Phenol Sensitivity
Elaine has devoted a large portion of her biomedical research time during this past year to phenol sensitivity. Phenols are chemicals found in basically all foods. The "phenol" category contains quite a few subgroups, that are both food and non-food. For example, salicylate is a subgroup of phenol. There are other chemicals found in foods that can cause similar symptoms as phenols, including amines, even though they are not technically "phenol".
Potentially over 80% of ASD children have a deficiency in a key detoxification pathway. The pathway involves using sulphur in the form of sulphate (known as sulphation). The enzyme involved is phenol sulphur-transferase (PST), and helps eliminate phenols from the body.
This detoxification pathway processes other phenolic compounds including salicylates, artificial food colourings, artificial flavourings, and some preservatives. Besides requiring PST, research has found that salicylates further suppress the activity of any PST enzyme present, making matters worse. Food dyes also have been shown to inhibit the PST enzyme.
Feeding large amounts of sulphur and phenolic-based foods to PST deficient children will cause a build up of phenols, amines, salicylates, and other toxic substances normally cleared by the PST enzyme.
Elaine has developed a Phenol-Sulfur-Transferase (PST) disc, which testing has proven to help clear phenols. Early reports from parents using it for their child are that they are seeing even better results with this disc than with the Respen-A™. In fact, one parent has reported that her son has been doing just fine off the PST disc for up to two weeks!
The process of switching from Respen-A™ to the PST disc is fairly straightforward and requires guidance from Elaine...IF your child is indeed sensitive to phenols. If you are interested in finding out if your child is having trouble processing phenols then order the PST disc from Elaine via the email info@respen-a.com.
The simplest way I can explain how the Phenol-Sulfur-Transferase disc works in comparison with the Respen-A™ is this: imagine that you are driving a Tesla to work, which by the way can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.6 seconds. Only, the freeway you need to travel on is 6 lanes wide and has bumper to bumper traffic that is moving slower than you could walk. The MAO-A, which the Respen-A™ wants to activate in your body, is the Tesla. The bumper to bumper traffic is the phenols blocking the way. The PST disc clears the 'traffic (phenols) off the freeway' (clears the pathway) so that the MAO-A can 'get to work' (do its job of being the roots to the Tree of Life in your body).
Here's the difference between the discs: the Respen-A™ activates the MAO-A, which wants to do its job but can't be very effective when phenols are blocking the way...
IF
your child has phenol sensitivity. The PST disc clears the pathway of phenols! Even if you think your child has phenol sensitivity you must start him on the Respen-A™ first as it might be something else, other than phenols, that might diminish the effect of the Respen-A™, which is why you'll want to be in contact with Elaine to help walk you through it.
(Please keep reading this article for further information on phenol sensitivity)
Symptoms Of Phenol Sulphur-Transferase (PST) Defect
If the sulfation pathway is not functioning well, a person may not be able to process phenolic compounds as fast as they consume them. There is a cumulative effect. When the phenols start backing up in the system, it can cause a myriad of negative reactions and symptoms.
- night waking for several hours, night sweats, difficulty sleeping
- dark circles under eyes
- irritability, hyperactivity, aggression
- self-injurious behaviour, head banging
- eczema, and other skin conditions.
- red cheeks/ face/ ears
- lethargy
- inappropriate laughter
- diarrhea
Only a few of these symptoms need to be present
It appears that this sub optimal activity of PST activity is a function of low plasma sulphate levels rather than of deficits in the actual enzyme. Thus, any food or chemical that requires or uses up sulphate during its breakdown will make the situation worse. Common foods that can cause this problem include apple juice, citrus fruit juices, chocolate, and paracetamol (Tylenol™). This detoxification pathway processes other phenolic compounds including salicylates, artificial food colourings, artificial flavourings, and some preservatives.
Many colouring materials, whether of natural or synthetic origin, possess phenolic groupings. Acetaminophen (paracetamol - Panadol, Tylenol) is also detoxified by this pathway, which is why we see either hyperactivity or lethargy in children with a severe PST problem, when given acetaminophen. Therefore Panadol should be avoided for kids with a PST problem.
PST/sulphate deficiency also impairs the metabolism of classical neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, impairs breakdown and metabolism of the bile pigments bilirubin and biliverdin, and decreases secretion of pancreatic enzymes and bile from the gallbladder and biliary tract into the intestines. This would result in low uptake of certain vitamins and other nutrients from the intestines; reduced activity of gastrin (and subsequent reduced secretion of stomach acid, mucus, and pepsin in the stomach), and, probably, reduced production of secretin further downstream.
Excess boron interferes with the metabolism (breakdown and excretion) of phenols. Boron is found in apples, pears, grapes, nuts, leafy green vegetables, and legumes. Supplying these substances, especially apples, pears, and grapes, or their juices in large amounts to PST deficient children, will cause a build up of phenols, amines, salicylates, and other toxic substances normally cleared by PST.
The `bottleneck' can be cleared in one of three ways. One is reducing the amount of phenols and toxins entering the body. This is the basis of the Failsafe diet and the Feingold diet. These diets remove the hard-to-process artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives. The second method of enhancing the detoxification process is to supply more sulphate. This increases the ability to process toxins out of the body. Sulphate may not be absorbed well from the gut, so simply giving more sulphur directly by swallowing supplements may not produce satisfactory results. Therefore a way to get sulphate into the body is through Epsom salt baths. Many parents report that giving Epsom salt baths is beneficial to help their child’s body process phenols. Sulphate is thought to circulate in the body up to about nine hours. The third and simplest method is to use Elaine's PST disc.
Vitamin B6 and/or P-5-P can aggravate the PST problem of some children, by making it difficult for the child to process phenols. B6 in the form of P5P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) inhibits PST (phenol sulphur-transferase) activity. This could be why some children show adverse effects when supplements high in P5P are started.
The main source of free sulphate in the body is the amino acid cysteine, which is obtained from the breakdown of protein. One of the sulphur containing amino-acids used for this purpose is taurine, which is reported to have an anti-opioid effect.
Cranberry juice has been anecdotally reported to reduce or even eliminate these effects. Whether this due to the sulphur content of the juice or some other mechanism including placebo remains to be determined.
(A majority of the information shared here is borrowed from an article from
All Natural Advantage, found on the internet)
