Heavy metals pose a significant health threat and are being released
into the environment in increasing amounts. They can cause fatigue,
brain fog, behavioral problems, and even some forms of cancer. Find
out how to test for them, safely remove them from your body, and
restore your health.
What are Heavy Metals?
Heavy metals are metals or metalloids (having properties of metals
and nonmetals) that have a density of at least 5 g/cm3 and adversely
affect the environment and living organisms if present in large of
quantities.
Heavy metals play no beneficial role in the body and, instead,
interfere with normal body processes. These include:
Arsenic
Mercury
Cadmium
Lead
Other metals are vitally important to health in small quantities,
however, may become toxic in excess :
Iron
Zinc
Copper
Magnesium
Chromium
Manganese
Heavy metals are everywhere and originate from both natural and
human sources, such as volcanic eruption, or coal burning and gold
mining.
In recent years, the amount of metals in the environment has
increased significantly, necessitating strategies to mitigate the
harm caused by them as well as to remove them from the body.
Symptoms of Heavy Metal Intoxication
Arsenic and cadmium are classified as known carcinogens (causes
cancer), lead is a probable carcinogen, and mercury a possible
carcinogen.
One large observational study in 1578 healthy women found high
levels of lead and cadmium in the placenta, which may affect the
growth and development of the fetus. Lead was found in all cord
blood and 96% of placental tissue, while cadmium was found in 95% of
cord and 98% of maternal blood samples.
Removing Heavy Metals
Heavy metals have been shown to bind proteins and prevent their
functioning and to disrupt cellular function by interfering with
necessary minerals like zinc and magnesium and causing oxidative
stress.
Symptoms of heavy metal intoxication include:
Intellectual disability in children
Dementia
Kidney and liver diseases
Insomnia, emotional instability
Depression
Vision abnormalities
Studies in worms have shown that these metals have synergistic
toxicity, meaning that combined they are more toxic than the sum of
their toxicities together.
The vast majority of research on heavy metal and chelation therapy
focuses on these 4 metals as they are present in disproportionately
higher levels in the environment than other heavy metals and have
the greatest likelihood to produce health issues.
This article will focus on how to safely and effectively remove the
“Big Four” heavy metals: lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium.
Types of Toxic Heavy Metals and Why They’re Bad
Mercury Toxicity
Mercury is considered to be the most toxic heavy metal in the
environment.
The majority of exposure to mercury is due to seafood, with
additional sources including occupational exposure such as
small-scale gold mining and dental amalgam installation and removal.
Mercury accumulates in organisms as you go up the food chain,
meaning larger fish such as tuna, shark, and swordfish have
proportionally more mercury than smaller fish like sardines,
mackerel, and anchovies.
Because it’s attracted to fat (lipophilic), the metal accumulates in
the fat and liver of fish, and when consumed by humans it accrues in
the brain and nerves (specifically the myelin sheaths of nerves,
which are made of fats). The brain, kidneys, and liver are the major
storage sites for mercury accumulation.
Mercury poisoning can cause:
Depression
Memory problems
Fatigue, headache
Hypertension
Hair loss
Permanent brain damage [R
Kidney damage
Loss of balance and coordination
Chronic mercury exposure is associated with:
Heart attacks
Arterial dysfunction
Atherosclerosis
Alzheimer’s Disease
Higher mercury levels were found in the brain and blood of
Alzheimer’s patients. In animals, low levels of mercury are able to
cause cell deterioration similar to what is seen in Alzheimer’s
disease.
Moreover, mercury levels range from 2-10 times higher in individuals
with dental amalgams, and women with dental amalgams had a 13%
increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease compared to women without
them.
Mechanism of Harm by Mercury
Mercury increases the formation of reactive oxygen species, both
directly by being a pro-oxidant and indirectly by depleting crucial
antioxidants like glutathione, which leads to an increase in
oxidative damage to DNA, lipids, and proteins.
Mercury can also bind to key amino acids and enzymes like
glutathione, cysteine and sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase.
This binding disrupts cellular function.
