What is Heavy Metal Toxicity
In his State of the Union address, President Obama drew a line in the sand on toxics by stating: ‘‘ I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury poisoning”
Heavy metal toxicity is the toxic accumulation of heavy metals in the soft tissues of the body.
Heavy metals include:
Aluminium, Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium, Nickel and Mercury – the most dangerous of all, amongst others.
Heavy metals may enter the body via food, water, air or by absorption through the skin. Once in the body, they compete with and displace essential minerals such as zinc, copper, magnesium, and calcium and interfere with organ system function.
The main problem with heavy metals in our bodies is that they have the ability to
‘bio-accumulate’.
Bio-accumulation means that the metals do not leave the body by their own accord and accumulates in certain tissues.
The main tissues targeted by heavy metals include the liver, brain, kidneys, bowel, brain and nervous system, spleen and eyes.
Here they eventually become responsible for degenerative diseases such as Autism, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, ADD, Autoimmune diseases, Chronic fatigue, Infertility, etc.
The metals will not be cleared by the system unless some type of intervention is used to chelate the metals and flush them out.
Some heavy metal toxicities are more prevalent than others, like mercury from dental fillings and lead from lead pipes and paint.
Could you be suffering from toxic metal overload?
Do you:
- Have amalgam fillings in your mouth?
- Struggle with concentration and memory loss?
- Feel drained of energy and tired all the time?
- Suffer from bloating and constipation?
- Experience numbness and tingling beginning in the fingers and toes and moving centrally?
- Have loss of balance and coordination?
- Have Multiple Sclerosis/Alzheimer's/Dementia?
Symptoms of Heavy Metal Toxicity
The types of symptoms usually reflect the degree of exposure, including exposure over time.
Adults often report the first symptoms begin with generalized muscle weakness and fatigue. These symptoms are probably due to the way heavy metals act to “short out” the electricity in our cells.
Other symptoms include headaches, feeling irritable, and inability to concentrate.
If toxicity progresses, these are followed by numbness and tingling sensations around the lips, fingers and toes (paraesthesia). A stumbling gait and difficulty in articulating words is the next progressive symptom, along with a constriction of the visual fields, ultimately leading to tunnel vision and impaired hearing. In severe cases, tremors or jerks are present. If toxic exposure continues, neurological effects of toxic metals can result in coma and death.
Symptoms of heavy metal toxicity vary widely because these metals can enter every type of cell in the body: the brain, lungs, lymph, thyroid, heart, liver, pancreas, gall bladder (contributing to formation of gall or kidney stones), kidney, small and large intestine, joints, muscles, nerves and reproductive organs. Having too many heavy metals overload the immune system, making it more susceptible to a range of invaders, including viruses and parasites that may cause multiple infections.
Inorganic mercury is capable of producing symptoms which are indistinguishable from those of multiple sclerosis. Aluminium toxicity has been implicated in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and in mental retardation.
The expression "mad as a hatter" comes from the mercury poisoning prevalent in 17th-century France among hatmakers who soaked animal hides in a solution of mercuric nitrate to soften the hair.
Who is at risk for Heavy Metal Toxicity?
Many heavy metals naturally exist in our surrounding ecosystems and are generally not a problem in small concentrations. However, with industrialization, heavy metals are now used in many products we use daily and have leached into our food. It is our exposure to these low to moderate amounts of metals over long periods of time that cause ill effects to our health.
People who are especially at risk are those who work in Factories without proper detoxification precautions, exposure to metals by living in old houses and peeling paints, consuming water in areas with high arsenic levels or consuming food that is not organic.
Children may be poisoned as a result of playing in contaminated soil. They are also especially at risk as many vaccines contain heavy metals (mainly aluminium and mercury), especially
Thimerosal, a mercury preservative that occurs in many childhood vaccines. Thimerosal is 49.5 % ethyl mercury by weight.
Unfortunately, many infants today are born toxic as the heavy metals pass to the baby through the placenta and breast milk.
