Toxic Metals & Detoxification
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction
Toxic Metal Concepts
Introduction To The Minerals
Toxic Metal Dangers
Modern Diets And Toxic Metals
II. Sources And Symptoms Of Toxic Metals
Individual Minerals – Their Sources And Symptoms
General Food Sources
Airborne Sources
Congenital Toxic Metals
Environmental Sources
III. Detecting Toxic Metals And Other Topics
Ideal Human Hair Values For The Common Toxic Metals
Other Lifestyle-Related Toxic Metal Indicators
Aging And Toxic Metals
Genetics, Gene Expression And Toxic Metals
IV. Solutions For Toxic Metal Overload
More About Restoring The Organs Of Elimination
Why Toxic Metal Removal With Nutritional Balancing Programs Continues For Years
Possible Symptoms With Toxic Metal Removal
V. Summary – Chart Of Sources And Symptoms of Toxic Metals
References
I. Introduction
DEFINITION
Toxic metals are a group of minerals that have no known function in the body. In addition, they are known to be very harmful to plant, animal and human bodies.
HIGH EXPOSURE
Toxic metals have always been present on earth.
However, mankind today is exposed to the highest levels of these metals in recorded history. This is mainly due to their industrial use for the past 300 years, the burning of fossil fuels without scrubbers, and improper incineration of waste materials worldwide.
Toxic metals are now everywhere, and affect everyone on planet earth. They have become a major cause of illness, aging and even genetic defects.
NOT TAUGHT MUCH
The study of toxic metals is often considered a part of the study of toxicology. This subject matter is not widely taught today in high schools, colleges or medical schools.
For this reason, this important cause of disease is given little attention in society or in conventional mainstream medicine.
Fortunately, environmental science is beginning to pay more attention to toxic metals and their relationship to the health of all living things on planet earth.
This article focuses on the extent of toxic metal problems, sources of toxic metals, symptoms, and how to remove them safely and deeply.
Toxic metals are a group of minerals that have no known function in the body. In addition, they are known to be very harmful to plant, animal and human bodies.
HIGH EXPOSURE
Toxic metals have always been present on earth.
However, mankind today is exposed to the highest levels of these metals in recorded history. This is mainly due to their industrial use for the past 300 years, the burning of fossil fuels without scrubbers, and improper incineration of waste materials worldwide.
Toxic metals are now everywhere, and affect everyone on planet earth. They have become a major cause of illness, aging and even genetic defects.
NOT TAUGHT MUCH
The study of toxic metals is often considered a part of the study of toxicology. This subject matter is not widely taught today in high schools, colleges or medical schools.
For this reason, this important cause of disease is given little attention in society or in conventional mainstream medicine.
Fortunately, environmental science is beginning to pay more attention to toxic metals and their relationship to the health of all living things on planet earth.
This article focuses on the extent of toxic metal problems, sources of toxic metals, symptoms, and how to remove them safely and deeply.
Toxic Metal Concepts
This article presents the following principles or concepts about toxic metals. I will only mention them briefly here, because they are explained later in the article.
1. Congenital Toxic Metals.
ALL babies born today anywhere in the world have too many toxic metals. This occurs because toxic metals are widely distributed in the air, drinking water, food and elsewhere.
Also, all the toxic metals pass easily across the placenta from pregnant mothers and deposit in the tissues of their unborn babies. This is a very serious problem that few talk about. However, it is obvious if one does hair mineral testing on newborns and young children.
2. Preferred Minerals.
The body takes the best minerals it can find from food, water and sometimes elsewhere. Even the highly toxic ones can sustain life, to a degree. However, our bodies definitely prefer the ideal or nutrient minerals in enzymes and elsewhere, if they can get them.
For example, the body prefers zinc for over 50 critical enzymes.
However, if zinc becomes deficient, which it is in most soil and in most of our food today, or if exposure to cadmium, lead or mercury is sufficiently high, the body will use the toxic metals in place of zinc.
Cadmium, in particular, is located just below zinc in the periodic table of the elements, so its outer atomic structure is very similar to that of zinc.
As a result, cadmium “fits” well into zinc binding sites and can easily replace zinc in critical enzymes such as RNA transferase, carboxypeptidase, alcohol dehydrogenase and many others of great importance in the body.
An analogy is to imagine taking an automobile journey. If one is far away from a repair shop when a key part such as the fan belt breaks, if one had a spare piece of rope, one could tie it around the pulleys and continue the trip slowly.
The rope would not function nearly as well as the original part, but would allow one to keep going. This is how toxic metals can function positively in the body, at times.
Many people limp along on grossly deficient diets, and many today are born deficient in the vital minerals and too high in toxic metals due to imbalances in their mothers.
Their fatigue and other symptoms are due to the presence of incorrect “replacement parts” in their biological engine compartments.
Depending on where toxic metals accumulate, the resulting effects may be given names such as hypothyroidism, diabetes or cancer.
This is critical to understand. It means that toxic metals can have an adaptive function to sustain life in the face of vital mineral deficiencies.
Nutritional balancing programs replace less preferred minerals with more preferred minerals. This therapy concept is not well-known.
3. Stress and Toxic Metals.
Stress depletes vital minerals faster. This leads to deficiencies of these minerals. This, in turn, causes the body to absorb more toxic metals.
In this way, stress is a direct cause of toxic metal excess, which in turn contributes or causes many health conditions, aging, disabilities and death.
4. Mineral Antagonisms.
Eating plenty of nutrient minerals actually antagonizes, or prevents the absorption of the toxic metals.
Deficient diets, however, always result in toxic metal accumulation and poisoning because there are fewer vital minerals in refined food to compete with the toxic metals for absorption and utilization inside the body.
5. The Anthropomorphic Concept.
All minerals, including the toxic metals, have very specific qualities that affect our bodies, and even our personalities, when we have a lot of the mineral inside us.
For example, cadmium is a very hard toxic metal. Inside the body, it hardens the arteries and other tissues, and it even hardens a person’s personality.
6. The Poor Eliminator Concept.
A key to solving toxic metal problems is understanding that many people cannot eliminate toxic metals very well.
This fact is often overlooked when doctors try to correct toxic metal poisoning.
The worst problem is not necessarily the presence of a toxic metal, but rather an inability to eliminate toxic metals.
Hair mineral testing has very specific individual mineral indicators for poor ability to eliminate these metals.
7. Toxic Forms of Vital Minerals.
A confusing fact is that nutrient minerals such as:
- chromium
- manganese
- iron
- copper
- potassium and
- even calcium
- and others
In most cases, the body cannot convert the toxic (oxide or other) form into a usable form.
Instead, the body must eliminate the toxic forms of these minerals to restore health.
This can be very confusing for both practitioners and clients.
For example, it may appear on a test as if one is eliminating a nutrient mineral. In reality, one is just eliminating a toxic form of a nutrient mineral that is damaging the body.
8. Developmental Versus Toxic Minerals.
Toxic metals slow or stop what is called development.
It is critical to replace the toxic metals such as zinc and selenium, in order to promote health.
9. All Neurotoxic.
All of the toxic metals affect the nervous system of a human being or animal. This is important to recall.
Before discussing toxic metals, let us briefly discuss minerals, in general.
Introduction to the Minerals
Industrial toxic fumes
Minerals are the building blocks of our bodies.
They are required for body structure, fluid balance, protein structures and to produce hormones.
Minerals also act as co-factors, catalysts and inhibitors of all our body’s enzymes.
Everything in our bodies are made of about 50 minerals, also called chemical elements.
Having the right minerals is a great a key to the health of every body system and function.
MINERAL CLASSIFICATION. Minerals are classified into four groups:
1. Macrominerals.
These are found in large quantity in our bodies. They include:
2. Required Trace Minerals.
These include:
3. Possibly Required Trace Minerals.
Less is known about these. They may include:
4. Toxic Metals.
The most well-studied include:
This article will only discuss the more common toxic metals.
However, a complete nutritional balancing program will remove many others such as:
The categories of minerals above sometimes overlap slightly because assessing minerals that are required by humans is not a clear cut science. Some of them may be needed in minuscule amounts, for example.
Also, some forms of the required minerals can be highly toxic.
Examples are some forms of copper, iron, manganese, hexavalent chromium, selenium and others.
Too much of even the most needed minerals can also become toxic.
They are required for body structure, fluid balance, protein structures and to produce hormones.
Minerals also act as co-factors, catalysts and inhibitors of all our body’s enzymes.
Everything in our bodies are made of about 50 minerals, also called chemical elements.
Having the right minerals is a great a key to the health of every body system and function.
MINERAL CLASSIFICATION. Minerals are classified into four groups:
1. Macrominerals.
These are found in large quantity in our bodies. They include:
- calcium
- magnesium
- sodium
- potassium
- phosphorus and
- sulfur.
2. Required Trace Minerals.
These include:
- iron
- copper
- zinc
- manganese
- chromium
- selenium
- boron
- silicon
- iodine
- vanadium
- lithium
- molybdenum
- cobalt
- germanium and
- perhaps a few others.
3. Possibly Required Trace Minerals.
Less is known about these. They may include:
- rubidium
- tin
- niobium
- gold,
- silver
- and others.
4. Toxic Metals.
The most well-studied include:
- aluminum
- antimony
- barium
- beryllium
- bismuth
- bromine
- cadmium
- chlorine
- fluoride
- lead
- mercury
- nickel, and
- uranium.
This article will only discuss the more common toxic metals.
However, a complete nutritional balancing program will remove many others such as:
- germanium
- gadolinium (used in MRI scans as a contrast medium)
- thallium, and others.
The categories of minerals above sometimes overlap slightly because assessing minerals that are required by humans is not a clear cut science. Some of them may be needed in minuscule amounts, for example.
Also, some forms of the required minerals can be highly toxic.
Examples are some forms of copper, iron, manganese, hexavalent chromium, selenium and others.
Too much of even the most needed minerals can also become toxic.
Toxic Metal Dangers
GENERAL DANGERS
Easy Exposure.
Today mankind is exposed to the highest levels in recorded history of:
- lead
- mercury
- arsenic
- aluminum
- copper
- nickel
- tin
- antimony
- bromine
- bismuth
- and vanadium, among others.
In my clinical experience, for this reason everyone has excessive amounts of some or all of the toxic metals.
Persistent in the Environment.
Toxic metals are also persistent . The late Henry Schroeder, MD, who was a world authority on minerals, wrote:
“Most organic substances are degradable by natural processes. (However), no metal is degradable…they are here to stay for a long time”.
Persistent and Cumulative in the Body.
Toxic metals also tend to persist or remain in our bodies for years.
We can remove some of them if we are healthy, but many also accumulate.
This is the reason why nutritional balancing program include what some consider “drastic” measures to help eliminate them such as coffee enemas, sauna therapy and certain supplements.
SPECIFIC TYPES OF DAMAGE
Depositing in Tissues
Toxic metals may also simply deposit in many sites, causing local irritation and other toxic effects.
