List of Content
- What is heavy metal poisoning?
- How does someone get heavy metal poisoning?
- How do heavy metals enter your body?
- The most common metals that induce poisoning
- Symptoms of heavy metal poisoning
- How do herbs help with metal poisoning
- Herbs that protect against heavy metals
- NAC
- Chlorella
- Cilantro
- Cilantro & chlorella
- Spirulina
- Spirulina & Chlorella
- Tulsi
- Milk thistle
- ETP capsules – Environmental Toxin Protection
- More on Phytochelatins
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What is heavy metal poisoning?
Heavy metal poisoning results from exposure to and accumulation of toxic amounts of microscopic molecules of heavy metals in your body’s soft tissue. Once inside your body, the metals reside in your blood or tissues, spreading from your head to your toes. The heavy metals most commonly associated with the poisoning of humans are lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium.
Symptoms associated with heavy metal poisoning vary according to the metal accumulated. Gastrointestinal and kidney dysfunction, nervous system disorders, skin lesions, vascular damage, immune system dysfunction, congenital disabilities, and cancer are the complications of heavy metals’ toxic effects.
Many heavy metals, such as zinc, copper, chromium, iron and manganese, are essential to body function in tiny amounts. But, severe damage may occur if these metals accumulate in the body in concentrations sufficient to cause poisoning. Wilson’s disease is a rare inherited disorder that causes copper to accumulate in your liver, brain and other vital organs.
How does someone get heavy metal poisoning?
Heavy metals naturally occur in weathering metal-bearing rocks and volcanic eruptions. Sources of heavy metals include mining, agricultural activities and industrial production (foundries, smelters, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, pesticide production, chemical industry), untreated sewage sludge and diffuse sources such as metal piping, traffic and combustion by-products from coal-burning power stations.
We interact with minute amounts daily. When you work with paint, use a thermometer or handle old batteries, you might expose yourself to heavy metals. Heavy metal poisoning occurs when these metals get into your body and bloodstream. This can happen if you’re exposed to a large amount of metal, including:
- Eating a lot of food that contains metals (fish, especially fish that live long)
- Improperly coated food containers
- Drinking water from older water supply systems
- Working with metals
- Taking medications or supplements with high amounts of metallic elements
- Handling products made with a large amount of metal, like lead-based paint or pesticides
- Industrial exposure
- Air or water pollution
- Some vaccines
How do heavy metals enter your body?
Most metals that cause poisoning are in a molecular form when they enter your body. They are so small; you won’t be able to see them. Heavy metals can enter your body by:
- Skin – Being absorbed into your skin.
- Lungs – Breathing in or inhaling tiny metal molecules.
- Gastrointestinal tract – Eating or drinking metal from food or water.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8511997/#:~:text=Heavy%20metals%20enter%20the%20human,protein%20function%20and%20enzyme%20activity.
The most common metals that induce poisoning
- Lead – Lead can be found in contaminated water from lead pipes, batteries, paint, gasoline, and construction material.
- Mercury – Liquid in thermometers, lightbulbs, dental amalgam (silver) fillings, batteries, seafood, and topical synthetic antiseptics.
- Arsenic – Topical creams, herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, paint, enamels, glass, contaminated water, seafood and algae.
- Cadmium – Cigarette smoke, metal plating, and batteries.
- Thallium – Rodenticides, pesticides, fireworks.
Symptoms of heavy metal poisoning
The following symptoms indicate that You Might Need to Cleanse Your Body of Heavy Metals.
- Abdominal pain, indigestion, bloating and gas
- Diarrhea and dehydration.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Physical tiredness – Feeling weak and powerless
- Chills or a low body temperature.
- A scratchy feeling in your throat.
- Numbness or prickly sensation in your hands and feet.
- Heart palpitations and fast pulse
- Memory loss, mental fatigue and difficulty in concentration
- Depression, irritability, mood swings, tension and outburst of anger.
- Comprehensive anxiety and depression
- Insomnia and sleep disorders
- Autoimmune disease, including lime’s disease
- Poor recovery from exercise and weakness.
Other symptoms may include hot flashes, dizziness, headaches, bad breath, and inflamed and itchy eyes. In the morning, swollen eyes or dark circles are under the eyes. Symptoms may also include excessive sweating, common viral infections, dry, itchy skin, excessive mucous secretion, problems with conception, low libido, PMS, coughing, shortness of breath, tingling in hands and feet, and frequent feeling of discomfort.
Severe symptoms of heavy metal poisoning that can be life threatening include:
- Abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia).
- Anemia.
