How We Found Out Toxins Were an Issue & How You Can Too

Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. In this post I wanted to give you a roadmap for you to find out if you and/or your child may suffer from toxicity. We will go over how we came across hair tests, the correct hair test to use to determine if there is toxicity, and how a MTHFR gene mutation may play a part in why some people are more susceptible to long term toxicity than others. 

Our detox journey began when I was looking for supplements to help our son, Aiden, find his voice. I came along a great book, Fight Autism & Win by Jan Martin, that had wonderful reviews on Amazon (no longer available on Amazon). I loved reading the success stories - and knew that we had to give it a try. I also joined a great Facebook group for parents interested in using Andy Cutler Chelation (ACC) Protocol with their children. 

In the book Fight Autism & Win, they talked about hair tests to determine mercury toxicity. Even though hair tests are not required for ACC, it is a good way to determine if there is an issue with Mercury toxicity. Please read this next part carefully….

The ONLY test that is recognized by the Andy Cutler Chelation parent group is Doctor’s Data Toxic Essential Hair Elements Test. We did make the mistake and order a different hair test - and found out that the lab we used did not adjust for age or weight. ‘Doh! So if you really want to know and you like keeping your money - use the right test the first time! 

Mercury, which is the cause of a lot of illnesses,  is a sneaky little toxic element! Mercury hides in your organs, and therefore isn’t readily seen in any kind of toxic element test, unless there was current or ongoing exposure. But what mercury will do is derange the elements that are tested with the recommended hair test. Mercury also falsely elevates other metals. Dr. Andy Cutler provided counting rules to determine if there was mercury exposure.

It’s also important to note that blood tests and urine tests only determine ongoing exposure to mercury, since mercury hides in the body, deranges the elements, and falsely elevates other metals. 

We did the test & got the test results electronically about 2 weeks later (although it seemed like forever!) And I posted it to the Andy Cutler Chelation parent group, where there are people experienced in interpreting these tests. A leading member in the group commented that the test almost met 1 counting rule, missing it by one point. This person went on to say that it was a toxic looking test with several metals in the yellow. Lead and Aluminum were also high. 

Another interesting insight came up on this journey. And that was regarding a gene mutation called MTHFR. People with an MTHFR gene mutation do not process toxins as well as someone without the gene mutation. To determine if you have an MTHFR gene mutation, use DNA testing. When we got our test results back, we checked our raw data and concluded that Everyone in our home had an MTHFR gene mutation. 

Honestly, without even doing the test we would have tried Andy Cutler Chelation. The test was just our physical proof that toxins were impacting our son’s health. 

We have yet to take a second test because we still feel like there is work to be done as far as detoxing. And, it just isn’t a great idea to get a hair test down while detoxing, because heavy metals are still being moved around, and may show excretion of metals (higher levels of heavy metals). If you are following the Andy Cutler Chelation Protocol, it is advisable to wait after you have completed 6 months of rounds with no negative side effects or gains to consider the ACC protocol complete. 

I hope this article helps you in your detox journey! We talked about how we came across Doctor’s Data Toxic Essential Hair Elements Test - and why it’s the only test to help indicate mercury toxicity, and how an MTHFR gene mutation may play a part in a toxic burdened body, as well as how to determine if you have an MTHFR gene mutation.

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