Do toxic heavy metals ruin your life?
Do you have chronic health problems and still have not found the answers you seek? If you feel you have been searching for too long, you are not alone. Perhaps you already do almost everything you can think of to stay healthy. You eat organic food. You exercise as much as you can. You meditate, take supplements and make time for yourself. You feel you are doing everything right, yet your symptoms persist: fatigue, migraines, joint pain, brain fog, sluggishness, inflammation, constipation and other digestive problems, susceptibility to infections, nervousness and anxiety, insomnia, poor memory, mould in the body and bacterial overgrowth, skin rashes, difficulty concentrating and changes in mood. Unfortunately, symptoms of this kind are becoming increasingly common. If you experience any of them regularly, you may have consulted numerous health professionals, searched the internet and read everything you could find, waiting for relief that never comes or lasts only briefly. You may even have been told that it is “all in your head”, “hormonal” or “just stress”. As the symptoms continue, you keep asking yourself: “What have I missed? Why does my body still feel this way?”
Today we are bombarded by toxins of every kind imaginable. Our bodies are exposed each day to dangerous chemicals from polluted air, plastics and industrial cleaning products, not to mention the thousands of new chemicals released into the environment every year. Toxins have reached our water supplies, fall from the sky and hide in our homes and workplaces. This has become a sad reality of modern life. If you notice any of the symptoms listed in the previous paragraph, there is a strong possibility that a particular type of toxin is responsible: toxic heavy metals. Heavy-metal toxicity — involving metals such as mercury, aluminium, copper, cadmium, nickel, arsenic and lead — is one of the greatest threats to our health and well-being. Although heavy-metal poisoning is fairly common, it often goes undiagnosed because these metals are difficult to detect. They remain hidden in our bodies unless they are specifically sought out.
“Heavy-metal toxicity—metals such as mercury, aluminium, copper, cadmium, nickel, arsenic and lead—represents one of the greatest threats to our health and well-being.”
Toxic heavy metals are found virtually everywhere, including in things we encounter daily: aluminium cans and foil, batteries, metal cookware, old paint and even the food we eat. Pesticides and herbicides, which are difficult to avoid completely even with a strictly organic diet, are a common source of heavy metals. As a result, heavy metals can remain in our bodies for almost a lifetime, buried deep in our tissues. Unfortunately, these long-standing metals may pose the greatest threat. Over time, toxic heavy metals can oxidise, damage tissue and promote inflammation. They can poison the body and damage almost any system or organ, including the brain, liver, digestive system and other parts of the nervous system. Toxic heavy metals also place a heavy burden on the immune system, making us more vulnerable to various illnesses.
While all types of toxins are harmful, heavy metals pose a unique threat. Not only are they harmful on their own, but they also function as neurotoxins – substances that interfere with nerve function and confuse our immune system. Neurotoxins from heavy metals can cause inflammation and irritate our central nervous system, particularly the brain, leading to a variety of symptoms such as memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, and depression. Heavy metals can also promote inflammation in the digestive tract and release toxins into the intestines. Heavy metals serve as a food source for viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens within the body. For example, heavy metals can be a food source for cells of *Streptococcus* A and B, *E. coli*, *C. difficile*, *H. pylori*, and yeasts and molds. As a result, there can be excessive growth of bacteria in the intestines, especially in the small intestine. This can lead to bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation (or both), which can ultimately result in nutrient deficiencies. When a virus, such as Epstein-Barr, is nourished by heavy metals, it can cause symptoms like tingling, stiffness, fatigue, anxiety, heart palpitations, ringing in the ears, dizziness, as well as pain in the neck, knees, and feet, headaches, and various other pains that are often attributed to other causes.
“In time, toxic heavy metals can oxidize, causing tissue damage and causing inflammatory processes.”
