Heavy metals are natural components of the Earth’s crust. As trace elements, some heavy metals are essential to maintain the metabolism of the human body. However, at higher concentrations they can lead to poisoning. They cannot be degraded or destroyed but tend to bioaccumulate (increase in the concentration over time).
Heavy metal toxicity is linked with many metabolic imbalances in the humans including obesity.
While there are many ways to reduce the damage done by heavy metals and detoxify from heavy metals, we need to also look at how we can avoid further poisoning.
What you Eat
- Organic Food, especially animal foods. Many heavy metals are used in conventional agriculture and storage.
- Fish, especially carnivorous fish at the top of the food chain should be eaten sparingly. Visit Got Mercury to find out more. Be wary of algae supplements like spirulina and chlorella: while many believe them to be detoxifiers of heavy metals, they absorb them so well, they can also be source of contamination. Oysters are the best source of easily available nutrient dense foods from the sea. Check your cod liver oil is free of mercury.
- Eat a high fat diet. Animal fat helps the process of excretion of heavy metals. Metals are stored in the body fat of humans and excreted via the bile. Probably the worst diet for those with heavy metal toxicity is the common low fat, vegetarian style diet with fish and chicken.
- Glutathione: supplement and include foods such as rare or raw lamb, raw milk, eggs, asparagus and avocado.
- Check you source of meat, especially dessicated Liver supplements.
- Supplement high doses of Vitamin C if you have heavy metal toxicity
- Filter your water and avoid amalgam fillings and pharmaceutical drugs (especially vaccines).
- Check your salt - while celtic is the best salt, choose the lightest colours available. Sea salt can be a source of heavy metals
In the Home
- Be aware that the materials you construct your home from may be very harmful to you and the environment. Try to find an environmental consultant to check the materials you use when building a house. What about mud brick?
- Avoid new furniture - especially cheap imported furniture. Try to buy locally made furniture and leave on the porch for a few days. Recycled wood furniture may have some issues with the way it was treated but is still preferable to imported furniture which must be insecticided and treated upon importation.
- Avoid new cars - even a few months will ensure you’re not inhaling fumes from the vinyl, plastic and foam upholstery.
- Use natural fibre clothing only (organic is best) and watch for flame retardant in pyjamas.
- Avoid insecticides. Try to create your kitchen so that light gets into each cupboard, insects don’t like light. Use peppermint oil to deter ants and natural skin creams and sprays to deter mosquitos and midgees. Don’t fumigate, keep your kitchen clean instead. Clean kitchens mean clean insects but really, storing much of your food in airtight containers and keeping your kitchen open to the elements makes it unattractive for insects to set up home.
- Avoid eating out - sadly, most restaurants use quite a lot of insecticides. So too do many stores so shopping at farmer’s markets is a much better option to avoid poisons.
- Ban smoking inside and suggest your friends who smoke find a additive free tobacco such as illegal ‘chop chop’. It would be nice to see if organically grown tobacco causes such health issues.
- Be very careful with paint. Use extractors when removing old paint and choose a non-toxic new paint.
- Avoid plastic packaging.
- Avoid modern toys, especially PVC, cheap imports with paint, any plastic toys. Kids tend to have more fun with the boxes anyway.
- Be aware that many child care centres and schools use insecticide often.
- Don’t tinker with computers or old screens and TVs and dispose of batteries, computers and mobile phones correctly and straight away.
- Don’t have coloured tattoos as their ink is preserved with mercury
- Use digital thermometers
- Ask your family to bury you, not cremate you when you die. Cremation releases mercury into the air.
- Don’t live in a mining town and try to avoid using products from mining too often: avoid aluminum cans, buy house hold goods like pots and pans that will last a lifetime like glass or enameled cast iron.
- Ditto for conventional Agriculture
- Be careful of ceramic plates and bowls from foreign countries, they may have pigments that have heavy metals in them.
- As you’re about to buy something ask: do I need it? where did it come from? where is it going when I’m finished with it?
Some of the major Heavy Metals and how they hurt us.
Antimony:
A metal used in the compound antimony trioxide, a flame retardant. It can also be found in batteries, pigments, and ceramics and glass.
Arsenic:
Wood treated with chromated copper arsenate, also known as CCA or Tanalith to avoid insect or rot damage.