Causing Infection
Some toxic metals support good health of fungal, bacterial and viral infections that are difficult or impossible to eradicate until this cause is removed.
Damaging Biosynthesis
Minerals are very involved in the production of all chemicals in our bodies from DNA and RNA. They are needed as raw materials for body chemicals, for enzymes that participate in the synthesis of all of our chemicals, and for more.
Toxic metals interfere, block, replace, and poison many aspects of biosynthesis.
Weakening Body Structures
For example, lead, fluoride, aluminum and other toxic metals that find their way into the bones weaken the bones.
General Enzyme Damage
Toxic metals replace nutrient minerals in enzyme binding sites.
When this occurs, the metals inhibit, overstimulate or otherwise alter thousands of enzymes.
An affected enzyme may operate at 5% of normal activity.
This may contribute to many health conditions.
Toxic metals may also replace other substances in other tissue structures.
These tissues, such as the arteries, joints, bones and muscles, are weakened by the replacement process.
Other
Toxic metals upset the following:
- digestion
- alter gland activity
- change the metabolic rate, and
- damage organs such as the kidneys and liver.
- In addition, all are neurotoxic.
In fact, we find that many mental and emotional health disorders involve excess toxic metals in the body and brain.
Modern Diets and Toxic Metals
The danger of toxic metals is greatly aggravated today by the low mineral content of most of our food supply.
An abundance of vital minerals protects against toxic metals.
Vital minerals compete with toxic metals for absorption and utilization in enzymes and other tissue structures.
However, when food is low in essential minerals, the body absorbs and makes use of more toxic metals.
To continue the analogy from the previous section of this article, we are not stocking up sufficiently on factory parts, so we must use the greatly inferior replacement parts – toxic metals.
Causes for the low mineral content of almost all agricultural products are primarily:
EDTA may be added to frozen foods to retain their color. However, this chelating agent removes minerals that otherwise would cause the surface minerals to ‘tarnish’, discoloring the vegetables.
As a result of the above, the term 'empty calories' aptly describes most of our food today, even some natural foods. Newer genetically-modified crops are even worse.
Please eat only whole, natural foods.
Organically grown is almost always better. However, it can vary and many organic foods are still hybridized varieties.
An abundance of vital minerals protects against toxic metals.
Vital minerals compete with toxic metals for absorption and utilization in enzymes and other tissue structures.
However, when food is low in essential minerals, the body absorbs and makes use of more toxic metals.
To continue the analogy from the previous section of this article, we are not stocking up sufficiently on factory parts, so we must use the greatly inferior replacement parts – toxic metals.
Causes for the low mineral content of almost all agricultural products are primarily:
- Hybrid crops are bred for production or disease resistance, rather than superior nutrition.
- Superphosphate fertilizers produce higher yields by stimulating growth, but the crops grown this way do not provide nearly as many trace elements. They are used on both commercial and organic crops.
- We do not replace all the trace minerals on our agricultural fields today. Instead, human and animal manures are often flushed into the rivers and oceans, where they do not belong and are often pollutants.
- Toxic pesticides used on commercial farms damage soil microorganisms needed to help plants absorb minerals from the soil.
- After harvesting crops, food refining and processing almost always reduce the mineral content of our food. Whole wheat flour, when milled to make white flour, loses 40% of its chromium, 86% of its manganese, 89% of its cobalt, 78% of its zinc and 48% of its molybdenum.
EDTA may be added to frozen foods to retain their color. However, this chelating agent removes minerals that otherwise would cause the surface minerals to ‘tarnish’, discoloring the vegetables.
As a result of the above, the term 'empty calories' aptly describes most of our food today, even some natural foods. Newer genetically-modified crops are even worse.
Please eat only whole, natural foods.
Organically grown is almost always better. However, it can vary and many organic foods are still hybridized varieties.
II. Sources and Symptoms of Toxic Metals
For a more complete list of sources for each of the major toxic metals organized by the metal, see the Reference Guide at the end of this article.
ALUMINUM
Aluminum is called the soft in the head mineral because it is associated with memory loss and dementia.
Aluminum is a soft metal and a dangerous one.
It is very common in the environment, and almost everyone shows some aluminum toxicity on their hair tests.
Among the most important sources are:
1. Anti-Perspirants
Modern anti-perspirants all contain toxic aluminum compounds.
The deodorant stones and deodorant crystals are no better, even though they are “natural”. Use an old-fashioned deodorant instead, or spray some dilute hydrogen peroxide or some liquid soap like Dr. Bronner’s soap under your arms instead.
2. Tap Water
Towns and cities in many nations routinely add aluminum to their tap water as a flocculating agent (to remove dirt particles).
This is a horrible practice.
3. Table Salt
A lot of table salt contains added aluminum as an anti-caking agent and should never be eaten! Natural sea salt is much better.
4. Food Cans, Cookware or Aluminum Foil
Beverages in aluminum cans or food cooked in aluminum may contain elevated levels of aluminum.
Some cans are coated on the inside, and this is better.
5. Other
Aluminum is also found in some baking powders, and some cosmetics such as blush.
Peppermint, spearmint and wintergreen teas are naturally high in aluminum.
ARSENIC
I call arsenic the slow death mineral.
Its symptoms are vague, and it was used to kill people because it is colorless and tasteless, so it was added to food and slowly killed people.
Today, arsenic is still a common toxin.
It may legally be added to chicken feed (Roxsarone) according to the corrupt US Food And Drug Administration (the FDA) and the somewhat corrupt US Department of Agriculture (USDA). I believe Europe has banned arsenic in chicken feed.
Arsenic can get into commercial eggs, all pig products such as pork, ham, bacon and lard, and into most US drinking water supplies as it leaches into the soil from farming and livestock operations.
Organic chicken and eggs should be better.
Best to limit or even to avoid all pig products due to parasite problems, even if well-cooked, and to avoid the arsenic.
Arsenic is used in pesticides and, as a result, may be found in commercial wines, beers, fruits, vegetables, rice and other foods.
Once again, organically grown should be better.
Recently, rice grown in China has been found to be quite contaminated with arsenic.
BROMINE
Among the many food sources of bromine are breads and clear-colored soda pop. These include Mountain Dew, Crystal Light, Sprite and others. A long list is found in the article mentioned in the next paragraph.
Bromine can damage the thyroid gland and replace iodine in all body tissues.
This is quite serious.
It should not be allowed to be added to our foods.
CADMIUM
We call cadmium the macho mineral, and it is one of the violent elements.
Cadmium toughens the tissues and hardens the arteries.
It also hardens the personality.
Like lead, it is an older male mineral that is associated with macho behavior, violence and horror.
The concept that when we ingest or are exposed to a toxic metal, our bodies and our minds take on the qualities of the mineral is called the anthropomorphic quality of minerals.
It means that each mineral – both the vital minerals and the toxic metals – have human-like qualities such as hardness, softness, or malleability, and they influence us.
Interestingly, cadmium helps people to “be tough” and take risks.
For example, many modern city women have high cadmium that allows them to function in male-oriented jobs such as being company executives.
Cadmium helps them and others, such as prostitutes, to act more tough and to handle lots of stress.
Military men and women, and police often have more cadmium, as it helps them handle their very difficult jobs, at times, and take risks.
Unfortunately, it is also a deadly toxic metal associated with heart disease, cancers of all kind, kidney disease, diabetes and other serious health problems.
People who have orgasms more than once a week tend to accumulate more cadmium, probably because cadmium replaces zinc in the male testicles, and even in women’s ovaries.
Male and female sexual fluids are rich in zinc and some cadmium.
Cadmium is widespread in the air, as it is used in brake linings of cars.
It is also used in metal plating as it is a very hard substance.
Tobacco cigarette, marijuana and CBD oil or cannabis oil contain cadmium.
This is one reason people like marijuana, as cadmium boosts the sodium level.
They don’t realize they are poisoning themselves – usually permanently – by using it.
Cadmium is also used as a catalyst in some hydrogenated products such as commercial peanut butter and margarine.
Please avoid these horrible food items.
I call arsenic the slow death mineral.
Its symptoms are vague, and it was used to kill people because it is colorless and tasteless, so it was added to food and slowly killed people.
Today, arsenic is still a common toxin.
It may legally be added to chicken feed (Roxsarone) according to the corrupt US Food And Drug Administration (the FDA) and the somewhat corrupt US Department of Agriculture (USDA). I believe Europe has banned arsenic in chicken feed.
Arsenic can get into commercial eggs, all pig products such as pork, ham, bacon and lard, and into most US drinking water supplies as it leaches into the soil from farming and livestock operations.
Organic chicken and eggs should be better.
Best to limit or even to avoid all pig products due to parasite problems, even if well-cooked, and to avoid the arsenic.
Arsenic is used in pesticides and, as a result, may be found in commercial wines, beers, fruits, vegetables, rice and other foods.
Once again, organically grown should be better.
Recently, rice grown in China has been found to be quite contaminated with arsenic.
BROMINE
Among the many food sources of bromine are breads and clear-colored soda pop. These include Mountain Dew, Crystal Light, Sprite and others. A long list is found in the article mentioned in the next paragraph.
Bromine can damage the thyroid gland and replace iodine in all body tissues.
This is quite serious.
It should not be allowed to be added to our foods.
CADMIUM
We call cadmium the macho mineral, and it is one of the violent elements.
Cadmium toughens the tissues and hardens the arteries.
It also hardens the personality.
Like lead, it is an older male mineral that is associated with macho behavior, violence and horror.
The concept that when we ingest or are exposed to a toxic metal, our bodies and our minds take on the qualities of the mineral is called the anthropomorphic quality of minerals.
It means that each mineral – both the vital minerals and the toxic metals – have human-like qualities such as hardness, softness, or malleability, and they influence us.
Interestingly, cadmium helps people to “be tough” and take risks.
For example, many modern city women have high cadmium that allows them to function in male-oriented jobs such as being company executives.
Cadmium helps them and others, such as prostitutes, to act more tough and to handle lots of stress.
Military men and women, and police often have more cadmium, as it helps them handle their very difficult jobs, at times, and take risks.
Unfortunately, it is also a deadly toxic metal associated with heart disease, cancers of all kind, kidney disease, diabetes and other serious health problems.
People who have orgasms more than once a week tend to accumulate more cadmium, probably because cadmium replaces zinc in the male testicles, and even in women’s ovaries.
Male and female sexual fluids are rich in zinc and some cadmium.
Cadmium is widespread in the air, as it is used in brake linings of cars.
It is also used in metal plating as it is a very hard substance.
Tobacco cigarette, marijuana and CBD oil or cannabis oil contain cadmium.
This is one reason people like marijuana, as cadmium boosts the sodium level.
They don’t realize they are poisoning themselves – usually permanently – by using it.