Sources of Heavy Metal Toxicity
“Dentists have long maintained that the mercury in amalgam fillings is not dangerous to your health. But stunning new evidence shows that mercury indeed slips out of fillings and migrates to many parts of the body and could be behind many ‘new’ illnesses”
In practice, the main source of heavy metal toxicity that is encountered is exposure from silver metal dental fillings.
Other prominent causes of Heavy Metal Toxicity are environmental sources that may be based in the food that is consumed, water that is being drunk or even over-exposure to industrial metals and chemicals. One’s environment and living habits often decide on the level of Heavy Metal Toxicity that a person is being exposed to.
Acute exposure can occur as a result of:
- Receiving vaccinations that contain Thimerosal (a mercury preservative)
- Mishandled metals at a job site
- Chemical and heavy metal spills–even from a broken mercury thermometer
Chronic exposure happens over a period of time, and includes:
- Having mercury amalgams ("silver fillings") in teeth
- Living in a home built prior to 1978 that has lead-based paint
- Smoking and/or inhaling second-hand smoke
- Eating foods (such as contaminated fish) that contain high levels of heavy metals
- Living near a landfill
- Working in an environment where exposure is prevalent, such as at a dentist’s office where amalgam is used to fill cavities
To date, most of the patients tested for heavy metals, 99% have tested high for mercury and lead.
Do you have Heavy metals in your home?
Following below is a list of household items which may contain the 6 main Heavy metals:
Mercury:
Teeth, Vaccination, Jewellery, Paints, Photography, Fish, Sea weed, Mercurochrome, Water
Lead:
Petrol, Cigarette smoke, Paints, Canned food, burning of coal, food crops, water contamination, crystals and ceramics, make up, nail polish, tattoos, all creams that have a petrochemical base or mineral oil base.
Aluminium:
Baking powder, foil, toothpast – fluoride, water, mouth wash, deodorant, baby powder, cigarette smoke, Teflon pans, tin cans
Arsenic:
Water, cigarette smoke, paints, fish from pollutes water, eel, shrimp, squid, mussels, pesticides/insecticides
Cadmium:
Cigarette smoke, black tea, car exhaust fumes, food grown in polluted areas, paints
Nickel:
Cigarette smoke, electronics and computers, ink and dying manufacturing, rubber production / battery production, casting, cocoa powder, chocolate, tea
The Challenge test
Testing for Heavy Metals:
The Challenge test is an effective way to determine the amount of metals in your body.
- If you suspect that you are suffering from heavy metal toxicity, you should make an appointment with the Sister to do a Challenge test. It is the initial step in identifying the toxic elements that could be causing the problem.
- Certain chelating (metal-removing) agents are given to the patient orally/intravenously.
- Two hours after the Challenge test, a urine sample is collected and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
- The test results are received approximately 4 weeks after the test is done.
- Once the results are known and some or all of the metals are elevated, the chelation (removal process) of these metals from the body can begin.
Chelation Therapy
Treatment of Heavy Metal Toxicity:
If tested positive for Heavy Metals, a series of Chelation (metal-removing) treatments are recommended. The amount of treatments will vary depending on the results provided by the Challenge test. The treatment may be performed orally, intravenously or by suppository.
After a given set of treatments, a final Challenge test is conducted to compare results with the initial Challenge test. It is important to begin treatment as soon as possible to minimize long-term damage to the patient's nervous system and digestive tract.
Please note:
If mercury is the highest value, it is recommended that all amalgam fillings, root canals and gold inlays are to be removed by a biological dentist. Only biological dentists who follow the IAOMT (International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology) protocols are to be consulted.
How does Chelation therapy work?
Chelation Therapy is a well-recognized, safe and effective therapy which eliminates toxins and heavy metals from the body system. While removing undesirable metals from the body it also normalizes the distribution of metallic elements in the system.
The chelating agent encircles and binds to the metal in the body's tissues, forming a complex. That complex is then released from the tissue to travel in the bloodstream. The complex is filtered out of the blood by the kidneys and excreted in the urine.