Agriculture insecticides and some animal feeds.
Conductor in circuit boards, LED lights and Laser diodes, Bronzing and Pyrotechny (fireworks), paint and pigments and smelting of metals.
Some dessicated Liver supplements have been suspected of Arsenic contamination due to the high concentration of Arsenic in the ground water in Argentina, where the animals are farmed.
Cadmium:
Derives its toxicological properties from its chemical similarity to zinc. Exposure is associated with renal dysfunction, obstructive lung disease, bone defects (osteomalacia, osteoporosis) in humans and animals.
Avoid:
Cigarettes: The average daily intake for humans is estimated as 0.15µg from air and 1µg from water. Smoking a packet of 20 cigarettes can lead to the inhalation of around 2-4µg of cadmium, but levels may vary widely. (Note Cadmium toxicity in tobacco is from the phosphate fertilizers used)
Mining: Cadmium is produced as an inevitable by-product of zinc (or occasionally lead) refining, since these metals occur naturally within the raw ore.
Batteries: The most significant use of cadmium is in nickel/cadmium batteries, as rechargeable or secondary power sources exhibiting high output, long life, low maintenance and high tolerance to physical and electrical stress.
Plastics: Other uses of cadmium are as pigments, stabilisers for PVC, in alloys and electronic compounds, detergents and petroleum products.
Non-Organic Foods: Cadmium is in phosphate fertiliser
Chromium
Long-term exposure can cause kidney and liver damage, and damage too circulatory and nerve tissue. Chromium often accumulates in aquatic life, adding to the danger of eating fish that may have been exposed to high levels of chromium. Low-level exposure can irritate the skin and cause ulceration.
Used in metal alloys and pigments for paints, cement, paper, rubber, and other materials.
Copper
Essential substance to human life, but in high doses it can cause anemia, liver and kidney damage, and stomach and intestinal irritation.
Drinking Water: from copper pipes, as well as from additives designed to control algal growth
Lead:
In humans exposure to lead can result in a wide range of biological effects depending on the level and duration of exposure. High levels of exposure cause problems in the synthesis of haemoglobin, effects on the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, joints and reproductive system, and acute or chronic damage to the nervous system.
Lead poisoning, which is so severe as to cause evident illness, is now very rare indeed. At intermediate concentrations, however, there is persuasive evidence that lead can have small, subtle, subclinical effects, particularly on neuro-psychological development in children. (Lead has been found to reduce IQ in children)
Avoid:
Lead-based paint in older housing or stored in soil and dust (50% of lead intake is from indoor dust.
Mining and Industrial activity
Food, air, water: hard to avoid since crops are contaminated by lead dust
Batteries, petrol additives, rolled and extruded products, alloys, pigments and compounds, cable sheathing, ammunition.
Mercury:
Toxic substance which has no known function in human biochemistry or physiology and does not occur naturally in living organisms. Inorganic mercury poisoning is associated with tremors, gingivitis and/or minor psychological changes, together with spontaneous abortion and congenital malformation.
Monomethylmercury causes damage to the brain and the central nervous system, while foetal and postnatal exposure have given rise to abortion, congenital malformation and development changes in young children.
The major natural source of mercury is the degassing of the Earth’s crust, emissions from volcanoes and evaporation from natural bodies of water.
While humans have always been able to naturally detoxify this mercury, industrial mercury use adds new and dangerous emissions:
Avoid:
Manufacture of chlorine and production of batteries, lamps and thermometers.
Coal combustion
Crematoriums
Amalgam fillings
Pharmaceutical drugs, especially vaccines.
Food Sources: Natural biological processes can cause methylated forms of mercury to form which bioaccumulate over a million-fold and concentrate in living organisms, especially fish. Be wary of sea water plants like kelp and spirulina as well as some internal clays (volcanic rock sometimes has large amounts of heavy metal).
Nickel:
Small amounts of Nickel are needed by the human body to produce red blood cells, however, in excessive amounts, can become mildly toxic. Long-term exposure can cause decreased body weight, heart and liver damage, skin irritation, damage to the nervous system, fatigue, and irritability, hair and fingernail loss, damage to kidney and liver tissue, damage to circulatory tissue.
Nickel is used to hydrogenate vegetable oils.
