Heavy Metal Detoxification

Heavy Metal Detoxification

These are the secrets manufacturers keep!

By TRAVIS WADE

Do You Know Your Allostatic Load? Spoiler: It’s Not a New Dance Move

Your allostatic load is basically your body’s stress report card—a summation of all the stresses you’re carrying. Think of it as your stress backpack, except it’s filled with mental strain, toxins, and gut bacteria drama. Let’s break it down:

• Mental Stress: No explanation needed. Life, work, family—it’s all there. Fortunately, reducing it can be as simple (and complicated) as prioritizing rest, mindfulness, or a Netflix binge.
• The Microbiome: Your gut bacteria are like tiny tenants. The more good ones you have, the less room there is for the troublemakers. Antibiotics are like eviction notices; use them only when necessary!
• Toxins: This one’s the diva of the group, and today, we’re zooming in on its most problematic friends: heavy metals.

The Heavy Metals

Heavy Metal Toxins: The Headbangers of Health

Heavy metals: the unwelcome houseguests of your health. They’re like the bad roommate who never pays rent and constantly messes things up. Now, I’ve got some news—both the good and the bad. And since I can’t hear your preference, I’ll lead with the bad (because, hey, suspense).

The bad news: We’re all exposed to heavy metal toxicity. Yup, every single one of us is walking around with these pesky pollutants messing with our bodies.

The good news: You don’t have to let them win. By choosing to detox, you can boost your energy levels, build muscle like a boss, and lose weight with far less frustration. Intrigued? Great! Let’s dive into the specific offenders, how they sabotage your health, and—most importantly—how to kick them to the curb.

Mercury and Copper: The Toxic Tag Team

Mercury takes the top spot as the heavyweight champion of heavy metal toxicity, disrupting metabolic processes like an uninvited guest wrecking your party. To truly grasp its villainy, check out the University of Calgary’s video showing how even tiny amounts of mercury can wreak havoc on our neurons—it’s like watching a bad horror movie but scarier because it’s real.

One of mercury’s sneakiest moves? Sabotaging muscle gains. It poisons the enzymes responsible for transporting amino acids into the enterocytes (those hardworking absorptive cells in your small intestine). Translation: your gut can’t effectively absorb protein, leaving your biceps with nothing to flex about. The primary culprit for mercury exposure? Dental fillings. A small price to pay for a dazzling smile—or is it?

Then there’s copper, Mercury’s trusty sidekick. Copper loves to play blocker, hogging nutrient receptor sites in your gut and stopping the absorption of essential nutrients. This is particularly common among women and vegans, leading to adrenal fatigue. Fun fact: beans are loaded with copper. When your diet lacks the minerals from meat that help detoxify copper, you’re left copper-toxic and fatigued. Who knew a bean burrito could be so devious?

Trivalent Toxic Metals

There’s a special group of metals that prevent us from having energy, which makes us not want to exercise. This group of metals are called trivalent toxic metals. They include aluminum, arsenic, tin, thallium, cesium, and antimony.

Trivalent toxic metals poison enzymes that transport nutrients into our mitochondria. Mitochondria make our energy (Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP). If your mitochondria doesn’t have the raw materials to make ATP, your metabolism will suffer, causing fatigue.

Aluminum is found in tap water, deodorant, flour, salts, and cheap cookware in restaurants because they are very disposable. We all have some level of aluminum toxicity. Tin is in tin cans and dental fillings.

Trivalent Toxic Metals: The Energy Vampires

Meet the trivalent toxic metals, a gang of metabolic mischief-makers that leave you feeling drained and questioning why exercise seemed like a good idea in the first place. This dubious lineup includes aluminum, arsenic, tin, thallium, cesium, and antimony—each with its own special way of ruining your day.

Their main trick? Poisoning the enzymes that transport nutrients into your mitochondria, the powerhouse of your cells. Think of your mitochondria as your body’s energy factory, cranking out ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)—aka life’s fuel. But when these metals crash the party, your mitochondria are left with no supplies to work with, tanking your metabolism and leaving you in an endless energy slump.

Take aluminum, for instance—it’s everywhere! Tap water, deodorants, cheap restaurant cookware, flour, and salts. And yes, we’re all a little aluminum-toxic—kind of like how we’re all running on too much caffeine but pretending it’s fine.

