Are Toxic Heavy Metals Ruining Your Life?

by Anthony William

Do you suffer from chronic health problems and have yet to find the answers
you seek? If you feel that you have been searching for answers for far too
long, you are not alone. You may already be doing everything you can think
of to keep yourself healthy. You stick to your organic diet. You get as
much exercise as you can tolerate. You meditate. You take your daily
supplements. You take time for yourself. As far as you can tell, you’re
doing everything right, and yet, your symptoms persist. Fatigue. Migraine
headaches. Joint pain. Brain fog. Sluggishness. Inflammation. Constipation
and other digestive disturbances. Susceptibility to infections. Nervousness
and anxiety. Insomnia. Poor memory. Yeast and bacterial overgrowth. Skin
eruptions. Attentional deficits. Mood dysregulation. Sadly, these types of
symptoms are becoming more and more commonplace. If you suffer from any one
of these on a regular basis, odds are you have been to countless health
professionals, scoured the internet, and read everything you can get your
hands on, awaiting relief that never comes, or lasts only a short while.
You may even have been told that it’s “all in your head,” that it’s
“hormonal,” or “it’s just stress.” Yet as your symptoms continue, you keep
asking yourself “What have I missed? Why does my body still feel this way?”

In this modern era, we are bombarded by toxins of every kind imaginable.
Our bodies are subjected to an onslaught of dangerous chemicals on a daily
basis from things like air pollution, plastics, and industrial cleaning
agents, not to mention the thousands of new chemicals introduced into our
environment every year. Toxins also saturate our water reservoirs, fall
down from the sky, and hide out in our homes and workplaces. This has
become an unfortunate reality of modern life. However, if you are
experiencing any of the above symptoms, there’s a good chance that a
particular class of toxins are to blame. They are known as toxic heavy
metals. Heavy metal toxicity—from metals such as mercury, aluminum, copper,
cadmium, nickel, arsenic, and lead—represents one of the greatest threats
to our health and well-being. While heavy metal toxicity is quite common,
it is not commonly diagnosed. This is because heavy metal toxicity is an
elusive adversary. It stays well-hidden within our bodies, never revealing
itself unless you are actively looking for it.

“Heavy metal toxicity—from metals such as mercury, aluminum, copper,
cadmium, nickel, arsenic, and lead—represents one of the greatest threats
to our health and well-being.”

Toxic heavy metals are virtually everywhere, and are present in things we
come in contact with every day, such as aluminum cans and aluminum foil,
batteries, metal cookware, old paint, and even the foods we eat. For
instance, pesticides and herbicides (which are hard to completely avoid
even on a strict organic diet), are a common source of heavy metals. As a
result, most of us are carrying around heavy metals that have been with us
for almost our whole lives and which have burrowed deep inside our tissues.
Unfortunately, it is these “old” metals, the ones that have been lurking in
our system for prolonged periods of time, that pose the greatest threat.
For example, over time toxic heavy metals can oxidize, causing damage to
surrounding tissue and promoting inflammation. They literally poison our
bodies, and can inflict damage on virtually every system and organ,
including our brain, liver, digestive system, and other parts of our
nervous system. Toxic heavy metals put an immense burden on our immune
system, leaving us vulnerable to a variety of illnesses.

While toxins of every kind are harmful, heavy metals pose a unique threat.
Not only are they damaging in their own right, they are also a form of
neurotoxin (a poison that disrupts nerve function and confuses your immune
system). Heavy metal neurotoxins can inflame and irritate our central
nervous system (especially our brain), causing multiple symptoms such as
memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, and depression. Toxic heavy metals can
also promote inflammation in the digestive tract, releasing poisons into
our gut as well. As if this isn’t bad enough, heavy metals also serve as a
source of food for viruses, bacteria, parasites, and other pathogens in our
body. For example, heavy metals can serve as a feeding ground for
Streptococcus A or B, E. coli, C. difficile, H. pylori, and yeast cells.
This can create an overgrowth of multiple bacteria in our gut, resulting in
a condition known as SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), which is
characterized by bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation (or
both), and can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, when viruses
such as Epstein-Barr and shingles feed off toxic heavy metals, this can
produce symptoms such as tingling, numbness, fatigue, anxiety, heart
palpitations, ringing in the ears, dizziness and vertigo, as well as neck
pain, knee pain, foot pain, pain in the back of the head, and a variety of
other aches and pains that are often attributed to other causes.