The neurotoxic effects of mercury are likely due to its ability to
increase levels of glutamate. Excess glutamate levels damage neurons
leading to neuronal death.
Arsenic Toxicity
Chronic exposure to arsenic causes a variety of symptoms and health
conditions.
Foods grown in contaminated soil and water are the main sources of
intake for most people.
Also, people working in glass-making, smelting, pesticide
manufacturing, and semiconductor manufacturing industries may be
exposed to significantly higher levels of arsenic than the general
population.
In recent years, there were scandals where high levels of arsenic
were found in rice and apple juice. It’s recommended that babies
don’t drink rice-based drinks because of this.
The primary targets for arsenic and compounds containing arsenic are
the kidneys and the liver, because they are generally processed by
the liver and excreted in the urine.
Excessive exposure during childhood can lead to behavioral
dysfunction during puberty even lasting into adulthood.
Arsenic exposure has also been associated with:
Deficits in verbal intelligence long-term memory in children
Diabetes
Increased fetal mortality and preterm birth
Long-term exposure can cause:
Inflammation of the nerves, causing pain and loss of function
Skin lesions, darkening of the skin (hyperpigmentation)
Internal cancers including bladder, kidney, liver prostate, and lung
High blood pressure
Increased risk of mortality
Toxic effects on genes, which can cause mutations
Mechanism of Harm by Arsenic
Arsenic exerts its toxic effect by inhibiting enzymes in the
mitochondria, replacing phosphorus in various biochemical reactions,
depleting thiamine (vitamin B1), and causing oxidative stress
through depletion of key enzymes like glutathione and superoxide
dismutase (SOD).
Lead Toxicity
Up until recent years, lead was often used in paints, ceramics, and
pipes. Although its use in these products has been significantly
reduced, a report found that 25% of homes in the US have significant
amounts of lead-contaminated paint, dust, or soil.
The majority of lead poisoning cases in adults are due to
occupational exposure, such as inhaling lead-contaminated dust,
while lead exposure in the general population is mainly through
food.
Lead can accumulate in the kidneys, liver, heart, brain, and
especially in the bones.
Symptoms of lead exposure on the brain include:
Headaches
Poor attention span
Irritability
Memory Loss
Lead exposure is of particular concern in pregnant women, as it
easily crosses the placental barrier and enters the developing
fetus. Both human and animal studies show that lead exposure during
pregnancy is associated with reduced birth weight and preterm
delivery, as well as cognitive deficits in the offspring.
Mechanism of Harm by Lead
The main mechanism by which lead exerts toxic effects is through its
ability block the actions of calcium and disrupting the activity of
various enzymes and proteins, including glutathione and superoxide
dismutase, and causing oxidative stress.
Cadmium Toxicity
Cadmium is a relatively highly water-soluble metal. In smokers,
tobacco is the main source of cadmium because tobacco plants tend to
accumulate the metal from the soil.
For non-smokers, the main source is through diet and occupational
exposure, including metal industries, soldering, battery
manufacturing, and cadmium-contaminated workplaces.
Cadmium is highly toxic to the kidneys and preferentially
accumulates in a specific type of cell (proximal tubular cells).
Long-term exposure can cause:
Kidney disease
Osteoporosis
Disrupted calcium metabolism
Kidney stones
Mechanism of Harm by Cadmium
Although the mechanisms of cadmium toxicity is not fully understood,
research suggests it causes oxidative damage indirectly by
decreasing antioxidants, rather than directly creating free radicals
like the other metals discussed.
Cadmium also tends to bind to key enzymes and proteins, preventing
them from functioning normally.
Due to its damaging effects on the kidney, cadmium toxicity tends to
disrupt calcium balance, which the kidney plays a large role in
regulating.
How to Test for Heavy Metals
Physicians often test for heavy metals using urine, whole blood, red
blood cell, and less commonly, hair, or rarely, toenail samples.
Blood Tests for Heavy Metals
In most cases blood testing is indicative of acute exposure rather
than the total body burden (total amount of heavy metals accrued
over one’s lifetime that is present in the body), however, there are
exceptions.
