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Learn all about heavy metal detox!Did you brush your teeth this morning? Fill up your water bottle from a tap? Get on a train or use a cell phone today? You may have increased your exposure to heavy metals without even realizing it.

In today’s world, heavy metals are commonly used in almost every facet of life. Without the ability to detox this increase in heavy metal levels, our health is compromised and disease levels are at an all-time high.

Sounds scary? It is. But there is a lot you can do to protect yourself and take control of your health.

We’ll walk through how to identify heavy metals, diagnose toxicity levels, outline clear steps to detox and valuable preventative measures.

Not sure if you have harmful heavy metals in your body or your family’s? Then get an at-home test today to learn more and take action!

What Are Heavy Metals?

Heavy metals are defined as those metals which have high density and atomic weight or atomic number. Chemists categorize heavy metals as elements that are at least five times denser than water.

These metals are naturally present in the Earth’s crust, but over time and through various human activities, their geochemical cycle and balance are altered. Some chemicals are essential minerals and pose no threat while others (arsenic, anyone?) are highly toxic even in small quantities.

Among those most common in our water supply are lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium. So, what’s so bad about these metals, why should we be aware of them and how can we use a heavy metal detox effectively?

How Are Heavy Metals Accumulated?

Our bodies are able to naturally detox heavy metals, but due to a poor diet or compromised systems, metals can accumulate in our bodies. If you’re over-exposed, or unable to cleanse properly, you’re at risk for heavy metal accumulation.

How Do You Test for Heavy Metals?

Testing is important to find out if heavy metals actually are the culprits of your health concerns. Heavy metal testing is most effective in either a provocation test with a chelation agent or a hair mineral analysis.

  • HTMA: A Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is one of the best ways to check for heavy metal toxicity. The hair is one of many places the body eliminates minerals and heavy metals, making it a reliable source for testing.
  • Blood Test: A blood test can be done, but is often less reliable than a hair analysis. By the time blood test results show positive metal toxicity, the individual is usually very obviously ill.

I highly recommend taking the at-home heavy metals test by EverlyWell so you can know your results quickly and get back to feeling better!

Click for more info.

These tests will give you a baseline so you know exactly how much metal you have in your system. Because remember there are good AND bad metals that are in our systems at all times!

What Is a Heavy Metal Detox?

The goal of a heavy metal detox is to first remove accumulated heavy metals from the brain and nervous system. The most common way is through chelation, which should be performed by a doctor. Chelation involves the administration of agents that bind heavy metals to molecules and help to dissolve them and excrete through urine.

A more relaxed method of heavy metal detox is through dietary changes, herbs, and supplements. This effective detox method breaks down metals into smaller molecules so they can be removed more easily through your urine, feces, and sweat.

There are many benefits of a heavy metal detox!

What Are the Benefits of a Heavy Metal Detox?

Even if you haven’t been medically tested for heavy metal toxicity, you’ll be surprised how good you’ll feel after a heavy metal detox. In addition to clearing your brain and nervous system, a heavy metal detox benefits the functioning of the kidneys, liver, heart, lymphatic system, and respiratory system. Just a few of the benefits of a heavy metal detox include:

  • Reduced stress
  • Improvements in energy levels
  • Enhanced immunity
  • Better gut health and digestive function
  • Improvements in attention, memory, learning, and cognitive function
  • Improved skin health
  • Better protection against diseases and disorders

Do I Need a Heavy Metals Detox?

When’s the last time you felt energetic, sharp, happy, and healthy? Do you chronically feel fatigued, foggy, or have trouble sleeping? Are you suddenly feeling numbness or fainting spells?

Heavy metals accumulate in two ways. In acute poisoning, you may experience one high dose of metals that causes almost immediate symptoms. Chronic poisoning is a low, but consistent dose over time that causes symptoms that are harder to detect.