“Over time toxic heavy metals can oxidize, causing damage to surrounding
tissue and promoting inflammation.”

When pathogens such as Epstein-Barr, shingles, and many others feed on
heavy metals, they transform the metals into an especially aggressive form
of neurotoxin. This secondary neurotoxin is the by-product and waste of
these pathogens, and has the ability to travel throughout the body and
wreak even greater havoc on the central nervous system. This phenomenon can
throw medical communities off track, leading to incorrect diagnoses such as
Lyme disease, lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis , and many other autoimmune
disorders, because blood tests start to lose their accuracy when the
bloodstream becomes full of neurotoxic by-product and pathogen waste. These
neurotoxins can even cross the blood-brain barrier, where they short
circuit our neurotransmitters (the chemicals our brain cells use to
communicate with each other). In turn, this can trigger Depression and
other mood disorders, memory loss, and a variety of other cognitive
impairments.

It is therefore no surprise that heavy metals play a prominent role in our
current epidemics of “mystery illnesses” and degenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer’s and dementia. Despite all of this, heavy metal toxicity remains
a relatively unexplored (and untreated) phenomenon—for everything we know
about the dangers of heavy metals, there is a great deal more that has yet
to be discovered. Heavy metals just may be the premier “hidden antagonizer”
and mystery illness trigger in so many of us, contributing to all of the
aforementioned symptoms—and more.

Mercury

While all toxic heavy metals wreak havoc on the body, mercury is an
especially insidious beast, responsible for untold suffering throughout
human history. Once touted as a cure-all for every disease imaginable, we
now know the exact opposite is true. Mercury toxicity can be responsible
for countless disorders and symptoms, including anxiety, ADHD, OCD, autism,
bipolar disorder, neurological disorders, epilepsy, tingling, numbness,
tics, twitches, spasms, hot flashes, heart palpitations, hair loss, brittle
nails, weakness, memory loss, confusion, insomnia, loss of libido, fatigue,
migraines, endocrine disorders, and depression. In fact, mercury poisoning
is at the core of Depression for a large percentage of people who suffer
from it.

Historically, before its toxic effects were known (and acknowledged),
mercury was believed to be a fountain of youth and a source of eternal
wisdom. In ancient Chinese medicine, mercury was so revered that countless
emperors died from mercury elixirs that healers vowed would end all their
problems. Mercury elixirs (known as “quicksilver”) were also popular in the
Western world. In the 1800s, medical students in the U.S. and England were
taught to give a glass of mercury water to any patient who was ill,
regardless of age, gender, or symptoms. Even after the medical community
abandoned the practice of dispensing this misguided remedy, opportunities
for mercury exposure were (and are) still plentiful: Industries were
dumping mercury into rivers, lakes, and other waterways, and dentists were
using mercury Amalgam fillings (and some still are). In the 1800s and the
first half of the 1900s, hat production relied on a mercury-based solution
designed to expedite the felting process, putting hat-makers at extreme
risk. In fact, the average hat-maker had about three to five years to live
after starting work at a factory before madness and death set in. This is
where the term “mad as a hatter” comes from: almost all mental illness of
the time was from mercury poisoning (and the terrible irony is that for a
long time the “treatment” for mental illness was—you guessed it—mercury!).
And it wasn’t just hat-makers who suffered; anyone of that era who wore a
felt hat got an infusion of mercury every time their brow sweated!

“Mercury poisoning is at the core of Depression for a large percentage of
people who suffer from it.”