Urine Testing for Heavy Metals
Urine testing is the gold standard for the “Big Four” toxic metals
(mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium). However, even urine test can
give an inaccurate representation of body burden for some metals, as
they are often present in different forms, stored in different areas
and processed by and excreted by the body differently.
For example, mercury is present in the body in two forms: organic (methylmercury
or dimethylmercury) and inorganic (mercury salts, such as mercury
chloride). Organic is largely excreted through the bile and feces,
while inorganic is eliminated via the urine.
Therefore, whole blood is the preferred test for organic mercury
body burden and urine testing is optimal for a measure of the body
burden of inorganic mercury.
The Heavy Metals Challenge Test
A popular type of test is called the “challenge test”, or “provoked
urine test,” which involves using large doses of a strong chelating
agent, usually dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), to draw metals out of
the body and into the urine where they can be analyzed.
Chelation the process by which the body naturally binds toxic heavy
metals in order to prevent them from causing harm and to excrete
them from the body.
Chelation challenge tests are associated with adverse reactions, as
the influx of mobilized metals can oftentimes overwhelm the body’s
detoxification pathways as well as redistribute them to different or
more critical tissues during the test.
Other criticisms of challenge testing include the possibility of
false positives and lack of a standard of protocol and laboratory
reference ranges to interpret the results.
Therefore, many professional and government organizations strongly
recommend against their use because of this.
Despite this, the test is still commonly used by some practitioners.
These clinicians argue that it allows them to determine the most
effective chelating agent and to detect an absorption or tolerance
problems with the agent.
If an individual decides to go the route of the challenge test, it
is advised that their excretory pathways are open and not
overburdened, i.e. in conditions like constipation or kidney and
liver diseases, so as to allow the metals to pass out safely.
Additionally, urine samples should be taken pre- and post-challenge
testing to establish a reference for the individual.
Instead of challenge testing, heavy metal toxicity is often
diagnosed with a combination of reported symptoms and urine tests
that reveal metal levels above the reference range.
Hair Testing for Heavy Metals
If done correctly, hair analysis is another reliable way to see if
you have heavy metal toxicity. Hair testing mainly reflects past
exposure, so it should be combined with urine or blood testing to
confirm heavy metal toxicity.
How to Safely Chelate and Detoxify Heavy Metals
The overall goal in chelating and detoxifying heavy metals is to
bind them with a strong chelator and then excrete them safely out of
the body without redistributing them to other organs.
1) Supplement with Essential Minerals
During this process, supplementation with zinc, calcium, iron, and
magnesium is recommended, as these nutrients reduce the absorption
of toxic heavy metals and their depletion results in enhanced toxic
metal uptake from the gut.
2) Remove Sources of Heavy Metal Exposure
The first step in reducing the body burden of heavy metals is to
reduce or remove the source of exposure, if possible. This may mean
reducing consumption of high mercury seafood, testing and filtering
drinking water, or quitting smoking.
Foods for Natural Heavy Metal Chelation
3) Ensure that Excretory Organs Function Correctly
If you will use chelation to remove toxic heavy metals, it is
important to ensure that your excretory pathways are open and not
overburdened in order to allow the metals to pass out safely.
Constipation, leaky gut, or kidney and liver diseases will prevent
metals .
4) Bind (Chelate) Heavy Metals
The next step is to bind heavy metals where they are stored in the
body, escort them into the bloodstream, and excrete them through the
liver via bile in the feces, through the kidneys via urine, or
through the skin via sweat.
5) Detoxify Slowly or Pulse the Chelation Process
It is important to detoxify from heavy metals slowly to prevent
redistribution through body and therefore it is recommended to
temporarily discontinue or lower dosages of chelating compounds if
symptoms worsen and allow the body’s detoxification and excretory
systems to “catch up”.
Moreover, it is generally advised to pulse the chelation process and
to work with a qualified physician during this time.
Supplements that Help with Heavy Metal Chelation and
Detoxification
1) Glutathione Protects Against Mercury Toxicity
Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that is produced from three
amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid (closely related, but not to be
confused with glutamine), and glycine.
