Toxic metals comprise a group of minerals that have no known function in the body and in fact are harmful. Today mankind is exposed to the highest levels of these metals in recorded history, thanks to their industrial use and burning of coal, petroleum and incineration of waste material. They affect everyone and are a major cause of illness, aging and even genetic defects.
The study of toxic metals is part of nutrition and toxicology, areas not emphasized in medical schools. For this reason, these important causes of disease are accorded little attention in conventional mainstream medicine. This article focuses on the extent of toxic metal problems - sources of toxic metals, symptoms and how to remove them.
INTRODUCTION TO THE MINERALS
Minerals are the building blocks of our bodies. They are required for body structure, fluid balance, protein structures and to produce hormones. They are a key for the health of every body system and function. They act as co-factors, catalysts or inhibitors of all enzymes in the body. Copper and iron, for example, along with other minerals are required for the electron transport system, and thus needed for all cellular energy production.
Minerals are classified into four groups: The macrominerals, or those needed in large quantity, include calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, copper and zinc.
Required trace minerals include manganese, chromium, selenium, boron, bromine, silicon, iodine, vanadium, lithium, molybdenum, cobalt, germanium and others.
Possibly required trace minerals include fluorine, arsenic, rubidium, tin, strontium, gold, silver and nickel.
Toxic metals include beryllium, mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum, antimony, arsenic, bismuth, barium, uranium and others.
These categories overlap slightly because assessing minerals that are required by humans is problematic. Some may be needed in tiny amounts. Clinical studies to prove this by depriving people of vital minerals would be cruel and possibly disastrous.
Also, note that minerals needed in lesser quantities are usually toxic in greater amounts. Examples are copper, iron, manganese, selenium and vanadium. Even calcium and sodium are quite toxic in excess.
TOXIC METAL DANGERS
Today mankind is exposed to the highest levels in recorded history of lead, mercury, arsenic, aluminum, copper, tin, antimony, bromine, bismuth and vanadium. Levels are up to several thousand times higher than in primitive man. In my clinical experience, everyone has excessive amounts of some or all of the toxic metals.
Toxic metals are also persistent and cumulative. The late Dr. Henry Schroeder, MD, who was a world authority on trace elements, wrote:
“Most organic substances are degradable by natural processes. (However), no metal is degradable and they are here to stay for a long time “.
Toxic metals replace nutrient minerals in enzyme binding sites. When this occurs, the metals inhibit, over-stimulate 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. Toxic metals may also simply deposit in many sites, causing local irritation and other toxic effects. They may also support development of fungal, bacterial and viral infections that are difficult or impossible to eradicate until this cause is removed.
An analogy is to imagine taking an automobile journey. If one is far away from a repair shop when a key part like 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. Many people limp along on grossly deficient diets, and are even born deficient and toxic. They do not realize 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.
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 previous analogy, we are not stocking up sufficiently on factory parts, so we must use the greatly inferior replacement parts - toxic metals.
According to Dr. Weston Price, author of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, primitive man ate 5 to 11 times the amount of the essential minerals in his diet as modern man . The term ‘empty calories’ aptly describes most of our food today.
OK… SO HOW DO I GET RID OF THESE TOXIC METALS?
This is going to take a bit of explanation… so let’s start at the beginning… and see how they affect the heart, the blood, the vital organs, etc. …The blood stream is the river of life, the source of life-giving oxygen and nutrients for every cell in the body. Unfortunately, cardiovascular disease has become the number one cause of death in civilized countries.
ORAL CHELATION
There is a natural approach that offers a way to deal with and help to prevent heart disease, high cholesterol, heavy metals and toxins in the body and other conditions safely, effectively, and at an incredibly reduced cost in both dollars and human suffering – CHELATION. Pronounced Key-LAY-shun, this odd word originally comes from Greek roots. “Chele” means “to claw” or “to bind or grab.” When we use it in the word chelation, we are talking about “clawing”, “grabbing” or otherwise binding toxins, heavy metals, metabolic wastes and unhealthy buildup in the circulatory system. This allows them to be taken out of the bloodstream so they can be flushed form the body.
