I can remember a time when heavy metal toxicity (HMT) was a place of last resort: you tried everything else and then you went there to try and find the elusive results.
The wheel has turned and time moves on. Now, HMT is a lot more common than it used to be. It is not hard to understand why. Our exposure to heavy metals has increased and our ability to detoxify them from our body has decreased…..quite simple really.
A typical case study is Adam. Adam had been to a long line of practitioners. His symptoms included brain fog, headaches, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, twitching, pinpoint pain and unexplained weakness. The symptoms had been blamed on a host of conditions, including: adrenals, thyroid, liver, kidneys, gall bladder, leaky gut, imbalanced blood sugar, severe deficiencies and depression. He had experienced some relief with various treatments, but the symptoms always came back, sometimes worse than before.
We ran him through a series of tests and there were some imbalances, but nothing to explain the severity of his symptoms. High toxicity levels came up in a couple of the tests and this gave us our first clues. I suggested a specific heavy metal test, but Adam said that he had already done one and it was negative. I encouraged him to do a different test and he finally agreed.
Eureka! Adam’s mercury levels were through the roof, while his zinc, selenium and iodine level were well down. This was not surprising as mercury blocks their action in the body. I was ecstatic. Adam did not share my exuberance. He was cross that the previous test had not picked up the mercury toxicity.
There are a number of ways to test for heavy metal toxicity; each has its strengths and weaknesses. Some practitioners use a challenge test. This forces the heavy metals out from where they are being stored in the body. The urine is then measured to see what is excreted. The only problem with that is that not all the released heavy metals come out in the urine and the circulating mercury left in the body can in my view create major havoc.
Testing the blood is not much good, because it will only pick up a recent acute toxic load. The body works hard to get heavy metals out of the blood and store it in less dangerous parts of the body.
Then there is hair analysis. I used to favour this, but it only shows what the body has excreted in the last 2 to 3 months. It is safe, but limited.
I now favour a spectrometer approach, where the energy absorption of minerals is analyzed by spectrophotometry. This test also gives you a clear picture of mineral deficiencies and a detoxification profile. It measures the peripheral tissue of the body.
Chelating (getting rid of) heavy metals out of the body is not a quick fix. They are dangerous, more so in some parts of the body that other. For example, mercury can cross the blood/brain barrier. There seems little point in moving it from being bound up in fat to the brain, where it can damage neurons and cause cognitive issues.
Some people focus on where the heavy metal toxicity came from. It really is a case of takes your pick. With mercury, it can come from amalgams fillings, eating large fish, energy saving light bulbs, fridge sensor switches, and preservatives used in some vaccines.
Mercury can cross the placenta into the growing baby and a growing cause of mercury toxicity is passage from mother to child, before birth.
If someone has high levels of mercury, silver and nickel, it is a reasonable deduction that the toxicity has come from amalgams, as these are the substances that amalgams are composed of.
If you look at the causes of HMT and the insidious symptoms it causes, you have to ask an obvious question “Why do they allow this stuff, when it is poisoning us and our children? Have we gone putza?” I think the answer is “profit” and “yes”. We have an innate belief that people in high places have our best interests at heart. That may not be so. We are all so busy that it doesn’t really hit home until after it affects your ability to live your life or you discover that your child is on the autistic spectrum. Then you reflect on what is truly important. Then it is too late.
Adam’s story has a happy ending. We chelated the mercury, silver and nickel out of his body, as well as restoring deficient minerals. He is thinking more clearly and his annoying symptoms have completely disappeared. It was not a quick journey. It took in excess of 12 months to get to a point where he was happy with the results.
If you would like to know whether heavy metals are playing a role in your health status, you should consider having a test done to explore your levels.