Glutathione contains sulfur components that readily bind with
mercury, lead, and cadmium.
Other compounds that have thiol groups include the amino acid
cysteine, albumin, and metallothioneins. Mercury has a high affinity
for thiol groups and will readily bind to the thiol-containing
compound (usually glutathione) in the highest concentration.
Higher levels of glutathione protect against mercury accumulation.
Mercury has been shown to deplete glutathione levels in brain cells,
red blood cells, and kidneys.
Glutathione protects against mercury in 4 ways:
Binding to it and preventing it from causing damage to enzymes and
cells
Preventing the mercury from entering the cell where it does the most
damage
Helping transport and eliminate it from the body. Indeed,
glutathione mercury complexes are the most abundant form of mercury
in both bile and urine.
Serving as an antioxidant that neutralizes the free radicals such as
hydrogen peroxide and lipid peroxides that are produced by mercury.
You can learn how to increase your glutathione levels in this post.
2) Alpha-Lipoic Acid Protects Against Arsenic, Cadmium, and Mercury
Toxicity
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is another strong antioxidant with the
ability to penetrate the cell membrane as well as cross the
blood-brain barrier to chelate heavy metals stored there.
This is important as lead and mercury easily accumulate in the
brain.
Alpha-lipoic acid decreases damage to cell membranes (lipid
peroxidation), which can be caused by heavy metals.
Alpha-lipoic acid has also been shown to increase glutathione levels
both inside and outside of the cell by regenerating used glutathione
to make it active again.
Additionally, alpha-lipoic acid increases the production of
glutathione by increasing the uptake of cysteine, the rate-limiting
component of glutathione, into the cell.
Although no clinical trials have investigated the use of alpha-lipoic
acid in chelating heavy metals, animal studies show that the
compound reduces uptake of cadmium into liver cells and prevents
absorption of arsenic in the intestines.
Chelation And Heavy Metal Detoxification
Of note, animal studies have also shown that alpha-lipoic acid has
the potential to redistribute heavy metals, however, these studies
have administered the compound intravenously, which may cause alpha-lipoic
acid to combine with glutathione in the liver and prevent the
glutathione from carrying heavy metals out of the body.
This effect has not been seen in human trials with alpha-lipoic acid
and the vast amount of evidence strongly suggest that it can prevent
the damage caused by heavy metals as well as help glutathione bind
to and excrete metals.
Oral doses of as much as 1,800 mg/day of alpha-lipoic acid are
well-tolerated with no side effects in clinical trials.
3) Modified Citrus Pectin Increases Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic
Excretion
Pectin is a fiber in plants. Modified citrus pectin (MCP) is a form
of pectin that has been altered to be more digestible.
In children with high blood levels of lead, 15 grams of MCP a day
for 28 days decreased lead in the blood, while urine lead levels
increased by more than 132% (indicating lead removal). No side
effects were reported.
Another study found that 15 grams of modified citrus pectin a day
for five days increased urinary excretion of arsenic (130%), cadmium
(150%), and lead (560%).
Note: the studies were performed by the creator of MCP.
4) Sauna/Sweating Increases Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury
Excretion
Sauna use increases the circulation throughout the skin and induces
sweating, with blood flow to the skin increasing from 5-10% of the
amount of the blood pumped through the heart at rest to 60-70%.
Sweating, caused by either exercise or sauna use, has been shown in
many studies to excrete clinically meaningful levels of arsenic,
cadmium, lead, and mercury, in some cases surpassing the amount
excreted in urine.
Beneficial metals, vitamins, and electrolytes, such as zinc, copper,
manganese, vitamin E, sodium, and chloride, are also lost during
sweating. Therefore, it is crucial to consume a diet sufficient in
these nutrients to counteract any loss due to sweating.
5) Vitamin C Protects Against Lead Toxicity
Low vitamin C levels have been associated with decreased glutathione
levels and increased oxidative stress.
Vitamin C increases glutathione levels by recycling used
glutathione, as in human red blood cells (DB-RCT).