When pathogens, such as Epstein-Barr and many others, feed on heavy metals, they transform those metals into a particularly aggressive form of neurotoxin. This secondary neurotoxin is a byproduct and waste product of the pathogens and has the ability to travel throughout the body and cause even greater problems in the central nervous system. This phenomenon can lead to incorrect diagnoses, such as Lyme disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and numerous other autoimmune diseases. Blood tests begin to lose their accuracy because the blood circulation is filled with neurotoxic byproducts and pathogen waste. These neurotoxins can even cross the blood-brain barrier, where they cause brief contact between our neurotransmitters (chemicals that our brain cells use to communicate with each other). This can trigger depression and other mood disorders, memory loss, and numerous other cognitive impairments.
It is therefore no surprise that heavy metals play an important role in today’s epidemics of “mystery illnesses” and in degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Nevertheless, heavy-metal toxicity remains relatively under-researched and untreated. Despite what we know about the dangers of heavy metals, much remains to be discovered. Heavy metals may be a major trigger of mystery illnesses for many of us and contribute to all the symptoms described above.
Mercury
While heavy toxic metals destroy the body, mercury is particularly damaging and responsible for immense suffering throughout human history. Once considered a remedy for all conceivable illnesses, we now know that the reality is precisely the opposite. Mercury toxicity can be responsible for numerous disturbances and symptoms, including anxiety, ADHD, autism, bipolar disorder, neurological disorders, epilepsy, numbness, stiffness, spasms, feverish chills, palpitations, hair loss, brittle nails, weakness, memory loss, confusion, insomnia, loss of libido, fatigue, migraines, endocrine disorders, and depression. Indeed, mercury poisoning is the core of depression for a significant percentage of people suffering from it.
Historically, before its toxic effects were known, it was believed that this substance was a source of youth and eternal wisdom. It was historically highly valued, and numerous emperors died as a result of elixirs made with this substance, as healers promised to resolve all their problems. Solutions based on this substance were also popular in the West. In the 19th century, medical students in the United States and England were taught to give patients, regardless of age, gender, or symptoms, a small amount of this substance. Even after the medical community stopped promoting this harmful remedy, exposure to this substance remained common: industries would release it into rivers and lakes, and dentists used mercury amalgam fillings (and still do in some cases). In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, solutions containing this substance were used in the production of hats, with the intention of accelerating the curing process. This exposed hat makers to a significant risk. On average, hat makers lived approximately three to five years after starting work in a factory, followed by problems with their brains, judgment, and ultimately, death. This is where the expression “crazy like a hat maker” originated – nearly all mental illnesses of that time were a result of exposure to this substance. The greatest irony is that this substance was, for a long time, used as a “treatment” for mental illnesses. It wasn’t just hat makers who suffered; anyone wearing a hat made in this way would absorb this substance whenever they sweat.
“Mercury poisoning is the core of depression for a large percentage of people suffering from it.”
Although the practice of using mercury as a life elixir has long been abandoned, we are still exposed to its harmful effects. Due to the practices mentioned above, it is highly likely that our ancestors and other predecessors were exposed to high levels of mercury, which was passed down from one generation to another. This means that we have mercury in our bodies, as we inherited it from our ancestors who consumed mercury. It is practically certain that most, if not all, have a certain level of mercury in their bodies. Some of us may even have mercury in our bodies that is over a thousand years old.
Due to a legacy of mercury, as a human race, we are actually more sensitive to mercury than ever before. This is because with each successive generation, existing mercury becomes slightly less concentrated and more diluted. While this might sound positive, it actually leads to a “reverse potency” of mercury: the more diluted the mercury, the stronger it becomes when passed down through generations from parent to child (which is similar to the principles of homeopathy, where successive dilutions of a compound increase its potency). Furthermore, we accumulate new forms of mercury throughout our lives, starting with the mercury we are exposed to at birth. Therefore, to maintain optimal health, we need to eliminate both the mercury we’ve accumulated over time and the mercury we’ve inherited from our ancestors. Otherwise, as a human race, we will continue to become increasingly sensitive to mercury and other heavy metals.