Brought to the United States in 1948, chelation therapy was developed in Germany in the early 1930’s. Besides clearing the arteries of plaque that has built up in the arteries, chelation therapy is currently used around the world for treatment of heavy metal toxicity. Heavy metals are any mineral such as mercury, lead, arsenic, bismuth, copper, aluminum, nickel, cadmium, lithium and others that accumulate in fat cells, the central nervous system and other body tissues and are known to cause negative effects to health. Exposure to these and other toxic components is generally increasing in our society and environment, not decreasing, and so are the subsequent challenges to our health.
Besides being helpful for cardiovascular disease and heavy metal poisoning, chelation therapy is also reported to be effective in treatment of radiation toxicity, irregular heartbeat, improving circulation to the extremities, and for preventing or reversing most heart and artery problems and disease. There are those in both the medical and holistic profession who feel that some forms of Alzheimer’s and other auto-immune disorders can also benefit from chelation therapy.
Oral chelation uses natural, nutritional products without having to step into a doctor’s office or experience the harsh reactions of intravenous chelation. However, it is important to know that oral chelation is gentler and slower acting than intravenous chelation, creating less dramatic results at the outset. Properly administered, oral chelation is non-invasive, quite effective, relatively inexpensive and very safe. Because we consult with so many clients that have been through so much already, we prefer this more gentler approach to chelation.
Here is how chelation works. Free radicals are unstable molecules that steal electrons from other molecules, causing harm to the body’s health. What this means is that when a free radical molecule comes in contact with a stable molecule, it pulls an electron from the stable molecule, which makes the molecule unstable and chemically reactive within the body. Formerly benign and non-toxic molecules then become toxic to the body.
There are many nutritional substances that act as a free radical scavenger that grab and pull toxins from the bloodstream and help to remove toxic metals and arterial plaque from the body. On our CHELATION PROGRAM the product we use has over 35 different key nutritional ingredients that have proven time and again to produce amazing results.
As the body removes the plaque from the walls of the arteries, the cholesterol level in the blood will temporarily rise. This is normal. The kidneys and liver will remove the calcium, cholesterol and other impurities from the body. If there are indications that these organs are weak (kidney or liver) then it may be necessary to support them as well while doing the oral chelation program. The first thing to do is to get tested properly with our Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis to determine if this procedure is for you.
Any health recovery regime is incomplete if it doesn’t address the dietary habits that may have contributed to the condition in the first place. These dietary recommendations will not only help the oral chelation program be more effective, but when adopted as a dietary lifestyle, will contribute to continuing greater health and wellbeing. Please note that if you have done a hair tissue mineral analysis with us, you should of course follow your specific guidelines as well as these:
1. Cut out white sugar. Unrefined natural sugar is ok.
2. Eat whole grain cereals and breads, not white flour.
3. Bake your potatoes and eat the skins too. No French fries!
4. Reduce your table salt intake, Use sea salt, not regular salt which is filled with additives
5. Use olive oil, canola oil and safflower oil for cooking. Don’t use margarine. Limit the butter.
6. Avoid most dairy products. Choose to eat plain yogurt and natural light cheeses. Eat up to 8 eggs per week.
7. Eat raw, uncooked nuts and seeds. (if you are having diarrhea avoid all nuts and seeds)
8. Drink lots of distilled/purified water. 6-8 glasses daily.
9. Eat lots of vegetables lightly steamed or stir-fry, especially green leafy vegetables (or use lots of Juice Plus capsules daily; 4)
10. Load up on antioxidants. Antioxidants help prevent inflammation. Fresh fruit and veggies are best for this (again, Juice Plus is great for this)
The first thing to do is to get tested properly with our Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis to determine if this procedure is for you… go to:
http://www.mariepace.com/shop/index.php/hair-tissue-mineral-analysis-htma.html
While on our CHELATION PROGRAM you should of course follow the dietary guidelines above. Each person’s Chelation Program is a bit different depending on specific information gotten from proper testing!