- Impaired motor control, hearing, speach, vision and gait.
- Brain damage and memory loss.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Kidney damage.
- Liver damage.
- Miscarriage in people who are pregnant.
- Risk of developing cancer.
If you experience severe symptoms after exposure to heavy metals, visit the emergency room immediately.
How do herbs help with metal poisoning
The first step in treating heavy metal poisoning is to eliminate the exposure source and keep the patient away from the exposure source. The first-line therapy is the symptomatic and supportive treatment of various body organs, including the kidney, liver, respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
The most common method for removing heavy metals from the body is the administration of chemical chelators. Recently, medicinal herbs have attracted the attention of researchers as potential treatments for heavy metals poisoning because of their fewer side effects.
Some herbs contain chelating agents, which reduce the bioavailability of toxic substances and the absorption of heavy metals. Herbal treatment also minimises the bioavailability of toxic substances by increasing gastrointestinal movement resulting in faster excretion of toxins through the faeces.
According to previous findings, regular consumption of the correct herbs may significantly reduce the risk of heavy metal absorption. It includes medicinal herbs and spices such as garlic, milk thistle, cilantro, ginkgo, turmeric, phytochelatins, Triphala, herbal fibres, spirulina and chlorella to treat heavy metal poisoning.
Herbs that improve liver, digestive, and kidney organ function and help to mechanically eliminate the metals of the affected tissues by binding to them are essential. These herbs help to heal the body from damage caused by chronic exposures. They do not attach to essential minerals like Calcium and Magnesium and help protect the kidneys and liver during detoxification. Active herbal medicines adsorb toxic metals and chemically combine with them for elimination through the liver, bowels, and kidneys.
Herbs that protect against heavy metals
NAC
NAC is an amino acid. Amino acids are great at removing metals from the body.
NAC is a chelator of heavy metals. NAC binds to toxic heavy metals such as mercury and lead and removes them from the body. This is a slow process, yet NAC is one of the most effective oral chelating agents.
NAC was reported to protect against heavy metal poisoning by limiting oxidative stress and acts as a potent chelator for heavy metal ions like mercury, cadmium, chromium, and gold. The metals bound to the amino acid allow it to be pulled out of the tissues and then excreted during the natural processes of elimination. These studies reported no significant adverse effects and no effects on essential metals. Metals removed in these studies included mercury, lead, gold, and arsenic.
NAC can be used when mercury fillings are removed to help prevent the re-absorption of the mercury released during the removal process. NAC also helps cleanse the liver, making it easier for it to detoxify the body and deal with toxins like heavy metals. NAC is also used by the body to manufacture another amino acid, glutathione, which plays a vital role in detoxifying chemical pollutants. People with mercury toxicity often lack glutathione because mercury interferes with its activity. Glutathione can be taken as a separate supplement, but because of its molecular structure and poor absorption, taking NAC has raised blood levels higher than taking actual glutathione.
Chlorella
Chlorella (Chlorella vulgaris) is a natural chelator that removes heavy metals from the digestive tract, especially lead and mercury. It’s a great source of chlorophyll that naturally absorbs other metals. It may also protect the fetus from mercury in the mother’s blood. Chlorella at 500 and 1000 mg (per 70 kg body weight) significantly reduced whole-body retention of strontium and thallium. Chlorella treatment increased the excretion of strontium and thallium through faeces and urine.
Chlorella significantly reduced mercury deposition in tissues and facilitated its excretion through faeces. Pulverized Chlorella showed potential adsorption efficiency and may be a promising agent in counteracting mercury-induced toxic effects.
While some detoxifying supplements release toxins from cells and tissues, chlorella mainly binds to toxic metals, carrying them out of the entire system. Chlorella contains proteins and peptides designed to attach to these substances and remove them from the body. The chlorophyll in chlorella also aids heavy metal detoxification.
Cilantro
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) effectively protect the body against the effect of heavy metals. It also assists in removing heavy metals, like aluminium, mercury, and lead, through the digestive and urinary systems. As an immune booster, cilantro protects the immune system against the adverse effects of these metals. Cilantro extract has been shown to protect the liver from the damaging effect of lead poisoning and lower lead concentration in rats intoxicated with lead.
Cilantro also significantly decreased lead deposition in the femur and severe lead-induced kidney injury. In addition, urinary excretion of delta-aminolevulinic acid, known to increase with lead intake, significantly decreased after cilantro administration. These results suggest that cilantro has suppressive activity on lead deposition, probably resulting from the chelation of lead by its active ingredients.