Although the practice of using mercury as a life-giving elixir has long
since been abandoned, we are currently still subject to its damaging
effects. Due to the aforementioned practices, it is extremely likely that
your great-great grandparents and other ancestors were exposed to high
levels of mercury—and mercury literally gets passed down from one
generation to the next! (Yes, this means that we have mercury in our
systems because we inherited it from our quicksilver-drinking ancestors.)
It is virtually guaranteed that most, if not all of us have some level of
mercury inside our bodies. Some of us may even have mercury in our bodies
that is over a thousand years old!

As a result of this mercury legacy, as a human race we are actually more
intolerant to mercury than ever before. This is because, with each passing
generation, the older mercury gets a little less concentrated, and a little
more diluted. This might sound like a good thing, but this actually results
in a “reverse strengthening” of the mercury: the more diluted the mercury
becomes, the stronger it gets when it comes to being passed down
generationally from parent to child (this is similar to the laws of
homeopathy, in which successive dilutions of a compound result in increased
potency). And in addition to this old mercury that we come into the world
with, we collect new forms of mercury as we go along. Thus, for optimal
health, we need to eliminate not only the mercury we’ve accumulated in our
own lifetime, but the mercury we inherited from our ancestors as well.
Otherwise, as a human race we will become increasingly sensitive and
intolerant to mercury and other heavy metals inside us.

The Alloy Complication

An important aspect of heavy metal toxicity is the fact that each of us has
a unique signature blend, our own personal combination of heavy metals that
creates an alloy. In the industrial sense, metals are blended to make them
stronger and to give them broader applications. For example, a bicycle has
various parts that are made from different alloys/blends of metal, to give
it unique flexibility and strength; the same goes for rims on a car or even
a pan for cooking. While this might be good news for the lifespan of your
bicycle, it does nothing to enhance human life. For instance, one person’s
signature blend of heavy metals might consist of high levels of mercury and
lead, while the next person has large amounts of aluminum and nickel in her
signature blend. Or perhaps two people both have extensive mercury and
aluminum deposits, but have very different amounts of the two metals.
Another variable contributing to a person’s individual alloy is the
locations of the heavy metals in the body. For example, one person may have
mercury deposits in her or his brain and central nervous system, while in
the next person the metals have infiltrated her or his liver and
intestines.

“An important aspect of heavy metal toxicity is the fact that each of us
has a unique signature blend, our own personal combination of heavy metals
that creates an alloy.”

Regardless, these highly individual alloys are part of why we see so much
depression, anxiety, and other neurological symptoms that people are faced
with every day. It is also one of the reasons why no two people with the
same diagnosis have precisely the same symptoms. No one person diagnosed
with depression, for example, has the exact same case of depression as the
next person. The fact that everyone has a unique heavy metal signature
blend is also part of why various treatments and methods can work for one
person, but not for the next. Furthermore, there tends to be an interaction
effect between one’s emotional history and her or his signature heavy metal
blend. For example, if a person has undergone emotional trauma at some
point and has high levels of heavy metal toxicity, she or he will tend to
have a more difficult time processing the trauma she or he has experienced.
Medical research and Science is decades away from uncovering the signature
heavy metals and alloys that create so many of our symptoms.