Then there’s tin, showing up uninvited in your tin cans and dental fillings. Sure, tin cans seem harmless, but every time you pop open a can of soup, a tiny part of your mitochondria is crying. The moral of the story? These metals might be trivalent, but their impact is anything but trivial.

The Tale of Thallium: A Cautionary Classic

Ah, the thallium story—it’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as humanity’s knack for swapping one toxic problem for another. Think of it as the sequel nobody asked for but everyone ends up living with, much like trans fats. Here’s how it goes:

Once upon a time, petroleum companies generously laced our fuel with lead. People (understandably) raised a ruckus because lead, as it turns out, isn’t exactly heart-healthy. Governments, feeling the heat, swooped in to save the day by banning lead in fuel. Cue applause, right? Not so fast. Before the credits rolled, a new villain entered the scene. (Clears throat dramatically.) Enter thallium.

Thallium didn’t get the same bad press because, frankly, no one knew what it was. No picket signs, no media outcry. It quietly slipped into gasoline to prevent engine knocking, and everyone went about their business. The catch? Thallium might be even worse than lead. It’s like replacing a supervillain with their equally evil twin—only this one binds to the body’s potassium receptor sites, wreaking havoc on essential cellular functions.

Arsenic: The Sneaky Saboteur of Slimming Down

Arsenic isn’t just a villain in murder mysteries—it’s also the nemesis of your weight loss goals and energy levels. This sneaky toxin messes with your metabolic machinery by poisoning the enzyme responsible for transporting triglycerides out of fat cells. Translation? Your fat cells hold on tighter than a toddler to their favorite toy, making weight loss feel like an unsolvable mystery.

Where’s the arsenic hiding? In places you’d rather not think about: water, pesticides, and even the antibiotics used in conventional chicken farming. Yes, that chicken breast might come with an unwanted toxic side.

But wait, it gets juicier. If you’re dealing with uranium toxicity—which, surprisingly, is also a thing thanks to water often being contaminated—you’re in double trouble. Uranium blocks your ability to detox arsenic, leaving you stuck in a toxic tag-team takedown. Oh, and uranium isn’t just bad news for your detox efforts; it also meddles with blood sugar control. So, while you’re trying to cut carbs, uranium’s busy cutting corners on your metabolic stability.

The takeaway? Arsenic and uranium may not be plotting your demise Agatha Christie-style, but they’re definitely slowing down your health goals. Keep your water clean and your chicken selective.

Estrogenic Chemicals: The Hormonal Hijackers

Estrogenic chemicals are like the overzealous party crashers of your metabolic system—they show up uninvited and make everything more difficult. The rule is simple: the more estrogen your body deals with, the more fat it likes to hang on to. It’s biology’s awkward way of saying, “Hold on to this in case we need it later.”

But the real troublemakers are xenoestrogens—foreign estrogens lurking in our environment. Some are natural, like the phytoestrogens in soybeans, and some are man-made, like the villainous trio of BPA, PCBs, and their ringleader, phthalates. Phthalates, by the way, are the glitter of the toxin world—they’re everywhere. Your nail polish, hair spray, shower curtain, rubber ducky, microwaveable containers, and even the ink on your receipts are loaded with them. It’s like they’re running a secret campaign to infiltrate every corner of your life.

Alright, here’s the lowdown on frogs—and it’s hopping serious. Frogs, those little amphibious barometers of planetary health, are what scientists call “indicator species.” Why? Because they’re amphibians with one webbed foot in the water and the other on land,

they’re perfectly positioned to sound the alarm when something’s off in our ecosystems.

Here’s the kicker: with three thousand new toxins rolling out annually, xenoestrogens have become the uninvited guests of the frog world. These foreign chemicals mimic estrogen so well that male frogs are skipping their auditions for “Frog Prince” and showing up as princesses instead. Yep, the frogs are mostly becoming female. It’s tragic, I know. Poor Kermit never stood a chance.

If frogs can’t handle the xenoestrogen onslaught, imagine what it’s doing to us. The moral of the story? Keep an eye on your personal care products and plastics, and maybe spare a thought for the frogs while you’re at it. They’ve been through a lot.

Minerals

Minerals and metals are like rival party crashers vying for the same VIP seats in your body. When you’re running low on essential minerals, heavy metals swoop in and take their place—and trust me, these guys aren’t here for a good time. For example, if you skip out on grass-finished red meat, chances are you’re lacking zinc, a mineral your body relies on to repair connective tissues, like your skin. Without zinc, your body turns to cadmium as a substitute, and spoiler alert—cadmium is like the toxic coworker of the mineral world. It not only increases your cancer risk but also makes your arteries brittle and hard, setting the stage for atherosclerosis and heart disease. Talk about a bad trade.