A LOOK AT A FEW SPECIFIC METALS:
Each persons Chelation Program is a bit different depending on specific information gotten from proper testing! Let’s take a look at a few of the most common heavy metals and what happens to your body when they are present:
1.Aluminum - Sources of exposure: Aluminum cookware, aluminum foil, antacids, antiperspirants, baking powder (aluminum containing), buffered aspirin, canned acidic foods, food additives, lipstick, medications and drugs (anti-diarrhea agents, hemorrhoid medications, vaginal douches), processed cheese, “softened” water, and tap water. Target tissues: Bones, brain, kidneys and stomach. Signs and Symptoms: Colic, dementia, esophagitis, gastroenteritis, kidney damage, liver dysfunction, loss of appetite, loss of balance, muscle pain, psychosis, shortness of breath, and weakness.
2. Arsenic - Sources of exposure: Air pollution, antibiotics given to commercial livestock, certain marine plants, chemical processing, coal-fired power plants, defoliants, drinking water, drying agents for cotton, fish, herbicides, insecticides, meats (from commercially raised poultry and cattle), metal ore smelting, pesticides, seafood (fish, mussels, oysters), specialty glass, and wood preservatives. Target tissues: Most organs of the body, especially the gastrointestinal system, lungs, and skin. Signs and Symptoms: Abdominal pain, burning of the mouth and throat, cancer (especially lung and skin), coma, diarrhea, nausea, neuritis, peripheral vascular problems, skin lesions, and vascular collapse.
3.Cadmium - Sources of exposure: Air pollution, art supplies, bone meal, cigarette smoke, food (coffee, fruits, grains, and vegetables grown in cadmium-laden soil, meats [kidneys, liver, poultry], or refined foods), freshwater fish, fungicides, highway dusts, incinerators, mining, nickel-cadmium batteries, oxide dusts, paints, phosphate fertilizers, power plants, seafood (crab, flounder, mussels, oysters, scallops), sewage sludge, “softened” water, smelting plants, tobacco and tobacco smoke, and welding fumes. Target tissues: Appetite and pain centers (in brain), brain, heart and blood vessels, kidneys, and lungs. Signs and Symptoms: Anemia, dry and scaly skin, emphysema, fatigue, hair loss, heart disease, depressed immune system response, hypertension, joint pain, kidney stones or damage, liver dysfunction or damage, loss of appetite, loss of sense of smell, lung cancer, pain in the back and legs, and yellow teeth.
4. Mercury - Sources of exposure: Air pollution, batteries, cosmetics, dental amalgams, diuretics (mercurial), electrical devices and relays, explosives, foods (grains), fungicides, fluorescent lights, freshwater fish (especially large bass, pike, and trout), insecticides, mining, paints, pesticides, petroleum products, saltwater fish (especially large halibut, shrimp, snapper, and swordfish), shellfish, and tap water. Target tissues: Appetite and pain centers in the brain, cell membranes, kidneys, and nervous system . Signs and Symptoms: Abnormal nervous and physical development (fetal and childhood), anemia, anorexia, anxiety, blood changes, blindness, blue line on gums, colitis, depression, dermatitis, difficulty chewing and swallowing, dizziness, drowsiness, emotional instability, fatigue, fever, hallucinations, headache, hearing loss, hypertension, inflamed gums, insomnia, kidney damage or failure, loss of appetite and sense of smell, loss of muscle coordination, memory loss, metallic taste in mouth, nerve damage.
Go to :
http://www.mariepace.com/shop/index.php/hair-tissue-mineral-analysis-htma.html
for more information on correct testing!