Your Delicate Central Nervous System

As indicated, heavy metals have the capacity to infiltrate the brain. While
heavy metal deposits are damaging regardless of where they are in the body,
the brain is especially vulnerable. Electrical nerve impulses are
constantly passing through the neurons (nerve cells) in our brains; this is
how our brain cells communicate with each other, and govern the bodily
processes controlled by the brain. In healthy brains, this system runs
smoothly and efficiently. If, however, the neurons are surrounded by brain
tissue saturated with mercury or other heavy metals, this results in an
electrical short circuiting. The metals draw on the electrical impulses,
like draining a battery, much like when you leave your car’s headlights on
all night. When the electrical activity of our brain is “drained” by heavy
metals in this manner, it disrupts the continuity of our nerve impulses.
If, for example, a person has a lot of mercury in the brain, the spike of
electricity running through a neuron doesn’t reach its intended destination
(the adjacent neuron)—it slams into a mercury deposit instead! This is when
we start to see things like depression and cognitive impairment, including
confusion, overstimulation, disorientation, etc. Another issue is the
interaction between the minerals involved in the nerve impulses, such as
sodium, potassium, and chloride, and the heavy metals. These minerals have
the ability to oxidize heavy metals, literally causing them to corrode
(this is akin to the heavy metals in your brain getting rusty!). This can
spread to other areas of the brain, allowing more electrical impulses to
come in contact with the heavy metal oxidation, leading to even more
short-circuiting, and perpetuating a vicious cycle that contributes to
anxiety, depression, memory loss, emotional upheaval (e.g., flying off the
handle), migraines, mood swings (i.e., extreme highs and lows), being
emotionally hypersensitive, having multiple chemical sensitivities, and so
on. Additionally, our neurotransmitters (the chemical substances released
by nerve cells) take a huge hit, depleting our supply of important
neurochemicals such as serotonin or dopamine (contributing, again, to
things like anxiety and depression).

“If the neurons are surrounded by brain tissue saturated with mercury or
other heavy metals, this results in an electrical short circuiting. The
metals draw on the electrical impulses, like draining a battery, much like
when you leave your car’s headlights on all night.”

Heavy metals may already be on your radar. If so, perhaps you have tried
chelation therapy (a procedure involving the administration of substances
designed to remove heavy metals from the body; chelation means “to grab” or
to “bind”), or you may have experimented with supplements or foods renowned
for their ability to remove heavy metals. If the latter approach didn’t
seem to work for you, it may be because you were using only one or two
supplements or foods to try to remove the heavy metals. The truth is, most
foods that can help get heavy metals out of your body need a helping hand,
and work better as a team. This is why the best approach for heavy metal
detox is to use not one but several different detoxifying foods together.
The process is a lot like passing a football (the heavy metals are the
football, metal-grabbing foods are the teammates, and the finish line
represents elimination of waste). Even the fastest running backs can’t take
the football to the finish line on their own—they need their teammates to
block for them along the way. Because heavy metals have a long and
intricate path to traverse before they get expelled from the body, a team
of one simply won’t cut it. With a team effort, if the ball gets dropped
along the way (i.e., the toxic heavy metals get dropped during the lengthy
trip out of your body), the other team members are ready and waiting to
pick it up and continue the journey toward the finish line. All the
teammates have to work together, passing the ball to the next player, for
the process to work.

Your Heavy Metal Detox Team

In the modern world, the accumulation of heavy metals and other toxins,
along with inherited mercury deposits, is inevitable—that’s the bad news.
The good news is that it is relatively easy to get rid of the heavy metals
that you may have already accumulated (both generational and recent), and
there are steps you can take to minimize your future exposure. Adding the
following all-star team of foods to your diet and being diligent in your
efforts to consume them will go a long way toward ridding your body of
heavy metals:

• 
  

  
  Spirulina (preferably from Hawaii): This edible blue-green algae
  draws out heavy metals from your brain, central nervous system, and
  liver, and soaks up heavy metals extracted by barley grass juice
  extract powder. Take 2 teaspoons mixed in water, coconut water, or
  juice.
  

  
  


• 
  

  
  Barley grass juice extract powder: This nutritive grass has the
  ability to draw heavy metals out of your spleen, intestinal tract,
  pancreas, thyroid, and reproductive system. Barley grass juice
  extract prepares the mercury for complete absorption by the
  spirulina. Drink 1-2 teaspoons mixed into coconut water or juice.
  

  
  


• 
  

  
  Cilantro: Goes deep into hard-to-reach places, extracting metals
  from yesteryear (so it’s great for that mercury inheritance you’re
  carrying around!). Blend one cup in a smoothie or juice, or add to
  salad or guacamole.
  

