Here's an interesting - brief article about heavy metals toxicity - all these are high in me...
Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium - How to Unburden Yourself
Heavy metal toxicity has been documented throughout the ages. For instance, some historians have long maintained that the Roman Empire met its fate because of strife from within and without-internal conflicts and wars with other nations. But other historians have speculated that those internal conflicts resulted from the unstable mental states of the Roman leaders. The senators may have been suffering from dementia as a result of a few too many sips of wine and water from lead goblets. In essence, the Roman's wealth undid them, since other nations weren't wealthy enough to afford containers made from lead.
Now, more than 1,500 years later, lead is still a problem. For example, recent testing of 11,000 school children in China revealed that 65 percent had blood lead levels that exceeded those considered safe by the World Health Organization. In addition, the World Bank has identified lead poisoning as the No. 1 environmental disease among children in the industrialized world, which includes the United States.
Health Hazards from Lead
Many of you will recall the lead eradication campaign in the late 1970s after it was learned that nearly 90 percent of American children had elevated lead levels in their blood. There were massive public education efforts to halt the ingestion of lead-based paint by children, and early detection programs were initiated. Partly thanks to those measures and the removal of lead from gasoline, the figures are dropping considerably. But we're still not out of the woods. (And confusing the matter, the Environmental Protection Agency has been increasing the acceptable amount of blood lead levels over the years.)
Lead is the most common toxic metal and an abundant contaminant in your body. As bad as lead is, there are other heavy metals, including mercury and cadmium, that are considered more poisonous. However, there are still considerable side effects from chronic lead exposures. Like mercury, lead can cause abnormal brain and nerve function. Lead also tends to displace vital minerals in your body, specifically calcium. In fact, \"lead lines\" in bones can actually be seen on x-rays if lead has replaced a great deal of calcium.
In a child, the symptoms are usually those of acute lead intoxication, including mental disturbances, learning disabilities, seizures, abdominal pain, and lethargy. But for adults, the clinical picture is more subtle, because theirs has usually been a longterm, lower grade exposure. Adult symptoms of lead poisoning include muscle pain, nausea, headache, depression, dizziness, immune system decline, anemia, and multiple sclerosis. Chronic lead poisoning has been linked with both high blood pressure and kidney failure, so if you have both, and your doctors can't figure out why, ask about getting your blood lead levels tested. While you're at it, check your cadmium levels, too.
Cadmium Contamination
A high percentage of cadmium is released as a byproduct of iron and steel manufacturing and the burning of coal. If you consume food grown in heavily industrial areas like Pittsburgh; Akron, Ohio; or Chicago, your exposure is even higher. Cadmium is deposited mainly in your kidneys and the prostate gland. High blood levels of this metal can cause acute renal failure, \"hardening\" of the arteries (atherosclerosis), and high blood pressure.
Perhaps the greatest cadmium exposure is due to cigarette smoking. Each cigarette contains approximately 1 mcg of cadmium; approximately 30 percent of which goes into your lungs and is absorbed, while the remaining 70 percent enters the atmosphere. In addition, male smokers are at a much higher risk for prostate cancer than non-smokers.
Heavy smokers need to know that they're really overdosing when, on top of smoking, they feast on large quantities of seafood, especially crab, lobster, oysters, and clams, which have the highest cadmium levels. Contaminated seafood and shellfish are also a major source of arsenic, another heavy metal that can cause toxicity to your central nervous system.
Arsenic Without Old Lace
Arsenic lurks in small amounts in soil, and minute quantities are found in many fruits and vegetables, especially if they've been sprayed with pesticides. Arsenic can also be found in pressuretreated-wood, so carpenters are - routinely exposed.
Arsenic-contaminated drinking water has become a major problem for the people of Bangladesh. At least half the population is being poisoned, and many are slowly dying. Nail rotting, dark spots on skin, bleeding sores, and gangrene are the hallmark signs of arsenic poisoning; it also leads to cancers of the bladder, kidney, and lung, as well as diseases of blood vessels.
Like mercury, high quantities of arsenic, cadmium, and lead can be found in your urine if you do a test called the 24 Hour DMSA Challenge (see July SHR for info). You could also have blood levels measured, but they are not as accurate as urine testing.
Eliminating Heavy Metals
Should you find that you have high levels of lead, cadmium, or arsenic in your body, then intravenous and oral chelation formulas containing EDTA (ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid), a weak synthetic amino acid, are the best way to remove them. Chelating agents bind with heavy metals, and then carry them out of your body via urine and stool.
Oral EDTA will provide longterm protection against heavy metal poisoning, chronic inflammation, and hypercoagulable states (very sticky blood). But EDTA has a downside, albeit minimal. In the process of drawing out all heavy metals (iron, mercury, copper, aluminum, lead and cadmium), EDTA also pulls out much-needed zinc, magnesium, and calcium. So, I recommend that anyone taking an oral chelator, be it EDTA or DMSA (see July SHR for more on DMSA), supplement with additional minerals-zinc, magnesium, and calcium. If you take a quality multi-vitamin and -mineral formula, that will be sufficient.
The reason I'm so interested in oral chelators is that none of us can escape heavy metal poisoning; it's part and parcel of our modern life. In a recent U.S. study of 3,800 children and adults representing a cross-section of the population, investigators documented traces of 11 heavy metals, six compounds usually found after exposure to pesticides, and several other toxic ingredients in their bodies.
If you're interested in starting oral chelation therapy, I recommend products from two pioneers in this area: Garry Gordon, MD, DO, M(DH), and Maile Pouls, Ph.D. For more information about their approaches, and to order their chelation formulas, contact their offices directly: Dr. Gordon in Payson, Ariz., at 800-580-7587, and Dr. Pouls in Santa Cruz, Calif., at 800-9624414. Their Web sites are also informative:
www.yournutrition .com for Dr. Pouls; and
www.gordonresearch.com for Dr. Gordon.
Over long periods of time, regular use of an oral chelator can help your body rid itself of toxic buildup. It takes at least a year to pull heavy metals out of tissues like bone and brain. But the best part is the immediate protection. Suppose tomorrow you're exposed to mercury in the form of a tuna sandwich, or to arsenic in pressed wood while working on your deck; a chelator will help neutralize any toxicity from this current exposure.
Given the fact that probably all of us are burdened with heavy metals to some degree, I recommend that you at least use widely available nutrient chelators like chlorella (follow directions on supplement label), selenium (200 mcg), vitamin C (1,000-1,500 mg), and garlic (1,000 mg in supplement form plus fresh garlic in food) on a regular basis. EDTA should also be considered, because it's very safe. The U.S. government recommends EDTA as the treatment of choice for young children suffering from lead poisoning.
So, if you know that your heavy metal levels are on the high side, or you simply feel you want to take good care of yourself by practicing preventive medicine, then include a chelator in your daily plan. You might also consider giving Dr. Gordon or Dr. Pouls a call to find out more. Oral chelators are definitely a step in the right direction to help us survive in this toxic environment of ours.
