Damn gene pool
In my endless research to find out WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME, I had a conversation the other day with a naturopathic physician who mentioned a certain liver enzyme (cytochrome P450) that plays a key role in detoxification in the liver. From what I gleaned, there are two stages to detoxification (the liver’s main job), and this enzyme is necessary to get from stage I to stage II. And then she said that some people lack this enzyme. These people tend to get sick a lot, have food allergies & chemical sensitivities, adrenal issues, and never seem to fully be able to detox, that it’s a constant struggle to get well and stay well. Ahem.
You have just described my life up to this point, I wanted to tell her. But I was too stunned. And sad. What if this is why weight loss is proving impossible? What if it’s congenital, that God forgot? I would interject that my dead grandmother has been visiting me lately, and I think it’s to apologize for our family’s crappy genetics, but I’ll save that for another post.
But I see this is my next step, to get tested to ascertain if indeed I am missing this enzyme. And if I am, what to do about it? I mean, is it something that can be subbed or replaced? Can I get one on Craigslist? I’d pay top dollar.
After this conversation, I did some googling of “P450″ and found more about this at Detox For Health, a website promoting The 20-Day Rejuvenation Diet. Here’s the excerpt on P450:
“The enzyme system in the liver is very delicate. Like the antioxidant system, it depends on having the right combination of an assortment of nutrients that is almost impossible to get without nutritional supplementation, even from a very healthy diet. The enzyme system is also subject to great genetic variation. Dr. Bland reports that when all the health-conscious members of his staff had their liver detoxification processes tested, they found a 10-fold difference in Phase One detoxification ability among these “normal” individuals. “In fact,” he writes, “individuals among the staff who had the slowest cytochrome P450 [i.e. the liver’s enzyme system] detoxification activity were the most sensitive, with histories of allergy, asthma and environmental sensitivity. On the other end of the continuum, those who had very active cytochrome P450 and liver detoxification systems appeared to be the staff members who never got sick when they traveled internationally, experienced no allergies to foods or other substances and had no eczema or asthma.”
So I’d like to know what to do should I be lacking this little helper dude, or if I have one and it’s just dragging its ass. The site stresses each person’s biochemical individuality, but then recommends a diet chock full of gluten. Increasing my intestinal inflammatory markers will not help my liver dump its load, nor will it make anyone with a sense of smell want to sleep with me. But I’d like to think there’s an answer for me, greater than diets of parsley and kale, or pumping my adrenals full of prescription drugs, or - god forbid - having to accept myself at 250 lbs. It’s not that I can’t sing and dance at this weight, but ferfocksake I’d like to click my heels, too. And not be treated as invisible or as a dartboard by a large portion of society. Especially if it’s all because of a freaking missing enzyme.
Hope. I must remember hope. And moving past injustice. Because right now I feel like punching something.
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