  
  


• 
  

  
  Wild blueberries (only from Maine): Draw heavy metals out of your
  brain tissue, healing and repairing any gaps created by oxidation
  when the heavy metals are removed. It is important to use wild
  blueberries, as they possess unique phytonutrients with special
  detoxifying capabilities. The potent antioxidants in wild
  blueberries help reverse any oxidative damage left behind by the
  heavy metal removal. This is especially important for your brain
  tissue—in fact, wild blueberries are the most powerful food for
  halting or in some cases reversing Alzheimer’s and dementia. Eat at
  least one cup daily. Note: while cultivated blueberries are
  nutritious, they lack the metal-drawing ability of the wild
  blueberries.
  

  
  


• 
  

  
  Atlantic dulse: In addition to mercury, this edible seaweed binds
  to lead, aluminum, copper, cadmium, and nickel. Unlike other
  seaweeds, Atlantic dulse is a powerful force for removing mercury
  on its own. Atlantic dulse goes into deep, hidden places of the
  digestive tract and gut, seeking out mercury, binding to it, and
  never releasing it until it leaves the body. Eat two tablespoons of
  flakes daily, or an equal amount of strips if it’s in whole-leaf
  form. Note: As it comes from the ocean, if you are concerned about
  the dulse itself having mercury, be aware that Atlantic sea dulse
  will not release any mercury it might possess into the body. It
  holds on to the mercury as it works its way through, and even grabs
  onto other metals along the way and drives them out as well.
  Atlantic dulse is a critical part of the team because it can hang
  out near the finish line (i.e., our colon), waiting for the other
  foods that have been grabbing on to heavy metals along the way. It
  serves as emergency backup, helping ensure that all the heavy
  metals that made it as far as the colon actually leave the body.
  

  
  

These five foods constitute your best offensive action against heavy
metals, and as you can see, they each have their strengths, performing
slightly different roles in the detoxification process. On its own, each
individual player isn’t 100 percent effective, but as a team, they are your
anti-heavy metal secret weapon! At some point in the removal process,
metals get “dropped” or dispersed back into the organs, at which point
another member of the team will swoop in, grab the metal, and continue the
journey toward the finish line. You don’t need to eat all the foods in one
sitting, but this is why it is important to consume these foods within 24
hours of each other for optimal effect. If you can’t fit them all in, try
to eat at least two or three of the foods every day. While this is still
helpful, this approach won’t be as effective in terms of results and
symptom relief. In addition to helping draw metals out of the body, all of
these powerful foods leave behind critical nutrients for repairing heavy
metal damage and restoring the body. Another point in favor of this regimen
is that it is effective regardless of your unique heavy metal signature—no
matter the type, quantity, or location of the heavy metals, the five foods
still help. This is truly the most effective way to rid your body of toxic
heavy metals that could be causing so many of the symptoms and labels of
conditions that you and your loved ones may be living with.

If the concept of heavy metal detoxification is already on your radar, or
you have already tried similar detoxification methods, you may be wondering
why chlorella (another popular algae often used for heavy metal detox) is
not part of the team. Chlorella is a bit like a carpenter’s irresponsible
apprentice, one who has good references, yet just isn’t reliable. If you
are a carpenter, and you hire a carpenter’s apprentice to help you build
some furniture, no matter how good the apprentice’s reputation, if she or
he is clumsy and keeps dropping the hammer (i.e., mercury) at precisely the
wrong moment, you aren’t going to keep the apprentice around for long.
While chlorella is nutritious, it just doesn’t have the dexterity that is
needed to get the job of heavy metal detox done. In this way, it is an
irresponsible supplement—so it didn’t make the team.

The above recommendations are extremely effective for removing metals
already in your system. However, we are constantly coming in contact with
heavy metals and other toxins—the exposure is ongoing. While complete
avoidance of toxins is impossible, there are many things you can do to
minimize your risk and bolster your detox efforts.

