Heavy Metals Testing Profile

Description

GET THE LEAD OUT (and Mercury & Other Heavy Metals):  Heavy Metals Testing Profile

You Should Take This Test If You….

• Smoke or used to smoke
• Are trying to conceive
• Are exposed to poor quality air
• Have tattoos or permanent cosmetic markings
• Live in a home prior to 1978
• Drink water from old pipes
• Have occupational exposure risk
• Have diabetes or prediabetes

Heavy Metals 101:

Humans are constantly coming into contact with heavy metals in their environment. While this contact can occur through food and water, it can also occur through air pollution, cosmetics, medications, tattoos, and even many common items in the home and work environments. And although the body can naturally detoxify and eliminate many of these toxic substances, when levels become too high they can begin to adversely affect an individual’s health.

Part of the toxic tendency of heavy metals is to compete with the essential minerals that the body needs for normal function. By comparing some of the important nutritional minerals alongside heavy metals, one can better assess the how these toxic substances can have a negative impact on and health and well-being.

What Are Heavy Metals:

Heavy metals are natural elements found in the earth’s crust and throughout its soil. Their concentration often depends on the geographic region they are found in. While scientists classify heavy metals based on their atomic weight, more generally they are classified based on their toxicity. The most well-known heavy metals are lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, but there are others. The problem is heavy metals aren’t confined to staying in the ground. They migrate to other areas of the environment, like the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat. While most of the heavy metal content in the environment is due to human activity, natural phenomena like volcanic eruptions also contribute to heavy metal levels in the environment.

The World Health Organization has stated that the increasing presence of heavy metals in the environment is “…associated to different degrees with a wide range of conditions, including kidney and bone damage, developmental and neuro-behavioral disorders, elevated blood pressure, diabetes, and potentially even lung cancer.”

Exposure to heavy metal can come from a variety of sources, including:

• Air pollution from vehicle exhaust, release of industrial waste, and coal-fired power plants
• Cigarette smoke
• Contaminated fish from polluted water sources
• Dyes from tattoo ink
• Food grown in contaminated soil
• Physical contact with contaminated soil
• Residential paint (from older homes with lead-based paint)
• Residential water (from older copper or lead pipes)
• Water pollution from industrial waste

Health Impact:

Heavy metal toxicity can adversely affect your health in a number of ways. Heavy metals can replace essential minerals in the bones, brain, liver, and other tissues. Sometimes, heavy metals compete directly with essential minerals for absorption and transport, thereby interfering with the body’s biochemistry by creating oxidative stress or disabling the enzymes that are essential to the liver, brain, and nervous system function.

Chronic exposure to heavy metals can result in experiencing adverse symptoms such as:

• Anxiety and depression
• Deteriorating eye health
• Digestive problems
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Infertility
• Memory problems
• Mental “fogginess”
• Muscle and Joint deterioration
• Poor heart and/or blood vessel function
• Poor immune function (recurrent infections, autoimmune diseases)
• Poor kidney function
• Tingling sensations in the hands, feet, and/or around the mouth
• Tremors

Heavy metals consist of metallic elements like lead, mercury, and cadmium. The levels of mineral elements, including zinc, copper, selenium, and magnesium, are also considered, as these can be affected by ‐ or can be protective against ‐ heavy metal toxicity.