Should You Worry About Heavy Metals?

Humans are exposed to heavy metals daily. From food and water contamination to vaccinations and dental fillings, there's no way to avoid them completely. Unfortunately, heavy metals have detrimental effects on the human body, but there are ways to lessen our exposure and even detox.

A few years back, I was scrolling social media and stumbled upon a post discussing amalgam fillings. It discussed the ingredients in these fillings (mercury and a powdered alloy containing silver, tin, and copper). I remember wondering how I have one, considering my entire life, I’ve had a documented silver allergy. Silver is right in the name, but I never realized it was about the metal alloy. I thought it was just the color. Immediately, I started looking into the topic more. I learned all about the risks of heavy metals and decided I needed to have my silver filling removed and detox my body immediately. This filling was the final piece of my natural health journey. It was the final toxin exposure in my life that I had the control to eliminate, so I got to researching.

I found a holistic dentist certified in the safe mercury amalgam removal technique (SMART) through IAOMT. I had my filling removed in April 2023 and started a heavy metal detox in May 2023 and had great results. Now, I want to share what I learned about heavy metals, allowing you to cleanse your body and overall exposure to these toxins.

What Are Heavy Metals?

Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements with a high atomic weight and density at least five times greater than water. Their toxicity depends on several factors, including the dose, route of exposure, chemical species, and the age, gender, genetics, and nutritional status of exposed individuals. Heavy metals that are most recognized because they rank highest in toxicity include (1):

• Arsenic

• Cadmium

• Chromium

• Lead

• Mercury

Aside from the five ranked highest in toxicity, there are 30 other metals of concern from residential and occupational exposure, of which 19 are heavy metals, including (2):

• Antimony

• Arsenic

• Bismuth

• Cerium

• Cobalt

• Copper

• Gallium

• Gold

• Iron

• Manganese

• Nickel

• Platinum

• Silver

• Tellurium

• Thallium

• Tin

• Uranium

• Vanadium

• Zinc

If you follow the definition, heavy metal is a metallic element with a relatively high density compared to water and is usually toxic at low concentrations. When you follow the definition of heavy metals, there are many other heavy metals, such as aluminum (3). For a longer list of heavy metals by definition, click here.

Risks of Heavy Metals

Several studies have evaluated the toxic effects of heavy metals on the environment and our bodies. Of course, heavy metals are well-known environmental pollutants that can accumulate in aquatic ecosystems. Of course, when humans (even animals) consume foods high in heavy metals, the body starts to also accumulate these toxins via bioaccumulation (4). This buildup may lead to heavy metal poisoning or toxicity. Some signs of heavy metal toxicity include (5):

• Abdominal pain

• Chills or a low body temperature

• Dehydration

• Diarrhea

• Feeling weak

• Nausea or vomiting

• A scratchy feeling in your throat

• Numbness or prickly sensation in hands and feet

• Abnormal heartbeat (arrhythmia)

• Anemia

• Brain damage and memory loss

• Difficulty breathing

• Kidney damage

• Liver damage

• Miscarriages

• Risk of developing cancer

Aside from heavy metal toxicity, these toxins can harm our health. One study found heavy metals can cause gastrointestinal and kidney dysfunction, nervous system disorders, skin lesions, vascular damage, immune system dysfunction, congenital disabilities, and cancer (6).

Some interesting studies/articles surrounding heavy metal risks include:

• A health risk assessment of heavy metals in people consuming Sohan in Qom, Iran

• Association between Heavy Metal Exposure and Parkinson’s Disease: A Review of the Mechanisms Related to Oxidative Stress

• A systematic literature review on the association between exposures to toxic elements and an autism spectrum disorder

• Autism spectrum disorders, endocrine disrupting compounds, and heavy metals in amniotic fluid: a case-control study

• Combined toxicity and underlying mechanisms of a mixture of eight heavy metals

• Early life metal exposure dysregulates cellular bioenergetics in children with regressive autism spectrum disorder

• Ecological and Health Risks Assessment of Potentially Toxic Metals and Metalloids Contaminants: A Case Study of Agricultural Soils in Qatar

• Effects of heavy metals in acute ischemic stroke patients: A cross-sectional study

• Effects of heavy metals on human health

• Environmental toxic metal contaminants and risk of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis

• Heavy metals contamination and associated health risks in food webs—a review focuses on food safety and environmental sustainability in Bangladesh

• Heavy Metals Exposure and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

• Human Health Effects of Heavy Metals

• Human health-risk assessment of heavy metal-contaminated soil based on Monte Carlo simulation

• Issue Paper on the Human Health Effects of Metals

• Levels of heavy metals in soil and vegetables and associated health risks in Mojo area, Ethiopia

• Low-level toxic metal exposure may raise the risk for clogged arteries

• Progress in the Research of the Toxicity Effect Mechanisms of Heavy Metals on Freshwater Organisms and Their Water Quality Criteria in China

• Risk assessment of heavy metals concentration in cereals and legumes sold in the Tamale Aboabo market, Ghana

• Risk assessment of soil heavy metal contamination at the census tract level in the city of Santa Ana, CA: implications for health and environmental justice

• ​​Toxic heavy metal concentrations in multiple sclerosis patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals

Remember, heavy metals can be found in our food and water supply (including baby food and formula), vaccines, and silver fillings. Heavy metals can also be found in hygiene supplies like deodorant, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, makeup, and more.

I highly recommend detoxing from heavy metals if you can, but this is not an option for people with metal fillings or other forms of heavy metals in the body. When I did my heavy metal detox, I used herbs to detox heavy metals while following Earthley's Vaccine Detox Protocol, including their herbal tincture, Vaccine Detox.

⚠️ Warning: The Holistic Hipppie is not a functional medicine practitioner. The FDA has not evaluated these statements. This content is not medical advice and should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure, or replace medical guidance. The Holistic Hipppie assumes no liability for the application of the information discussed.

How do you limit heavy metal exposure?