Cadmium is also used as a catalyst in some hydrogenated products such as commercial peanut butter and margarine.
Please avoid these horrible food items.
LEAD
Lead is called the horror mineral because it is associated with violence, lowered IQ, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, and many other neurological problems.
Lead is a widely distributed toxic metal due to its many uses in industry.
Pesticides used on fruits, vegetables and many other foods may contain lead, among other toxic metals.
Lead was added to gasoline until the 1970s in the USA and elsewhere.
Now gasoline contains a highly toxic form of manganese, instead.
Old house paint, current paint used on ships of all sizes, a few hair dyes, lubricants, medications, cosmetics such as lipstick and others, inks, and perhaps other products may contain lead.
Glazes used on cookware in some nations still contains lead that can come off onto the food.
Entire books have been written about lead toxicity, which causes hundreds of symptoms from anemia to death.
MERCURY
Mercury may be called the mad hatters mineral.
People who made raccoon skin hats in the mid 1800s in America and Europe developed mercury toxicity after a few years from rubbing mercury on felt to soften it. Many became mentally and emotionally deranged after a few years of working in the hat factories.
Dental Fillings
“Silver” dental amalgam fillings are usually about half mercury.
I would have them replaced if you have them, as the mercury will slowly leach out of them and into your body.
Fish and Seafoods
These are universally contaminated with mercury on planet earth.
It is really a tragedy, since otherwise it is a great food.
Mercury is found today in ALL FISH, bar none. Even small fish, which used to be safe, are not any more.
As a result, the only fish I suggest eating are sardines and occasionally other tiny fish such as anchovies or smelt or herring. Skinless and boneless sardines have the least mercury. For details of why, read Sardines on this site.
We strongly suggest avoiding all other fish. Anyone who eats fish other than sardines and perhaps other tiny fish, even once a week, demonstrates high mercury on a hair mineral test.
Large fish concentrate mercury a million times or more. The federal government recently issued a warning that pregnant and lactating women should avoid tuna, shark, king mackerel, halibut, ahi, mahi mahi, and other large fish.
Avoid all shellfish. Shellfish are often even more toxic than other fish.
For some reason, their bodies often accumulate cadmium and lead, in addition to mercury.
Most shellfish are caught in coastal waters, which are the most contaminated. Please avoid all shellfish, as the problem is just getting worse in most nations of the world.
Once again, this is sad to have to say, but mineral tests reveal the problem to anyone willing to check my assertion.
This is why many people are “allergic” to them.
This is a mild term. They are really poisoned by them.
Seaweed
Another food that is often contaminated with mercury is seaweed.
This includes all types of sea vegetables.
Sushi, for example, is quite toxic due to the seaweed and often the fish, which are large fish.
Today, eating sushi can land you in the hospital.
The only sea vegetable we recommend is kelp.
Kelp contains some mercury, but is high in alginates that bind to the mercury and prevent most mercury absorption.
Salt
Some doctors don’t advise eating salt because it comes from the sea and may contain some mercury. However, we find that natural sea salt is needed and not that high in mercury.
NOTE: A recent finding is that Mellow White Miso by Cold Mountain can help detoxify mercury.
NICKEL
This is called the depression and suicide mineral, as it is associated with these feelings and symptoms.
Nickel is another hardener, used to plate inexpensive jewelry, in coins, and as a plating material for bathroom fixtures and many other metallic items.
Most orthodontic braces sadly contain nickel today.
It is also found in some metal crowns and dental wires used in bridges and elsewhere in dentistry. Be very careful about this because nickel can contribute to cancer and other health problems.
Nickel is found in rooibos tea or red tea.
It is also used as a catalyst to make ALL hydrogenated oil products such as commercial peanut butter, ALL margarines, and vegetable shortening.
FLUORIDE
Fluoride is sometimes called a cancer mineral.
It is highly toxic.
In fact, it is sold as rat poison.
The research about its toxicity and horror for the human body is very clear scientifically, but this is suppressed by most public health authorities in the USA and Great Britain.
The biggest source is fluoride added to drinking water supplies.
Adding fluoride to drinking water not only does not stop cavities in the teeth. It is totally insane, because fluoride compounds added to drinking water are extremely toxic.
Most of the world has stopped this awful practice except for parts of America and Great Britain.
More and more American cities and towns are voting it out.
If your town still has it, organize to get rid of it. Several excellent websites and organizations are there to help.
Fluorides have found their way into ground water supplies, and thus into the food chain.
For this reason, fluoride levels in foods processed with water may be very high, especially baby foods and reconstituted vegetable and fruit juices.
Please never consume these, and never feed them to your children. Also, do not give babies and children fluoride tablets or fluoride treatments at the dentist’s office.
Health authorities who recommend fluoridating the water, or any fluorides, are extremely ignorant, in my experience.
I have debated dentists and public health officials on this issue.
Their real level of knowledge of the medical literature on fluorides is lacking.
Recommendation for fluoride also rarely, if ever, take into account the already toxic amount of fluorides people are already getting in natural foods, foods processed with fluoridated water, and fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwashes.
The combination adds up to overload, in all cases.
Hydrofluosilicic acid, the chemical often used to fluoridate drinking water, is a smokestack waste that contains lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, benzene and radioactive waste material.
CHLORINE
Everyone assumes chlorine is safe, since it is used to purify most all drinking water around the world. It is not safe, however.
It is a very toxic mineral associated with heart disease and dementia, among other health conditions.
Purification of water supplies with ozone is much better.
I strongly suggest that everyone drink either spring water, which has little to no chlorine in it, or drink carbon-only filtered tap or other water.
Carbon will remove most chlorine from water. A carbon block filter is best. Just remember to change the filter every few months so it will keep working.
Note that carbon and carbon block filters do not remove most toxic metals from water. Only distillation and reverse osmosis remove most toxic metals. However, these produce a mineral-free water that is not good to drink for this reason, and for other reasons, as well.
Another important source of toxic chlorine is the residue found in bleached flour and any products such as bread, pastry, cookies and more made with bleached white flour.
Chlorine is used to bleach the flour.
COPPER
Copper is not a toxic metal.
However, it often accumulates in toxic forms in the body, and causes many health problems.
This problem is extremely common today.
Copper mainly accumulates in the nervous system and in the female organs.
For example, copper toxicity is associated with migraine headaches, premenstrual syndrome, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, some schizophrenias and seizures.
Copper also can replace selenium in various tissues.
This can impair the conversion of T4 to T3, contributing to thyroid imbalances that are very common.
IRON
Iron is a vital mineral.
However, acquired iron toxicity is extremely common.
This is what we find on hair mineral tests.
This is not the same as the genetic disease hemochromatosis. The toxicity has a different cause. The iron is in a toxic form, often in an oxide form that is very irritating and pro-inflammatory.
Sources include eating red meat more than about twice or three times weekly or eating more than 4-5 ounce portions of it.
Other sources are taking iron pills or mineral supplements containing iron.
Another important source is “iron-enriched” foods such as breads and most other products made with white flour.
Some herbs such as black cohosh are high in iron, as is some drinking water.
Iron can give drinking water a slight yellowish color.
Holding on to anger can increase iron in the body.
Many babies today are born with too much toxic iron, just as they are born with too much of many toxic substances.
Holistic doctors often give anti-oxidants to help reduce the inflammation.
However, a much better solution is to remove the toxic iron.
Nutritional balancing programs do this, in all cases. However, other nutritional, herbal or medical programs cannot do this very well, in my experience.
URANIUM
The main sources of uranium are air polluted with radioactive particles from A-bomb tests, nuclear power plant emissions, nuclear plant accidents such as the Fukishima disaster recently in Japan, and perhaps some foods contaminated with uranium from the same sources.
Uranium is radioactive, as is radon gas found in some homes.
It can damage the lungs and other organs, it damages DNA, and is associated with higher levels of cancer and other diseases.
General Food Sources
Food grown near highways or downwind of industrial plants may contain lead and other toxic amounts of metals.
Even organic home gardens may be contaminated if, for example, old house paint containing lead leaches lead into the soil.
Sprays and insecticides still often contain lead, arsenic, mercury and other toxic metals.
Refining of food often contaminates the food with aluminum, as it is found in water supplies everywhere and it may be used in some food refining processes.
Also, some food refining removes the protective zinc, chromium and manganese from food and leaves the toxic metals in some cases, such as cadmium.
This makes white flour even more toxic, as with white sugar, and is another reason to totally avoid these foods.
Airborne Sources of Toxic Metals
Most toxic metals are effectively absorbed by inhalation.
Auto, ship and aircraft exhaust, industrial smoke and products from incinerators are among the airborne sources of toxic metals and other chemicals.
Mercury and Coal-Fired Power Plants
Burning coal can release mercury, lead and cadmium among other metals.
Iranian and Venezuelan oil are high in vanadium.
Coal plants should have scrubbers, as they do in the United States. However, India and China, in particular, often do not have scrubbers on their power plants. They may not realize the damage their plants are causing to the entire world due to pollution of the air, water and food supplies.
Uranium Exposure is largely from airborne sources such as nuclear bomb tests and accidents at nuclear power plants.
All nuclear power plants also emit some low-level radiation, as does uranium refining and medical use of nuclear material. X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and dental x-rays also add to our burden of ionizing radiation today. Fortunately, some of this can be removed with a nutritional balancing program.
Incineration Can Be Clean
Older methods of incineration of electronic parts, plastics, treated fabrics, batteries and even diapers release all the toxic metals into the air. The use of scrubbers and newer methods of very high temperature incineration are much better.
Cadmium and Mercury in Papers
Cigarette and marijuana smoke are high in cadmium, and cadmium is found in cigarette and joint rolling paper.
It helps keep the drugs burning.
Pesticides used on these crops may contain lead, arsenic and other toxic metals.
Medications and Toxic Metals
Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs contain toxic metals.
Cipro (fluoquinolone antibiotics) and anti-depressants such as Prozac (fluoxetine) are fluoride-containing drugs, for example.
Thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, is still used in many vaccines, including most flu shots, even when doctors deny it, I am told.
Independent evaluation of a large study that is part of the Centers For Disease Control Vaccine Safety Datalink concluded that:
“Children are 27 times as likely to develop autism after exposure to three thimerisol-containing vaccines than those who receive thimerisol-free versions” .
Thiazide diuretics contain mercury.
These include Maxzide, Diazide and many others.
Antacids such as Ryopan, Gaviscon, Maalox, Mylanta and many others are very high in aluminum.
Direct Skin Contact As A Source Of Toxic Metals
Almost all anti-perspirants and many cosmetics contain aluminum.
Dental amalgams contain mercury, copper and other metals.
Dental bridges and other appliances often contain nickel.
Prostheses and pins used to hold bones together may contain nickel and other toxic metals, although most are titanium and stainless steel, which are much better.
Copper intra-uterine devices (IUDs) release lots of copper into the body.
This can cause depression, and other problems for some women.
