Heavy metals, toxins and environmenal pollutants and your health.

Air toxins come through particle pollution which is mad e up of a complex mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Things like nitrates and sulphates, organic chemicals, metals and soil or dust particles. It includes soot and ash as well as spores.  It often comes from the combustion of fossil fuels including the burning of gasoline, coal, diesel fuel, oil and wood. During their travel the often pick up pollen mould spores and plant and insect parts.
Numerous studies have in one way or another confirmed the connection between fine particles and their cause of death for around 70000 people per year in the US alone. This basically means that People are getting sick and dying when levels of air pollution are well within existing federal standards.
Scientist estimate that millions of tons of toxic pollutants are released into the air each year. Most air toxins originate form manmade sources including cars and factories etc. Some are released through natural disasters like forest fires.

Water Toxins mainly come from two sources: Point and non-point.
Non-point sources include the runoff of rainwater from a number of different locations and are the nation’s largest source of water quality problems.
It includes farmland, with excess fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides. Bacteria and nutrients form livestock, pet wastes and faulty septic systems. Heavy metal s, oil, grease and toxic chemicals from urban and industrial areas. Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines.

Toxins in the home environment come from all different sources. It should therefore be always adequately ventilated.
The 10 most dangerous toxins in your home include.

• Formaldehyde, which is found in building materials and household products, asbestos and pesticides.
• Phenols, a group of chemicals used to cover up the natural odour of various products.
• Arsenic, though household pesticides and wood preservatives.
• Plastics which contains phthalates which accumulate in body tissues.
• Hydrofluoric acid, a household solvent and rust remover.
• Propane, butane and phenol from room fresheners, aerosols, deodorizers and deodorants.
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) that are found in household cleaners and solvents
• Methyl ethyl ketone and Benzene found in solvents.
• Carbon Monoxide from un-serviced heater burning LPG, oil, propane or butane.
• Chlordane, Dieldrin and Aldrin from termite treatments, specifically in older buildings.

Other common pollutants in the home are radon, second-hand smoke and biological contaminants like moulds and mildews, animal hair and pollen.  As well as toxins from the food we eat and the personal care products we use.

Aluminium
Aluminium can have an adverse effect on the skeletal frame by interfering with other nutrient metabolism and uptake. It has been linked to Alzheimer's disease, dementia, loss of co-ordination and confusion

Antimony
It is used in the manufacturing of batteries, solder, and various metals. Also in paints, textiles, plastics and fireworks. Antimony is released into the environment from natural sources and from industry.

Arsenic
Can enter drinking water supplies from natural deposits in the earth or from agricultural and industrial practices.
Arsenic poisoning can cause balder, lung and skin cancer and may cause kidney and liver cancer. It can also harm the nervous system as well as heart and bold vessels and cause serious skin problems.

Barium
Barium is mainly used in industrial manufacturing. Exposure to Barium occurs mainly in the workplace or from dinking contaminated water.

Beryllium
Is used in the manufacture of chemical sand alloys. It gets in the environment by burning of fossil fuels, oil, coal and waste.

Cadmium
Is a metal found in natural deposits as ores containing other elements. The greatest use of cadmium is primarily of metal plating and coating operation.  A large source of cadmium in groundwater comes from the disposal of man-made items such as nickel-cadmium batteries, paints and electronic equipment.
Cadmium poisoning can cause damage to all types of body cells. It is usually accumulated in the kidneys, the liver and bones. Some fish including most shellfish tend to bio accumulate cadmium by feeding on contaminated sediment.

Lead
Lead is a highly toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around homes. Lead poisoning symptoms can vary behavioural problems and learning disabilities to reproductive disorders, seizures and death. Lead accumulates in the blood, bones, muscles and fat. It can cause damage to the kidneys, liver, brain nervous system and other organs. It can also lead to osteoporosis by replacing calcium in bone tissue.

Mercury (Quicksilver)
Can be from fossil fuel, oil, metal, cement production ad solid waste incineration. Through air borne pollution in the form of dust, ash or vapour.
Mercury destroys red blood cells and causes chromosomal damage and birth defects. It has recently been linked to ADD, ADHD and autism.
Exposure of large amounts of mercury over a short peroid of time can lead to mercury poisoning. This could occur from drining highly contaminated water, inhaling high levels of mercury vapor and will cause nausea, voomiting, diarrhea and kidney damage.

