Heavy metals and toxicity in the body

The body requires a variety of vitamins and minerals to keep balanced, and like everything, too much of anything can be toxic. This includes metals.

Certain metals such as cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, strontium, and zinc - are essential to health in trace amounts. Others are non-essential and can be harmful to health in excessive amounts. These include cadmium, antimony, chromium, mercury, lead, and arsenic - these last three being the most common in cases of heavy metal toxicity.

The wrong heavy metals that can build up in our body can come from our environment,
water supply, hobbies, and other places, thus a full history of the person's work and living habits can help pinpoint potential heavy metal sources.

What are the signs or symptoms of heavy metal toxicity? Symptoms of heavy metal toxicity include mental confusion, pain in muscles and joints, headaches, short-term memory loss, gastrointestinal upsets, food intolerances/allergies, vision problems, chronic fatigue, and others. The symptoms are so vague that it is difficult to diagnose based on symptoms alone.

The top three most toxic metals and their symptoms are:

Arsenic
Symptoms include nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, garlic odor on breath, excessive salivation, headache, vertigo, fatigue, paresthesia, paralysis, kidney failure, progressive blindness, and mental impairment. Signs include mottled brown skin, hyperkeratosis (increased pigmentation) of palms and soles, cutis edema, transverse striate Leukonychia, perforation of nasal septum, eyelid edema, coryza, limb paralysis and reduced deep tendon reflexes. Mental symptoms include apathy, dementia, and anorexia.

Lead
Signs and Symptoms include combinations of gastrointestinal complaints, hypertension, fatigue, hemolytic anemia, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, weight loss, peripheral neuropathy, cognitive dysfunction, arthralgias, headache, weakness, convulsions, irritability, impotence, loss of libido, depression, depression of thyroid and adrenal function, chronic renal failure, gout. A patient with lead poisoning may have a combination of symptoms - or no symptoms at all until the condition has progressed. Mental symptoms include restlessness, insomnia, irritability, confusion, excitement, anxiety, delusions, and disturbing dreams.

Mercury
Mercury toxicity has been linked to, among other things, mercury dental fillings, particularly when people have a large number of them. Symptoms include a metallic taste in the mouth, excess salivation, gingivitis, tremors, stomach and kidney troubles. Mental symptoms include shyness, irritability, apathy and depression, psychosis, mental deterioration, and anorexia.

If you think you have metals in your body, there are labs that can test you. The easiest screening process is a Hair Analysis. Additional testing involves the use of chelating drugs along with a 24-hour urine collection to determine levels of heavy metals. From here, treatment is based on the individual and will usually involve the use of metal chelating drugs or intravenous EDTA chelation. For many patients, intravenous Vitamin C and replacement mineral infusions are also recommended to support the body through the metal removal process. Once laboratory tests indicate that the heavy metals are undetectable, treatment is considered complete. Often many - if not all - symptoms previously experienced will have resolved, though some may linger, indicating residual damage to organ systems. Therapies can then be targeted to these systems and any specific problems remaining.

The following is a list of nutrients that also help facilitate the removal of heavy metals.

Mega H-: The negative hydride ions in Mega H- alter the water consumed with the food and supplements in our diet, to have a lower surface tension and an increased conductivity.

Methionine: Methionine levels are a major determinant in the liver's concentration of sulphur-containing compounds, such as glutathione and cysteine. As methionine is the precursor for the manufacture of cysteine in the body, extra supplementation of this critical amino acid should increase available cysteine.

N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC): NAC forms L-cysteine, cystine, L-methionine, glutathione (GSH), and mixed di-sulfides. Stimulates the body to produce large amounts of cysteine and glutathione, thus greatly augmenting plasma and red blood cell content of both cysteine and glutathione; Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM): MSM, like fresh garlic, provides a bioavailable dietary source of sulfur.

Milk Thistle (silymarin): Silymarin provides support and protection against liver toxins which can cause free-radical-mediated oxidative damage.

Chlorella: Is a food-like all purpose mild chelator of heavy metals; it is a specially processed green-algae type of food that is taken with meals and is quite tolerable and pleasant for many.

Cilantro: stimulates the body's release of mercury and other heavy metals from the brain and CNS into other tissue. This facilitates the ability to remove heavy metal from the body using other dietary protocols, such as Chorella and other chlorophyll containing herbs such as Nettles and Alfalfa.

Vitamin B6: needed in the metabolic process that converts methionine to cysteine and then into glutathione. B6 is capable of reducing and controlling the swelling and pain associated with the routine tissue and bone trauma resulting from normal dental operative procedures.