This mineral-metal seat-stealing happens across the board, making it crucial to keep your mineral levels topped up. That’s why staples like grass-finished meat, bone broth, and freshly juiced vegetables are not just trendy—they’re non-negotiable.

When you detoxify and re-mineralize, your cellular metabolism levels up, which means better weight management, blood sugar control, and fewer heavy metals overstaying their welcome. Skip the minerals, though, and those pesky metals will make themselves at home, upping your risk for type 2 diabetes. Your body deserves better bouncers at the cellular door.

How to Test for Toxins (Without Feeling Like a Science Experiment)

There are three main ways to check if your body has more toxic baggage than it can handle. First up is a hair mineral analysis—think of it as a personalized detox map. Then there’s the urine test, which sniffs out more metals, and finally, the fecal test (yep, that one) for catching even sneakier culprits like thallium that like to play hide-and-seek in other tests.

Hair mineral analysis is surprisingly simple. I used Wendy Myers’ service, which required me to snip off a small lock of my hair and send it in for analysis. Why hair? Because unlike a blood test, which only shows what’s currently circulating in your system, hair gives a three-month diary of what’s been hanging out in your body. Plus, it’s way less invasive—your hair isn’t squeamish.

Now for the bad news: chemicals love to gate-crash our systems faster than we can kick them out. Sure, our bodies come equipped with detoxifying organs, but they’re like a 90s dial-up modem trying to handle 3,000 new toxins a year. While medical school textbooks assure us our detox systems are “just fine,” reality paints a different picture: they need all the help they can get.

So if you’re feeling a bit toxic (and not in the Britney Spears way), consider these tests your first step toward giving your body a much-needed break.

The Art of Detox: Heavy Metals Edition

The number one way toxins sneak into our systems? Eating them. Yup, that mid-afternoon snack attack on processed food isn’t just hard on your waistline; it’s a VIP pass for toxins to set up camp. So, step one in detoxing is avoiding processed foods like they’re a bad Tinder date.

Now, your kidneys are the detox MVPs, so let’s show them some love. Start by drinking plenty of water (bonus points for adding lemon juice—it’s like a little metabolic pep talk). Stock up on detox power players like garlic, turmeric, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, fiber-rich foods, and green tea. And don’t forget sweating—whether you’re hitting the sauna or lounging in a hot tub, just get your glow on. Also, consider an air purifier for those airborne freeloaders.

But heavy metals are the drama queens of toxins. They cling to your receptors like an overenthusiastic party guest, so you’ll need some advanced maneuvers to evict them.

First, fuel up with a nutrient-rich diet: grass-finished meat, raw egg yolks, bone broth, and juiced veggies. Next, enlist BioSil (silica) as your secret weapon. Add six drops a day to orange or pineapple juice—citrus juice is like its sidekick, boosting absorption. BioSil goes deep, dislodging aluminum, arsenic, tin, and thallium from their hideouts in bones and the brain. You can up the dose to 10 drops daily, but be warned—it might make you feel a little sluggish.

Now, you’ll need a binder to sweep those metals out. Think citrus pectin (like PectaSol-C, 5g daily) or activated charcoal. Just don’t take them together—they’ll bind to each other instead of the toxins, and all that effort will literally go down the drain. I start my morning with BioSil and save the PectaSol-C for later in the day. And yes, detoxing heavy metals is a marathon, not a sprint—it takes about two years to see real results.

If you’re serious about upping your detox game, invest in an infrared sauna. It’s a triple threat: flushing out hundreds of toxins, boosting your immune system, and making you feel like you’re at a futuristic spa. Aim for 30 minutes daily for 2-3 years, then cut back to a few times a week to maintain.

Other helpful detox buddies include cilantro extract, N-acetylcysteine, glutathione, sodium R-lipoic acid, curcumin, garlic, and some good old-fashioned alkalinization. Need more details? Wendy Myers at Live to 110 has you covered.

Detoxing might sound like a chore, but trust me, your body will thank you. After all, heavy metals are great for rock music—not your metabolism.

I wish you lots of health, love and happiness!

Travis Wade

The only holistic personal trainer in Edmonton.