Detoxification

The list of dangerous toxic heavy metals that we are exposed to is fairly long. Tin, mercury, cobalt, cadmium, lead, aluminum, arsenic, chromium, copper, zinc, silver, antimony and bismuth can all easily reach toxic levels if we do not control environmental exposure. However, a couple of these, mercury and lead, are more likely to require detoxification than others.

Mercury accumulates in our bodies from various sources. A type of dental filling called amalgam (silver filling) contains high amounts of mercury. Dentists pretty much worldwide have switched to different types of fillings these days but through most of the 20th century amalgam dental fillings were very common. Talk with your dentist about what type of fillings you have and consider having any amalgam fillings replaced with newer types of fillings. Detoxification of amalgam mercury is not particularly difficult. Drinking lots of water along with a healthy diet and vitamin, probiotic and mineral supplements can do it over the course of a year or so. But if you don't replace the amalgam fillings you only prevent the mercury levels from getting higher instead of detoxification of the mercury.

There is some concern that ocean fish that we eat contain harmful levels of methyl mercury. For the most part, this is a myth and the healthy benefits of eating fish generally outweigh the risks. However, it always pays to be a bit cautious. Larger ocean fish and tuna tend to have more methyl mercury in them than smaller fish.

Lead is another heavy metal that you should be concerned about. Lead is just about everywhere in our environment these days. Approximately 75 percent of all houses painted before 1980 used lead based paint. And in many cases up to 50 percent of the weight of the paint was lead. Over the course of time chipping, peeling and fading of this lead paint generates lead dust that gets into the air we breathe and will also accumulate in the soil around these older houses. We can even get lead poisoning from the water we drink. Lead pipes and solder were not banned from our drinking water lines until well into the 1980s. Unless you live in a town or city built after the 1980s there is undoubtedly a lead pipe or lead solder joint somewhere along the line of your drinking water supply.

Natural detoxification for all but high lead poisoning levels is very effective, provided you control exposure. If you live in a house with lead painted walls, keep them clean and maintained or even repaint them. Don't vacuum the painted areas. The abrasion just makes things worse. In many cases, running your tap water for a minute or two will momentarily clear the plumbing lines in your house so you can get safe drinking water. But you should consider purchasing an inexpensive drinking water filter that filters out lead.