N acetyl cysteine

[Learner1]

I posted this in another thread but I will copy it here too in case someone didn't visit the other thread: I read that it seems N-acetylcysteine (NAC) increases mercury concentrations in the kidneys and the brain so maybe people who eat fish or otherwise have elevated mercury levels should be careful with taking NAC.

Mercury affects the central nervous system, which can result in irritability, fatigue, behavioral changes, tremors, headaches, hearing and cognitive loss, hallucinations and even death. It can also negatively affect the cardiovascular system, causing high blood pressure. Mercury can affect ATP production causing fatigue.

It is very worthwhile to get rid of it, but to do so, its essential to thoughtfully get the entire detoxification process moving, from the point of mobilizing it from mitochondria in tissues all the way to elimination from the body.

Taking a random supplement could inadvertently mobilize it do it gets redeposited in a more impactful part of the body.

However, it can be done safely over time (which I did over 6 years under doctor supervision), and NAC is a great supplement for many reasons and a part of the process.

 

[Neunistiva]

@Learner1 What you said is true for acute mercury poisoning, but very little is known about chronic mercury exposure and its effects (atleast from the studies I've read, if someone knows more please correct me). Wikipedia says that no chelator for methylmercury (which is the kind you get by eating fish) or ethylmercury is approved by the FDA yet. Also according to the same article "N-acetylcysteine (NAC) are recommended by some physicians, but have been shown to increase mercury concentrations in the kidneys and the brain."

From my experience physicians are very hesitant to agree to chelation when mercury poisoning is not life-threatening.

I think the only way to measure levels in the brain is by autopsy so it's very tricky figuring out where mercury went from blood. I am still in the process of learning about this so I'm not trying to claim anything really, I just wanted to throw the warning out there.

 

[Learner1]

Chronic mercury poisoning slowly destroys one's health, especially neurological health. It is worth acknowledging and dealing with.

My mom has advanced Parkinson's and I'm a stage 3 cancer survivor, so I felt it was worth getting rid of, along with arsenic, cadmium, and lead.

I've also benefited a lot from NAC and glutathione, and from my point of view, blanket warnings about random supplements without a full understanding of what they do may dissuade some people from treatment they might benefit from. Functional medicine doctors are useful for determining what works for each patient individually.

 

[overtheedge]

Used NAC for a while,at 600-1200mg, worked great off and on for a month then quit, had the same effect from mastic gum, they both made me feel good in a similar way then quit after a month, both are also capable of killing pathogens in the gut. I explored the glutathione route, tried reduced GSH, tried glycine, glutamic acid and glutamine but with no results, haven't gotten round to trying S-acetyl glutathione yet or liposomal. It is also possible that that month of feeling good on the NAC was due to it correcting a deficiency that I had at the time. My guess though is that it really was the antimicrobial effects since I've been getting a lot of good effects from the SCD diet which is supposed to help starve out gut pathogens

 

[Wayne]

My guess though is that it really was the antimicrobial effects since I've been getting a lot of good effects from the SCD diet which is supposed to help starve out gut pathogens

Very interesting @overtheedge. I recently started taking NAC (reported my experiences on THIS THREAD), and felt quite good for a couple of days. I then noticed some odd light pain and discomfort in my stomach. So backed off the NAC, and then stopped it altogether. The reason being is that I've come down with the first cold/flu I've experienced in many years--and it's a pretty bad one.

I had thought the reason for this was the improved detoxification the NAC was facilitating, but your comments make me think it could be more than that, and that its antimicrobrial effects could being playing a big part in my coming down with a cold. It's pretty miserable for now, but am thinking this could serve me well going forward as I figure out the best way to pace myself.​