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Martha liked my Substack and hunted me down. We connected, and she helped me better understand Parkinson’s. She later invited me to her conference, which was entirely paid for by a donor, including room and board. After getting to know her, I nicknamed her Wolverine. I think she liked this even though she won’t admit it.
Martha describes her journey from corporate executive to Parkinson's pioneer
When my 44-year-old husband John received his Parkinson's diagnosis in 2002, I faced a choice that would define the next two decades of my life. Armed with my Arthur Andersen training in skeptical analysis and systems thinking, I transformed from a successful operations executive into one of the foremost researchers connecting gut microbiome dysfunction to Parkinson's disease. This is my story of how environmental toxins, particularly heavy metals like mercury, combine with antibiotic damage and processed foods to create the perfect storm for neurological decline.
The Making of a Medical Detective
My background as a former Arthur Anderson auditor proved essential to my unconventional approach to Parkinson's research. Arthur Anderson, one of the prestigious "Big Eight" accounting firms before its collapse, trained us auditors to never accept anything at face value and to examine evidence independently. The firm taught us a systematic process called "transaction flow review," where we would map every aspect of business operations to identify risk points where systems could break down.
This training instilled a fundamental skepticism that served me well when confronting medical orthodoxy. We learned to interview everyone who touches a business process, asking detailed questions about their role and identifying potential financial risks. I applied this same methodology to understanding Parkinson's as a system failure, mapping what flows through the human body and identifying where breakdowns occur.
My original career path began in engineering, before I switched to accounting, which I found to be logical and systematic. After Arthur Anderson, I moved into operations for large companies, eventually becoming head of operations for a major apartment real estate investment trust by 2002. This operational efficiency background would prove crucial in later organizing research efforts and building my biotechnology company.
When John's neurologist delivered his diagnosis and gave us three outdated books and little hope, I rejected the conventional approach. The doctor provided no resources, no guidance for lifestyle changes, and essentially told us to go home and wait for decline. John was shell-shocked, and I began what would become a 23-year investigation into the root causes of his disease.
Yoho note: I had the same experience with a neurologist. She offered no therapy, the same bleak prognosis, and the idea that the causes were unknown or even unknowable (“idiopathic”). I knew then I was on my own.
Early Detection and the Diagnosis Journey
I identified John's Parkinson's before any doctor did. I had been reading Michael J. Fox's book "Lucky Man" and another book by Mort Kondracki, whose wife had aggressive Parkinson's. These books described early symptoms that I began noticing in John: a slight tremor in his pinky finger, tongue tremor, loss of facial expression, and a distant look in his eyes.
When John went for his annual physical, the internist initially found nothing wrong. Only when I accompanied John to get his test results and specifically asked about the facial expression changes and tremors did the doctor take notice. He referred us to a neurologist, who confirmed the diagnosis before even completing a full examination.
The neurologist recognized my observational skills, telling me, "You should be a neurologist," after I had identified the arm-swinging deficit and other subtle signs. This early experience reinforced my confidence in my analytical abilities and set the stage for my future role as a patient advocate and researcher.
Dietary Intervention: From Processed Foods to Whole Foods
My systems analysis immediately identified diet as a primary intervention. John's busy executive wife and non-cooking husband created a perfect storm of processed food consumption. During the period that I traveled 50% of the time for work, John's meals consisted of pasta with jarred sauce, boxed macaroni and cheese, and other convenience foods loaded with preservatives and chemicals.
John consumed daily soy protein shakes for about two years. During this time, he was training for marathons, often while pushing our two young children in a running stroller. I learned about soy's high phytoestrogen content and its potential to disrupt the immune system, particularly affecting genes involved in removing endotoxins.
I immediately discarded everything in our pantry and started over with whole foods. This dramatic dietary overhaul provided the foundation for all subsequent interventions. Rather than trying to supplement around a poor diet, I recognized that removing inflammatory foods and chemical exposures had to come first before other therapies could be effective.
Environmental Toxin Mapping: Following the Mercury Trail
My systems approach led me to map John's complete environmental exposure history, revealing multiple sources of neurotoxic contamination. Mercury exposure emerged as a central theme, with John's exposure beginning in college when he worked for Meriam Instruments, a company manufacturing manometers containing mercury. His childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, coincided with the city's notorious pollution problems, including the Cuyahoga River fire in the 1970s.
Dental work provided another significant source of mercury through amalgam fillings and multiple root canals. Each time John had dental work to remove mercury fillings or infected root canals, he experienced a predictable pattern: temporary worsening as toxins were mobilized, followed by improvement as his body cleared the accumulated metals. This pattern suggested ongoing mercury toxicity that improved with the removal of the source.
