Cadmium

All about Cadmium:

Cadmium is an abundant transition metal with a soft, bluish-white appearance and naturally occurring in the earth's crust. Cadmium is malleable, soft, and very toxic, known to cause cancer and often found in zinc stores. Cadmium is also found combined with oxides, sulfides, and other carbonates. People with poor nutrition or those who do not get enough iron in their diet tend to have cadmium stay in the body longer.

Types of Exposure:

-Inhalation

-Ingestion

How does Cadmium get into my body?

-Cigarette smoke

-Air from smelting and refining metals

-Air where fossil fuels are burned

-Ingesting fungicide

-Battery acid

-Fruits and vegetables planted in cadmium rich soil

-Shellfish and organ meats

Effects of Poisoning:

-Kidney, lung and intestinal damage

-Birth defects (Low birth weight, learning disorders)

-Fragile bones

-Cancer

What are the symptoms of poisoning from cadmium?

-Stomach ache

-Vomiting

-Diarrhea

What tests can I do to detect cadmium in my body?

-A doctor can perform a urine, blood or fingernail test

-Heavy Metal Screen Test

How do I rid my body of cadmium?

-Improve diet

-Stay away from cigarette smoke

-Test soil and drinking water

More Information about Cadmium:
-Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

-Illinois Department of Public Health: Environmental Health Facts Sheet

Lead

What is lead?
A transitional metal with a bluish-white color in its natural solid form and shiny chrome silver when melted. Lead has been used for weapons and tools for hundreds of years because of its malleability.

How am I exposed to lead?

- Inhalation
- Ingestion
- Usually occurs with prolonged or repeated exposure

Results of lead poisoning:
- Damage to internal organs
- Kidney failure
- Brain and Spinal Cord damage

Symptoms of lead poisoning:
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Abdominal pain
- Elevated blood pressure
- Reproductive problems
- Anemia

How do I come into contact with lead?
- Lead base paint (Used before 1977)
- Soil in urban areas
- Playground soil
- Drinking water
- Dust
- Leaded gasoline
- Foreign cosmetics

Treatment:
- Chelation therapy with DMSA (Dimercaptosuccinic acid)
Given every 8 hours for 12 days and then every 12 hours for the next 2 weeks.

More Info:
-California Poison Control

Nickel

What is nickel?

A naturally occurring hard, silvery-white metal that is found in all soil including volcanic soil and the ocean floor; often combined with other metals to create alloys.

How am I exposed to nickel?
- Ingestion
- Inhalation
- Skin contact

What are the symptoms of exposure?
- Allergic reaction
*Skin rash
*Asthma attack
- Chronic bronchitis

What are the results of over exposure?
- Chronic bronchitis
- Impaired lung function
- May lead to cancer in lungs and nasal sinus with prolonged exposure

Poisonous Levels:
- > 0.05mg/cm3 per week

How do I come into contact with nickel?
- Food containing nickel
- Skin contact
- Soil
- Tobacco smoke containing nickel
- Bath or shower water
- Metals containing nickel
- Coins or touching jewelry containing nickel

How is nickel detected in the body?
- Urine
- Feces
- Blood

Treatment for nickel poisoning:
- Naturally secreted from body
- Chelation therapy in extreme cases

For more information:
- Wikipedia
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Arsenic

What is arsenic?
Arsenic is a non-metallic element found naturally in the earth's crust. It is odorless and tasteless and in its organic form, found in natural water sources, is not poisonous to the body. However, taken in excess or in inorganic forms used industrially, it can be very poisonous to the body.

Some information about arsenic:
-Main constituent in more than 200 minerals
-Metalloid naturally occurring in the earth’s crust
-Odorless and tasteless
-Occurs in rocks, soil, water and air
-Classified as a carcinogen (substance that induces cancer)
-Volcanic activity is most significant source of natural arsenic
-Occurs in crystalline, powder, amorphous or vitreous forms
-Many names and forms depending on environment
-Inorganic arsenic from factories is most harmful

Where is arsenic found?
-Naturally occurring arsenic in ground water
-Tobacco smoke
-Burning preserved wood
-Additive in poultry and swine feed
-Use in pesticides has left large tracts of agricultural land contaminated
-Meat, poultry, dairy products and cereals
-Fruit and fruit juice, sugar and candy, fats and oils

Effects of arsenic poisoning:
-Heart arrhythmia and death associated with arsenic in ground water
-Increased risk of lung, internal organ and skin cancers
-Complications in pregnancy/Still births
-Cardiovascular disease
-Respiratory disease
-Chronic exposure (>0.75mg/m3 per year) shown to lead to black foot disease and peripheral artery disease
-Hyperkeratosis and changes in skin pigmentation

How do I rid my body of arsenic?
-Consuming garlic has been shown to help flush the body of arsenic. It will be naturally secreted through urine.
-Chelation therapy
-Water filters are a great way to keep many different heavy metals our of your body.

The Heavy Metal Screen Test is a great way to test for various metals in your body, click on the picture for more information.

Until next time,
JT

Heavy Metals in the Body

The Problem
Toxic heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium and lead, are associated with many serious diseases and health problems.
Cancer, heart disease, cardiovascular problems, birth defects, skin disorders, nervous system related numbness, and mental and neurological disorders represent only a few of the health problems associated with toxic heavy metal poisoning.
Heavy metal poisoning can result from eating contaminated foods, drinking coffee, smoking, and even breathing the air in a polluted city. In fact there are a host of sources of toxic heavy metal poisoning.
The Sources
Aluminum - cookware, beverages in aluminum, cans, antacids, antiperspirants, bleached flour and processed cheese
Arsenic - beer, pesticides, cosmetics, tap water, fungicides, paint and table salt
Beryllium - plastics manufacturing, electronics, steel alloys and volcanic ash
Cadmium - tobacco, tap water, coffee, air pollution, seafood and auto exhaust
Lead - hair dyes, cigarette smoke, tap water, paint, auto exhaust, inks and glazes
Mercury - amalgam fillings, chlorine, seafood, fabric softener, adhesives, waxes, medications and air pollution
Copper - copper water pipes, birth control pills, swimming pools, intrauterine devices, nutritional supplements (especially prenatal vitamins)
Nickel - hydrogenated oils (margarine, commercial peanut butter and shortening)

So what can you do about this?
Find out if you are lead-toxic. One very easy test is a simple blood lead test. Be sure the lab can measure VERY low levels of lead accurately. Anything higher than 2 micrograms/deciliter is toxic and should be treated.Unfortunately, the blood test only checks for current or ongoing exposures, so you must also take a heavy metal challenge test with DMSA, EDTA, or DMPS, which can be administered by a doctor trained in heavy metal detoxification. (See http://www.functionalmedicine.org/ or http://www.acam.org/ to find a qualified doctor.)
The easiest and most convenient way to test is to use the Heavy Metal Screen Test in the comfort of your own home, you get immediate results in an easy to use format.(Consider undergoing chelation therapy if your lead levels are high.)
Reduce your exposures by having a “no shoes in the house” policy.
Test your water for heavy metals. (Heavy Metal Screen Test can be used for this also)
Buy a carbon or reverse osmosis water filter for your drinking water.
Take 1,000 milligrams of buffered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) a day, this helps remove lead from the body.
Take 2,000 to 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day to prevent your bones from releasing lead into your bloodstream.
Using a product called Natural Cellular Defense, daily is way to remove metals and other toxins that may be present. Click on the Waiora link for further details.
Even though many of us have toxic levels of lead in our bodies, there is a lot we can do to prevent it and treat it.

Until next time,
JT