778-788-4325 (HEAL) cchs@shaw.ca

What is Pyroluria? Orthomolecular medicine/psychiatry recognize this as a genetic metabolic condition. A high percentage of people with autism, alcoholism, schizophrenia, ADD and depression may have pyroluria’s at the root cause of these conditions, making them extremely difficult to treat with drugs or holistic methods.  However,  around 10% of people may have pyroluria and not realize. These unrecognized symptoms will worsen as a person ages and stress will exacerbate symptoms also. People with pyroluria may exhibit symptoms related to adrenal stress, thryoid and pituitary/hypothalamus dysfunction and it’s highly likely they will be on antidepressants.

What are the symptoms?

There are many symptoms of pyroluria but some are: severe inner tension, constant anxiety, inability to tolerate stress, digestive issues which can include a difficulty to digest protein, frequent colds and infections, joint pain or stiffness, acne, eczema or psoriasis, mood swings, poor short term memory, and a tendency in many to lean towards being a loner, fatigue, white spots on fingernails, inability to recall dreams and many more. Ask us for a questionnaire. If you have 15 or more symptoms, then there’s a good chance that you have pyroluria. cchs@shaw.ca

What is Pyroluria?

Waste products called kryptopyrroles are generated in the body during the synthesis of hemoglobin.  They don’t serve any useful biological purpose and most people excrete them, but a person with pyroluria, won’t excrete them and they will build up. This is even more pronounced when a person is under stress.  Kryptopyrroles bind tightly with nutrients like zinc and vitamin B6. This makes it difficult for the body to make use of these nutrients and this in turn makes a person vulnerable to deficiencies that can cause all sorts of problems.  Zinc and B6 are critical for the functioning of your entire being. This includes digestion, immunity, cognitive functioning and emotions. Over time this causes severe health issues and can lead to the inabilty to work and function normally.

People with pyroluria also need more omega-6 fatty acids, mainly arachidonic acid (AA) found readily in eggs, butter, red meat and liver and the essential fatty acid GLA (gamma linolenic acid) found in supplements like black currant seed oil and evening primrose oil.

Fortunately, once diagnosed, pyroluria can be managed with specific supplementation with pharmaceutical grade products. Don’t be tempted to buy cheap over the counter brands as they won’t work. We mostly use Biotics Research. We use B6 Phosphate which is a co-enzymated form of B6 known as P-5-P, Zn-Zyme Forte for a zinc source and Black Currant Seed oil caps for GLA. Once B6 is restored, you should begin to remember dreams again. White spots on nails should disappear when zinc is up to standards. However, because this is a genetic problem, supplementation is needed indefinitely to keep symptoms under control. Learning how to deal with stress better can also help. Understanding your stressor type can be a useful tool is finding ways to dissipate stress. Ask us for a stress test. Some people with mild pyroluria may turn around very quickly and some more severe cases may take months to respond.

For those with pyroluria and anyone else for that matter,  improving digestion with supplementing hydrochloric acid is helpful. We use Hydrozyme from Biotics or HCl+. Avoidance of foods containing phytates such as grains, legumes and soy is incredibly important. Use a vegetable based Paleo diet (not vegetarianism) and we recommend adding raw food to your diet (flat breads made in a dehydrator for example to ease into a grain free existence). People with pyroluria that don’t respond well may have heavy metal toxicity from mercury, cadmium and copper.  Fecal tests can be done to determine is this is a problem.

When treating pyroluria, we also consider, adrenal stress, pituitary/hypothalamus issues and thyroid dysfunction. Neurotransmitters are also considered (Dopamine, GABA, Acetylcholine and Serotonin). So some form of glandular treatment will often be involved as well.

So if you have tried everything to no avail, ask for a questionnaire and see if this could possibly be you.

Useful resources…




B6 PhospateZn-Zyme Forte



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