune, and coagulation problems that produce "a cascade of further abnormalities." He outlines his current testing & treatment approach. more

51-Center Early-Parkinson's Trial of Creatine Recruiting Now

The NIH is studying nutritional supplements "that have the potential to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease" by supporting preservation of nerve cells. Past trials of CoQ-10 have been promising and a study of creatine is recruiting now at 51 centers in the U.S. and Canada. more

Trial of Investigational Drug for Treatment of IBS

This study will investigate the efficacy and safety of a pharmaceutical drug for symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) - "in particular abdominal pain."* more

Jury Awards $15.4 Million to CFS/FM Patient

A California jury instructed a major insurance company to pay disability benefits and penalties to a patient diagnosed with CFS, FM, and Lupus.* more

Informing the Mainstream Press

Billie Moore - whose letter to Rich Carson sparked the Campaign for a Fair Name - urges leading national publication to depict CFS accurately. more

Symposium on Making College an Option for Chronically Ill Students

The Chronic Illness Initiative at DePaul University in Chicago - which offers a unique college program for students with CFS and other illnesses with waxing and waning symptoms - is hosting a free symposium May 23. more

Plan to Attend the Chicago Patient Conference, May 18-20

After more than six years, a national CFS & FM patient education/public awareness conference is being held in the Midwest. How can patients "Move From Victim to Victor?" More than 25 experts will explain.* more

• Vits C, E plus garlic supplement significantly lowered marginally-high BP
  
  
• 7-year bone density/mass increase in youths linked to omega-3 intake
  
  
• Study links more dietary fiber, less pre-menopause breast cancer
  
  

• 'Mind-body' therapies beneficial; lack of doctor training barrier to broader use
  
  
• UK's PACE trial investigating effectiveness of disputed ME/CFS therapies
  
  
• Informed consent for opioid pain drugs must address neuroendocrine
  
  
• More research needed to clarify infection, vaccination, CFS relationship
  
  
• 'Exercise capacity' of young people with CFS reduced only in less-active
  
  
• CFS patients experience greater expenditure of effort in fatiguing exercise
  
  
• Personality important to study of CFS - but focus on 'self-narratives'
  
  
• CFS patients must monitor exercise closely; way to predict capacity needed
  
  

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. - Doug Larson

Other Interests - Rejoining Life

Some of us can return to our previous interests and hobbies, while others are not as fortunate. For the unfortunate ones, they have the right to be angry, and yes, feel sorry for themselves. But only for a short time. Part of our recovery and managing our pain is rejoining life and that's what we intend to do.

Sure, we may have said "All I know is what I used to do, nothing else." We hear you and we also hear an excuse not to move on. We realize that developing new interests is a risk and holds its own fears. But think of the alternative, which is to slip into self-pity and once again watch life pass us by. Have we discovered we can develop other interests?

From Living With Chronic Pain One Day At A Time, by Mark Allan Zabawa

Published by ProHealth, Inc., ImmuneSupport.com is the Web's largest resource for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Since 1988, ProHealth has raised and donated over 2.61 million dollars to CFS and FM research and advocacy groups seeking a cure. We believe in "commerce with compassion."

Every purchase made at ImmuneSupport.com funds research - as does every purchase made from ProHealth's Health Resource catalog.

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