Soaps, body lotions and creams often contain toxic compounds.
A few hair dyes and commercial high-end lipsticks contain lead.
Selsun Blue shampoo contains selenium that is quite toxic.
Head N Shoulders shampoo is much safer and contains zinc, but not selenium.
Household lawn and garden chemicals may contain lead, arsenic and other compounds.
Mercury treated seeds and arsenic-treated wood are other common sources of toxic metals.
Occupational Exposure to Toxic Metals is important for many occupations today. Among the worst are plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, printers, ironworkers, and other metal workers.
Workers need to wear gloves, masks and take other precautions when handling inks, metals and other toxic materials.
The main sources of uranium are air polluted with radioactive particles from A-bomb tests, nuclear power plant emissions, nuclear plant accidents such as the Fukishima disaster recently in Japan, and perhaps some foods contaminated with uranium from the same sources.
Uranium is radioactive, as is radon gas found in some homes.
It can damage the lungs and other organs, it damages DNA, and is associated with higher levels of cancer and other diseases.
General Food Sources
Food grown near highways or downwind of industrial plants may contain lead and other toxic amounts of metals.
Even organic home gardens may be contaminated if, for example, old house paint containing lead leaches lead into the soil.
Sprays and insecticides still often contain lead, arsenic, mercury and other toxic metals.
Refining of food often contaminates the food with aluminum, as it is found in water supplies everywhere and it may be used in some food refining processes.
Also, some food refining removes the protective zinc, chromium and manganese from food and leaves the toxic metals in some cases, such as cadmium.
This makes white flour even more toxic, as with white sugar, and is another reason to totally avoid these foods.
Airborne Sources of Toxic Metals
Most toxic metals are effectively absorbed by inhalation.
Auto, ship and aircraft exhaust, industrial smoke and products from incinerators are among the airborne sources of toxic metals and other chemicals.
Mercury and Coal-Fired Power Plants
Burning coal can release mercury, lead and cadmium among other metals.
Iranian and Venezuelan oil are high in vanadium.
Coal plants should have scrubbers, as they do in the United States. However, India and China, in particular, often do not have scrubbers on their power plants. They may not realize the damage their plants are causing to the entire world due to pollution of the air, water and food supplies.
Uranium Exposure is largely from airborne sources such as nuclear bomb tests and accidents at nuclear power plants.
All nuclear power plants also emit some low-level radiation, as does uranium refining and medical use of nuclear material. X-rays, CT scans, PET scans and dental x-rays also add to our burden of ionizing radiation today. Fortunately, some of this can be removed with a nutritional balancing program.
Incineration Can Be Clean
Older methods of incineration of electronic parts, plastics, treated fabrics, batteries and even diapers release all the toxic metals into the air. The use of scrubbers and newer methods of very high temperature incineration are much better.
Cadmium and Mercury in Papers
Cigarette and marijuana smoke are high in cadmium, and cadmium is found in cigarette and joint rolling paper.
It helps keep the drugs burning.
Pesticides used on these crops may contain lead, arsenic and other toxic metals.
Medications and Toxic Metals
Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs contain toxic metals.
Cipro (fluoquinolone antibiotics) and anti-depressants such as Prozac (fluoxetine) are fluoride-containing drugs, for example.
Thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, is still used in many vaccines, including most flu shots, even when doctors deny it, I am told.
Independent evaluation of a large study that is part of the Centers For Disease Control Vaccine Safety Datalink concluded that:
“Children are 27 times as likely to develop autism after exposure to three thimerisol-containing vaccines than those who receive thimerisol-free versions” .
Thiazide diuretics contain mercury.
These include Maxzide, Diazide and many others.
Antacids such as Ryopan, Gaviscon, Maalox, Mylanta and many others are very high in aluminum.
Direct Skin Contact As A Source Of Toxic Metals
Almost all anti-perspirants and many cosmetics contain aluminum.
Dental amalgams contain mercury, copper and other metals.
Dental bridges and other appliances often contain nickel.
Prostheses and pins used to hold bones together may contain nickel and other toxic metals, although most are titanium and stainless steel, which are much better.
Copper intra-uterine devices (IUDs) release lots of copper into the body.
This can cause depression, and other problems for some women.
Soaps, body lotions and creams often contain toxic compounds.
A few hair dyes and commercial high-end lipsticks contain lead.
Selsun Blue shampoo contains selenium that is quite toxic.
Head N Shoulders shampoo is much safer and contains zinc, but not selenium.
Household lawn and garden chemicals may contain lead, arsenic and other compounds.
Mercury treated seeds and arsenic-treated wood are other common sources of toxic metals.
Occupational Exposure to Toxic Metals is important for many occupations today. Among the worst are plumbers, electricians, auto mechanics, printers, ironworkers, and other metal workers.
Workers need to wear gloves, masks and take other precautions when handling inks, metals and other toxic materials.
Congenital Toxic Metals
This is an extremely important and preventable tragedy. It is a vital topic that deserves a separate article. I will just briefly introduce the subject.
Today, all children are born with some toxic metals acquired in utero.
All the toxic metals pass through the placenta from mother to child.
This is seen clearly when reviewing mineral analyses of infants.
These are babies who have never been exposed to food, yet their bodies are high in many toxic metals.
The only explanation is that these infants receive exposures in utero during gestation.
This is a very sad situation, as many children are born with two strikes against them, so to speak.
They are far more prone to autism, ADD, ADHD, infections, developmental delays and more. For more information about this critical topic, see the articles on this website about children’s health.
This tragedy can be largely prevented if all young women would go on a nutritional balancing program before they become pregnant to reduce their load of toxic metals.
It does not matter how healthy a woman appears to be.
Most all young women today have too many toxic metals in the body that are passed on to their children.
I am always pleased when a teenage girl or young woman decides to improve her health before becoming pregnant.
It makes an amazing difference for her and her baby.
One can clean up the metals to a degree during pregnancy, but it is best to begin now!
The problem of congenital toxic metals is especially important because standard prenatal care is horribly lacking in Western nations.
III. Detecting Toxic Metals
Toxic metals are not easy to detect.
In fact, detecting all the toxic metals is impossible, as far as I know, because they accumulate deep within body tissues and organs.
Here are comments on the various methods of detection, including tests of the blood, urine, hair, feces, liver biopsy tests, and other methods such as electrical machines and applied kinesiology.
Blood Tests.
The problem with blood tests is that the body quickly removes toxic metals from the blood and moves them into the tissues.
So blood tests must be done soon after an exposure, usually within days or weeks at the most, or they are practically useless.
Blood tests are helpful for an acute exposure, such as eating a food contaminated with lead and doing a test soon after.
However, this entire article is mainly about chronic toxic metal poisoning.
Urine and Feces Challenge Tests.
These are done by first administering a chelation drug that binds to and removes toxic metals.
Examples are EDTA or DMPS.
Then one collects a 24-hour urine, or a feces sample to see what comes out of the body.
This test does not detect most toxic metals.
The reason is that the chelating drugs mainly circulate in the blood. So they tend to miss most toxic metals that are stored in the tissues or incorporated into enzymes in the brain, heart, liver, kidneys and elsewhere.
Liver or Other Biopsies.
This method is more accurate and is used, at times, to detect iron poisoning and copper poisoning, for example.
However, liver biopsies are costly, invasive and somewhat dangerous.
For this reason, liver biopsies are not used often.
Electrical Machines.
Electroacupuncture devices, radionic machines and other machines can detect some toxic metals.
However, I have not found them accurate or reliable.
They are also sometimes dependent upon the skill of the operator, which further decreases their reliability and accuracy.
Applied Kinesiology.
This method, also called muscle testing, is variable in its reliability and extremely dependent upon the operator or practitioner.
It also does not quantify the amount of metals present.
I would not depend upon it.
Hair Mineral Analysis for Toxic Detection
I specialize in the use of the this test.
For this reason, this is a longer section of the article.
The hair test measures toxic metals deposited in the hair and skin.
It is better than some other methods, but I do not use the test primarily to detect toxic metals.
I find that no test is that accurate.
Fortunately, if a person follow a complete nutritional balancing program, all the toxic metals eventually come out of the body, so figuring out which are present is not too important.
Why Hair?
Hair accumulates toxic metals because hair is an excretory tissue.
This means that anything that goes into the hair will be removed from the body.
So the body often unloads poisons by shunting them into the hair and skin.
The hair mineral test is also unique in that it is a biopsy type of test that gives a snapshot of the inside of the body cells.
None of the other methods do this so directly.
Government Opinion on Hair Testing
The United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA reviewed over 400 studies of the use of hair for toxic metal detection and concluded that:
“Hair is a meaningful and representative tissue for (biological monitoring for) antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, vanadium and perhaps selenium and tin."
The author of a study of lead toxicity in Massachusetts school children, Dr. R. Tuthill, concluded:
“Scalp hair should be considered a useful clinical and epidemiological approach for the measurement of chronic low-level lead exposure in children.”
Reading the levels of the toxic metals on a hair analysis report is not sufficient to glean all the information from the test.
Here is how to do it better:
1. The hair must be washed at home within 48 hours or less before sampling.
Any ordinary shampoo may be used.
If one has a water softener, then it is best to wash the hair twice before sampling it, using unsoftened tap water, reverse osmosis water, distilled or spring water.
2. The hair sample must not be washed at the laboratory at all.
The reason is that washing the hair always erratically removes some of its minerals.
For this reason, I only suggest using Analytical Research Laboratories for hair testing. Most other labs wash the hair.
3. Look for elevated levels of toxic metals.
However, MOST LABORATORIES HAVE THEIR ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF TOXIC METALS SET TOO HIGH. One must use the acceptable levels that are listed in the section below.
4. The Amigos.
These are toxic forms of iron, manganese and aluminum.
The interpretation rule is that if any one of these are elevated, the other two are elevated in the body as well.
Elevated aluminum is any reading above 0.04 mg% or 0.4 ppm. Elevated iron is any reading above 2 mg% or 20 ppm. Elevated manganese is any reading above 0.04 mg% or 0.4 ppm.
5. Poor Eliminator Patterns.
An excellent indicator of hidden toxic metals in the body is the presence of a poor eliminator pattern.
6. Hidden Copper Toxicity.
The hair copper level is a very poor indicator of copper toxicity.
Instead, look for hidden copper indicators, which include:
- Copper greater than 2.5 mg% or 25 ppm.
- Copper less than 1.5 mg% or 15 ppm.
- Calcium greater than about 65 mg% or 650 ppm.
- Potassium less than about 5 mg% or 50 ppm.
- Mercury greater than about 0.030 mg% or 0.35 ppm.
- Zinc less than 13 mg% or 130 ppm.
- Na/K ratio less than 2.0
- Four lows pattern.
- Zinc greater than 17 mg% or 170 ppm, in many cases.
- Phosphorus less than 12 mg% or 120 ppm, in most cases.
