Should You Do a Heavy Metal Detox?
You’re done with your cancer treatments but are your cells still harboring toxins?
If you are fortunate enough to have heard, “we see no more evidence of disease”, then your next step is planning out a long-term remission plan. Part of that plan should be cellular detoxification.
The age old question, “why did I get cancer?” cannot be limited to the “one thing.” Cancer and how it spreads is a multifaceted mystery but we do know there are certain things that can create an environment that is cancer friendly. One of those is heavy metal toxicity.
Whether you had metal toxicity prior to your treatments or not (most likely, as we all do) we know for certain you do now, because of the chemicals used to treat the cancer. Remember, now that you are no longer receiving the cancer-killing treatments of radiation or chemotherapy, your containment strategy has to pack as much anti-cancer punch as possible and part of that strategy is detoxifying metals at the cellular level.
What Should I Do?
There are a couple approaches to this topic. One, assume you have heavy metals and do some chelation therapy. Two, get tested for heavy metals.
Let’s assume you have heavy metal toxicity including lead, mercury, cadmium, aluminum and arsenic to name some of the common toxins. First we would want to remove any sources of these metals from our environment.
Mercury can come from amalgam fillings in teeth so making an appointment with a biological dentist would be a good idea. These types of dentist can safely remove mercury amalgam fillings and replace them with non-toxic ones. Avoiding vaccinations as much as possible would also lower your exposure to mercury as well as avoiding large fish such as tuna and swordfish.
Arsenic and cadmium can come from drinking water so filtering your water to remove these and other environmental toxins is a great idea. Arsenic can also be found in treated wood so if this is an area that you work around you may want to take precautions to cover your face and hands.
If you live in an older home you will want to have the paint tested for lead and if present, correctly removed. Aluminum can sneak in through vaccines and aluminum cook ware. Cleaning products, solvents, art supplies, synthetic fabrics, fragranced products and building materials all can be sources of heavy metals. Replacing cleaning products with biodegradable and non-toxic products is a great start.
Indoor air pollution is perhaps the most over-looked area of metal toxicity. A good home air filter goes along way in taking the body burden off. Removing as many of these from your environment is a great first step.
Personal Care Products
When you jump in the shower, slather yourself with body wash, shampoos and conditioners, have you ever considered your skin is your largest organ? It absorbs everything you put on it.
When you get out of the shower (especially women) more lotions, deodorants, makeup, hair products and perfumes are applied to the skin and hair. The majority of these products are full of toxins, many of them toxic metals such as aluminum in deodorants and lead in lipstick.
A great resource to use when making the change to less toxic personal care products is the Environmental Working groups website www.ewg.org. They have many suggestions for products that have been tested for toxic ingredients. There is also an “app for that” called “Think Dirty.” You can scan bar codes in stores for over 1.5 million products to let you know if it will get a “green clean” code that assures you that product does not contain toxic ingredients.
Testing For Heavy Metals
There are a couple ways to test for heavy metals. The first being the most accurate, a provocative twenty-four-hour urine collection. This uses a chelating agent, dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) combined with alpha-lipoic acid, to remove metals from tissues and bones and measure the toxins. This must be done under the supervision of a medical doctor, naturopathic doctor or functional medicine doctor.
The second option is to do hair analysis and blood erythrocyte levels, less accurate but easier to do, especially on children. If elevated levels are found you will more than likely be put through a period of “chelation” cycles to gradually remove the metals. Again, make sure you are working with a health are professional in doing chelation therapy.
Heavy Metal Detox
Chelation therapy with DMSA is not recommended for those with “leaky gut syndrome” which is often present after chemotherapy and radiation. Also, for those who have had genetic testing done and have mutations in their detox genes, this may be overwhelming for their bodies.
A gentler approach to heavy metal detox is with food and supplements.
Selenium
Mercury and selenium have a chemical affinity for each other and selenium binds to mercury deactivating it. Selenium is one of those minerals that is diminished during chemotherapy so you can imagine when you’re done with your treatments that your need for this mineral is high. An easy way to put selenium into your diet is to eat 3 Brazil nuts every day, putting 350% of the RDA into your diet daily.
Chlorella
Chlorella is a green algae that has been found to inhibit the absorption of heavy metals including mercury, arsenic and lead into the blood stream. Chlorella is very chemoprotective to the liver and has been found to induce cell death in liver cancer.
This can be found in sea vegetable and powdered “green” drinks that can be added to smoothies. The one caution with chlorella is it can be high in copper, so those of you who have high copper levels will want to avoid it.
Broccoli Sprouts
Broccoli sprouts are a member of the cruciferous vegetable family, long know for its detoxification properties on several levels. I would recommend including a daily serving of any of the cruciferous family, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, garlic and onions but along with that a small handful of broccoli sprouts increases the excretion of toxins two fold or more. These are easy to sprout at home. All you need is a mason jar, sprouting lids (available on Amazon) and organic broccoli seeds. You’ll have a jar full of sprouts in three days!