Nickel
Accumulation of nickel can have a detrimental effect on health

POP’s or persistent organic pollutants
The POP family includes dioxins and other organochlorin pesticides. There are over 200 different dioxins that have been identified and 17 of these have been detected in humans. They are by-products of the production and combustion of chlorinated compounds which include the manufacture of pesticides, paper bleaching and incineration of waste.

Radon
is a radioactive noble gas naturally occurring in soils, rock and water. It is the largest source of exposure to naturally occurring radiation. Radon is a noble, or chemically inert gas, meaning it does not enter into chemical reaction and can move easily through rock and soil to arrive that the surface. I t can seep through cracks into the house or dissolve in water and people may ingest trace amounts of it with food and water. However inhalation it the main route of entry into the body.

Strontium
Stontium is chemically similar to Calcium and Magnesium. Strontium salts are generally found in fireworks due to the rich crimson colour they emit when introduced it no a flame. Also used in TV tubes and electron tubes.

Silver
is used to make jewellery, electronic equipment and in dental fillings. Note: Silver as well as Gold can be good for you in minute doses. See colloidal silver

Thallium
highly toxic element. Was used in rat poison. Used in manufacturing of electronic devices, special glasses, cement and smelting operations.
Thallium can affect the nervous system, lungs, heart, liver and kidneys.

Tungsten
The fine metal dust presents a fire, health and explosion hazard. High level of Tungsten has an antagonistic effect on molybdenum metabolism.

Uranium
Exposure can be through consumption of drinking water or foods grown in, or watered by soil/water containing levels of Uranium.
Can cause chemical toxicity. Large amounts of Uranium can react with body tissues and cause kidney damage and cause birth defects.

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) are emitted as gases and include a variety of chemicals.  Most commonly found in lacquersand paints , pesticides, cleaning supplies, building materials, furnishing, copiers and printers, glues and permanent markets for example

Chemicals and toxins can accumulate in our fat tissue. The more chemicals and toxins, the more fat the body manufactures. Synthetic chemicals which have been used to fatten up animals for meat production also contribute to weight gain in humans
It is important to detoxify and nourish the body to eliminate the toxins from the body. If we don't do this the immune system will weaken and illnesses will increase so will the body fat. The pollutants accumulate and can cause the kidneys and liver to become weak and overworked.

When you Detoxify the liver and feed your body nourishing foods that assist in the cleansing process, your body will become strong and vital again. All toxins and environmental pollutants contribute to weight gain. So it is vital to eliminate those toxins for a healthy metabolism and ultimatley a long-term weight loss.

There are a few tests that can be done to determine if you have problems with heavy metals.

The urine test shows if your body is currently excreting heavy metals and usually shows only one metal that is excreted the most. It is a good way of monitoring when you are doing some form of chelation.

There are some blood tests that can be done, specially for mercury, lead and arsenic or cadmium, copper, and zinc depending on your symptoms. Your doctor will know which test needs to be done.

The simplest test is a hair mineral analysis which shows which metals your body has excreted over the last 3-5 month. It is a very good indication of what is going on inside your body. NOTE: it will not show the metals unless your body is letting go of them at the time. For example Uranium is stored safely in your bones and it will not show up in the Hair analysis until the time it is release by the body. Which usually hapens when you have eliminated most other heavy metals already.

Chelating is basically the term for eliminating the toxins out of your body. Chelating agents are substances that can chemically bond with toxic minerals, metals and chemicals within the body. They encircle a mineral or metal ion and carry it out of the body via urine and faeces.

There are a variety of ways to chelate your body. Common chelating agents include:

• Defuroxamine Mesylate, used for iron toxicity and is administered intravenously.
• Dimercaprol (BAL) which removes lead and is the preferred agent for arsenic and mercury toxicity. It is given intramuscularly
• Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) that can be given orally for lead and mercury poisoning
• D-penicillamine, can be used for lead, arsenic or mercury poising and given orally.
• Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), is mainly used for lead toxicity and is given via IV or orally

These chelating agents are potentially toxic and should not be used unless absolutely indicated. They are also somewhat non-specific, binding to healthy minerals as well as their preferred toxic heavy metal targets.

The best chelating agent in our opinion that is very safe to use is liquid Zeolite which is considered to be a highly effective chelating agent. Zeolite has a very high affinity for mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, aluminium, tin, antimony and bismuth. It has also shown to bind uranium and volatile organic compounds and can help with the removal of environmental toxins as well as supporting the immune system.