7. Mercury Indicators.
Mercury is so widespread that almost everyone has too much. I do not pay too much attention to any test for mercury because I know that:
a) Anyone who eats large or medium-sized fish has a lot.
b) Anyone with amalgam dental fillings has a lot.
c) Anyone who eats seafood or sushi has plenty.
d) Most, if not all babies today are born with it thanks to toxicity in their mothers.
The hair or other test results are often not as important as these dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors.
8. Other General Indicators of High Toxic Metals On a Hair Mineral Analysis.
These include a very slow oxidation rate, fast oxidation in an adult, three highs or four highs pattern, and sympathetic dominance pattern.
I realize this includes almost everyone, and that is the truth.
We know this because even those who show few toxic metals on their initial hair mineral test often eliminate large quantities of toxic metals during nutritional balancing programs.
This shows itself on repeat hair mineral tests, and often takes a number of years to be revealed.
In my own case, it took eight years before cadmium showed up on my hair test, and about 20 years before nickel showed up.
High, Low and Normal Hair Levels
for the Toxic Metals
To find the most recent normal and high levels of toxic metals that I use, please go to: High, Ideal and Low Mineral Values on this site.
Aging and Toxic Metals
The slow, or not so slow, replacement of vital minerals with toxic metals is an important and neglected cause of aging due to deactivation of enzyme systems and the loss of organ and tissue integrity.
One could say it is the essence of aging, from a purely mineral perspective.
Toxic metal accumulation also feeds on itself.
As one’s energy production decreases with age, the body is less able to eliminate toxic metals due to the lack of adaptive energy in the body. This, in turn, causes more metal accumulation.
Genetic, Gene Expression and Toxic Metals
Many birth defects are due to faulty gene expression, and not DNA problems.
Toxic metals are one cause.
For example, zinc is required for several key enzymes in gene expression, such as RNA transferase and RNA polymerase.
Not surprisingly, zinc deficiency is associated with conditions such as neural tube defects.
Many toxic metals interfere with zinc metabolism.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs are a fancy name for defective gene expression, even though the DNA is fine. Toxic metals at the cellular level can cause these.
Toxic metals are one cause.
For example, zinc is required for several key enzymes in gene expression, such as RNA transferase and RNA polymerase.
Not surprisingly, zinc deficiency is associated with conditions such as neural tube defects.
Many toxic metals interfere with zinc metabolism.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs are a fancy name for defective gene expression, even though the DNA is fine. Toxic metals at the cellular level can cause these.
IV. Solutions to Toxic Metal Overload
One should not fear toxic metals.
They cannot be completely avoided, but one can minimize exposure with careful eating and a healthful lifestyle.
Also, thanks be to God, our bodies have an effective mechanisms to eliminate toxic metals.
One of the best way I know how is with a nutritional balancing program.
This method, which does not involve chelation at all, uses at least 35 methods together, at once, to remove ALL toxic metals safely and deeply.
In my experience, it is more thorough, safer and removes metals better than intravenous or any other type of chelation therapy.
Also, all chelating agents remove some beneficial minerals along with the toxic ones.
How to Detoxify the Body
The methods below are always used together in nutritional balancing program, in an integrated combination, to remove all toxic metals and hundreds of toxic chemicals, as well, from the body.
1. Increase The Amount of Rest and Sleep Greatly.
Extra rest and sleep is critical for any detoxification program for several reasons:
a) Detoxification takes place mostly when we are resting or sleeping. During the day when one is active, the body is mainly focused on the daily activities, not on eliminating poisons from the body.
b) Rest and sleep reduce sympathetic nervous system activity. This is so important it is listed separately as a powerful method to enhance detoxification of all chemicals, metals and other types of poisons.
c) Resting and sleeping more conserves the body’s energy for healing. Most people use up too much energy in their daily activities. This slows progress tremendously.
d) The essential organs and glands, such as the adrenals, thyroid, liver, kidneys and others rebuild best when rested.
e) Sleep allows mental and emotional processing to occur. This reduces stress, which helps release toxic metals. Many people live in continual stress because they do not process each day’s events and traumas enough at night due to not enough resting time.
2. Inhibit the Sympathetic Nervous System.
This is another key to our programs.
Sympathetic nervous system activity reduces the elimination of all toxins from the body.
This is well known in medicine.
The liver, kidneys, bowel, skin even the lungs are all associated with the parasympathetic nervous system.
They are also important organs of elimination.
Sympathetic nervous system activity inhibits these activities powerfully.
One can reduce sympathetic activity in at least six ways:
a) As mentioned above, get a lot more rest and sleep. This is a primary method of reducing sympathetic nervous system activity.
b) Diet is important needs to be as nourishing and non-stimulatory as possible. Lots of cooked vegetables provide the most minerals possible.
The diet also needs to minimize chemical additives and other toxins. One should also limit caffeine, sugar, wheat, most beef, and other stimulating, irritating, allergic or sensitive foods in the diet.
c) Supplements used in nutritional balancing programs are carefully chosen to have a parasympathetic effect. This means strictly limiting all stimulating products, including many herbs, as well.
d) The lifestyle must be restful in general. This can have a big influence on the nervous system, even if one sleeps enough. It includes one’s activities, relationships, job or career, thoughts and emotions.
e) Other ways to reduce sympathetic nervous stimulation are to be careful with excessive exercise, reduce cell phone use, and avoid other radiation sources. Far infrared saunas give off harmful EM fields and should not be used.
Red heat lamp saunas, however, are excellent to reduce sympathetic nervous system activity. Reduce noise levels, freeway driving and other more dangerous or unnerving activities. These and many other simple changes together can reduce your stress level dramatically.
f) Reducing certain imbalances on a hair mineral chart also can dramatically lower sympathetic nervous activity. These include, but are not limited to, balancing a fast oxidation rate, reducing a high Na/K or a high Ca/Mg ratio, improving zinc, selenium and chromium status and lowering certain toxic metal levels.
3. Eat an Excellent-Quality Diet of 70-80% Cooked Vegetables and Some Animal Protein Daily. Avoid All Fruits, Fruit juices, Sweets, Most Nuts and Seeds and Strictly Avoid Vegetarian and Raw Food Diets.
This diet is the richest in alkaline reserve minerals that I know of.
The body will absorb and utilize less toxic metals if it receives more of the preferred minerals.
A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition measured the mineral content of organic versus commercial food.
Results indicated that food labeled “organic” that was selected randomly from Chicago food markets had an average of twice the mineral content of standard supermarket food.
The famed people of Hunza who live to 120 years or longer in excellent health drink glacial runoff that was so mineral-rich the water was cloudy (see The Wheel of Health by G.T. Wrench, paperback edition, 2009).
Other mineral-rich foods that are part of the diets we recommend are kelp, sea salt, and bone broth.
The fiber from cooked vegetables and whole grains reduces bowel transit time and reduces constipation, which help limit the absorption of toxic metals.
For much more on diet, please read the Slow Oxidizer Eating Plan and other articles on diet on this website.
4. Other Dietary Considerations.
These include;
a) Avoid all restrictive and extreme diets. These include strict vegan and vegetarian diets, for example. These are almost always deficient in zinc and many other essential nutrients. Read Vegetarian Diets on this website.
Raw food diets do not work well today because no one is able to extract enough minerals from raw foods. The minerals are not available because they are bound up with tough vegetable fibers that we cannot properly digest, even with a digestive aid.
Raw food is also much too cold for general consumption. Read Raw Foods for more information about them.
Cooking does not reduce the mineral content of food and usually makes minerals much more bioavailable by breaking down fiber. Cooking also concentrates the food so that one ends up ingesting many more vital minerals.
b) Avoid living on protein powders and other processed supplements instead of foods. For example, egg or whey protein powder is not a substitute for eating eggs or fresh goat milk. The latter are whole foods that are much richer in many minerals. Food supplements are never a substitute for an excellent diet.
c) Avoid most refined foods such as white sugar, white flour, table salt and white rice. These are almost devoid of vital minerals and will cause the body to absorb and utilize more toxic metals.
5. Improve the Eating Habits, Attitudes and Other Aspects of Lifestyle.
Excellent eating habits include having regular, sit-down meals in a quiet place.
Also, eat quietly and slowly, and chew thoroughly.
These habits assist nutrient absorption and proper elimination.
Poor habits include skipping meals, snacking all day, eating on the run, and eating the same foods every day wit no variety.
Attitudes.
A relaxed and positive outlook greatly facilitates elimination and healing of all illness.
One’s attitudes can matter greatly as well. They either relieve stress, or add to it.
I encourage an attitude of gratitude and avoidance of all victim thinking. This include thinking that anyone else is a victim, either.
Such apparently small changes in one’s thoughts and actions can have a huge impact on general health and the body’s ability to heal and eliminate toxic substances.
In contrast, hopelessness impair elimination.
These factors are too often overlooked by medical and holistic practitioners.
In some cases, other lifestyle patterns are destructive and must be changed, such as drinking too much alcohol, recreational drug use, spending time with negative or destructive “friends”, and other lifestyle issues.
6. Nutritional Supplements.
Nutritional supplements called mineral antagonists can help reduce toxic metals in the body.
For example, kelp is an inexpensive source of iodine that can help remove fluorides, chlorides and bromides from the body by competing with them for absorption and for binding sites in the cells of the body.
Kelp also contains alginates that help bind toxic metals in the intestines so they will be removed.
Kelp also contains a wide range of other vital minerals to body needs to rebuild itself. All act as antagonists to some degree to the toxic metals.
In addition to kelp, nutritional balancing programs usually involve supplemental zinc, selenium, calcium, magnesium and other minerals.
Calcium and zinc are cadmium antagonists. Selenium and zinc are mercury antagonists, and so on.
In nutritional balancing science, however, supplements must only be used in a way that does not unbalance the oxidation rate and the major mineral ratios.
This is a major difference between this method and most other nutritional methods of healing.
The reason for this is that unbalancing the major mineral ratios decreases a person’s vitality, which will negate or at least reduce the effectiveness of the entire program.
Also, one must be careful not to use too many supplements.
This adds too much cold energy to the body and can confuse the body. Also, many supplements subtly negate each other.
For example, copper and vitamin C are definite antagonists. Therefore, supplementation must be kept simple and clearly follow these and other rules.
7. Support the Eliminative Organs.
This greatly facilitates toxic metal removal.
Balancing the mineral levels and ratios on a hair analysis is a powerful support for the eliminative organs.
In addition, for the liver and bowel, we always give ox bile and pancreatin.
We sometimes use a kidney support formula to support elimination through the kidneys.
The procedures such as red heat lamp sauna therapy, coffee enemas, foot reflexology also support the eliminative organs.
8. General Nutritional Support.
In addition to the above, nutritional balancing programs always include general nutritional support such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients.
Food alone does not provide enough of these to replenish our demineralized bodies.
