Patients Oil Spill Treatment

Nutritional Support for People Exposed to Petrochemicals from an Oil Spill

• Dietary Approaches: Your diet should be rich in fruits and vegetables with 6-8 servings daily [10 -15 would be ideal] and produce should be organic when possible. (Each serving is about one cup raw.) For those that find it difficult to meet dietary targets, the following supplements can be helpful:
  1. Vitamin C: minimum 2000 mg 4 times a day. A higher level is better. This is the least expensive antioxidant that can be found.
  2. Vitamin E: minimum 1200 IU from mixed tocopherols.  These help protect the cells in the fatty tissues from oxidizing. Fatty tissue is where all the petrochemicals are stored.  This includes the bone marrow, where white and red blood cells and platelets are made! Bone marrow is fatty tissue. Benzene is a common chemical toxin [cancer causing] found in the oil spill and is very bone marrow toxic.
• A diet with adequate protein provides the amino acids involved in making Glutathione and other compounds involved in the various detoxification pathways of the body. Consume at least 60 to 100 gm per day depending on your body size. That is roughly between 10 – 20 ounces of meat, fish, chicken, or double that if you are eating only rice and beans:
  1. Glutathione, 600-1200 mg spread over the day in 2 or 3 doses in-between meals.
  2. N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC), the major glutathione building block, 1000-3000 mg spread over the day in 2 or 3 doses with or without meals.
  3. Glycine for liver detoxification and bile formation, 1000-3000 mg spread over the day in 2 or 3 doses with or without meals.
  4. Taurine, for liver detoxification and bile formation, 1000-3000 mg spread over the day in 2 or 3 doses with or without meals.
• Good fat also needs to be consumed as part of the diet. Petrochemicals are fat-soluble and fat is needed in the blood stream to transport the chemicals from the tissues to the liver and gallbladder for elimination as bile, to the kidneys for elimination in the urine, to the lungs for elimination in the exhaled breath, and to the skin for elimination as part of the sweat. The last two pathways are by which you accumulated the chemicals in your body during your acute or chronic exposure. At least 30 % of the calories consumed should be in healthy fats, preferably organic, in the form of:
  1. Coconut oil (provides MCT oil)
  2. Milk fat
  3. Vegetable oils
• A daily multivitamin / mineral combination supplement to prevent any vitamin or mineral gaps is necessary.
• Avoid constipation! The high dietary intake of fruits and vegetables should provide enough fiber (10 -20 grams of soluble fiber per day) to trap the bile and carry it out of the body preventing reabsorption from the colon. Fiber comes from fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, beans, and additional supplements such as psyllium, guar gum, ground flaxseed, and pectin. If you are not having daily bowel movements, consider adding bulking agents such as Metamucil, Benefiber, and Certo.
• Maintain your weight and do not lose weight. When you lose weight the chemicals are released from the tissues. The concentration of the chemicals in the blood can increase (in the absence of good detoxification by nutrition and detoxification procedures) and you can re-experience the symptoms of a petrochemical exposure.
• Take a magnesium supplement in the malate or succinate salt form in doses of 400 mg. twice a day.