Tips to Minimize Toxic Load and Supercharge Your


Heavy Metal Detox Efforts

Dietary Fat

Even if you eat the five heavy metal detoxifying foods religiously, if the
rest of your diet is off-kilter, the process will be less effective. In the
process of eliminating heavy metals, it is very beneficial to keep your
blood fat ratio lower than usual. If you are trying to remove mercury and
other heavy metals from your body, extra fats from the foods you eat can
slow down or even halt the removal process, because the fat tends to soak
up the metals you’re trying to get rid of. You don’t need to completely
remove fat from your diet, just scale it back a bit. If you eat a vegan
diet, reduce the amount of fat you take in from nuts, seeds, oil,
avocadoes, and so on. If you are lacto-ovo-vegetarian, cut back on fish,
eggs, dairy, nuts, seed oils, avocado, etc. If your diet is Paleo and/or
includes animal protein, try to cut back to about one or two servings of
meat per day (one serving is optimal, if you can swing it). With each of
these dietary approaches, scaling back your usual fat intake by about
twenty-five percent should be sufficient in most cases. This has nothing to
do with whether or not dietary fat is good for you. This is a blood fat
reduction technique that helps expedite the toxic heavy metal removal
process. Decreasing your fat intake by about twenty-five percent reduces
the amount of fat circulating in your bloodstream, helping prevent blood
fats from taking up mercury and other metals that are on their way out. If
you don’t make any changes to your diet during the metal detox, you will
still receive benefits over time, but you will get better, quicker results
by keeping your fat intake a bit lower than is typical for you.

Lemon Water

When performing a heavy metal detox, it is absolutely essential that you
are sufficiently hydrated for the duration. Performing a detox without
drinking enough water is like taking out the trash without trash service.
Imagine if you gather up your household trash, put it all in a big garbage
can, and put the garbage can out to the curb, but no one ever comes to take
it away. Eventually this becomes a huge problem, because the trash doesn’t
go anywhere—it just sits on the curb, becoming more toxic with each passing
day. The same goes for detoxifying your body! Detoxification efforts help
draw the “junk” out of your cells and tissues, but if you aren’t
eliminating properly and frequently, eventually those toxins will just
settle back in.

A highly effective means of detoxifying the body is to drink two 16-ounce
glasses of water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, squeezing
half of a freshly cut lemon into each glass. The lemon is critical here,
because most water has lost its living factor by the time it makes it to
your glass due to filtering and processing. Fresh lemon juice helps breathe
life back into your “deadened” water, because the water that resides in the
lemon is alive. The fresh lemon juice enhances the water’s ability to latch
onto toxins in your body and help flush them out. This practice is
especially effective for cleansing your liver, which works while you sleep
to gather and purge toxins from your body. When you wake up, it is primed
to be hydrated and flushed clean with activated water. After you drink the
water, give your liver half an hour to clean up, then go ahead and eat
breakfast. If you make this a regular part of your routine, your health can
improve dramatically. For an extra boost, you can add one teaspoon each raw
honey and freshly grated ginger to the lemon water. Your liver will draw in
the honey to restore its glucose reserves, purging deep toxins at the same
time to make room.

Aloe Vera Leaf Juice

Consuming fresh aloe vera leaf juice is another great addition to your
heavy metal detox toolkit. Aloe is very adept at helping flush metals out
of your body. For optimal results, cut off a four-inch section of a fresh
aloe leaf (if it is large, as is typically the case for store-bought aloe.
If you’re using a homegrown aloe plant, it will likely have smaller,
skinnier leaves, so you will need to cut off more). Filet the leaf like a
fish, trimming away the green skin and spikes. Scoop out the clear gel,
taking care not to include any from the bitter base of the leaf. Blend it
into a smoothie or eat as-is.