9. Improve Energy.
Increasing the amount of energy available to the body cells is a great key to toxic metal and toxic chemical elimination.
The body must produce plenty of biochemical energy in order to eliminate toxins. This is sometimes overlooked by physicians, even holistic ones.
10. Balance the Oxidation Rate.
The primary way to enhance energy using nutritional balancing science involves a properly performed and properly interpreted hair mineral analysis. With it, one can identify the oxidation type and the oxidation rate.
One can then use foods, lifestyle, diet and other methods to balance the oxidation rate. This gentle balancing procedure, done in all nutritional balancing programs, greatly enhances the body's ability to eliminate toxic metals. For more on this topic, read Fast, Slow and Mixed Oxidation.
One must also avoid any supplement or procedure to remove toxins that upsets the oxidation rate.
11. Reduce Exposure to Toxic Substances as Much as Possible.
This includes exposures in foods, such as pesticide residues on foods, and chemical additives in foods.
It includes pure water, if possible.
However, I differ from some health authorities on this issue.
The only water I recommend is either spring water or carbon-only filtered tap water.
I also suggest reducing the toxins one acquires by contact.
This includes soaps, lotions, cosmetics, creams and all skin products.
It also includes dental amalgam removal, except in the case of active cancer, which can be made worse by amalgam removal. Wait until the cancer is under control before doing this and preferably be on a nutritional balancing program to help reduce the side effects of amalgam removal.
Some people also need to reduce occupational exposure to toxic metals.
12. Improve Circulation, Oxygenation and Hydration.
This is done with sauna therapy, deep breathing, the correct type and amount of drinking water, mild exercise (more is not needed and just wastes energy), and improving general health.
Also, inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system assists with circulation.
13. Distilled Water, on Occasion, but Only During Healing Crises or Purification Reactions.
Drinking distilled water will remove some loosely bound toxic metals.
However, it can deplete essential minerals in the body because it is mineral-free water. Therefore, I only recommend it sometimes during a healing reaction and when a person is already following a nutritional balancing program.
At these times, it can be used for a few days or perhaps a week to reduce elimination symptoms and speed up the removal of certain toxins from the body.
14. Remove the Need for Compensations and Adaptations.
This is a little more technical.
Often, toxic metals perform an adaptive role in the body.
They can support the activity of the adrenal glands, for example, and they can actually be used in some of the body’s millions of enzyme systems to a limited extent.
By balancing the body chemistry delicately, the need for a toxic metal in an adaptive role can be removed. This makes possible the removal of many toxic metals.
This methodology is built into nutritional balancing programs that are correctly designed.
15. Reduce all Stress.
Stress of any kind will slow the removal toxic metals.
Therefore, reducing all stress on the body and mind greatly enhances toxin elimination.
16. Replace less Preferred Minerals with More Preferred Minerals.
This is also a somewhat more complex topic.
For each metallo-enzyme in the body, there is one or perhaps two preferred metals or minerals that will cause the enzyme to function optimally.
Nutritional balancing programs always seek to replace less preferred minerals in enzyme binding sites with more preferred minerals.
It is done by giving the appropriate foods and supplementary nutrients, avoiding the others, reducing toxic exposures and stress, conserving energy for healing with more rest, and other methods.
17. Increase the Body Temperature When it is Low.
This may not seem important, but it is a very powerful method of enhancing many body activities, including elimination.
Indeed, all the body’s enzyme systems function optimally when the body temperature is ideal.
However, most people have a low body temperature today, due in part to toxic metal accumulation in the thyroid and adrenal glands.
Other reasons are fatigue, a low thyroid for other reason, nutrient depletion and others.
One can use a sauna to heat the body a few degrees every day.
Even if it is only for 30-60 minutes at a time, this can have a tremendous effect of normalizing enzymatic reactions in the body that, in turn, promote healing and detoxification.
18. Eliminate Infections and Parasites of all Kinds.
This may not seem related to toxic metal removal, but it is.
Most people have several dozen chronic infections in their bodies. Common sites are the eyes, ears, throat, bronchials, intestines, teeth, and bladder.
Each of these infections uses up adaptive energy or vitality in the body. As they are cleared using nutritional balancing – and never antibiotics that tend to be toxic – a person’s vitality increases and his ability to then eliminate toxic metals increases, at times drastically.
19. Emotional and Mental Cleansing.
This is an unusual concept, but can be vital to detoxify the body.
We find that cadmium, for example, is associated with what may be called ‘macho’ styles of thinking.
If a person just goes to confession on a regular basic and take the Eucharist, for example, it will help in a super natural way by getting rid of excess cadminum. The less we sin and the better.
Similarly, copper toxicity is associated with fearful thoughts. By replacing fear with the word of God and by praying the rosary, fear and anxieties will be reduced and consequently this will help reduce copper overload in the body.
20. Bridging Over Damaged Enzymes.
This is a very important mechanism whereby by giving higher doses of some vitamins, especially B-complex vitamins, one can bridge across enzymes damaged by the presence of toxic metals.
These enzymes are needed to help remove the toxic metals.
21. The Use of a Powerful Digestive Aid for Everyone.
No matter how good the food one eats, if digestion is weak, and it is weak in almost everyone today, one will not absorb enough minerals and other nutrients. Insisting on a powerful digestive aid is therefore essential for many people to facilitate proper mineral absorption.
22. Integrating All of the Above Methods in a Way so that None Interferes with the Others.
This is essential.
A problem with many medical and holistic approaches to toxic metal removal is that the methods of detoxification get in each other’s way, which negates some or even all of the benefit.
For example, chelation is effective to remove some metals. However, most chelation, even natural chelating agents, remove some vital minerals along with the toxic ones.
This is extremely harmful, and it is not an easy problem to solve.
Simply taking minerals does not seem to work adequately.
One reason is that minerals are complex, are found in many forms, and are best absorbed from food, not formulated products, in general.
Another problem with chelation is that the chelators are often slightly toxic, which damages the kidneys, liver and other organs, interfering with metal elimination.
Chelation may also mobilize toxins from relatively harmless areas of the body and redistribute some in the kidneys, and this is harmful, as well.
23. Release Traumas.
This is most helpful for detoxification.
It is a large subject, but the main idea is that when traumas are present, they directly interfere with elimination in the body because they affect the nervous system. For details, read Trauma Release on this site.
24. Release Toxins in the Body’s Own Sequence, Order and its Own Timing.
This is extremely helpful to make the process of toxic metal removal as safe as possible, and more effective, as well. It is accomplished in nutritional balancing programs by focusing on raising the body’s energy and vitality level, rather than focusing on pushing out particular toxic metals.
As the body’s energy level rises, the body decides which metals to remove first. Neither the doctor nor the client make this decision for the body.
25. Correct Latent Diseases and Disorders.
Nutritional balancing causes the healing of latent or sub-clinical health problems.
This is an unusual ability of this program and depends upon raising the energy level of the body.
Once these heal, the body is more capable of thorough detoxification.
For example, many people have slightly damaged livers or slightly damaged kidneys.
Yet the damage is sub-clinical or latent, meaning it does not cause any symptoms.
When a person begins a nutritional balancing program, often these sub-clinical conditions are corrected first because they are the basis for later healing.
26. Other Natural and Balancing Therapies.
Therapies that combine beautifully with nutritional balancing include gentle chiropractic, osteopathic manipulation, Rolfing, structural integration, and foot and hand reflexology. These can help to reduce stress, improve vitality, support the eliminative organs, improve circulation and more.
27. Avoiding Other Therapies.
This is also important to remove toxic metals.
For example, many herbs, most natural hormone therapy, most vitamin and mineral regimens, most homeopathy, and most medical drug therapy, unless needed for a life-threatening condition, can and will impair toxic metal removal in various ways by unbalancing body chemistry, adding toxins, or otherwise altering the body chemistry.
Also, vegetarian diets are too low in zinc and in sulfur-containing amino acids and this impairs detoxification. Raw food diets do not allow the body to absorb enough minerals.
More Information About Restoring the Liver, Kidneys, Skin and Large Intestine
Many toxic metals accumulate in these organs. In most Americans, in particular, who have used pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter remedies, healing these organs takes time.
Fortunately, the liver has great regenerative ability, especially when one is less than about 65 years old. We use every method possible to enhance liver functioning. This includes:
a) A clean, healthy diet and pure water to drink, as explained above.
b) A healthful lifestyle, especially going to bed by 9 Pm and lots of rest and sleep. The liver does its main work during rest and sleep. Missing this single factor is often a key as to why some do not succeed in restoring the liver.
c) Nutritional support for the liver includes milk thistle, dandelion root and perhaps other herbal products that are superb. Be careful with some herbs, however, such as burdock root and others, as they are somewhat toxic. They may be used for a short time, but are not for ongoing use as milk thistle and dandelion can be used.
d) Other procedures for the liver are a daily coffee enema, or even two per day for very toxic conditions, colonic irrigation to reduce debris and fermentation and putrefaction in the colon, castor oil packs over the liver and the use of a near infrared lamp sauna.
Of these, the coffee enema or really a coffee implant, is the most powerful and wonderful procedures that I have seen.
I cannot say enough good things about the effects of this simple, though slightly unpleasant procedure.
Using a near infrared sauna on a daily basis, or better twice daily, is also very helpful for liver detoxification. Traditional saunas and far infrared saunas may be okay, but do not seem to work as well. Far infrared types may emit harmful electromagnetic frequencies.
e) Attitude change is critical for the liver in some cases. The liver is associated with a “bilous personality”. In modern language, this means anger, resentment, hatred and other harmful emotions. For some people, this is the key to their liver regeneration. Meditation, relaxation and forgiveness are thus important for the liver.
f) Other healing modalities may help, especially body work such as Rolfing, acupuncture and acupressure. For instance, we recommend everyone to rub their feet each day. This seems simple and maybe silly, but can have beneficial effects, particularly if one is skilled at it. The technique is easy to learn and to practice.
The Kidneys.
To restore the kidneys, many of the same items are critical.
These include an excellent diet that is balanced for the oxidation type, along with a very healthful lifestyle and reducing your exposure to all toxins. Other items include:
a) Herbs for the kidneys. Uva ursi, parsley and other herbs are helpful to a degree. We also use kidney glandular substance with excellent results.
b) Drinking plenty of spring water or carbon-only filtered tap water or sand-filtered tap water is critical for the kidneys. Be sure to drink enough pure water (2-3 quarts daily for all adults). We don’t recommend other types of water.
Strictly avoid reverse osmosis water, “drinking waters”, most “purified water” and alkaline waters.
Carbon-only filtered tap water is okay and second-best, but not as good, in most cases, as a good spring water. Drink an hour after meals or up to 15 minutes before meals, rather than with meals. Read Water For Drinking for much more on drinking water.
c) Rest is also critical for the kidneys, which are close to and associated with the adrenal glands. This, in Chinese terminology, is related to the kidney meridian, a meridian that is very weak on most people. Rest cannot be overestimated to restore the kidneys and the adrenal glands.
