Dr Damien Downing

MB BS, MIBiol

Allergy, environmentally related illness and nutritional medicine

"I was devastated by severe M.E. and food intolerances in 1991. I saw Dr Downing in 1996 and my health has significantly improved. None of this would have been possible without the huge intellect and experience of Dr Downing. He is at the forefront of new medical developments. The Medical Schools, Department of Health and NHS ought to learn from Dr Downing about how to treat chronic and debilitating conditions."

Rebecca

Profile

Dr Damien Downing practises Ecological Medicine. He explains that this incorporates Allergy, Environment and Nutrition:

Allergy

The identification and treatment of food intolerances, chemical sensitivities, inhalant allergies and others. Dr Downing introduced the Cytotoxic Test to the UK 25 years ago, and continues to research methods of diagnosis. We use the Enzyme Potentiated Desensitisation method developed by Dr Len McEwen, plus diet and lifestyle measures, including elimination diets, allergen avoidance and environmental clean-up.

Environment

The growing crisis of environmental pollution (in food, water, air and everyday products) exposes us all to increasing levels of many toxins, including heavy metals (mercury, lead), pesticides (organophosphates, organochlorines) and flame retardants (polybrominated biphenyls/diphenyls, PBBs, PBDEs) and volatile compounds (toluene, benzene, solvents). This poisons the immune system, the nervous system, and the mitochondria in every cell, and can trigger allergies/sensitivities. We use several innovative detoxification methods (phospholipid exchange therapy, metal chelation, liver support) plus nutrition and desensitisation.

Two broad areas of disease have a clear link to environmental toxins, which is not generally recognised; autism/ASD/neuro-developmental disorders and chronic fatigue/CFS/ME. Both can respond, dramatically sometimes, to removal of toxins as part of an integrated approach.

Nutrition

Levels of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids in food are declining, and at the same time we all need more of them to protect us against pollution, stress and infections. We use a number of laboratories in several countries to assess nutritional levels and needs, and correct these with supplementation by oral, intravenous, intramuscular and transdermal routes.

Dr Downing has long had a special interest in the health benefits of sunlight, and wrote one of the first books on this - Daylight Robbery, 1986. He continues to research and lecture on this and on Vitamin D.

"Vitamin D from sunlight is the missing link in many currrent epidemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. In the UK most people are deficient in vitamin D most of the time; correcting this can have a major impact on health."

Genomics

To the above areas we have now added Genomic Medicine; the assessment of individual chemical abilities and variations to determine strengths and weaknesses in your ability to process food, detoxify chemicals, deal with stress and resist diseases such as cancer, allergies and heart disease. Over the coming years Genomics will revolutionise the way doctors treat almost everything.

Dr Downing qualified from Guy's Hospital in 1972, and worked in the UK (neuropsychiatry and general practice) then in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific before returning in 1980 to set up a private practice in nutritional and environmental medicine. He was a co-founder of the British Society for Nutritional Medicine in 1983, and is the current president of its successor, the British Society for Ecological Medicine. He also cofounded the Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine in 1990, and is now its editor-in-chief. He is also the medical director of the Alliance for Natural Health.

Autism & ASD

Dr Downing has long been a supporter of Bernard Rimland and the DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) protocol, attends DAN conferences and writes on autism (see his editorial on the Autism Research Institute website at www.autism.com).

For children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders we recommend tailoring a combination of therapies based on the history and investigations. The first step is always to assess and correct nutritional status with particular attention to antioxidants and other protective nutrients. We then assess toxic burden, especially heavy metals, and the ability to detox/remove them; we both support the patient's metabolic resources and use a range of chelating agents to help toxins out of the body (first choice is usually transdermal DMPS in the Rashid Buttar protocol). We also use methylcobalamin (by injection and orally), methyltetrahydrofolate, glutathione, DMG and TMG.

Digestive disorders

Impaired digestion is at the root of many chronic complaints. Dr Downing has been actively involved in this area for many years. We use tests for gut permeability (Leaky Gut Syndrome) and dysbiosis (Candida, yeast infection, small bowel overgrowth), and treat these plus liver subfunction (see Phospholipid Exchange Therapy above), and where appropriate also test for and treat Helicobacter Pylori, Coeliac disease (celiac), parasitic infestations of the bowel (Giardia, Blastocystis hominis, Dientamoeba fragilis etc), lactose intolerance and other carbohydrate intolerance.

Dr Downing set up the Parascope laboratory at the University of Leeds with Prof Richard Lacey in 1990 to test for these parasites; this is currently being wound down for internal reasons.

We recognise at least two different ways that yeast organisms such as (but not only) Candida can cause symptoms. Simple overgrowth is often caused by repeated antibiotic use, and can cause chronic symptoms. It usually responds to diet plus antifungal treatments, but patients normally consult us when basic treatments have failed; this is when an integrated approach is called for. Sensitivity to Candida and other organisms can arise as a result of overgrowth, but causes further problems and needs different treatments, often including desensitisation to "turn off" the harmful immune response to them.

Conditions treated

ADHD, Allergy, ALS, Alzheimer's, Asperger's syndrome, Asthma, Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Autoimmunity, Blastocystis hominis, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Candida, Cataract, Chronic Fatigue, Colon Cancer, Dementia, Dysbiosis, Dyslexia, Ecological Medicine, Eczema, Environmental Illness, Epilepsy, Flame retardant toxicity, Food Intolerance, Hay fever, Heavy Metal poisoning, Hyperactivity, Hyperkinesis, Hypothyroid, Insect allergy, Lead toxicity, MCS, Mercury toxicity, Metabolic Syndrome, Motor Neurone Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Multiple Sclerosis, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Neurodevelopmental Disorder, Nutritional deficiency, Organophosphate toxicity, Parasites, PBB toxicity, PCB toxicity, Pesticide toxicity, Prostate Cancer, SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Seizures, Thyroid disorders, Toxicity, Vitamin D deficiency syndrome, Yeast Infection.