Zeolite and Betonite Clay
Zeolite is known as nature’s detoxifier for the environment. This mineral, zeolite clinoptilolite is formed from volcanic ash mixing with sea water and fossilizing to create a honey comb porous cage structure with a natural negative charge. This natural structure acts like a sieve for toxins in the environment. Recently the use of zeolites has been used by the natural health field with great results and research.
Betonite Clay is among the most powerful detoxifying natural substances on the earth. It has a high “drawing power” to remove toxic substances from our bodies. It is an absorbent that can attract heavy metals and toxic substances into the clay particles neutralizing pathogens and removing toxins from the body.
It’s important to remember if using either of these substances you have to make sure your bowels and kidneys are working efficiently and daily bowel movements are happening.
Sweating
New research is showing that sweating can be found to facilitate the detoxification of heavy metals. In a 2011 study published in the Archives of Environmental and Contamination Toxicology, “many toxic elements appeared to be preferentially excreted through sweat.”
But it gets better. Two additional studies published in 2012 found that sweating enhances the elimination of dangerous endocrine-disrupting petrochemicals such as Bisphenol A (BPA). This clearly indicates that the body uses sweat to rid itself of toxins.
You can “break a sweat” by vigorous exercise but if you’re not up to that yet, how about a sauna? Our local spa has an Infrared Sauna that you can buy packages for and make appointments to go in for 30 minute sessions. The infrared sauna’s have been shown to help detoxify heavy metals as well.
Fasting
Fasting has come into vogue in the last few years and rightfully so. This is ancient wisdom that is now being proven by modern science as to how powerful it is.
The biggest benefit to fasting is a process called “Autophagy.” The discovery of Autophagy won a Nobel Prize in Physiology in 2016. Simply put, autophagy happens when we don’t eat!
The body has a chance to send out the garbage men and recyclers into your cells to clean up cell debris when not focused on digestion. Your cells create energy, just like a car engine, and they create waste products, just like your car creates exhaust. Fasting gives your body a chance to focus on taking out the garbage and recycling the proteins to make new mitochondria (your engine).
The other benefit to fasting is your digestive system gets a break. This is a huge system that requires lot’s of energy and it is in constant movement. When taking time out do to a 24 hour fast your essentially giving your digestive system, which can be up to 30 feet long, a chance to clear out without more incoming food.
There are over 122 researched herbs and supplements that can up-regulate autophagy so I’ll save that for another article. Many of these will also help your body detoxify not only metals but environmental toxins such as BPA.
Everyday Foods
Let’s not underestimate the power of everyday foods to detoxify your body. These are foods that you can include in your daily diet knowing that you are supporting daily detoxification. It’s important to eat as many of these organically as possible to further prevent toxins from entering your body. Again, the Environmental Working group www.ewg.org has a great download called “The Dirty Dozen” that will help you identify the most heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables.
Some of the most powerful foods are garlic and onions, sulforaphane rich foods such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts.
Anything rich in Flavonoids such as green tea, citrus, red grapes and berries will support daily detoxification. On the flip side are the fat soluble
Carotenoids from colorful fruits and vegetables such as red pepper, tomato, spinach and peaches. Don’t forget the simple apple, full of apple pectin which binds to heavy metals and moves them out through the bowel.
Lifestyle
Does this feel over-whelming? Start with a baby step such as adding chlorella to a smoothie and taking an epsom salts bath a couple days a week. As you have more physical and mental energy you can add in more of the suggested detoxes and foods.
Always make sure you are supporting the body with plenty of pure, clean water! Having a daily bowel movement is essential as well.
Whether you decide to be tested for heavy metals or not, taking these simple lifestyle steps can go a long way in supporting daily detox of heavy metals and protection from further exposure. This is a sure-fire way to support your body!
References:
Winters, Nasha ND, L.A., FABNO, Kelley Higgins, Jess, MNT, The Metabolic Approach to Cancer, pg. 110,157,193
Blaylock, Russell L. M.D., Natural Strategies for Cancer Patients, pg 261,262
www.greeenmedinfo.com 7/23/13 Written By: Sayer Ji, Founder, Confirms Sweating Detoxifies Dangerous Metals, Petrochemicals. The use of the sauna for disease prevention in the workers of enterprises with chemical and physical occupational hazards: Delo. 1991 May(5):93-5.
PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1866932
Sears ME, Kerr KJ, Bray RI. Arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in sweat: a systematic review. J Environ Public Health. 2012;2012:184745. doi:10.1155/2012/184745
Impact of Intermittent Fasting on Health and Disease, PubMed.gov, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27810402