As a physician who focuses on the reasons why my patients become ill, I’ve come to appreciate just how much the environment around us impacts our health. Whether it is lead in our drinking water, mold in our air, or plastics in our food, it seems that wherever we turn we are confronted with yet another environmental threat. How can we stay healthy in an increasingly toxic world?
Almost a decade ago, one of my clinical mentors, Dr. Neil Nathan, introduced me to one of the most important clinical tools that are available to lower the ever growing toxic load on the human body - binders.
Binders are substances that pass through the GI tract and collect toxins and bile on their outer surface.
Binders are not absorbed into the body, they stay in the GI tract to do their work. As I worked with my patients to lower the toxic load in the bodies with binders, many patients who had struggled with other approaches found healing. I saw cases where chronic hives disappeared and hair grew back, cases where depression resolved as the blood lead levels dropped, patients with chronic fatigue who finally found energy when their urinary mycotoxin levels dropped.
In the field of functional medicine, we commonly think of natural binders like charcoal or clay that have been used medicinally for centuries, but some pharmaceuticals like the medication cholestyramine also function as binders. In addition, as a result of working with many patients with chronic GI conditions, I’ve come to learn that probiotics are some of the best, safest and most efficacious binders available to us.
Over time, as I worked with binders in my patients, I learned that not all binders were the same. Rather than one binder working to clear all toxins, I found that different binders had different affinities for different toxins. You can see this represented graphically below in a study that compared the ability of various binders to bind to the mold toxin zearalenone. As one example, you can see charcoal on the far right of the graph was able to bind 100% of the toxin at a variety of different pH levels, but there some substances were nearly useless. (Sample 1 in the graph below represents zeolite clay, which is one reason why I excluded it from this product.)
The more that I learned and researched, the more I became dissatisfied with the tools available for my patients. I began to see that some of the most widely used binders were ingredients like silica, humic acid, fulvic acid and zeolite clay that just didn’t have very much evidence showing that they were effective. Making this situation worse, as more patients came into my practice already taking binders, I saw that patients taking supplements containing fulvic acid had more negative side effects when compared to other patients.
Because I had worked with Moss Nutrition’s supplements for years, and because they had long ago earned my trust by creating high quality professional supplements that helped my patients I approached Dr. Jeff Moss and asked him if he would consider helping me create a binder based on all that I had learned from research and clinical practice. Happily, he agreed and ProBind Select is finally available to practitioners!
(You can read Dr. Moss’s thoughts on the product here.)
What’s in it?
Hello, World!
ProBind Select includes clay, charcoal and chlorella - the binders that have been shown to be active against the widest amount of toxins. In addition, it also includes the probiotic species that have the ability to act as binders, the probiotic yeast Saccharomyces and three specific strains of Lactobacillus.
You can read more about each ingredient here.
Why did you combine several binders into one product?
In my clinical practice, I regularly see patients who have been made sick after exposure to environmental toxins - most especially the neurotoxic mycotoxins produced from mold and heavy metals that enter the body from a variety of sources. As I mentioned above, Dr. Nathan taught me how to use a variety of binders to slowly and safely reduce the body’s toxic load.
He showed me how to dose charcoal, chlorella and clay and saccharomyces and other binders to help patients recover from toxic exposures and while this helped many patients, it strategy required my patients to buy several different supplements, which made detoxification more expensive and complicated than I wanted. Making things worse, patients who are made sick from environmental toxins commonly suffer with brain fog, confusion, depression and fatigue - all of which makes it really difficult for them to remember to take a bunch of different supplements. Many patients simply weren’t able to keep up with treatment , and wanted a combination product that would allow them to get a variety of binders in at the same time.
How is it different from other binders?
The Pro in ProBind Select is for Probiotics
When I first started treating patients with toxin related illness I went right to the binders that Dr. Nathan taught me to use. However, over time I began to notice that when I started these patients on a wide variety of probiotic species they got better faster. Only later did I figure out why this was happening.
One of the main ways probiotics help improve human health is by binding to a variety of toxins in the gut for removal in the stool. Because probiotics have been shown to bind to mycotoxins, plastics, carcinogens, heavy metals and bacterial endotoxins it was important to me to make sure that these were included. It turns out that specific strains of probiotics are better at binding than others, and so I was able to include the species that performed the very best in research studies.
The other advantage to including a variety of probiotic species in the formula is because they help regulate and normalize bowel movements. This is especially important for improving the fecal removal of a variety of toxins, especially when so many patients who are made ill from toxicant exposure have either constipation or diarrhea.