Magnesium: Magnesium availablility is essential for the proper functinoing of our immune system as well as hundreds of enzyme systems critical to human health. Organically amino acid-bound ones are more easily absorbed and are less irritating to the gastrointestinal tract as well.

Activated charcoal: taken immediately with chlorella, 15 minutes before drilling/chunking out amalgam, will bind any swallowed mercury and also prevent recirculation in the liver.

Calcium & Vitamin C: Just as lead will displace calcium, calcium is an excellent nutrient to utilize for displacing mercury and lead. Utilizing a combination of minerals, such as magnesium and calcium, is even more effective in clearing metals from the body. Increasing vitamin C intake is a reasonable cost-effective way to control toxic metal levels in the population.

Chlorophyll: chlorophyll binds to heavy metals very well. In fact, it is imperative to choose a reputable source for your chlorophyll, which screens for toxins and heavy metals; or you may be getting more than you want. A good source is juiced raw, organic greens.

Fiber: Fiber, such as oat bran and apple pectin, will bind to metals and help draw them out of the body.

Lipoic Acid: Lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant and has a high affinity for binding to metals. This makes it an excellent choice as a supplement to bind and clear mercury and lead from the system. It is best utilized in combination with conjugating nutrients.

Minerals: A mineral-rich diet acts as a chelating agent. Many minerals will chelate metals, including calcium, magnesium, zinc and selenium. Mercury interferes with some functions of selenium, including its powerful antioxidant function and its ability to bind to metals. A good source of bioavailable minerals is from raw sea vegetables and grass juices from wheat, barley, alfalfa, kamut, etc.

Molybdenum: Large amounts of exogenous sulfur (from outside the body) will usurp the body's stores of molybdenum to metabolize it. An easier solution is to use the nutrients which will facilitate the homocysteine pathway.

Sulfur: Lead, mercury and cadmium steal sulfur from important proteins, which could be enzymes, hormones, or cell receptors. Conversely, sulfur is needed in the liver detox pathway to hook onto these metals and clear them from the body. So, lead, mercury and cadmium depletes sulfur, the very nutrient needed to detox the metal overload. A depletion of sulfur will also adversely affect joint connective tissue growth, since sulfur is an essential precursor to the building blocks of cartilage, namely glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, and hyaluronic acid.

Zinc: Zinc and copper get displaced from metallothionine, the protein that binds and carries them. This destroys many of the zinc-dependent enzymes. Zinc is important for proper functioning in a host of major metabolic pathways; it is a component of over 90 metalloenzymes in the body.

R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of Met-Rx, Met-Rx, Pioneer Nutritional Forumulas, Lipodrene and other quality supplements. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.

Going Gluten Free

You probably have heard the term gluten free, but have you researched what that means? What is gluten and what is an allergic reaction to it. These are just a few things discussed in this article.

Gluten is the elastic, rubbery protein present in wheat, rye, barley and to a lesser degree in oats. It binds the dough in foods such as bread and other baked goods. It contributes to spongy consistency. Rice and maize do not contain gluten.

Wheat allergies can create many different symptoms or adverse reactions. What is wheat allergy? Wheat allergy refers specifically to adverse reactions involving immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to one or more protein fractions of wheat, including albumin, globulin, gliadin and glutenin (gluten). Allergic reactions to wheat may be caused by ingestion of wheat-containing foods or by inhalation of flour containing wheat (Baker's asthma).

Clinical experience suggests that wheat allergy is relatively uncommon, but there are no accurate figures for prevalence. The allergy is more prevalent in certain groups: e.g., wheat allergy is responsible for occupational asthma in up to 30% of individuals in the baking industry.

Allergic reactions to wheat usually begins within minutes or a few hours after eating or inhaling wheat. The more common symptoms involve the skin, hives, eczema, swelling, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting, oral allergy syndrome and the respiratory tract (asthma or allergic rhinitis).

The diagnosis of a wheat allergy may be easy if a person has the same reaction repeatedly after eating wheat-containing food. More often the diagnosis is difficult because wheat is usually consumed with other food. Diagnosis usually entails clinical evaluation (medical history, family history, food history) supported by appropriate laboratory tests (CAP® RAST blood tests, skin prick-testing). An elimination-challenge test may be employed to make the diagnosis.