The Skin.
This is the third most important eliminative organ, and most doctors pay no attention to it whatsoever!
In most people, today, including most children, it is toxic or congested and for these reasons quite underactive in its job of eliminating many toxins from the body.
This even applies to newborns today.
Vaccines affect the skin and can cause it to become less active, as can overdressing infants.
Bathing in toxic bath water harms the skin, as can tight clothing and some synthetic clothing.
The use of toxic lotions, skin creams, and body care products also harms the skin of many people.
Sauna Therapy.
Improving the skin requires a lot of work in most cases.
Even with two saunas daily, plus all our other efforts, just restoring the skin will take six to twelve months in most adults.
Children require less, as their skin is usually in far better condition due to more sweating and fewer toxic exposures.
Saunas draw blood to the surface, powerfully stimulate circulation and decongest the internal organs. Infrared saunas penetrate more deeply and are often more comfortable as they work at lower temperatures.
I find the best saunas are those powered by infrared heat lamps.
Far infrared saunas are okay, in most cases, but are not as good as a near infrared lamp sauna. Almost all far infrared saunas emit stray electromagnetic fields that affect some people.
Steam baths and other procedures such as skin brushing, sitting in hot tubs or others may be used, but are not nearly as good. Sweating during exercise is also not nearly as good, but better than nothing.
As an example of what saunas can do, The New York Times recently reported on the success of sauna therapy to help hundreds of New York firemen.
They had became ill from the World Trade Tower disaster. No other medical or alternative therapy was able to help these brave men and women to recover their health.
The Large Intestine.
This is also an important organ of elimination and one that is in terrible condition in the vast majority of people.
Fortunately, it is easier to correct than the skin, liver or kidneys. Diet, of course, plays a critical role in rehabilitating the intestines.
Eliminating sugar is most important, even the sugar found in too much fruit or juices. Fiber is critical, as is enough protein for the intestine to rebuild itself.
In addition, lifestyle is important and coffee enemas can greatly speed the elimination of toxins from the large intestine and liver that often lead to bowel problems.
I recommend for most people a digestive aid, usually GB-3 by Endomet Laboratories in Phoenix.
This not only assists digestion. It also kills many parasites in the intestines over time and helps eliminate poisons from the liver as well.
Other aids for digestion are other digestive aids such as Betaine Hcl-pepsin, bromelain and others. However, they are not as good.
Deep breathing, some exercise and adequate rest and sleep are important for digestive strength as well. Staying warm in winter is important as well.
Why Toxic Metal Removal with Nutritional
Goes On for Years
Even with an excellent quality diet, healthful lifestyle, and consistent daily use of near infrared sauna therapy, coffee enemas and short-term use of distilled water for about 6 months, but usually not longer, toxic metal removal at the deepest levels takes a number of years in almost everyone we have encountered.
This means that repeated hair mineral analyses keep revealing more and more of the metals coming out of the body through the hair and skin, often for 5 to 10 years.
NOTE: This is not because nutritional balancing science is slow to remove the toxic metals.
I believe it does it faster than any other method of removing toxins from the body such as chelation therapy, herbs, clay baths and other methods. It also does it in a much safer manner.
The reason it takes so long is that nutritional balancing removes many more of the toxic metals, and this is a slow process for the following reasons:
- Toxicity of the Metals. They are extremely toxic substances. If they were removed too quickly, they could poison or even kill a person. The body seems to know how to remove them at a pace that is safe, providing we keep balancing the body chemistry and supporting a person the entire time. Otherwise, it just takes longer. Rarely, a person will have a powerful toxic reaction as a heavy metal is released from a storage site, but this is not common.
- Location of the Metals, in Some Instances. Some storage sites of the body are much harder to reach than others due to impaired circulation, or other difficulties such as the blood-brain barrier and others. Toxic metals in the bones, for example, usually take longer to reach as well due to reduced circulation and just the depth or layer of the tissue where they are stored. Sites that have suffered damage and some scarring such as often the ear canals, bronchials, lungs and other tissues may also be harder to regenerate and thus take longer.
- Incorporated Into Enzymes. Toxic metals are often not just in deposits or floating free in the tissues, although this is true of some of them. These are the easiest to remove. Unfortunately, millions of molecules are replacing essential minerals in enzymes throughout the body. They cannot simply be pulled out with a chelator or anything. The body must very carefully and slowly replace them with enzymes that contain essential minerals. This is a much slower process, but a vital one that slowly increases a person’s energy level and restores functioning of all the body organs as well.
- Low Vitality. Energy is required to synthesize new enzymes, carry away toxic metals and activate the eliminative organs to remove them completely. Most people, especially when they begin a program, have low cellular energy production that make this process much slower.
- Impaired Eliminative Channels. All toxic metals must be flushed or removed from the body through the so-called eliminative channels or organs such as the liver, kidneys, bowel and skin. Some can be removed through the lungs and elsewhere but these are the main routes. Most people have very damaged livers, colons and skin, so this slows the process of metal elimination drastically, often for a few years until these organs can be rebuilt and function at their optimum levels.
- Impaired General Nutrition. As explained above, toxic metals must often be replaced by vital minerals in enzymes. One may think that just swallowing some kelp capsules or other supplements and eating well will provide these replacements. However, the body has complex buffering systems, and it will only accept a certain amount of these essential minerals at one time. This is even true if one decides to take mineral in intravenously or intramuscularly.
Each mineral must be bound to a mineral transporter to be properly utilized in many instances and the process of remineralizing and renourishing a body thus is a time-consuming process no matter what. If I felt that IV or IM minerals and other nutrients were better, I would suggest it but so far I have seen the opposite.
Other than very gross remineralizing of the body, these routes of administering nutrients seem to do more damage by unbalancing the delicate mineral balance of the body and bypassing the normal buffering systems of the body having to do with food absorption. Exceptions to this principle may exist, but they are not many.
Other than very gross remineralizing of the body, these routes of administering nutrients seem to do more damage by unbalancing the delicate mineral balance of the body and bypassing the normal buffering systems of the body having to do with food absorption. Exceptions to this principle may exist, but they are not many.
Possible Symptoms with Toxic Metal Removal
This topic must not be forgotten in any article about toxic metals. The elimination of heavy metals, as well as the removal of toxic chemicals and chronic infections, almost always will cause symptoms from time to time.
These symptoms are called healing reactions flare-ups, exacerbations, aggravations, crises of Herxheimer reactions in different natural healing arts. They may include energy fluctuations, headaches, skin rashes and other symptoms as well.
Emotional and mental symptoms often occur as well. These include feelings of depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia or mood swings.
All purification symptoms tend to be very temporary.
The best way to handle them is to rest more, reduce your nutrition program if you wish and do supportive therapies.
These include extra coffee enemas, drinking distilled water in larger quantities, short, rather than longer sauna therapy sessions, colonic irrigation, Epsom salt baths and others. In almost all cases, this will suffice to move the toxic metals out of the body a little faster and the symptom will disappear.
At times, more vigorous or severe healing reactions occur. Almost any symptom can arise, from a cold or flu to various aches and pains or other types of symptoms.
Usually only supportive, natural methods of care are needed to see a reaction through to completion.
However, if you are not sure, always contact a person knowledgeable in healing and purification reactions.
These symptoms are called healing reactions flare-ups, exacerbations, aggravations, crises of Herxheimer reactions in different natural healing arts. They may include energy fluctuations, headaches, skin rashes and other symptoms as well.
Emotional and mental symptoms often occur as well. These include feelings of depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia or mood swings.
All purification symptoms tend to be very temporary.
The best way to handle them is to rest more, reduce your nutrition program if you wish and do supportive therapies.
These include extra coffee enemas, drinking distilled water in larger quantities, short, rather than longer sauna therapy sessions, colonic irrigation, Epsom salt baths and others. In almost all cases, this will suffice to move the toxic metals out of the body a little faster and the symptom will disappear.
At times, more vigorous or severe healing reactions occur. Almost any symptom can arise, from a cold or flu to various aches and pains or other types of symptoms.
Usually only supportive, natural methods of care are needed to see a reaction through to completion.
However, if you are not sure, always contact a person knowledgeable in healing and purification reactions.
V. Summary of the Sources and Symptoms
of the Common Toxic Metals
SOURCES
Aluminum - cookware, beverages in aluminum cans, tap water, table salt, baking powders, antacids, processed cheese, anti-perspirants, bleached flour, vaccines and perhaps other medications, and occupational exposure. Virtually everyone has too much aluminum in their bodies.
Antimony – found in Flovent, an inhaler used for asthma! Also used in lead-acid batteries, “lead-free” solder, bullets, motor bearings, pewter, some paints and glass, and some microelectronic circuits. It was formerly used in some anti-parasitic drugs.
Antimony is also used in most fire retardants that are required on most furniture, mattresses, cribs and other products. This is severely increasing the prevalence of antimony toxicity in homes and offices.
Arsenic - pesticides, beer, table salt, tap water, paints, pigments, cosmetics, glass and mirror manufacture, fungicides, insecticides, treated wood and contaminated food.
Beryllium - air pollution (burning fossil fuels), manufacture of plastics, electronics, steel alloys and volcanic ash.
Cadmium - cigarettes, (tobacco and marijuana), processed and refined foods, large fish, shellfish, tap water, auto exhaust, plated containers, galvanized pipes, air pollution from incineration and occupational exposure.
Copper - copper water pipes, copper added to tap water, pesticides, swimming in pools, intra-uterine devices, vegetarian diets, dental amalgams, nutritional supplements - especially prenatal vitamins, birth control pills, weak adrenal glands and occupational exposure.
Lead - tap water, cigarette smoke, hair dyes, paints, inks, glazes, pesticide residues and occupational exposure in battery manufacture and other industries.
Mercury - dental amalgams, ALL fish (tiny fish are better), ALL shellfish, sea vegetables, some medications such as thiazide diuretics, air pollution, gold mining, and the manufacture of paper, chlorine, adhesives, fabric softeners and waxes. Most everyone has too much mercury in their body today.
Nickel - hydrogenated oils (margarine, commercial peanut butter and shortening), shellfish, air pollution, cigarette smoke, plating and occupational exposure.
SYMPTOMS
Aluminum – Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anemia and other blood disorders, colic, fatigue, dental caries, dementia dialactica, hypoparathyroidism, kidney and liver dysfunctions, neuromuscular disorders, osteomalacia and Parkinson’s disease.
Antimony – Symptoms are usually chronic. Skin exposure can cause dermatitis. Lung exposure causes irritation and inflammation. Chronic use of Flovent (a drug) appears to keep the hair phosphorus level low. This may indicate impairment of protein biosynthesis.