Alloys
An important aspect of heavy metal toxicity is the fact that each of us has a unique mixture within us – a personal combination of heavy metals that creates an alloy. In an industrial context, metals are mixed to make them stronger, which allows for a wider range of applications. For example, a bicycle has different parts made from various metal alloys, giving it unique flexibility and strength – the same applies to car components or even a pan for cooking. While this can be a good thing for the lifespan of your bicycle, it doesn’t improve human health. The mixture of heavy metals in a particular individual can consist of a high level of mercury and lead, while another person’s unique mixture may contain large amounts of aluminum and nickel. Two people may have a significant amount of mercury and aluminum, but the ratio between these two metals in those two people is different. Another variable that contributes to an individual’s unique alloy is the location of heavy metals in the body. For example, one person may have mercury in their brain and central nervous system, while another person’s metals have infiltrated their liver and intestines.
A key aspect of heavy metal accumulation is the fact that each of us has a unique blend, a personal combination of heavy metals that creates an alloy.
Heavy-metal poisoning in individuals is one reason for the widespread depression, anxiety and other neurological symptoms people face every day. Each person’s particular mixture of heavy metals is also a reason why two people with the same diagnosis do not have exactly the same symptoms. For example, no two people diagnosed with depression have identical symptoms. This unique mixture is also part of the explanation for why different treatments and methods may help one person but not another. In addition, there is usually an interaction between a person’s emotional history and their specific mixture of heavy metals. For example, someone who has experienced emotional trauma and has a high level of heavy-metal poisoning may find that trauma harder to process. Medical research and science are still decades away from identifying the particular heavy metals and combinations responsible for many of these symptoms.
Your sensitive central nervous system
Heavy metals have the ability to infiltrate the brain. Exposure to heavy metals is harmful regardless of where they are in the body, but the brain is particularly vulnerable. Electrical nerve impulses constantly pass through neurons (nerve cells) in our brains; these cells communicate and control bodily processes, which are regulated by the brain. In healthy brains, this system functions smoothly and effectively. However, if neurons are surrounded by brain tissue saturated with mercury, or other heavy metals, there can be an electrical short. Metals drain and interfere with electrical nerve impulses. This is similar to leaving car headlights on all night, leading to a drained battery. When heavy metals “drain” the electrical activity of the brain in this way, the continuity of nerve impulses is disrupted. For example, if a person has a large amount of mercury in their brain, the electrical energy flowing through a neuron does not reach its intended target – instead, it crashes into the accumulated mercury. This then leads to the observation of conditions such as depression and cognitive impairments, including confusion, overstimulation, disorientation, etc. Another question is the interaction between minerals involved in nerve impulses, such as sodium, potassium, and chloride, and heavy metals. These minerals have the ability to oxidize heavy metals and literally cause their corrosion (i.e., heavy metals in the brain become discolored). This process can spread to other areas of the brain, leading to even more nerve impulses coming into contact with the oxidation of heavy metals, which further contributes to electrical shorts and a vicious cycle, leading to anxiety, depression, memory loss, emotional instability, migraines, and extreme mood swings (i.e., extreme ups and downs), and chemical sensitivity. Furthermore, neurotransmitters (chemical substances released by nerve cells) are depleted. This reduces our supply of important neurochemicals, such as serotonin or dopamine, which again contributes to anxiety and depression.
If neurons are surrounded by brain tissue saturated with mercury or other heavy metals, this causes a short circuit. These metals draw electrical impulses – resulting in a similar effect to leaving car headlights on all night, which drains the battery.
You may have detected heavy metals in your body. If so, you may have tried techniques like chelation therapy (a process involving the introduction of substances designed to remove heavy metals from the body; “chelation” means “to grab” or “to bind”), or you may have experimented with supplements or foods known for their ability to remove heavy metals. If these approaches don’t seem to be working, it may be because you’ve only used one or two supplements or foods to try and remove heavy metals. The truth is that most foods that can help remove heavy metals from the body require assistance and work better as a team. Therefore, the best approach for detoxification of heavy metals is to use multiple different foods and detoxification methods together. This process is very similar to teamwork, like in sports – heavy metals are like a football, the foods that grab the metals are the teammates, and the goal is the removal of waste. Even the fastest athletes can’t or very difficult to achieve the goal alone – with teammates, it’s much easier. Heavy metals have a long and complex path before they are eliminated from the body, and in order for the process to work, many different supplements, foods, and methods must participate.