I had a later mercury exposure with a flu vaccine. While visiting an investor in California, I received a flu shot, and within 24 hours, I could no longer remember people's last names. My naturopath told me that my mercury levels were "off the chart," and I required chelation therapy to resolve the symptoms. This experience provided direct evidence of mercury's neurological impact and reinforced my suspicions about John's exposures.
The mercury-Parkinson's connection extends beyond individual cases. There are clusters of ALS and Parkinson's in Ohio's "rust belt," where industrial toxin exposure creates higher disease rates. I found a young woman with early-onset Parkinson's whose heavy metals testing showed extremely high levels. I also met a friend's wife who had similarly elevated mercury levels but chose conventional medicine over chelation. This never addressed the underlying toxicity.
Vaccination and Immune System Disruption
The timing of John's flu vaccinations proved significant in my analysis. Around 2001-2002, before his diagnosis, John began receiving annual flu vaccines because our youngest son had contracted RSV at age two. Healthcare providers recommended vaccination for John as the primary caregiver, though I was too busy with my executive role to get vaccinated myself. [After public outcry, mercury has been decreased—but not eliminated—from other vaccines; the flu vaccine still contains a hefty dose.]
My later experience with mercury toxicity from flu vaccination provided direct evidence of the connection between vaccines and heavy metal accumulation. My dramatic cognitive symptoms within 24 hours of vaccination, confirmed by elevated blood mercury levels, demonstrated how vaccines can trigger acute toxicity in susceptible individuals. [The chronic mercury exposure produced by dental fillings rarely elevates blood levels, even though it causes Parkinson's and other diseases.]
The vaccine-mercury connection aligns with broader patterns I observed in Parkinson's patients. Many had histories of chronic strep infections requiring multiple antibiotic courses, or received long-term antibiotics for teenage acne. The combination of early immune system disruption through repeated antibiotic exposure, followed by mercury accumulation through dental work and vaccines, creates a perfect storm for later neurological decline.
Water Contamination
I watched John's responses to different water sources. When we lived in our Colorado home with four layers of water filtration, John remained remarkably stable for nine years. Even with extensive filtration, our seven-foot bathtub occasionally filled with brown water, revealing the severity of municipal water contamination despite multiple treatment layers.
The true test came when we sold the house and moved to a condo without a water filtration system. Within a month of drinking and cooking with tap water, John deteriorated markedly. Installing a Berkey filter provided some improvement, but stability was only restored when we purchased a new house and immediately installed comprehensive water filtration as our top priority.
Public water systems face an impossible task. Designed over 100 years ago to address pathogens like cholera and typhoid, these systems were never intended to address modern pharmaceutical and industrial pollution. Research by the Environmental Working Group in 2012 documented significant pharmaceutical contamination in the water supplies of 20 major cities. However, I suspect the organization faced pressure not to update this research due to its uncomfortable implications.
We eventually installed a $12,000 Pursanova water filtration system. This group tests the water and installs targeted filters for each identified contaminant. This comprehensive system includes UV light sterilization and copper coil remineralization. It treats all household water, including water for showers and baths. The investment proved worthwhile as John improved.
Scientific Network Building: The Gordon Research Conference
My transition from patient advocate to serious researcher accelerated when my son's high school science tutor introduced me to Gordon Research Conferences. These exclusive scientific gatherings typically restrict attendance to PhD researchers, but I successfully applied by describing my background and research efforts with John.
The first Parkinson's Gordon Research Conference, held in 2015, connected me with top researchers from around the globe. I brought Dr. Filip Scheperjans, a neurologist who was doing research and published the first paper on the Parkinson’s microbiome in 2014, to the meeting. We spent a week analyzing Parkinson's data with leading scientists. My unique perspective as a systems thinker enabled me to see connections between disparate research findings that specialized researchers had overlooked.
This ability to connect seemingly unrelated data points came from my business background in operational efficiency and risk analysis. While researchers focused on their specific areas of expertise, I could see how animal model methodologies might translate to human applications or how different research findings might connect to form larger patterns.
The Microbiome Revolution
My breakthrough insight compared the gut microbiome to "the accounting general ledger of the body" - a systematic record that reveals underlying financial health in business and biological health in humans. This analogy, drawn from my accounting background, provided the conceptual framework for understanding how microbiome analysis could reveal systemic dysfunction.
My mannitol discovery came from reading about Israeli research that showed this sugar alcohol could prevent protein aggregation in animal brains and extract existing aggregations from brain tissue. My "Eureka moment" came when I read the first chapter of a chemistry book, which explained how bacteria ferment mannitol from glucose and fructose. I immediately realized I could create a probiotic that would essentially put a mannitol factory back in the gut, producing this therapeutic compound continuously.