ProBind Select is formulated both to bind to toxins and to make the excretion of toxins more effective
Although toxins enter the body through many routes, in our food and water, absorbed through the skin, or breathed in through the lungs, they are eventually sent to the liver so that they can be metabolized and expelled in the stool. The body does this by attaching toxins to bile - the substance that helps you digest fats into fatty acids. Although this sounds straightforward - the problem is that it is metabolically wasteful to continually create then excrete bile in the stool, so the body evolved a system to reabsorb and reuse bile and over 95% of the bile that is secreted is reabsorbed and sent back to the liver to be used again. However, when bile is reabsorbed, any toxins that are associated with it are also also reabsorbed and sent right back into the body.
If we are serious about lowering the body burden of toxins, then we need tools to disrupt toxin accumulation in the bile. This is where probiotics really shine. The following paper was extremely helpful to me in finally figuring out how this could best be done.
It turns out that certain probiotics (especially Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces species) influence the excretion and removal of toxins through a number of mechanisms that impact the enterohepatic circulation. They
Significantly increase bile acid synthesis
Increase bile flow
Increase glutathione production
Increase fecal bile acid excretion rate
So not only are probiotics working to directly bind to the toxins themselves, they help the body’s natural toxin excretion pathways to work better.
ProBind Select doesn’t hide doses behind “Proprietary Blends”
The term “Proprietary blends” is increasingly common in the supplement world. When a company lists a proprietary blend they avoid disclosing exactly how much of each ingredient is in their supplement. As a result, they may only include large amounts of less expensive ingredients while only putting trace amounts of some more expensive ingredients in order to save money. Is the most effective ingredient only a small percentage of the supplement? Exactly how much of the main ingredient is there? These are questions that will forever go unanswered, and you deserve better.
You should know exactly what goes into your supplements, and I’m happy that this was accomplished in ProBind Select
Would you like more information, or to schedule an appointment?
ProBind’s unique formulation allows for custom dosing
I made this combination binder in a way that lets practitioners easily customize their dosing recommendations. This is due to the simple fact that some patients are not able to handle full doses of binders, but who still needed an easy way to take a small amount of the most effective binders at one time.
I also wanted to have a product that I would be able to dose for my pediatric patients.
Because a serving size is divided into 4 capsules, my sensitive or smaller patients can start at a quarter dose by taking a single capsule, while my more robust patients can start at two or more capsules.
ProBind Select was made by studying the best scientific evidence available on binders.
After reading several hundred scientific papers on binders, I selected the ingredients that had the most evidence showing them to be effective and safe. The more you delve into the world of functional and integrative medicine, the more you find that many of the supplements are formulated based on an ideas that come from benchtop research studies. It’s disheartening to learn that many of the supplements that are being sold lack clinical trial data, so wherever possible I emphasized the ingredients that had human clinical trial data first and foremost.
The above image is the result of years of research and hundreds of hours of study. There are similar tables floating around the internet, but because I wanted ProBind to only include the best studied ingredients, not just what was cheaply available, it was important to me to summarize the quality of the different types of studies on the efficacy of various binders. You’ll see a green box indicating whenever a binder has human clinical trial supporting its efficacy, a purple box indicating where there is an animal trial and a purple checkbox showing that there is a in vitro study.
I hope sharing this will encourage the scientific community to continue to research binders to help us clinicians do a continually better job at helping our patients.
FAQs
Should I take binders with food or on an empty stomach?
I ask my patients to take ProBind with lunch. This allows the binders access to the toxins stored in bile that are released when you eat. The other benefit to dosing ProBind at lunch time is that it means that my patients can take their medicines or supplements in the morning and evening without worrying about ProBind binding to them.
How much should I take?
Although this should be individualized for every patient, I’ve learned that the best way to safely detox is to go low and slow, so I generally start start my patients with a single capsule and increase by an additional capsule once weekly up to 4 capsules daily.
I’ve read that there is lead in bentonite clay, is this true?
Yes, there are small amounts of lead in any supplement containing bentonite clay, because the clay itself selectively binds to heavy metals. Similarly, there are also trace amounts of heavy metals found in supplements that contain chlorella. In similar fashion there are small amounts of heavy metals in the food that we eat and the water that we drink, even if they are labeled organic.
The critical fact is that binders remove many more toxins than it brings in. Although some trace amounts of heavy metals are in the supplement, the net effect of taking binders is a decrease in toxins. I’ve used charcoal, chlorella and clay in a variety of doses over many years, and have seen consistent decreases in heavy metals and other toxins in labwork, and countless patients who felt better while taking binders after toxic exposures.
Why isn’t there Zeolite in ProBind Select?
There are two main types of clay that are commonly used as binders: bentonite or zeolite clays. These clays have different physical structure and therefore have different affinities to toxins. Although Zeolite is commonly included in many binder formulas (and does have some inherent ability to bind toxins) it is simply not as effective as other binders. A paper examining a variety of clays, charcoal and a probiotic found that zeolite was the worst performing natural binder by a significant amount. Unfortunately, because it is a rather cheap ingredient, you will still find it as a main ingredient in many products.