  • Acute Symptoms (one high dose): Confusion, numbness, nausea, abdominal pain, fainting, diarrhea, cramping. This could come from eating the contents of a mercury thermometer or getting a vaccine.
  • Chronic Symptoms (low dose over time): Chronic fatigue, headaches, Autoimmune diseases, including Lyme’s disease, skin irritations like burning or tingling, neurological disorders including brain-fog, trouble concentrating, difficulty learning and poor memory, and/or dementia, digestive issues, such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), chronic aches and pains, such as those associated with fibromyalgia, tremors. This could come from your mercury amalgam fillings slowly leaking, or a copper IUD.

If these sound familiar, it might be time to understand the process, symptoms, and heavy metals detox side effects so you can take control of your health.

What are the different ways to detox heavy metals?

There are two main ways to detox heavy metals: chelation and daily detox.

  1. Chelation Therapy: The most common way, is through chelation therapy. This is an intense medical procedure that should be performed by a doctor due to potential side effects. Recommended for more serious cases.
  2. Daily Detox: The second method for detoxing is a daily detox through herbs, supplements, and changes to your diet. This takes longer but is effective at breaking down metals into smaller pieces that can be removed by your body’s natural detox systems.

How to Do a Heavy Metal Detox

Before you start any type of heavy metal detox plan, it’s important to eliminate the source of metals first. If you are drinking water from copper pipes, have mercury amalgam fillings, are exposed to high levels of lead, or work with or near toxic metals. If you don’t eliminate the source, the chances of successful detox are slim to none. Once you can identify and eliminate the source, you can successfully detox your body and experience true healthy living.

Diet: One of the easiest ways to start a heavy metal detox is to change what you’re putting into your body. A few heavy metal detox friendly foods that should be a staple in your diet include:

  • Rich Vitamin C fruits
  • Leafy green vegetables
  • Herbs and spices like Italian spices as well as ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and thyme
  • Flax and chia seeds
  • Garlic and onions
  • Bone broth

There are also foods that you should avoid, which include:

  • Farmed fish
  • Food allergens
  • Food with additives
  • Non-organic food
  • Alcohol

Water: Although water is part of a healthy diet, it is a category all its own because of its importance in heavy metal detox. Be sure you are getting plenty of water to assist in the detox process. If you know that you will do these lifestyle changes in the future too, consider getting a hydrogen water machine to boost your efforts. Finally, ensure your water is free of all heavy metals by using a reliable water filtration system.

To learn more about the best filters to purify your water, read our review of the best heavy metal water filters.

Smoothies: Heavy metal detox smoothies can be a great way to incorporate healthy detox ingredients like kale, barley grass, aloe vera juice, or Atlantic dulse that are difficult to consume on their own. Combine these important ingredients with fresh organic fruits and you’ve given your body a head start to detox.

Juice Fasting: One day of juice fasting can take your detox up a notch. A heavy metal detox juice should consist of celery, cucumbers, and apples. This juice combination gives you a proper balance of mineral salts, potassium, and natural sugar to keep your glucose levels stable as your body cleanses itself of toxic heavy metals. Drink 16-20 ounces of juice every 2-3 hours with water in between for 24 hours. Consider a juice fast every two weeks to achieve impressive detox results. I would recommend buying a book by the “Medical Medium” that is all about the celery juicing cleanse you might have heard about. Quite a few people have raved about their results. You can check it out on Amazon here.

Celery juice is one way to do a heavy metal detox!

Saunas: Sweating is a natural way to get rid of toxins through the skin. Exercise is a good way to get started, but a sauna can jumpstart your efforts. An infrared sauna doesn’t get as hot so it allows you to sweat longer. Make sure to replenish with filtered water.

Detox Bath: A heavy metal detox bath is a great way to remove toxins from the body while helping you to relax. There are several recipes for different detox baths, most of which use natural ingredients like salts, essential oils, and/or apple cider vinegar.

Lymphatic System Boost: There are several things you can do to keep your lymphatic system working optimally. A few to consider include dry brushing, massage, and exercise. Learn more about how to detox your lymphatic system.