Arsenic - abdominal pain, abnormal ECG, anorexia, dermatitis, diarrhea, edema, enzyme inhibitor, fever, fluid loss, goiter, hair loss, headache, herpes, impaired healing, interferes with the uptake of folic acid, inhibition of sulfhydryl enzyme systems, jaundice, keratosis, kidney and liver damage, muscle spasms, pallor, peripheral neuritis, sore throat, stomatitis, stupor, vasodilation, vertigo, vitiligo and weakness.
Beryllium - adrenal insufficiency, arthritis, bone spurs, bursitis, depression, fatigue, osteoporosis and symptoms of slow metabolism.
Cadmium - hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, anemia, arteriosclerosis, impaired bone healing, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis, reduced fertility, hyperlipidemia, hypoglycemia, headaches, osteoporosis, kidney disease, schizophrenia and strokes.
Copper - acne, adrenal hyperactivity and/or insufficiency, agoraphobia, allergies, hair loss, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, autism, cancer, chronic candida albicans infection, depression, elevated cholesterol, cystic fibrosis, depression, diabetes, dyslexia, elevated estrogen, failure to thrive, fatigue, fears, fractures of the bones, headaches, heart attacks, hyperactivity, hypertension, hypothyroidism, infections, inflammation, insomnia, iron storage diseases, kidney and liver dysfunctions, decreased libido, multiple sclerosis, nervousness, osteoporosis, panic attacks, premenstrual syndrome, schizophrenia, strokes, tooth decay and vitamin C and other vitamin deficiencies.
Lead - abdominal pain, adrenal insufficiency, anemia, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, attention deficit, back problems, blindness, cancer, constipation, convulsions, deafness, depression, diabetes, dyslexia, epilepsy, fatigue, gout, impaired glycogen storage, hallucinations, hyperactivity, impotency, infertility, inflammation, kidney dysfunction, learning disabilities, diminished libido, migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis, psychosis, thyroid imbalances and tooth decay.
Mercury - adrenal gland dysfunction, alopecia, anorexia, ataxia, bipolar disorder, birth defects, blushing, depression, dermatitis, discouragement, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, hearing loss, hyperactivity, immune system dysfunction, insomnia, kidney damage, loss of self-control, memory loss, mood swings, nervousness, numbness and tingling, pain in limbs, rashes, excessive salivation, schizophrenia, thyroid dysfunction, timidity, tremors, peripheral vision loss and muscle weakness.
Nickel - cancer (oral and intestinal), depression, heart attacks, hemorrhages, kidney dysfunction, low blood pressure, malaise, muscle tremors and paralysis, nausea, skin problems, tetany and vomiting.
Aluminum - cookware, beverages in aluminum cans, tap water, table salt, baking powders, antacids, processed cheese, anti-perspirants, bleached flour, vaccines and perhaps other medications, and occupational exposure. Virtually everyone has too much aluminum in their bodies.
Antimony – found in Flovent, an inhaler used for asthma! Also used in lead-acid batteries, “lead-free” solder, bullets, motor bearings, pewter, some paints and glass, and some microelectronic circuits. It was formerly used in some anti-parasitic drugs.
Antimony is also used in most fire retardants that are required on most furniture, mattresses, cribs and other products. This is severely increasing the prevalence of antimony toxicity in homes and offices.
Arsenic - pesticides, beer, table salt, tap water, paints, pigments, cosmetics, glass and mirror manufacture, fungicides, insecticides, treated wood and contaminated food.
Beryllium - air pollution (burning fossil fuels), manufacture of plastics, electronics, steel alloys and volcanic ash.
Cadmium - cigarettes, (tobacco and marijuana), processed and refined foods, large fish, shellfish, tap water, auto exhaust, plated containers, galvanized pipes, air pollution from incineration and occupational exposure.
Copper - copper water pipes, copper added to tap water, pesticides, swimming in pools, intra-uterine devices, vegetarian diets, dental amalgams, nutritional supplements - especially prenatal vitamins, birth control pills, weak adrenal glands and occupational exposure.
Lead - tap water, cigarette smoke, hair dyes, paints, inks, glazes, pesticide residues and occupational exposure in battery manufacture and other industries.
Mercury - dental amalgams, ALL fish (tiny fish are better), ALL shellfish, sea vegetables, some medications such as thiazide diuretics, air pollution, gold mining, and the manufacture of paper, chlorine, adhesives, fabric softeners and waxes. Most everyone has too much mercury in their body today.
Nickel - hydrogenated oils (margarine, commercial peanut butter and shortening), shellfish, air pollution, cigarette smoke, plating and occupational exposure.
SYMPTOMS
Aluminum – Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anemia and other blood disorders, colic, fatigue, dental caries, dementia dialactica, hypoparathyroidism, kidney and liver dysfunctions, neuromuscular disorders, osteomalacia and Parkinson’s disease.
Antimony – Symptoms are usually chronic. Skin exposure can cause dermatitis. Lung exposure causes irritation and inflammation. Chronic use of Flovent (a drug) appears to keep the hair phosphorus level low. This may indicate impairment of protein biosynthesis.
Arsenic - abdominal pain, abnormal ECG, anorexia, dermatitis, diarrhea, edema, enzyme inhibitor, fever, fluid loss, goiter, hair loss, headache, herpes, impaired healing, interferes with the uptake of folic acid, inhibition of sulfhydryl enzyme systems, jaundice, keratosis, kidney and liver damage, muscle spasms, pallor, peripheral neuritis, sore throat, stomatitis, stupor, vasodilation, vertigo, vitiligo and weakness.
Beryllium - adrenal insufficiency, arthritis, bone spurs, bursitis, depression, fatigue, osteoporosis and symptoms of slow metabolism.
Cadmium - hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, anemia, arteriosclerosis, impaired bone healing, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cirrhosis, reduced fertility, hyperlipidemia, hypoglycemia, headaches, osteoporosis, kidney disease, schizophrenia and strokes.
Copper - acne, adrenal hyperactivity and/or insufficiency, agoraphobia, allergies, hair loss, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, autism, cancer, chronic candida albicans infection, depression, elevated cholesterol, cystic fibrosis, depression, diabetes, dyslexia, elevated estrogen, failure to thrive, fatigue, fears, fractures of the bones, headaches, heart attacks, hyperactivity, hypertension, hypothyroidism, infections, inflammation, insomnia, iron storage diseases, kidney and liver dysfunctions, decreased libido, multiple sclerosis, nervousness, osteoporosis, panic attacks, premenstrual syndrome, schizophrenia, strokes, tooth decay and vitamin C and other vitamin deficiencies.
Lead - abdominal pain, adrenal insufficiency, anemia, arthritis, arteriosclerosis, attention deficit, back problems, blindness, cancer, constipation, convulsions, deafness, depression, diabetes, dyslexia, epilepsy, fatigue, gout, impaired glycogen storage, hallucinations, hyperactivity, impotency, infertility, inflammation, kidney dysfunction, learning disabilities, diminished libido, migraine headaches, multiple sclerosis, psychosis, thyroid imbalances and tooth decay.
Mercury - adrenal gland dysfunction, alopecia, anorexia, ataxia, bipolar disorder, birth defects, blushing, depression, dermatitis, discouragement, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, hearing loss, hyperactivity, immune system dysfunction, insomnia, kidney damage, loss of self-control, memory loss, mood swings, nervousness, numbness and tingling, pain in limbs, rashes, excessive salivation, schizophrenia, thyroid dysfunction, timidity, tremors, peripheral vision loss and muscle weakness.
Nickel - cancer (oral and intestinal), depression, heart attacks, hemorrhages, kidney dysfunction, low blood pressure, malaise, muscle tremors and paralysis, nausea, skin problems, tetany and vomiting.
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References
1. Schroeder, H., Trace elements and Man, The Devin-Adair Company, CT, 1975. 2. Ibid, p. 154 3. Braunwald, E. et al, editors, Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, McGraw-Hill, Professional, 15th edition, 2001. 4. Pfeiffer, C., Zinc and Other Micronutrients, Keats Publishing, CT, 1978. 5. Kutsky, R., Handbook of Vitamins, Minerals and Hormones, 2nd edition, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, NY, 1981. 6. Ibid., Schroeder, H., Trace Elements and Man. 7. Hall, R.H., Food For Naught, The Decline in Nutrition, Vintage Books, NY, 1974. 8. Anderson, M. and Jensen, B. Empty Harvest; Understanding the Link Between Our Food, Our Immunity and Our Planet, Avery Penguin Putnam, 1993. 9. Price, W., Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation, CA, 1949. 10. Stannard, J., Shim, Y.S., Kritsineli, M., Labropoulo, P.,Tsamtsouris, A., Fluoride levels and fluoride contamination of fruit juices, J Clin Ped Dentistry, 1991;16(1). 11. From the warning label on hydrofluosilicic acid, Cargill Corporation, FL. 12. Casdorph, H.R. and Walker, M., Toxic Metal Syndrome, Avery Publishing, NY, 1995. 13. National Autism Association, Press Release, Feb. 9, 2004. 14. Eck, P. and Wilson, L., Toxic Metals in Human Health and Disease, Eck Institute of Applied Nutrition and Bioenergetics, Ltd., AZ, 1989, p. xiv. 15. Shamberger, R.J., Validity of hair mineral testing, Bio Trace Element Res, 2002, 87:1-28. 16. Muir, M., Current controversies in the diagnosis and treatment of heavy metal toxicity, Alternative and Comp Ther., June 1997:170-178. 17. Environmental Protection Agency, Research and Development, Toxic Trace Metals in Human and Mammalian Hair, EPA-600, 4.79-049, August 1979, p. 3. 18. Tuthill, R., Hair lead levels related to children’s classroom attention-deficit behavior, Arch Env Health, 1996, 51(3)214-220. 19. Ames, BN, Elson-Schwab, I., Silver, EA, High-dose vitamin therapy stimulates variant enzymes with decreased coenzyme binding affinity: relevance to genetic disease and polymorphisms, Am J Clin Nut. April 2002;75(4):616-658. 20. 1993, J Applied Nut, 45(1). (article on trace mineral content of organic foods versus commercial foods) 21. Mortensen, M.E. and Watson, P., Chelation therapy for childhood lead poisoning: The changing scene in the 1990s, Clin Ped., 1993;32:284-291. 21. Committee on Drugs, American Academy of Pediatrics Treatment guidelines for lead exposure in children, Pediatrics, 1995, 96:155-159.
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Nine Servings of Vegetables
A Unique Cookbook that Sets You Free! ... The Cookbook to Reduce Toxic Metals, Balance Your Minerals and Balance Your Biochemistry ... AT LAST: A Holistic Dietary Nutritional Approach to ... ... Heal Emotional & Physical Trauma Without Ever Compromising Your Christian Values! ... ✔Build Your Immune System ✔Release Blocks to Prevent and Handling Disease ✔Metal Detoxification ✔Mind & Body Purification ✔ Rewiring the Brain ✔Healthy Living ✔Nutritional Balancing |