The truth about Amalgam fillings
Mercury is the second most toxic metal known to man.
The amalgam filling in your tooth consists of 50% mercury. Amalgam literally means “mixed with mercury” and is the most common form of tooth restoration. There are over 5000 scientific research articles showing how toxic amalgam is to the human body and the direct link it has to the diseases mentioned earlier.
Facts:
- Amalgam fillings releases significant amounts of mercury into the body
- Amalgam is the largest source of mercury poisoning in the body
- Mercury is distributed to most tissue of the body and crosses the blood-brain barrier
- Mercury crosses the placenta resulting in high levels in the foetus and in breast milk in mothers with high levels in their bodies
- Mercury interferes with cell metabolism and changes DNA strands
- Mercury disrupts the immune system
- Mercury has a devastating effect on the brain and on nerve tissue
Dental amalgams are the primary source of mercury exposure in adults. A single dental amalgam filling releases as much as 15 micrograms of mercury per day. The average individual has eight amalgam fillings and could absorb up to 120 micrograms of mercury per day. *For comparison, eating mercury-tainted seafood will expose you to about 2.3 micrograms per day -- and that is enough for scientists to call for a worldwide warning!
Unfortunately, while many have become well aware of the dangers of environmental mercury contamination, few are as well-informed when it comes to the dangers posed by dental amalgams.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can damage your brain, central nervous system and kidneys, and mixing it with other alloys and placing it in your mouth does NOT all of a sudden render it harmless. Naturally, the more amalgams you have, the greater your risk of experiencing health problems as a result.
*
www.mercola.com, Mercury Toxicity And Systemic Elimination Agents
Vaccines and Autism
“When a study revealed that mercury in childhood vaccines may have caused autism in thousands of kids, the government rushed to conceal the data – and to prevent parents from suing drug companies for their role in the epidemic.”
Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Most of us have heard about the controversy surrounding possible harmful effects of some of the vaccines.
There are a growing number of scientific studies that are demonstrating serious dangers in our present vaccine policy, including altered brain development, seizures and a loss of brain cell connections called synapses. These studies all point to over-vaccination as a real and present danger to our children, and in certain instances, to adults. Unfortunately, most paediatricians and family practitioners are completely unaware of these dangers.
According to a CDC (Centre for Disease Control) epidemiologist, Tom Verstraeten, a mercury-based preservative in vaccines – Thimerosal – appeared to be responsible for a dramatic increase in autism and a host of other neurological disorders amongst children.
Mercury is toxic, especially to infants and young children.
It is likely that skyrocketing autism rates have MULTIPLE causes, many of which tie into the large number of vaccines given to children at one time, and the fact that so many vaccines are now given to children during their first two years of life. In 1983, before the autism epidemic began, children received 10 vaccinations before entering school. Today, they are receiving 24 vaccines before the end of their first year—and 36 by the time they start school. In the early 1980s, the incidence of autism was 1 in 10,000 births. Today it is 1 in 150 births and still climbing*.
One vaccine injected into a 6 kg, 2-month-old infant is equivalent to 10 doses of the same in an adult that weighs 60 kg! This is an assault on a child’s nervous system and immune system, neither of which is fully developed. Therefore, multiple vaccines given close together over-stimulate your brain's immune system and, via the mechanism of "bystander injury," destroy brain cells.
There is so much that could be written/read about this subject, and hopefully this article will get you started. Before you ever decide to vaccinate a child, educate yourself about vaccines as much as possible. The key is to do your own research. Don’t blindly listen to the pharmaceutical companies or to anyone else. Be cautious when considering vaccination for yourselves and their families.
*
www.mercola.com, The Dangers of Excessive Childhood Vaccinations
Appointments
Contact the Practice to make an appointment for your Challenge test.
If you have any other questions regarding Chelation / Heavy metal toxicity, please ask to speak to one of our Nurses.