Contaminants like lead, mercury, and aluminum can contribute to chronic illness by causing an increase in the body’s overall oxidation level. Toxic metals cause oxidative stress, activation of blood platelets, and endothelium damage in the blood vessels. Viral infections like HHV6 can also cause endothelium damage and oxidative stress. With increased oxidative stress and endothelium damage, blood flow can be reduced and the blood has a tendency to form clots. Some people with chronic fatigue may have reduced cereberal blood flow, resulting in the severe brain fog associated with CFS.
Free radical damage is associated with every type of degenerative disease and it may be one of the main factors behind chronic fatigue syndrome. In research studies, it has been shown that people with CFS have a dysfunction in their oxidative pathways and their anti-oxidant levels may be reduced. Supplementation with anti-oxidants may help, as well as a change in diet.
In this link here a Washington State University professor theorises that certain
stressors like toxicity or viral infections can increase oxidative stressors like nitric oxide and peroxynitrite. These stressors can stimulate inflammatory cytokines in the body that lead to the production of more oxidative stressors like nitric oxide and peroxynitrite. This can create a vicious cycle in which elevated levels of oxidants feed off of each other and produce more oxidation.
Maybe what is so confusing about Chronic Fatigue is that there may be so many different things that can bring on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. When people tell you the story about how they got it, it always seems to be very different. I’ve heard people say that it came on after a car accident, or a bad flu, or toxicity from a chemical exposure. The Free-Radical Vicious Cycle Theory brings all of these elements together and might be able to explain why everyone with CFS is so different. It might also help to sheds light on why there are many different sub-groups, that respond in many different ways to treatment.