Uranium
Some believe Depleted Uranium is a major contributor to the diabetes epidemic in Saudi Arabia. Uraniaum toxicity is also believed to be linked to Gulf War syndrome. Source, are Depleted Uranium ’smart’ bombs, mining and nuclear power stations.
Now how do we stop supporting the war? Good question.
About the Author...
A Super Hero and one of many who have realised their true calling as saviors of humanity, healers of our connection with Nature and creators of Heaven on Earth. The Nourisher's gift is the re-spiritualisation of the 'process of recreation' we call eating. Mother of three Super Heroes in training and wife to her God incarnate, The Nourisher hails from the place of feminine healing, Byron Bay, Australia. She gathers together Life Creators from all over the globe at NourishedMagazine.com.au
Aug 1st, 2008 at 8:55 am
Loved the article. I have sufferred from mercury poisoning from amalgam fillings. The medical profession had no idea what I had and I eventually worked it out myself. Two years ago I was so ill I didn’t think I was going to live to see christmas. However I then found a book called “Amalgam Illness” by Andrew Hall-Cutler. (Available on the internet). On reading the book I found I had about 90% of the symptoms and QUITE A FEW OF MY FRIENDS DID ALSO. The book explained all the unexplained disease problems and showed how so many of our population are also affected.The dental and medical profession either don’t know anything about the poisoning effects or don’t want to admit to them due to the huge legal implications. My doctor kept telling me there was nothing wrong with me. Everyone who knew me could tell there was DEFINITELY something wrong with me!! For anyone who has amalgam fillings this book is a must. I did not follow the chemical path he recommended to detox my body but instead chose to work with a homeopath and a chinese herbalist and eat only organic, homegrown,whole foods. Total detox can evidently take up to 4 years insevere cases. Two years almost up and I’m almost normal. I am happy to talk to anyone who may need help. Thanks. Kim.
Aug 1st, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Kim…I would love to hear how you did this…I clearly have these problems as does my daughter and I want to choose the most gentle detox available…espeically for my daughter..I’ve been doing raw milk, organics etc etc with some relief and progress but need to now really go after the metals. thanks!
Aug 1st, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Hi Everyone -
I read this article with some interest. Five years ago I had chemotherapy for ovarian and uterin cancer using Taxol and Carboplatin. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about where to start researching removing some of these heavy metals from my system?
Thank you
lynn
Aug 1st, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I’ve had mercury fillings since childhood and have suffered from low blood pressure, bad menstrual pain as well as other problems like chest pains, anxiety, indigestion, cold hands and feet as well as low energy for many years.
Since converting to a nourishing diet I have managed to clear up most of these problems, but kidney and chest pains persist, as well as the low blood pressure and bad period pain. I’m also having trouble with memory. After reading the latest edition of ‘Wise Traditions’ with articles both on metal toxicity, low blood pressure and the effects of both on the kidneys, I was convinced I needed to get my fillings taken out.
Will shortly be getting all six of my mercury amalgam fillings taken out, two at a time over a couple of months. Plan to use my high fat nourishing diet as well as lots of kombucha, alpha lipoic acid and activated charcoal at night to detox. Monday, the first two come out. I can’t wait!
Aug 2nd, 2008 at 3:19 am
Avoiding vaccinations and amalgam fillings will go far to avoid heavy metals. See http://www.whale.to for a listing of vaccine ingredients. Mercury can prevent other toxic metals from being excreted and will prevent absorption of some vital minerals. Mercury can block iron and zinc. Lead will block calcium. Arsenic can block zinc, etc. No point popping vitamin pills in a toxic body!
Both my daughter and I were extremely toxic with mercury. She had daily migraine headaches, extreme bowel/stomach pain and kidney damage. I was chronically fatigued and so brain fogged I couldn’t read a full paragraph and remember what the beginning was about. I had lots of amalgam fillings which were eventually removed but I was so overloaded by that point, it didn’t make a difference.
We did one therapy after another, used many supplements of varying kinds but for the most part, nothing worked until we used Natural Cellular Defense (www.detoxqueen.com). Within a few days my daughter’s migraine’s vanished, bedwetting ceased and within ten days my brain fog lifted, I had energy again and two years later we both have not had any symptoms return.
Natural Cellular Defense removes mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, DU, aluminum, VOC like toluene, benzine, hexane, and more. This is measurable with urine, hair or energy testing.
