Maybe a little heavy metal back in the 80's saved your soul, but other heavy metals—as in aluminum, cadmium, lead and mercury can have detrimental effects on your health.
General symptoms of heavy metal toxicity include digestive issues, neurological symptoms, such as tingling and numbness of extremities, brain fog and poor cognitive function, insomnia, infertility, headaches, tremors, bladder/kidney issues, autoimmune disease and/or recurrent infections, fatigue, mood swings, depression and anxiety, hormonal imbalances, hair loss, muscle aches and joint pain, skin rashes—and this is just the short list!
Heavy metal toxins are everywhere. They’re in our air and water, medications, containers, cookware, paints, flooring, dental fillings, medical devices, biologics, pesticides, cosmetics and cleaning supplies. They lurk in places you’ve always thought were safe and pure. That’s why it’s important to do your research on heavy metals and what you can do to reduce your exposure as well as eliminate the toxins from your system.
Here are the most common heavy metal offenders:
Arsenic:
Arsenic is used in the manufacturing of pesticides—and pesticides are known to runoff into water.
Symptoms of arsenic poisoning include neurological symptoms, headaches, digestive issues, fatigue, brain fog, seizures and even death. The gas from arsenic also has some industrial uses. Low iron and blood pressure levels are also indicative of arsenic toxicity. Interestingly, one telltale sign of arsenic poisoning is breath that smell garlic-like.
Onset of symptoms usually occurs 2-8 weeks after exposure.
Cadmium:
Are you a smoker or hang out around smokers? You’re likely exposing yourself to cadmium. Rice can also be high in cadmium. Cadmium can have serious effects on the kidneys, lungs and liver.
Cobalt:
An issue arose several years ago with the use of cobalt metal on metal hip implants causing neurological issues and cognitive decline in those who had them. It can also be breathed in and ingested. Cobalt toxicity may cause nerve damage, endocrine disruption, cardiovascular issues and kidney damage.
Lead:
Although no longer used as an additive in gasoline or in paint, lead poisoning still prevails, particularly with those who work in battery plants, or as welders and solders. If you live in a house that was built prior to 1978, you still may be exposed to lead in paint, especially if you try removing it without the proper protective equipment. Lead pipes may also contaminate water with lead. Toxicity may cause developmental delays in children, neurological damage, infertility, digestive issues, behavioral changes, anemia, seizures, cognitive decline and even death.
Mercury:
Eating excessive amounts of fish may expose you to mercury. Silver dental fillings are also made of mercury. Chewing and drinking hot beverages emits small amounts of mercury vapor from the filling, which we inhale and absorb through the mucosal membranes of the mouth.
Mercury is also a common preservative in vaccines. Mercury has a great impact on the brain and can cause encephalopathy, or brain swelling, leading to permanent brain damage. Mercury toxicity may also cause mood swings, neurological damage, headaches, chronic fatigue and cognitive decline.
Aluminum:
Cosmetics, medications, our water, food containers, vaccines, cookware—they call contain aluminum, and overexposure can cause brain damage.
It doesn’t matter how it enters your body, aluminum is toxic and has the largest impact on the brain.
Autopsies have shown high amounts of aluminum and mercury in the brains of those who died of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimers, ALS and Parkinson’s disease.
Aluminum also impacts the nervous system and may cause insomnia, mood swings, memory loss, cognitive decline, headaches and brain fog. It can also impair the body’s ability to process and properly utilize calcium, leading to poor bone density and conditions such as fibromyalgia. Other symptoms can include digestive issues, impaired liver and kidney function due to toxic overload, muscle and joint pain and speech issues/word recognition deficit.
Detoxing Heavy Metals
Certain foods can help the body detoxify from heavy metals. High vitamin C in fruits and vegetables help the body eliminate toxins.
Fruits such as blueberries contain salicylates, a plant constituent that naturally reduces inflammation. They also possess anti-oxidants that help protect cells from further damage. Blueberries help detoxify and cleanse the brain, in particular.
Root vegetables and herbs, such as garlic and onions, help the body to detoxify due to their Sulfur content.
Both cilantro and chlorella when eaten together remove heavy metals stored in your system. This combination is effective in binding heavy metals and helping to excrete them from the body, eliminating retoxification.
Cilantro and chlorella, when taken together, can remove approximately 87% of lead, 91% of mercury and 74% of aluminum within 5 weeks, according to studies.
Supplements that help promote heavy metal detoxification include:
L-theanine and Green Tea Extract: L-theanine is found in green tea and helps remove aluminum from the brain. L-theanine is known for its calming effects, so it’s a great supplement if you experience frequent anxiety and stress.
The combination of green tea extract and L-theanine may help improve cognitive impairment, according to a study of 91 patients with mild impairment who took combination treatment for 16 weeks. Improvements in memory and selective attention were evidenced. Brain theta waves, which indicate mental alertness, increased within three hours of treatment.
Turmeric has been shown to help repair damage done by heavy metal toxicity because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It also protects the brain from aluminum toxicity. Animal studies indicate that rats with aluminum toxicity who experienced memory loss/memory retention issues in maze tests as well as biomarkers showing oxidative brain damage had significantly improved outcomes when given turmeric extract.
Malic acid helps remove aluminum from the brain, so consider supplementing with magnesium malate. This form of magnesium is gentle on the stomach (won’t cause loose stools, digestive upset) and is highly bioavailable. According to research, malic acid easily crosses the blood brain barrier and binds to aluminum, allowing the body to flush it from the system through urine.
Malic acid is also found in fruits, such as apples and we intrinsically produce it in our bodies. If you have aluminum toxicity, however, you will need more than an apple a day to chelate aluminum.
Our Just Relax contains both magnesium malate and L-theonine proven to help remove aluminium from the body. In addition, other ingredients support calming the body and mind.
Magnesium is responsible for over 300 processes in the body. Not all forms of magnesium are the same. Optimum Magnesium contains two bioavailable forms--magnesium glycinate and magnesium malate.
Help assist the detoxification process by supporting your Nrf2 pathway.
Our Nrf2 Boost contains ingredients that support detoxification, provide anti-oxidant benefits and reduce systemic inflammation. These ingredients include turmeric and green tea extract, resveratrol, glucoraphanin (broccoli seed extract) and myrosinase (radish seed extract).
Sources:
https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/heavy-metal-poisoning/
https://www.thorne.com/take-5-daily/article/the-impacts-of-heavy-metal-toxicity
https://loovfood.com/7-foods-that-help-you-to-detox-from-harmful-heavy-metals/
https://tericochrane.com/the-dynamic-duo-cilantro-and-chlorella/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3654245/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3391623/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21303262/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19616038/