Medication is ineffective in treating this condition. Avoidance of wheat and wheat-containing foods is the only treatment. This may be difficult to maintain, particularly as wheat protein may be "hidden" in other foods. Rice or maize may be substituted as alternative cereals. A dietician must supervise treatment. Wheat-allergic patients who have sensitivity to gluten (or gliadin) should avoid other gluten-containing cereals.

The majority of young children with wheat allergy will outgrow it. Individuals who develop the allergy later in life will probably retain it. There is some evidence that individuals who remove wheat from their diet for a year or longer may be able to tolerate wheat upon re-introduction.

What common foods are gluten-free? Foods such as soybean flour, tapioca flour, rice, corn, buckwheat and potatoes are usually safe for people with celiac disease. To follow a gluten-free diet, start by reading all labels on prepared foods. Do not eat any foods that contain the following:

* Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
* Flour or cereal products
* Vegetable protein
* Malt and malt flavorings
* Starches (unless specified as corn starch, which does not contain gluten)
* Various flavorings, which can be derived from cereals containing gluten
* Vegetable gum
* Emulsifiers, stabilizers derived from cereals containing gluten

Next, especially when eating at a restaurant, avoid the following:

* Breaded foods
* Creamed foods
* Meatloaf and gravies


It is a good idea to see a dietician or nutritionist on a regular basis to ensure that your gluten-free diet is well balanced and meeting nutritional needs. Your doctor may also prescribe various vitamin supplements to make up for any nutritional deficiencies.

Since bone loss is a common problem in people with celiac sprue (due in part to vitamin D deficiency), frequent monitoring with bone density scans is recommended.

Consider buying a cookbook with gluten-free recipe ideas, and visit various sites specializes in the support of people with celiac disease. Armed with information, you can be on your way to a healthier body.

R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of Met-Rx, Met-Rx, Pioneer Nutritional Forumulas, Lipodrene and other quality supplements. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.

Antioxidants and Radiation Treatment

Radiation therapy is certainly hard on the body. For those who are in the process of going through it, there have been questions regarding whether one can continue taking antioxidants and supplements. The concern is whether it will reduce the effectiveness of the therapy.

While radiation therapy kills cancer cells, it also damages neighboring, non-cancerous cells. For most people who experience radiation injury to the intestine, the condition usually clears up within a few weeks of treatment. But in 10% to 20% of the patients, it persists. The people in this study had all experienced these symptoms for six months or more.

Doctors say that while radiation proctitis can be a very disabling condition for many people, that taking antioxidant treatments [with vitamins E and C] makes a lot of sense. Evidence now suggests it may possibly work as a first-line treatment for patients who experience diarrhea, urgency, or fecal incontinence.

What do antioxidants do? They protect cells from DNA damage that can be caused by unstable forms of oxygen called free radicals. High radiation doses aimed at a prostate, cervical or endometrial cancer cause high levels of free radicals that create enough DNA damage to destroy the malignant cells. But, stray radiation can also damage the nearby rectum.

Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant, and vitamin C increases the effects of vitamin E.

Research by Cancer Treatment Centers of America have found that antioxidants provide nutritional benefits to cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment without interfering with the treatment itself.

The study, entitled "Effect of Concomitant Naturopathic Therapies on Clinical Tumor Response to External Beam Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer," was presented at the non-profit Society of Integrative Oncology's Third International Conference in Boston.

Most doctors said they felt that radiation therapy, chemotherapy and surgery are the best treatment options for cancer patients, but the side effects of the treatments can be physically and emotionally damaging. In the past, doctors were concerned about antioxidant use with radiation treatment in that it might interfere with the cancer cell oxidation levels that assist chemotherapy and radiation in killing tumors. To address this, the Cancer Treatment Centers of America researchers analyzed the prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels of prostate cancer patients after radiation therapy, and found no difference between the control group and the group using antioxidants such as green tea extract, melatonin, high-potency multivitamins, vitamin C and vitamin E.

Doctors say that the study provides evidence that antioxidants as a complementary therapy in cancer treatment does not interfere with external beam radiation therapy and that antioxidants are one of many complementary and alternative medicine therapies that are crucial in today's fight against cancer.

More than 80 percent of the cancer patients interviewed for the report said they had used some sort of complementary and alternative medicine treatment, many without any sort of medical supervision.

In the end, it was proven that taking antioxidants helped patients and was beneficial to their overall sense of well-being in addition to helping them assimilate to the radiation.

About the Author: R. Fredriksen is the Vice President of Nutrition Dome, a leading provider of Jarrow Formulas, Pioneer Nutritional Forumulas, Lipodrene and other quality supplements. For more information, please visit www.nutritiondome.com.