Once you experience how powerful essences can be, you start to realize
- by Seneca
What Binder Should I Take? Do I Even Need One?

Everybody wants to know what binder we recommend. We (meaning Seneca and whoever is on customer service/social media duty) do not make personal recommendations for health. I'm not an MD, ND or anything else qualified to give individual medical advice. Furthermore, I'm irritated by the keyboard warriors that shout their particular binder at complete strangers as if the same binder is appropriate for everyone on the planet.
Binders are natural substances that grab on to toxins in your system and sweep them out of your body. Binders reduce stress on your elimination organs and prevent Herxheimer reactions during detox. It's a misconception that binders pull parasites out. Binder work strictly on metals and toxins which go hand in hand with parasitic infections, so if you're using Parasite Assassin, you may want them for that purpose, but no, they are not parasite removers.
You can buy fancy stuff like zeolite, charcoal, or chlorella, or if your detox pathways are open (Detox Drops helps with this) and you're up on your minerals, you probably don't really need anything. If you are concerned, read on. Having something on hand just in case is a good idea anyway.
You might have a really good reason that you’re detoxing. Maybe you've been exposed to something you shouldn't have, and the consequences are serious. In that case, I would probably do my homework as to what binders would be best to take.
For me, I'm using Detox Drops just because it's a good idea to detox every now and then. I have an ongoing high mineral program that is detoxifying, that I've been on for a long time, so I'm not too worried about taking binders with my Detox Drops. I can take Parasite Assassin with no adverse effects, so I'm not about to throw a binder into the mix and potentially cause myself problems.
The Burdock essence (included in Detox Drops and EMF Shield) alone was enough to substantially drop someone's mercury and lead levels, (She tested before and after) so I would be concerned about dumping that much with no binders. If you know you have a lot of toxicity, let's err on the safe side.
Activated Charcoal: Activated charcoal is a highly porous substance that binds to toxins and removes them from the body through the digestive tract. Pros include its ability to bind to a wide variety of toxins, its low cost, and its availability. However, it indiscriminately binds to nutrients and medications, so it's important to take it away from other supplements and medications and to not use it for more than a few days at a time.
I think everybody needs to have a bottle of Activated Charcoal in the house for emergencies. It's great for poisonings and we've used it successfully for animals along with the 713 essence when veterinary care wasn't an option.
I purposely sipped the Detox Drops frequently (which is how you mass dose) over several days to see if I could get a Herx reaction, and to see how far it went. I ended up in quite a bit of pain and broke down and popped some Activated Charcoal. Don't get excited. If you experience unpleasant cleanse symptoms, you can simply back off the dosing. I was purposely pushing it to see what would happen and how bad it could get. You do have the option of simply taking things slow rather than deal with all this binder stuff. Your body is capable. And you don't have to go turbo with detoxing.
Chlorella: Chlorella is a type of algae that can bind to heavy metals (except aluminum), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, herbicides, and mycotoxins. Pros include its ability to support the immune system and its high nutrient content. However, it may cause digestive upset in some people and can be difficult to tolerate at higher doses. It's also one of those things where purity is really really important, so don't buy without research.
Bentonite Clay: Bentonite clay is a type of volcanic ash that can bind to toxins in the digestive tract. Pros include its ability to help with digestion and its low cost. However, it may also bind to nutrients and can cause intestinal blockage.
Modified Citrus Pectin: Modified citrus pectin is a type of fiber derived from citrus fruit that has an affinity to lead and to a lessor degree, cadmium and arsenic. Pros include its ability to support the immune system and its low risk of side effects. However, it may be more expensive than other binders and can be difficult to find.
Zeolite: Zeolite is a type of mineral that can bind to heavy metals and other toxins in the body. Pros include its ability to support the immune system and its low risk of side effects. Lots of fuss about zeolite. Look for a brand that has enough silica to bind the aluminum present in zeolite. You need a ratio of 5 silica to 1 aluminum molecule.
Humic and Fulvic Acids: These are best for environmental toxins, especially glyphosate. Not really great for metals.
Silica: Silica binds to aluminum, which other binders do not, at least that I know of. It also goes after tin and thallium. You can get Silica by drinking Fiji water or there are supplements.
In general, you'll want to take binders away from food, supplements, and medications. Our Detox Drops or other detox essences don't count because they work on a whole different level and won't interact with any binders or any other physical substance you use.
Whichever you choose, purity matters because there's a potential for introducing more toxins along with it. Many of these binders come with their own mixes of inert silica, aluminum and iron. I'm not really a fan of naming brands, since there are plenty of good options and learning what to look for is the better skill. This email is a jumping off point for you to do your own homework. Just don't get adulterated knock offs on Amazon where some Chinese company copied the branding and label and put who knows what in there.
Aside from very occasional Activated Charcoal use, I don't personally like binders. I take a lot of minerals, including lots of copper which most people think is bad. I take a lot of minerals because I want them doing their jobs in my body. I do not want to jeopardize that with binders. If they are taking out positively charged metals, they are taking out copper.
Copper and zinc, together, help make SOD which detoxes hundreds of substances. Adding selenium to copper and zinc for more metallothionein production detoxes mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic. MSM Sulfur also detoxes hundreds of substances. Iodine detoxes at least 6 toxic elements, fluoride, bromide, mercury, aluminum, lead, and arsenic. Silica detoxes aluminum--that one is fairly specific with little overlap. Boron detoxes fluoride, as does copper and iodine. Molybdenum helps copper and sulfur detox better. Magnesium is a major detoxer of many things, perhaps too many to count. Calcium helps to detox fluoride but also can lower magnesium. Potassium helps us absorb copper, which makes copper work better. Copper and Boron help us absorb and retain magnesium, making it work better.
I am for more minerals, not less. And I like my detox pathways open, and many binders can be constipating which creates the problem they are supposed to solve. I like having them around "in case" but I'm not in favor of indiscriminate use, in otherwords, just because one is doing some sort of cleanse.
We can agree to disagree, and I am for you choosing what's right for you! Really! I know you all keep trying to get me to tell you what to do, but you know your system! You just need to make your informed choices.
Happy Cleansing!

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