Working with a fermentation chemist friend, I developed what would become SugarShift, containing eight bacterial strains that work synergistically to produce mannitol. The bacteria convert dietary glucose and fructose into mannitol while also increasing butyrate production and generating compounds that chelate and remove excess iron from the system.
The results exceeded expectations. After John started taking the prototype in December, his walking cane disappeared within 30 days. He regained the ability to navigate crowds, culminating in his successful movement through a crowd of 5,000 people at our daughter's graduation the following year.
The Bio Collective: Industrializing Sample Collection
My transition from personal research to systematic investigation required proper sample collection and analysis infrastructure. The Bio Collective, founded by University of Chicago researcher Jack Gilbert, former CDC virologist Dr. Suzanne Vernon, and me, aimed to collect whole stool samples rather than the small swabs typically used in microbiome research.
Laboratory technicians made an unexpected discovery that proved crucial for understanding the pathology of Parkinson's disease. They could identify the stool samples of Parkinson’s patients by their appearance. They contained sections with a consistency similar to concrete. This prevented standard lab processing. This observation highlighted the severity of gut dysfunction in these patients.
The Bio Collective ultimately collected samples from approximately 1,000 people, including roughly 80 individuals with Parkinson's disease. This work laid the foundation for understanding the distinction between normal and pathological microbiome patterns.
Kilimanjaro: Defying Expectations
Our 2011 climb of Mount Kilimanjaro stands as a testament to what is possible with comprehensive environmental medicine approaches, despite having Parkinson's for nine years. Kilimanjaro is a large dormant volcano in Tanzania. At 19,341 ft, it is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world. John successfully reached the summit via the challenging six-day Machame route. Although this does not involve technical climbing, the altitude, logistics, and conditioning required are significant obstacles.
The expedition included 28 climbers: 10 individuals with multiple sclerosis, four with Parkinson's disease, and 14 healthy climbing partners. All four Parkinson's patients successfully reached the summit, while four of the seven who failed were healthy.
John and I were the first group to reach the summit. It was right as the sun was rising, and we saw indescribable views that included the curvature of the Earth. It was an emotional moment; nine years after John's diagnosis, when we had expected him to be dead, we were instead having extraordinary adventures together.
Our expedition book, “More Than a Mountain: Our Leap of Faith,” is still available on Amazon. Any funds from this go into a charity.
The Australian Mystery: Giant Viruses
During a 2009 trip to Australia, John became severely ill after returning home, losing 12 pounds and requiring four months of intensive medical investigation. Levaquin, a powerful, toxic antibiotic, ultimately cured him, but we never learned the identity of the bacteria. Years later, when I began receiving detailed microbiome data from John's stool samples, I discovered a Pandora virus in his gut microbiome.
These giant viruses had previously been found only in Chile and outside Melbourne, Australia - exactly 25 kilometers from where we had stayed. I contacted French researcher Jean-Michel Claverie, the world's leading expert on giant viruses, who confirmed the findings after reviewing detailed genome assembly data.
Current Research and Future Directions
My current research focuses on the glycocalyx, the protective barrier coating that shields cells from environmental toxins and pathogens. This becomes damaged through the consumption of processed foods, antibiotic exposure, and toxin accumulation, creating increased permeability that allows harmful substances to reach vulnerable organs, including the brain.
My ultimate goal involves identifying Parkinson's early. This would enable proactive interventions that could halt disease progression. The 10-15 year constipation timeline provides a window for early intervention if doctors could recognize gut dysfunction as a neurological disease.
Personal Legacy: Love, Loss, and Scientific Contribution
John declined due to Covid and had a fatal pulmonary embolism in September 2024. This ended a remarkable 23-year journey that began with a grim prognosis and despair. Our love story started with an initial meeting in college, followed by years of separation. We had a dramatic reunion at a corporate happy hour, where John immediately crossed the room upon seeing me.
Our partnership in facing Parkinson's exemplified how crisis can strengthen relationships and create shared purpose. I often said John got the short end of the stick because he was the one who was sick, while I investigated the interventions. He was an excellent research partner, willing to try new approaches and provide detailed feedback on their effects.
Through 23 years of investigation, and spending every dollar I earned from my previous successful career, I mapped the complex system failures underlying Parkinson's disease. My goal is to discover the causes and find a cure. Big Pharma only wants to slow the progress so they can keep the money flowing, but I believe it can be stopped.
Yoho footnote
Martha was in the process of investigating the removal of John’s mercury and root canals when he died. She delayed because she was concerned about the risks of anesthesia at his advanced age and physical compromise. She judged that his covid was more of a risk than the root canals.
Root canals are far more malignant than most people acknowledge, and because half of Americans and Europeans have them, they create even more health destruction than mercury. I have encountered many individuals with serious medical problems that they caused. Untold numbers, including my wife, experienced cures for cancer and other mortal diseases when their root canals were removed and the abscesses at their bases cleaned out. Others denied their influence despite being provided with the data in my book, Judas Dentistry. (Free download HERE.)
