Article by Caroline Nettle

Aluminum is one of the most common heavy metals in our environment. It is found in a wide variety of materials and objects from common household products through to medical vaccinations. Like all of the heavy metals, aluminum exposure is cumulative and, over time, toxicity levels are reached within the body. When this occurs there are some very clear indicators that the levels of aluminum in your system have reached a critical level.

Heavy metals in general are problematic in our environment. The most common culprits include lead, arsenic, mercury and aluminum and they are often found in combination with pesticides, pollutants and synthetic chemicals. These lethal combinations result in increased health risks that often go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Treating the symptoms rather than the underlying toxicity problem is also a common mistake.

Does Aluminum Cause Harm?

If you have ever stopped to consider all the ways in which you are in contact with aluminum on a daily basis then you are probably aware of the exposure to this heavy metal. Aluminum is used in all types of cans, particularly for drinks, but also in cooking utensils, food wrapping, food additives and in various beauty products such as lipstick. Water treatment plants are routinely cleaned using products containing aluminum. Deodorants contain aluminum as do vaccinations. In vaccinations, aluminum is used to increase the body’s immune response.

Research now links aluminum to breast cancer as well as several other health conditions and diseases. Neurological damage and damage to the nervous system is associated with aluminum exposure. Alzheimer’s, ADD and autism are also believed to have a strong tie with high levels of aluminum.In addition, other very common health conditions are also now being linked to the presence of aluminum and other heavy metals such as mercury. These conditions include tremors, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, anaemia, speech disturbances, bone disorders and more significant and severe allergic reactions. This also implies a link to immune system malfunctions and imbalances that can contribute to other related health conditions.

Fast foods and highly processed foods contain much higher levels of aluminum than fresh foods. Food colourings, which are common in highly processed foods, as well as specific food additives are very high in aluminum. Eating these types of foods frequently or regularly is now shown to increase the risk of developing the digestive disorder Crohn’s disease.

Removing Aluminum From Your Body

Although aluminum and heavy metals are in your environment, there are several ways you can minimize your risk of exposure. Changing your lifestyle to a more holistic, environmentally friendly model can really help in lowering your exposure. Eliminating synthetic chemicals and cleaners is a good step to lowering the aluminum levels in your environment. Avoiding products containing aluminum in cooking, food preparation and even food consumption will also provide a respite for your overloaded system.

However, no matter how careful we may be there will always be aluminum around us. We see ourselves aging faster, having more illness, and constantly feeling fatigue and exhaustion we need to carefully consider the underlying causes. Heavy metals in everything around us combined with the use and exposure to synthetic chemicals, herbicides, pesticides and insecticides leaves us with higher and higher toxic levels in the body.

The human body is a wonderful piece of machinery. Over time the body has learned how to handle small levels of exposure to heavy metals, but it has little powers against the new synthetic chemicals, and increasingly higher exposure rates to aluminum, mercury and lead are too much for the body. You can help your body in a number of ways-detoxification including diet, fasting, saunas, detox patches and herbal supplements to help boost immunity and metabolic functioning.

While these detoxification methods are very effective, they are not designed to provide specific detoxification at the cellular level. There is a product on the market that is designed to do just that, and the results of using this product are truly remarkable. Activated liquid zeolite rids that body of heavy metals and toxins, greatly reducing and eliminating their very negative effects.

In the war against toxins, there are very few miracles cures. However, everything that you can do to assist your body in getting rid of the toxic overload will allow it to begin on this journey to good health and a toxin free body.

Written by Caroline Nettle

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About the Author

Caroline Nettle is passionate about helping others to improve their health. Toxin Free Today is an online resource for information and products to help you to enjoy life after toxins. Sign up for the newsletter and receive the latest information about how to detoxify your life.

Heavy metal toxicity is an excessive build-up of metals in the body. Oftentimes, the vague symptoms produced by heavy metal toxicity are mistakenly misdiagnosed as incurable chronic conditions. The most common heavy metals that humans are exposed to are aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
Article found at Jigsaw Health

Heavy metals are found in everyday existence and are frequently hard to avoid entirely. Most people can excrete toxic heavy metals from the body successfully. However, some people—especially those who suffer from chronic conditions—cannot excrete them efficiently enough and a build-up occurs. Recent research also reveals that those who cannot excrete heavy metals efficiently appear to be genetically predisposed to this condition. Research has shown that the APO-E 4/3 and 4/4 genotypes are the worst excretors of heavy metals. Those with this version of APO-E protein—abundant in the cerebral spinal fluid surrounding the brain—will have the highest affinity for becoming ill from exposure to neuro-toxic heavy metals, especially mercury when it is present in combination with others.

When numerous metals are present in the body, they have a “synergistic toxicity.” Dr. Boyd Haley, professor and chair of the chemistry department at the University of Kentucky, performed a study on rats and found that the mortality rate of rats exposed to a small dose of mercury or aluminum killed only 1 rat in 100. However, when the rats were exposed to both mercury and aluminum at the same time, all 100 rats died—a 100% mortality rate.

