Let’s Talk Heavy Metals
In the spirit of detox, I wanted to discuss a less common topic: the presence of heavy metals in the body. Heavy metals are dense elements such as mercury, aluminum, arsenic, nickel, cadmium, and tin, to name a few that occur naturally in nature. They become toxic in the body when injected, inhaled, ingested (intentionally or accidentally), or handled.
Heavy metals can disrupt the body's normal functioning by binding to cells in place of needed minerals and other cellular materials, altering metabolic processing.
This can cause the body to experience symptoms such as:
neuropathy (problems with nerves that go to the legs and arms which may cause numbness or weakness)
neurological damage
anemia
diabetes
skin rashes
leaky gut
brain fog
achy joints
chronic fatigue
brain fog
immune impairment
and more…
There are a few common ways heavy metals can enter the body.
pollution (particularly if you live or spend a lot of time near a highway or flight path)
cosmetics
drinking water
cookware/dinnerware
dental appliances/amalgam (silver) dental fillings
some pharmaceutical drugs (such as mercury or aluminum additives in vaccinations)
pesticides and herbicides
Once inhaled, absorbed or consumed heavy metals can find their way into the body’s tissues. You can do all the healthy activities you can think of, but if you have a significant burden of heavy metals, it may compromise your health and wellness.
It can be tricky to test for heavy metals but here are a few ways: hair mineral analysis, urine and blood tests.
Some functional holistic dentists are now doing mercury tests with programs to remove silver amalgams/fillings and may also recommend a detox.
By helping you get to the bottom of your health issues, naturopaths and functional health practitioners may consider heavy metal toxicity as a possibility.
Traditional Western medicine still does not place much emphasis on the prevalence of heavy metal toxicity.
On your own, there are a few things you can do to lower your exposure to heavy metals:
Use a high-quality air filter that ensures heavy metals are captured.
Use non-toxic cosmetics. I like to check how clean my products are by checking the rating on the EWG’s (Environmental Working Group), Skin Deep website.
Install a high-quality water filter for your home.
Use 100% stainless steel silverware, non-toxic dinnerware, and 100% stainless steel, glass, cast iron, or ceramic cookware.
Check to see if your dental appliances may be toxic to your system. Biological dentists can be a good resource and some will replace silver amalgams with resin, porcelain, or other materials.
Ask your naturopath or functional health provider about supplements to counteract the possible effects of additives in medications or take a natural approach when possible.
Choose organic produce and foods whenever possible or grow your own produce from organic seeds in organic soil.
I’ve personally benefited from many of these steps. It's always best to take the healthiest approach possible.
Until next time…