Supplements: Heavy metals often like to find a cozy spot in the body and stay put while they accumulate. Supplements are a good way to unlock those metals and escort them towards the exit. Sometimes, this can actually exacerbate symptoms temporarily as the metals are moving throughout the body. A binding agent combination like Biosil and PectaSol taken together helps your body to eliminate the metals as soon as possible so the side effects don’t linger.

  • BioSil – Take 5-10 drops or 1 capsule daily to mobilize heavy metals.
  • PectaSol-C – Take 5 grams daily or more on an empty stomach, depending on tolerance.

Important note: This is a two-part recommendation: don’t take one without the other!

You might also want to look into doing a Vitamin C flush. This is a really great way to detox heavy metals especially if you had an acute exposure to them or think you might have a heavier load in your system.

Again, you need to remember that if you are not having regular bowel movements then you will never start making progress towards your health goals. If you want a simple way to eliminate constipation by breakfast, then add this daily prebiotic to your breakfast coffee, tea, oatmeal, or smoothie and fully empty your bowels effortlessly, naturally, and daily.

Follow these steps to perform a heavy metal detox!

Side Effects of a Heavy Metal Detox

If you don’t know what to expect during a heavy metal detox you could be in for a shock to the system. A heavy metal detox may actually make you feel worse before you feel better. The symptoms that are caused by the levels of metal in your blood can increase as those metals are mobilized in the body.

Take your heavy metal detox method slow by starting with making sure you start with the healthy habits first and then moving into stronger detox methods. Regular bowel movements and plenty of water are critical components to a successful detox.

Where Do Heavy Metals Come From?

Most heavy metals are naturally occurring and exist almost everywhere in the world around us. Exposure to heavy metals comes from traffic fumes, air pollution, water contaminants, radiation, dental fillings, poor-quality diet, household products, and chemicals in everyday products. A heavy metal detox helps the body to naturally eliminate these toxins from our internal organs.

How Can You Avoid Continuing to Accumulate Heavy Metals?

The first step is to get your water tested. It’s hard to know what you’re dealing with unless you actually test the water and see exactly what is in your area. There are some things you can do to avoid heavy metal accumulation in other areas of your home as well:

In Your Diet: 

  • Avoid seafood with high levels of mercury – this includes specifically swordfish and marlin (eat wild-caught and low mercury fish like salmon, shrimp, and cod)
  • Maintain a healthy diet of high-quality protein and healthy fats
  • Eliminate processed foods and excess fats from your diet (these slow the detox process because they can soak up the harmful substances you want to remove)
  • Replace aluminum pots and pans for cast iron or ceramic

In Your Home: 

  • Avoid old dishware and imported food cans where the ceramic may contain lead and impact your food
  • Replace old thermometers that use mercury and replace them with digital ones
  • Use extreme care when using herbicides and choose products that do not contain heavy metals
  • Check the contents of the medicines you take
  • Avoid PVC Items, especially for children
  • Make sure that the house you live in does not have lead paint on its walls
  • Check for copper pipes in your homes plumbing
  • Use air filters and water filters in your home

In Your Habits: 

  • Use natural deodorant
  • Dry brush before bathing
  • Use magnesium oil on organs and belly
  • Get amalgams taken out by a certified dentist
  • Put your phone on airplane mode while sleeping (reduce EMFs)
  • Exercise regularly

Keep the Heavy Metals to the Music

It’s not a matter of if you are affected by heavy metal toxicity, but rather how are you affected? In today’s world, you can hardly eat, sleep, or breathe without some type of exposure to heavy metals.

Avoiding the daily onslaught of heavy metals is tough, but protecting yourself is not. Taking control of your body and your health through a heavy metal detox is the best way to ensure you are not being compromised by heavy metal toxicity.

Your body wants to heal but sometimes may need additional help to get a boost. These tips and tricks deliver an all-star team of heavy metal detoxifiers to help you get back to the vibrant life that you deserve.