In rats, vitamin C supplementation increases lead excretion in the
urine and feces and prevent lead absorption in the intestine.
Lead toxicity can lead to damage of the membranes of red blood
cells, impairing their function. In 15 workers exposed to lead, one
year of vitamin C (1 g/day) and E supplementation (400 IU/day)
reduced lipid peroxidation in red blood cells between 47.1% and
69.4%, comparable to 19 non-lead exposed workers.
Dosages between 500-1500 grams a day are often used in clinical
research settings, however many users greatly exceed these levels,
with few adverse effects beyond diarrhea.
6) Selenium Increases Mercury Excretion
Selenium is a crucial nutrient when it comes to chelating heavy
metals.
The mineral increases the activity of glutathione, and increased
levels of selenium are associated with increased levels of
glutathione in the blood.
In rats exposed to mercury, selenium prevented the destruction of
neurons and suppression of protein synthesis caused by mercury and
helped repair damaged tissue that helps conduct nerve signals
(myelin sheath).
In 103 mercury-exposed villagers in China, 100 micrograms of
selenium daily in the form of enriched yeast increased mercury
excretion and as well decreased markers of inflammation and
oxidative stress compared to controls who were given the yeast
without selenium.
Brazil nuts are often mentioned as important food to chelate heavy
metals. Any chelating effect is likely due to its high concentration
of selenium, with one nut containing 68-91 mcg of selenium.
7) N-Acetylcysteine Reduces Mercury and Lead Levels
N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) is a form of cysteine that increases the
production of glutathione.
In mice, N-Acetylcysteine enhanced excretion of mercury by 400% in
comparison to control animals.
In 171 workers exposed to lead, N-Acetylcysteine reduced blood
levels of lead and increased glutathione concentrations, while at
the same time decreasing oxidative stress.
8) Zinc Prevents Cadmium and Lead Absorption and Increases Cadmium
Excretion
Zinc competes with cadmium and lead for the binding sites on
proteins, and zinc deficiency can lead to greater absorption of
cadmium and lead.
Zinc supplementation also increases synthesis of metallothionein, a
protein that binds cadmium and helps detoxify it from the body.
Moreover, supplementation with zinc protects the activity of an
enzyme called δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) that is very
sensitive to lead.
9) Calcium Disodium EDTA Increases Lead Excretion
Calcium Disodium EDTA (CaNA2EDTA) is effective in chelating lead
from the body. Because it is poorly absorbed orally, EDTA must be
administered intravenously.
Caution is needed when chelating with CaNA2EDTA as it tends to
deplete essential minerals, particularly zinc, copper, and
manganese. It should not be used during pregnancy or in people with
kidney or liver diseases
10) DMSA Increases Lead, Mercury, Arsenic and Cadmium Excretion
Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) is a water-soluble pharmaceutical
chelator that contains two thiol groups, making it an especially
strong chelator of heavy metals.
It can be administered orally, intravenously, or through the skin.
Chelation therapy is the use of intravenous pharmaceutical chelation
agents such as DMSA, dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS), or
ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to pull heavy metals out of
the blood in cases of acute toxicity.
Chelation therapy is also used to treat cardiovascular disease, but
a systematic review found that evidence does not support its use for
such diseases.
Oral supplementation with DMSA has been shown in many studies to
significantly and greatly increase urinary excretion of lead,
mercury, arsenic and cadmium.
In 17 lead-poisoned adults, DMSA increased urinary lead excretion by
a factor of 12 and rapidly reversed symptoms related to lead
toxicity.
Caution is warranted with DMSA, as it has also been shown to excrete
beneficial metals like zinc, iron, calcium, copper and magnesium as
well, so it strongly advised to supplement with these after therapy.
11) DMPS Increases Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, and Cadmium Excretion
Dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS) is another pharmaceutical
chelator, like DMSA, with two thiol groups.
Oral absorption of DMPS is about 40% higher than that of DMSA.
Like DMSA, DMPS increases excretion of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and
mercury in the urine, with the former more effective in excreting
mercury from the brain and the latter more effective in excreting
mercury from the kidney.