You may have heavy metal toxicity if you are experiencing any of these symptoms:

• Chronic pain throughout the muscles and tendons or any soft tissues of the body
  Chronic malaise – general feeling of discomfort, fatigue, and illness
   
• Brain fog – state of forgetfulness and confusion
   
• Chronic infections such as Candida
   
• Gastrointestinal complaints, such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, heartburn, and indigestion
   
• Food allergies
   
• Dizziness
   
• Migraines and/or headaches
   
• Visual disturbances
   
• Mood swings, depression, and/or anxiety
   
• Nervous system malfunctions – burning extremities, numbness, tingling, paralysis, and/or an electrifying feeling throughout the body

Note: Heavy metal toxicity can produce vague symptoms that sometimes are mistaken for other chronic conditions such as Autism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, depression, Multiple Sclerosis, and a host of other serious disorders. Discuss heavy metal toxicity with your healthcare professional before receiving any diagnosis or treatment for a serious chronic condition.

Diagnosis

The following tests and procedures may be helpful in diagnosing Heavy Metal Toxicity and/or other chronic conditions:

• DMPS provocation test – A blood test that measures the amount of heavy metals being removed through the urine after a provoking agent (DMPS) has been used. The key to this test is that it does NOT show the amount of mercury and other heavy metals that are in the body; it only shows what is being removed. Therefore, this test must be taken numerous times over the course of the detoxification protocol. Once excretion levels begin to drop within normal ranges, this means that there is only a small amount of metals left to excrete. This is the best test for accurate measurement. For more information, contact your healthcare practitioner about DMPS.
   
• Hair analysis – A tablespoon of hair collected from the nape of the neck is analyzed for its mineral content. Hair holds a history of the past 3 months, but there is much speculation concerning the effectiveness of this type of testing and many believe that the test is useless.
   
• Fecal testing and urine analysis – Fecal testing and urine analysis reveal the effectiveness of chelation therapy in excreting heavy metals from the body. During chelation therapy, a chelating agent “provokes” excretion of heavy metals. These tests then measure the amounts of heavy metals that are being excreted during chelation therapy.

Tips for heavy metal toxicity:

Aluminum precautions:
 

• Cook with aluminum-free pots and pans. Choose stainless steel instead.
   
• Avoid using aluminum foil and drinking from aluminum soda cans.
   
• Avoid foods, products, and over-the-counter drugs that contain aluminum, such as baking powder, antacids, and deodorants/antiperspirants. Check product labels before purchasing.
   
• Minimize your exposure to several metals at one time. Studies that have shown that the presence of mercury and aluminum have a “synergistic” toxicity, meaning that they become even more toxic to the body when they are present together.
   
• Try melatonin. A study in Spain revealed that melatonin has a protective effect against aluminum toxicity.

Arsenic precautions
 

• Maintain a high-fiber diet. Fiber binds with arsenic to eliminate it from the body.
  Eat foods high in sulfur such as eggs, onions, beans, legumes, and garlic. Sulfur helps rid the body of arsenic.

Cadmium precautions:
 

• Keep nickel-cadmium batteries properly stored and out of reach of young children.
   
• Stop smoking. Smoking, and breathing second-hand smoke, are primary sources of cadmium exposure.
   
• Keep a healthy diet. A diet low in calcium, protein, or iron, OR high in fat, increases cadmium absorption.

Lead precautions:
 

• Children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning, particularly from homes built before 1978 that have lead-based paints. Test your older home for lead. If your home tests positive, look for reputable companies that will safely remove lead from your home.
   
• Stay away from Latin American folk remedies called arzacon and greta, which are used for upset stomach or indigestion; and pay-loo-ah, which is used for rash or fever. These are dangerous lead-based remedies.
   
• Use extreme caution in certain hobbies that require contact with lead, such as stain-glass window work.
   
• Do not drink or eat from ceramic ware that contains lead-based paints and glazes. If you’re unsure about your dishes and cups, choose glassware instead.

Mercury precautions:
 

• Avoid amalgam (silver) fillings altogether and request safer alternatives from your dentist. Find a biologic or holistic dentist that practices mercury-free dentistry.
   
• If you have fillings, consult a mercury-free dentist for safe removal. Improper removal can be more dangerous than leaving your fillings in place. If you need help covering the costs of getting your silver fillings removed safely, the Jigsaw Health Foundation may be able to assist you.
   
• Consult with your healthcare professional about the use of vaccines. Some vaccines contain thimerosal, a mercury preservative that is potentially associated with Autism, behavioral, and learning disorders in children.
   
• Choose thermometers that do not contain mercury, to avoid toxic spills as a result of breakage.
   
• Avoid consuming bottom crawlers (seafood, such as oysters, clams, and lobster that may contain toxic levels of mercury).
   
• Avoid deep-sea fish such as tuna, mackerel, and swordfish that contain the highest levels of mercury of all fish. Choose safer alternatives such as wild-caught salmon or minimal-mercury tuna.

END ARTICLE Jigsaw Health

Zeolite is the safest method of natural or prescription heavy metal chelation (DETOX) available. It has an affinity for the heavy metals, removing them from the body. Unlike prescription chelators though, it does not remove the electrolytes, minerals and nutrients that your body needs to survive, so you do not end up with a depletion of anything due to the zeolite. Zeolite is easy to use, and while some people complain about the cost, it is a lot cheaper than docTor's visits and supervised prescription chelation.

There is ONLY ONE safe zeolite chelator. Make sure you get the right one. You could actually do harm by choosing wrongly.