The other reason that I choose to use bentoite clay is that there are high quality human trials showing it to be safe and effective tools for
Binders are safe - reviewing human trials
On the other hand, bentonite clay is among the best studied natural binders available to us. Indeed, there are two major trials showing that bentonite clays are safe and helpful to humans with regard to treating mold toxicity.
The first was conducted between 2012-2014 in 234 South Texans who were exposed to aflatoxin, a mold toxin that is associated with liver cancer. Bentonite clay was effective at reducing a blood marker of aflatoxin, and there were no adverse effects at either a low or high dose treatments of clay.
In an even larger group of studies, researchers gave a form of bentonite clay to 507 Ghanians who were exposed to aflatoxin. After 3 months, the researchers found significantly reduced markers of aflatoxin exposure in blood and urine. They meticulously tracked side effects to make sure thee clay was safe.
“Approximately 92% of the participants (162 of 177) completed the study and compliance rate was over 97%. Overall, 99.5% of person x time reported no side-effects throughout the study. Mild to moderate health events ( approximately 0.5% of person x time) were recorded in some participants. Symptoms included nausea, diarrhea, heartburn and dizziness. These side-effects were statistically similar among all three groups. No significant differences were shown in hematology, liver and kidney function or electrolytes in the three groups. These findings demonstrate that NS clay is apparently safe and practical for the protection of humans against aflatoxins in populations at high risk for aflatoxicosis.”
Finally, researchers found that clay did not cause any nutrient deficiencies.
“These results, combined with safety and efficacy data, confirm that NS clay is highly effective in reducing aflatoxin exposure and acts as a selective enterosorbent that does not affect the serum concentrations of important vitamins and nutrient minerals in humans.”
Although this is a common worry in some clinicians, my clinical observations line up with the researchers as I have never seen the use of a binder cause an nutrient deficiency.
Can I buy ProBind Select?
ProBind Select is available to practitioners only through the supplement company Moss Nutrition. Practitioners can set up an account at their website, or by calling 800-851-5444.
Would you like more information, or to schedule an appointment?
References
Afriyie-Gyawu E, Ankrah NA, Huebner HJ, et al. NovaSil clay intervention in Ghanaians at high risk for aflatoxicosis. I. Study design and clinical outcomes. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2008;25(1):76-87. doi:10.1080/02652030701458105 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17852392/
De Mil T, Devreese M, De Baere S, Van Ranst E, Eeckhout M, De Backer P, Croubels S. Characterization of 27 mycotoxin binders and the relation with in vitro zearalenone adsorption at a single concentration. Toxins (Basel). 2015 Jan 5;7(1):21-33. doi: 10.3390/toxins7010021. PMID: 25568976; PMCID: PMC4303810.
Dvorska, J.E., and P.F. Surai. 2001. Effect of T-2 toxin, zeolite and mycosorb on antioxidant systems of growing quail. Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 14:1752-1757.
Genuis SJ. Elimination of persistent toxicants from the human body. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2011 Jan;30(1):3-18. doi: 10.1177/0960327110368417. Epub 2010 Apr 16. PMID: 20400489
Kihal A, Rodríguez-Prado M, Calsamiglia S. The efficacy of mycotoxin binders to control mycotoxins in feeds and the potential risk of interactions with nutrient: a review. J Anim Sci. 2022 Nov 1;100(11):skac328. doi: 10.1093/jas/skac328. PMID: 36208465; PMCID: PMC9685567.
Mitchell NJ, Kumi J, Johnson NM, et al. Reduction in the urinary aflatoxin M1 biomarker as an early indicator of the efficacy of dietary interventions to reduce exposure to aflatoxins. Biomarkers. 2013;18(5):391-398. doi:10.3109/1354750X.2013.798031 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23697800/
Mitchell NJ, Kumi J, Aleser M, et al. Short-term safety and efficacy of calcium montmorillonite clay (UPSN) in children. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2014;91(4):777-785. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.14-0093 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25135766/
Pollock BH, Elmore S, Romoser A, et al. Intervention trial with calcium montmorillonite clay in a south Texas population exposed to aflatoxin. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2016;33(8):1346-1354. doi:10.1080/19440049.2016.1198498 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27321368/
Wang P, Afriyie-Gyawu E, Tang Y, et al. NovaSil clay intervention in Ghanaians at high risk for aflatoxicosis: II. Reduction in biomarkers of aflatoxin exposure in blood and urine. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2008;25(5):622-634. doi:10.1080/02652030701598694 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18478481/
Zhai et al. Lactobacillus plantarum CCFM8661 modulates bile acid enterohepatic circulation and increases lead excretion in mice. Food & Function. Issue 3. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8FO02554A