It’s impossible to avoid all exposure due to the fact that we need to breathe and eat but getting rid of the body burden will allow our elimination organs to function at a higher level so that it can deal with toxins more efficiently.
I would not ever recommend fasting for this. I really damaged my liver and kidneys by regular fasting. I’d feel better at the time but got worse from all the build-up in my liver.
Natural Cellular Defense is safe since the toxins are trapped inside the molecular structure of the zeolite so they don’t rub against the organs when exiting the body and the toxins also won’t pollute the environment either. Don’t rush out and get all your amalgams out at once! Read the classic It’s all in Your Head by Hal Huggins and make sure your dentist follows that protocol. Leave 21 days before dental work on either side of the head.
Hope this helps someone!
Sharon Hoehner
detoxexpert@gmail.com
Aug 2nd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
the following is nonsense — Some believe Depleted Uranium is a major contributor to the diabetes epidemic in Saudi Arabia. Uraniaum toxicity is also believed to be linked to Gulf War syndrome. Source, are Depleted Uranium ’smart’ bombs, mining and nuclear power stations.
Some — Leuren K Moret - on the anti-DU crusade/9/11 Truth rubber chicken circuits — take a look at the following about the difference between activism and education - pushing this kind of mumbo jumbo is activism and junk science - depleted uranium does not cause diabetes and there probably is no diabetes epidemic in Saudi Arabia - there also are no “depleted uranium smart bombs” - DU was used to kill tanks by penetrators fired out of the barrels of guns, tank guns and aircraft guns - the tank guns were fired in Saudi Arabia before the Gulf War - to get the gunners used to using DU ammunition that they had never fired before - it was fired into sand berms in the middle of nowhere - it hardly would have any effect on the people in any of the populated areas of the country. Don’t spread junk science, get your facts straight —
Now how do we stop supporting the war? Good question.
(the war has not used DU since the run on Baghdad in 2003 - there has not been an enemy tank to shoot at since and DU is pretty ineffective against anything else — it even pretty much passed through the few Bradley Fighting Vehicles (light tank/armored personnel carrier) that were hit by friendly fire which unfortunately killed more than a few good men - but most of those Bradleys were able to keep on driving. Even less of an effect would be noticed if you fired at a car or truck since they have no armor at all.) The anti-DU crusade loves your thinking that being against DU is being anti-Iraq War, but they are 5 years out of date — I really doubt that DU has been fired anywhere since 2003 just because there have been no targets to fire at. It is a very specialized bullet - very effective against tanks, designed to stop the expected Soviet Bloc hordes at the start of WW-III as those hordes sped across the North German Plain at the Fulda Gap - it worked as advertised, destroying 1000s of Soviet made Iraqi tanks. Saddam needed to make America out to be bigger ogre than he was and get rid of this potent weapon so he invited some prominent peace activists with no real scientific education or background and fed them a lot of BS about how bad DU was making it for Iraqis - it has been an exceptionally effective propaganda campaign still going by regurgitation on the net by knownothing lemmings on an almost daily basis and no real new information about toxicity since 1993. On the other hand, there has been massive research and it has found that DU does not harm people or the environment. See the IAEA report from Kuwait and the UNEP report from Boznia-Herzegovina.
Environmental Education Materials: Guidelines for Excellence
“Things to think about…
As educators on environmental topics, we sometimes walk a fine line between education and advocacy - a line that we can cross without even being aware of it. Education involves giving students access to information, opinions, and interpretations so they can develop their own conclusions. This may require the presentation of information, data, or views with which the instructor does not agree or that the instructor would rather not acknowledge. Advocacy involves giving students access to information with the intent that students reach a specific conclusion or hold a particular opinion.
An educational curriculum must present different viewpoints, such as the pros and cons of forest fires. Different perspectives also need to be presented in a balanced way - one that does not bias the student toward any one perspective. It is important to understand that, depending on their personal interpretations of information, reasonable people can hold different but equally valid views. In addition, environmental issues affect people differently; some of the consequences of a decision or action might be invisible to someone who is not aware of or open to the opinions or experiences of others.
Although it is important to maintain balance in presentation, it is also important that educators be aware of the relevance, timeliness, and accuracy of the information they provide. An instructor looking at possible curriculum may sift through large amounts of information to determine the material’s relevance and accuracy. Questions asked might include:
Is this information current?
