Heavy Metal Detox
Heavy Metal Detox
We jam to heavy metal tunes, but heavy metals in your body? Not so much. So, how do you steer clear of these sneaky intruders, and can your diet be your secret weapon? Let's dive in.
What's the Deal with Heavy Metals?
Heavy metals: they sound like a cool band name, but in reality, they’re toxic. You might be familiar with lead, mercury, and arsenic. While some are crucial in tiny amounts, overexposure can lead to serious health issues.
The Ubiquitous Heavy Metals
Think of heavy metals as that annoying song you can't escape – they’re everywhere. Thanks to human activities, these metals lurk in food, water, air, and even your favourite lipstick.
Meet the Usual Suspects
Arsenic: Not just for mystery novels, it's in rice, water, and even the air. Remember the "king of poisons"? This is it. Found in rice, cigarette smoke, and even your cosmetics, arsenic is tasteless and odourless, which makes it a master of disguise. Long-term exposure can lead to skin problems, heart disease, and cancer.
Mercury: Ever broken a thermometer? It’s more common in certain fish like tuna and swordfish. This sneaky element builds up in the ocean, courtesy of coal burning and industrial pollution. Mercury exposure can result in neurological damage, kidney issues, and even blindness. It was once used in cosmetics and medicines, which explains the term "mad as a hatter" from mercury-laden hat-making days.
Copper: Your body needs a bit of it to function, but too much can turn your insides into a mosh pit, damaging the kidney, heart, liver, stomach, and brain. It's used in plumbing and electrical wiring and can sneak into your drinking water from old pipes.
Nickel: Essential for red blood cells but a villain in high amounts. Found in everything from batteries to jewellery, overexposure can lead to cancer, nervous system damage, and liver issues.
Cadmium: A bad actor found in batteries and tobacco. Zero benefits and lifelong accumulation. It’s a known carcinogen and can damage your bones, kidneys, and lungs.
Chromium: From coal to leather tanning, it’s a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none – except causing harm. High exposure can lead to liver, kidney, and neurological issues.
Iron: Critical for life but toxic in excess. Necessary for oxygen transport in the blood, but too much iron can cause liver damage and other serious health issues. Women tend to have lower levels naturally due to menstruation, which might be why they live longer than men.
Aluminum: Present in everything from antiperspirants to canned drinks. It’s debated whether it contributes to Alzheimer’s, but we do know it can cause lung problems if inhaled and has mixed effects when ingested.
Lead: Found in old paints and pipes, it’s especially harmful to kids. It can cause irreversible brain damage and affect nearly every organ in your body. The U.S. banned it from household paints in 1978, but older buildings and contaminated water supplies are still risks.
Why Should You Care?
Having too many heavy metals can mess with your organs and lead to chronic illnesses like cancer and cardiovascular diseases. It’s like having a rock concert in your body, but not the good kind.
Spotting Heavy Metal Overload
If you’re feeling off, with symptoms like nausea, abdominal pain, or behavioural changes, heavy metals might be crashing your system. A healthcare provider can run tests to confirm.
Cutting Down on Heavy Metal Exposure
You can’t control the air you breathe, but you can be mindful about what you eat and drink.
Top Heavy Metal Risk #1 — Food
Steer clear of mercury-laden fish like tuna and swordfish. Be cautious with rice due to arsenic, and reconsider that bone broth trend – it might come with a side of lead.
Fish: Mercury is the main concern here, especially in large, predatory fish like tuna, shark, and swordfish. These fish accumulate mercury over their lifetimes, making them hazardous on your dinner plate.
Rice: A staple for many, but arsenic is a hitchhiker. Brown rice is worse than white due to its outer grain layer. Opt for grains like quinoa, amaranth, and millet that typically contain less arsenic. Cooking rice in plenty of water and draining it can reduce arsenic content significantly.
Bone Broth: Hailed as a health elixir, but it can be a lead soup if the bones come from animals exposed to lead. Even organic chicken bones can contain significant lead levels.
