Spring brings memories of my mother, gathering dandelion greens and eating them steamed, with a splash of vinegar. It’s invigorating to eat bitter greens, knowing they clean the digestive tract after a long winter, helping the body better absorb nutrients. Seasonal detoxification regimens also encompass food and beverage combinations designed to cleanse the body of substances that are harmful, or at least unhelpful, to health. Among them are heavy metals.
What Are Heavy Metals?
Naturally occurring metallic components of the earth’s crust, toxic heavy metals are ubiquitous and “contribute to noncommunicable chronic diseases,” according to researcher Margaret E. Sears, PhD.
Heavy metals include:
- aluminum
- arsenic
- lead
- mercury
How Do Heavy Metals Get Into Your Body?
Heavy metals get into your body in many ways, from drinking water contaminated with lead; eating fish caught or raised in waters where mercury is prevalent; and using unsafe kitchenware to having a job that involves heavy metals or even breathing dust that contains old lead paint.
What Is Heavy Metal Toxicity?
Some mineral elements that are important to human health in small doses (calcium, iron, and zinc, for example) can become toxic in very large amounts. Acute heavy metal toxicity, from getting a large dose at one time, can bring on frightening symptoms. Low doses of heavy metals over time can cause chronic heavy metal poisoning.
Symptoms of heavy metal poisoning and toxicity include:
- Fatigue
- Muscle and Joint Aches
- Headache
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Confusion
- Numbness
- Fainting
Metals are a causative factor to many health issues, including cardiovascular, blood pressure, endocrine, thryroid, and neurological types of issues.
What Is Chelation Therapy?
Chelation agents bind with heavy metals in the body, allowing them to be excreted through the urine. Anyone wishing to do a heavy metal detox should, with their healthcare practitioner’s approval, consider looking for products containing the following ingredients:
- ALA (alpha lipoic acid)
- Cilantro
- EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid)
- Glutathione
- Modified Citrus Pectin
- NAC (N-acetylcysteine)*
*NAC is one of the building blocks of the antioxidant glutathione, which the body manufactures in the liver and uses to escort mercury from the body.
Substantial research has also shown that probiotics belonging to the Lactobacillus genus also decrease toxin absorption.
