Detox Metals: A Crucial Step in Achieving Radiant Health

Why should you detox metals? While certain metals, such as magnesium and zinc, are healthy in the correct amounts in the body, others such as mercury, cadmium, lead, and aluminum are toxic and should be avoided as much as possible in the diet. Since it might be close to impossible to completely avoid these metals in today's day and age, learning to detox metals in your body is very important.

Here are the steps to get rid of metallic toxins:

1. Choose Fish Wisely (or Wildly). Wild-caught fish are better in two ways, they have a much lower amount of mercury, and they have a much healthier omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (most people each way too much omega-6 which is pro-inflammatory and not enough omega-3 which is anti-inflammatory). When going to a restaurant, call ahead to see if they have any wild-caught fish - some places that aren't even very fancy or healthy seeming will have one or two types of wild-caught fish.

2. Avoid antiperspirant. Antiperspirant, but not deodorant, if you didn't buy it in the health food store, probably contains aluminum as one of its ingredients. I don't know why this is even legal, but it is. I have a whole page on this, which includes a fantastic suggestion for an alternative deodorant. Click on the antiperspirant danger page for more information.

The following steps to detox metals are actual detox procedures and should only be done after at least one of the colon cleansing procedures has been completed:

3. Try the suppository (rectal pill) supplement called Detoxamin. This is made of a compound called EDTA, which is actually a man-made amino acid (amino acids are natural building blocks of protein). While I generally don't recommend anything that is not an all-natural product (I'll let the licensed physicians do it), EDTA is different because it has no toxic effects in the body, and doesn't stay in the body. It chelates (which is the scientific term for claws or grabs on to) toxic metals in your body and flushes them out mainly through the urine and bowel movements. You can click on the Detoxamin website and find lots of scientific studies. Granted, the studies will only be positive on a site that sells it, but they are still very significant and worthwhile. EDTA chelation by way of an IV drip is FDA approved for lead poisoning (wow an FDA approval for detoxification), in case that matters to anyone (not me). Several doctors, including those in the American College for Advancement in Medicine, (ACAM) believe that chelation, whether by Detoxamin or IV drip (info below) helps to clean out the arteries.

4. Intravenous EDTA Chelation. This should detox metals with similar results as Detoxamin based on studies. However it is more expensive, more inconvenient (few hours of sitting with an IV in you), and more painful (needle poke) than the suppository version. On the other hand, you get a doctor's supervision and recommendations.

5. Take Modified Citrus Pectin. After taking modified citrus pectin for six days in a study, volunteers showed an average of 150% increase in urinary cadmium excretion and 560% increase in urinary lead. No increase was found in essential nutrients calcium, zinc, and magnesium. If you read the modified citrus pectin source (from one of my favorites, Life Extension Magazine), you'll find that it also has exceptional benefits against cancer (or obviously as a preventative for those who don't have it).

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