In mice, DMSA was more effective in removing cadmium than DMPS.
Also like DMSA, DMPS increase urinary excretion of necessary
nutrients like copper, selenium, zinc, and magnesium, necessitating
supplementation with them before or after treatment.
In one trial with autistic patients, a few children developed
worsening of symptoms. The researchers thought that this was likely
due to the redistribution of recently mobilized metals without the
ability to excrete them sufficiently.
In addition, adequate hydration and bowel regularity are essential,
as during chelation therapy, mobilization and chelation of metals
should not exceed the ability to excrete them, otherwise they will
be redistributed throughout the body where they have the potential
to cause more harm than their initial storage site.
Chelating Compounds With Non-Human Evidence
12) Garlic
Garlic has been shown to protect against the damaging effects of
heavy metals and help with their excretion.
When rats were given garlic at the same time as cadmium and mercury,
accumulation of the heavy metals in the liver, kidneys, bone and
testes were decreased and the activity of certain key enzymes were
partially restored. In addition, cadmium excretion was increased.
In rats given mercury, cadmium, and lead in addition to 7% raw
garlic in their food, accumulation of the heavy metals was decreased
in the liver, with the greatest effect seen for cadmium.
13) Chlorella
In mice, diets consisting of 5% and 10% of Chlorella significantly
increased urinary and fecal excretion of mercury, and decreased
mercury levels in the brain and kidneys, without affecting
glutathione levels.
14) Cilantro
In mice, cilantro supplementation alongside lead administration
resulted in significantly less lead deposits in the bones.
In humans, a study (RCT) on 32 children aged 3-7 years with
lead-exposed parents found that cilantro extract given for 14 days
decreased lead concentration in blood while increased its excretion
in urine. However, it didn’t increase significantly more than the
placebo group.
15) Activated Charcoal
While there are studies showing activated charcoal’s ability to bind
mercury, lead, and nickel in industrial waste, no studies that have
measured its chelation abilities in the human body.
16) Methionine
Methionine may help with chelating metals because of its sulfur
group.
When methionine was added to the diet of rats, it significantly
increased fecal excretion of lead.
17) Taurine
Taurine is a sulfur-containing compound.
When taurine was given to mice, it protected against oxidative
damage in the brain caused by cadmium and improved the antioxidant
status in the animals.
Another study in rats found that taurine supplementation prevented
damage of brain tissue due to arsenic.
Taurine has also been shown to protect against lead toxicity in rat
ovaries and mercury toxicity in the hearts and livers of rats,
without affecting excretion of either metal.
18) Carnosine
Carnosine is a molecule made of the amino acids beta-alanine and
histidine with strong antioxidant properties.
Carnosine is able to chelate cadmium and mercury and prevent heavy
metals from harming cell membranes.
In rats, carnosine supplementation was able to prevent kidney damage
from lead and increased glutathione levels.
Other Supplements That May Be Effective:
Curcumin
Insoluble fiber
Ginger
Amla
Experiences of People who Removed Heavy Metals from their Bodies
Many users have reported that N-Acetylcysteine supplementation
improves symptoms of depression, reduces brain fog, and provides a
slight energy boost. I supplement with N-Acetylcysteine regularly,
but I do not exceed 1 g/day as I tend to experience gastrointestinal
discomfort and headaches beyond this dosage, which I suspect are due
to increased mobilization of metals exceeding my ability to excrete
them.
Source
Users report mixed results when supplementing with alpha-lipoic
acid, with some noting increased energy and feelings of general
well-being and reduction in nerve pain, while others report an
increase in fatigue and mental fogginess, to which some attribute to
redistribution of mercury.
One individual claimed to have removed heavy metals by taking 1
g/day of DMSA (in addition to N-Acetylcysteine and alpha-lipoic
acid) for 3 days every 2 weeks, which eliminated chronic Candida
infections and persistent anxiety and brain fog. Another DMSA user
noted that just 50 mg of DMSA resulted in psychosis lasting for a
month.