Top Heavy Metal Risk #2 — Drinking Water
Heavy metals enter the groundwater through soil contamination of underground aquifers. It might be a good idea to have your water tested for heavy metals, especially if you have a well or if your home has older plumbing.
The infamous case of Flint, Michigan, highlights the dangers of lead in drinking water. But it’s not just Flint; many areas have unsafe levels of lead due to old pipes and industrial pollution.
Investing in a high-quality water filtration system can help, whether it’s distillation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, or activated carbon filtration. Look for third-party tested products to ensure they remove what they claim.
Top Heavy Metal Risk #3 — Consumer Products
Heavy metals, including iron, mercury, arsenic, lead, chromium, aluminum, and zinc, have been found in popular personal care products, like makeup, whitening toothpaste, sunscreen, eye drops, and nail polish.
A 2013 study found that 75% of tested lipsticks contained detectable lead levels. Always check the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database for safer alternatives.
Cookware is another culprit. Avoid aluminum pots and pans; opt for stainless steel or cast iron instead.
Top Heavy Metal Risk #4 — Your Home Air
Though at lower concentrations than in food, heavy metals also exist in the air. Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and nickel float around, especially near industrial areas and heavy traffic.
To clean up the air you breathe, consider a home air purifier that filters out heavy metals. Also, make it a household rule to remove shoes before entering to avoid tracking in contaminants.
Detoxifying Your Body
Your body is a rock star at detoxing, but it can use a little help. Certain foods can assist:
Cruciferous Vegetables: Your liver’s best friends, boosting detoxification enzymes. Think broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts.
Fibre: Found only in plant foods, it binds to metals like cadmium, arsenic, and mercury, helping flush them out.
Phytates: These compounds in grains, nuts, and legumes can help remove excess iron.
Probiotics: Good bacteria like Lactobacillus can reduce metal absorption.
Cilantro/Coriander : Can help excrete metals from your body.
Black Sesame Seeds: Bind heavy metals and help detox.
Can Other Foods Help Protect You from Heavy Metals?
Research suggests several other foods might help:
Soybeans, onions, curry paste, and grapes: Help reduce cadmium levels.
Garlic, ginger, green tea, and tomato paste: Aid in healing damage from iron exposure.
Algae like chlorella and spirulina: High in antioxidants, they can help repair damage from cadmium and iron.
Does Sweating It Out Help Detox from Heavy Metals?
Some believe that sweating through exercise or sauna sessions can help remove heavy metals. While promising, more research is needed.
For those looking for a little more reassurance, here is the link to the heavy metal detox I’m currently undertaking. Although I call it a detox, this is something I’m doing on a daily basis - when I can remember! I’m currently only taking it once a day after having taken it 2 - 3 times a day for the last two months.
For me personally, the biggest changes I’ve noticed is a significant increase in my energy levels, and a huge decrease in brain fog! On top of that, I’ve seen a big reduction in the dark circles under my eyes - but my favourite has been the disappearance of what I call ‘tummy dread’. Otherwise known as anxiety! It’s become so normal to me to wake up in the morning and have a feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach - for no apparent reason! Just that horrible feeling in my gut. Well, THAT’S GONE!……GONE!!! I had no idea that my tummy dread was a symptom of anything! I just thought that was who I was?! 😂 so as you can imagine, I’m over the moon that has disappeared! Feel like a new woman that could take over the world….if I could be arsed 😁
Here is a link which explains all about Zeolite and how it works in the body at removing the heavy metals.
The Bottom Line
While heavy metals in your body are no joke, being proactive about your exposure and diet can help keep you healthy. By making informed choices about the products you use, the foods you eat, and the water you drink, you can significantly reduce heavy metals entering your body. And by choosing to eat a healthy diet, based on a wide variety of whole plant foods, you can help your body protect and detoxify itself. Then heavy metal can stay where it belongs: in your music library (or not, as the case may be)