After what she has been through, Martha has a wonderful Zen philosophy. She told me that you cannot know what you did not know at the time. Another way to put this is never to look back. This is Schwartznegger’s mantra, and although I have lost respect for him, it has merit. Richard Morgan wrote in Thirteen, “Only live with what you’ve done and try in the future to do only what you’re happy to live with. That’s the whole game, that’s all there is.”
Between the mercury and the root canals and disease progression, John was severely compromised. But because he had Martha at his side, he was able to thrive for a long time.
Perspective: Martha and I have complementary approaches.
She is a researcher, and I am a doctor. Before other assessments and before therapy, I employ the following algorithmic approach, as described in Chapter 5 of the Apocalypse Almanac.
The primary causes of today’s diseases are unrecognized by traditional doctors because they cause them. I have ranked the following iatrogenic (Rockefeller medicine jargon for doctor-caused) catastrophes in order of the size of the public health disasters they create.
Vaccines, especially the covidvax. These have increased mortality, cut live birth rates, doubled or tripled spontaneous abortions, and vastly increased chronic disease rates. Knowing your patient’s vaccine status, counseling them against further vaccinations of any kind, and being prepared to start a chlorine dioxide program immediately are your first considerations—for any patient.
Notes:
a) For a brutal introduction to the mind-control methods used to impose vaccines on us, see Pierre Kory’s post about how Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was invented and promoted to conceal the infant deaths vaccines cause. He cites data published in 2021 that was intentionally excluded from the mainstream medical publications, which supports the finding of excess mortality.
b) Although they contain other poisons, vaccine toxicity has historically been primarily mercury. This was concealed by claiming it was a necessary “adjuvant” to stimulate the immune system and labeling it “thimerosal,” which is half mercury. After a public outcry, mercury was partly—but not entirely—eliminated from the poison shots. Aluminum, which is nearly as toxic, was added instead after about 2000.
Assaults on us by dentists. Their biggest crime is placing root canals. These are universally infected, spread bacterial and inflammatory disease throughout the body, and are nearly all asymptomatic. They cause cancers and fatal “autoimmune” diseases of supposedly unknown origins. About half of Europeans and Americans have been burdened with root canals by our stupid, unethical dentists. Most of their toxicity has been known for over 50 years. See Robert Gammal’s book The Garbage Collector for proof of all this.
Dentists often still use mercury in their fillings and root canals. This is the second most toxic non-radioactive metal after arsenic, and it is being placed in the most reactive area of the body. Half of this poison dissolves within 20 years and goes to the brain, bones, and muscles, causing neurological and many other diseases. The half-life until it is gone from the body is over 30 years. Much of this has been common knowledge for a century.
Dentists also assert that fluoride is safe and beneficial, recommending fluoridated water and dental products that contain fluoride. This is a neurotoxin that should never be put inside your body. Robust, blinded studies prove that women who are exposed to it during pregnancy have kids whose intellects are permanently impaired by at least half a standard deviation.
Notes:
a) Amalgams and root canals are stuffed with mercury and are causative for both 1) and 2). Once you see this, it’s hard to imagine, given recent events, that it wasn’t done purposefully.
b) I have been a victim of both programs. I have had 17 mercury amalgams placed by a dentist who admitted they were done “to prevent cavities developing in your tooth crevices.” It was the “drill, fill, and bill” era, and it continues today.
Psychiatric drugs. One in five Americans has been convinced to take these. They cause addiction, suicide, homicide, and brain damage, but Big Pharma’s promotion never stops. No randomized controlled study has ever proven that they work, which means they do not, and prescribing them is therefore unethical. Oral ketamine can help you kick them; see my post HERE. Know your patients’ psychiatric medication list, and you know enemy # 3.
Traditional cancer care is the most expensive medical field and a sick joke. Using “standard of care” chemo, patients with only about ten types of cancer survive a day longer. Radiation therapy is used promiscuously, but it only prolongs life for one cancer. These damaging treatments were FDA-approved because of tumor size reduction, which is a medical mirage. For the most part, getting your patients off this toxic, costly nonsense is the only way out for them. I describe things that work in my chapter, “How to cure cancer in your kitchen with online purchases.”
References and contact
Martha’s Substack. Notably, she has an article on golf course pesticide exposures; John worked on golf courses in his youth. I lived three houses away from one and was fond of trespassing on the property every night with my friends.
Martha tells me, “I have a nonprofit, but the website for donations isn’t working. I’m getting ready to have it redone. If people are interested in donating to the nonprofit, they can contact me through Martha’s Quest. The email is Martha@MarthasQuest.com.”
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