Another study shows that concentrations in the liver and kidney were measured eight weeks after the intake of zinc, iron, copper, arsenic, and cadmium. The concentrations of heavy metals tested in the liver did not change, but iron, arsenic, and cadmium concentrations decreased in the kidney. This indicates that the intake of cilantro leaf extract contributes to powerful resistance to oxidative stress in the kidney, probably due to reduced concentrations of heavy metals. A decrease in arsenic concentration to the detection limit is likely a major factor for the resistance.
Cilantro & chlorella
Cilantro and chlorella work well together in eliminating heavy metals from the body. The cilantro plant leaves have potent anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antifungal, antimicrobial and significant chelating properties, which bind to heavy metals removed from the body through our excretory system. Chlorella with cilantro must be taken thrice daily for up to 3 months. According to various studies, heavy metal chelation using cilantro and chlorella can naturally remove 87% of lead, 91% of mercury, and 74% of aluminium from the body within 45 days.
Spirulina
Spirulina (arthrospira platensis) has been shown to alleviate experimentally induced heavy-metal toxicity. A total of 58 preclinical studies demonstrate the alleviative effect of Spirulina against experimental arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury toxicities. Five clinical studies reported the protective effects of Spirulina against arsenic toxicity in humans. The literature shows Spirulina possesses promising heavy-metal toxicity-ameliorative effects mainly attributed to its intrinsic antioxidant activity.
Spirulina has been shown as an effective chelating agent for removing toxins such as mercury and radioactive
substances from the body. It has also been used to remove cadmium and lead from wastewater.
Spirulina & Chlorella
Because spirulina and chlorella are so effective at binding toxins and purging them from the body, they can reduce some common side effects of detoxification. A typical dosage of spirulina or chlorella for heavy metal detox is up to 20 grams per day under supervision. They can be used together if desired. Start with 500mg daily and work up as needed to allow your body to adjust. After detox, you can taper down to a maintenance dosage of 3 grams daily.
Tulsi
Tulsi efficiently removes metal ions such as lead, cadmium, chromium, iron, copper and zinc from wastewater.
There is a growing interest in the protective effect of Tulsi on toxic liver damage caused by lead poisoning and environmental toxins. The administration of tulsi leaf extract shows a protective effect against lead acetate-induced hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity in mice.
Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum Linn) protects organs and tissues against chemical stress from industrial pollutants, heavy metals, prolonged physical exertion, ischemia, physical restraint, and exposure to cold and excessive noise. Tulsi has also been shown to counter metabolic stress by normalising blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid levels. It protects against psychological stress through its positive effects on memory and cognitive function and its anxiolytic and anti-depressant properties. Tulsi’s broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, which includes activity against various human and animal pathogens, suggests it can be used as a hand sanitiser, mouthwash and water purifier, wound healing, the preservation of foodstuff and herbal raw materials and traveller’s health.
Milk thistle
The liver acts like a filter, filtering and cleaning the blood. It deals with drugs, chemicals, solvents, perfumes, heavy metals and toxins daily. Milk thistle protects the liver, removes pollutants, gets rid of pathogens, and prevents free radical damage. It regenerates the liver, repairs damaged liver cells and help increase bile production. Milk thistle has also been shown to help reverse liver damage caused by mushroom poisoning
Milk thistle and its main component, silymarin, a mixture of flavonoids, acts against biological and chemical poisons. The main protective effect is attributed to anti-oxidative, chelating, anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory properties.
A study evaluated the toxic effect of lead acetate on the kidneys and blood of rats based on histopathological alterations and DNA damage. Silymarin in milk thistle is effective in reducing the lead concentrations in blood.
ETP capsules – Environmental Toxin Protection
Ingredients: NAC, Chlorella, cilantro, spirulina, tulsi and milk thistle.
ETP combines one amino acid and five herbs that protect the body against heavy metals and environmental toxins. They assist in releasing toxins from cells and tissue by binding to them, leading them out of the body. The herbs chlorophyll, proteins, and peptides attach to these substances and carry them out of the body. As an immune booster, it protects the immune system against these metals’ advert effects. It also protects the liver against the damaging impact of heavy metals and improves the kidney’s resistance to oxidative stress.
More on Phytochelatins
Phytochelatins are oligomers of glutathione that are produced by the enzyme phytochelatin synthase. They are found in plants, fungi, nematodes, and all groups of algae. Phytochelatins act as chelators and are essential for heavy metal detoxification. Phytochelatins are composed of three amino acids, glutathione, cysteine and glycine and have been identified in many plant species and some microorganisms. These compounds are involved in the detoxification of cadmium.