How much of this is based on the writer’s subjective opinion, rather than research or fact?
Is the writer trying to influence me with the choice of words used?
Are these primary sources of information, or did the writer dilute or edit someone else’s work?
These questions can help indicate if and how the material should be used, what supplemental materials might be needed to help balance the presentation, and what extra tools or skills the students might need to understand or make sense of the information.”
For more information:
http://www.naaee.org/~npeee/Workbook/
Environmental Education versus Environmental Activism
Aug 3rd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Sharon,
Thanks for the info, will be looking up detoxqueen.com. Will be getting my amalgams out two at a time over a period of 6 weeks. They are small ones, so my body won’t be overloaded.
Cheers,
Karen.
Aug 11th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I have amalgam fillings also and have been gradually replacing them with the white ones, however, I have heard that the white ones are some kind of plastic and you are just replacing one evil for another. Does anyone know anything more about this? I’m not sure what to do now. Oh, also my husband’s dentist told him that the amalgam fillings develop some kind of hardness or hard coating (can’t remember exactly) and if they are old fillings they are quite stable. I’ve been wondering if having the fillings out will release mercury into your system during your dental procedure. I’m also wondering what other alternatives to the white plastic fillings there are. My dad had gold fillings (many, many years ago), are they still an option (expensive, no doubt!).
Oh, also apparantly, the white fillings aren’t nearly as strong. I know I had one that I had replaced three times before finally having a crown instead.
Aug 12th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Personally I wouldn’t get plastic fillings. And I wouldn’t replace mercury with plastic, I agree that mercury is much more stable once in place. Research ceramic. You want the one where they make a mould of the cavity. It’s expensive but seem the least toxic option.
Aug 12th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Robyn,
I have gold fillings myself since that’s all I could tolerate at the time. I have myself tested using EAV by a doctor who was very experienced with dental work. Her husband was a dentist. She had samples of various filling material and also the glue that they use to keep the crowns in place. Gold was okay but I was allergic to the glue used for the ceramic crowns. These days there is also zirconium which is very hard and electrically neutral like gold and that would be my first choice if I had to have it done again.
There’s no such thing as a safe level of mercury. Have you seen the smoking tooth video? Google it, if not. It shows the mercury vapor inside the mouth from a filling. Mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive substance on earth. Depending on how sensitive you are, you may be able to tolerate it for many years without a problem. Just because a person has no current symptoms doesn’t mean they won’t get them later. For some odd reason, mercury is fine and legal to put in the mouth but it requires special disposal when taken out of the mouth!
While plastic is not ideal, it’s better than mercury and works best for small fillings on the sides of the teeth versus the molars. It can last for many years. Please, see a biological dentist and read It’s All in Your Head first by Dr. Hal Huggins who pretty much pioneered safe dentistry. Don’t ask me to explain this but he’s got evidence that it is very bad for a person to have major dental work done on both sides of the mouth within 21 days, so do one side first. I did mine in four sessions, every 3 months. First I had the amalgam replaced with temporary fillings and then had the crowns done last. This allowed for the body to detoxify somewhat. You NEVER want two kinds of metal in the mouth at the same time. It creates a “battery-like” effect in the brain.
Do what you can, as you can afford it. I always recommend to take the Natural Cellular Defense before removal to reduce the body burden of toxins before the drilling starts and releases more. I wish this had been around before I had mine done. See my post above regarding that.
All the best to you and don’t worry about it too much. Worry is sickening!
Aug 12th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Energy efficient light bulbs also contain mercury.
Aug 12th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Thanks Kate and Sharon for your comments. Sharon, excuse my ignorance, but what is EAV? I’ll check out whether there are any biological dentists in my area. I’m aware there are some dentists who are more aware of natural health than others but I looked it up on google once and there were none in Tasmania. I’ll also google Natural Cellular Defense and Dr Hal Huggins’ book and see what I can learn.
Ceramic fillings might be the go Kate, I’ll look into it.
God, it’s annoying to think that these people wrecked our teeth and jeopardised our health (and charged us a packet for it) when a good diet could have helped our teeth heal naturally! I’m so glad I can at least feed my son a diet which should prevent a whole lot of dental work. He’s 14 and so far no decay!