Infrared Sauna

You can give your heavy metal detox an additional boost with

infrared sauna sessions

. Infrared saunas emit infrared light on your skin for the purpose of
healing. The rays deeply penetrate the body, providing benefits such as
increased blood flow and oxygenation of the blood, removal of toxins from
the skin, elimination of aches and pains, and enhanced immunity. Infrared
sauna sessions assist the body’s innate detoxification efforts, which
expedites the heavy metal removal process. You can often find an infrared
sauna at local gyms, massage therapy centers, and/or sauna centers.
Recommended usage: 15- to 20-minute sessions twice per week. If you do it
right, you should feel an immediate change for the better after each
session. Be sure to drink plenty of water after your session to facilitate
the removal of toxins from the body.

Juice Fasting

If you want to take things up a notch, consider the practice of one-day
“fasts” in which you consume nothing but juices. Your juice should consist
of celery, cucumbers, and apples. If you want, add in a bit of spinach or
cilantro for variety; however, the core ingredients must remain celery,
cucumbers, and apples. This combination has the proper balance of mineral
salts, potassium, and natural Sugar to keep your glucose levels stable as
your body cleanses itself of toxic heavy metals. Make each juice 16- to
20-ounces, and drink one every two to three hours. Consume nothing in
between except water—preferably a 16-ounce glass of it an hour after each
juice. Your goal is to drink six juices and six glasses of water over the
course of the day. When trying this for the first time, it is highly
recommended to do it on a weekend when you can stay at home. If you’ve
never detoxed before, the poisons it brings out of your body may make you
feel uncomfortable. If so, lie down and rest. After you’ve gone through
this detox a few times and feel comfortable with it, you can optionally
expand it to a two-day juice fast. Plan on being home for at least the
second day, though, in case your energy dips. For many people, however,
energy actually increases.

You can experiment with the juice and add other ingredients—e.g., kale
instead of spinach, or an occasional pinch of ginger for taste, or some
extra cilantro, but don’t overdo it. The celery, cucumber, and apple all
help flush toxic heavy metals out of you. If you put in too much of
anything else, you take away space from these key ingredients. If you do
this juice fast every two weeks, over time you should achieve impressive
detox results and really feel the difference.

All of the above techniques are very effective at helping flush your system
of heavy metals that are already on their way out thanks to your heavy
metal detox team players.

Conclusion

Modern life has its upsides and downsides—and you no doubt see proof of
this every day. While today’s technology means that, for example, we’re
plugged in and reachable 24/7, it also means that, well, we’re plugged in
and reachable 24/7. We have incredible resources today that our ancestors
couldn’t even have imagined—societal advancements have made our lives
easier in so many ways—and yet we’re suffering. Never before in our history
have we been exposed to so many poisonous substances. On top of which, we
are still bearing the brunt of our ancestors’ heavy metal toxicity.

While avoiding the daily onslaught of heavy metals and other toxins is
tough, protecting your body from these threats is not. You can take a stand
against your personal blend of toxic heavy metals! The truth is, your body
wants to heal, and it is working for you every day. All you need to do is
give it the tools and resources it needs to begin the healing process.
Start by assembling your all-star team of heavy metal detoxifiers, and
incorporating a few of the lifestyle practices. By taking advantage of
these simple tips, you can assume an active and powerful role in reclaiming
the vibrant health that you deserve—and are meant to have.

The function of the kidneys is one of elimination and balance. The kidneys are blood purifying organs, without them we'd be poisoned by our own body's toxic wastes. They balance the fluids in our bodies and our electrolytes ... all very important jobs .. good kidney function is all about good health.



Cellular function creates wastes that are dumped into the blood; this, chemicals and toxins are carried to the kidneys for elimination.



The best known kidney problem is kidney stones, an accumulation of crystals from metabolic wastes.



Kidney cleansing is one of the IMPORTANT steps in detoxing the body.



Before beginning to kidney cleanse, make sure that you are drinking PLENTY of PURE water daily so that you're flushing the released toxins out.



A quick google of kidney cleanse + natural cures, one repeatedly sees the name Dr Hulda Clark . Let's look at what this experts recommends for good kidney cleansing. I'm quoting from the Clark link at curezone:

The Kidney Cleanse



It takes a lot of liquid to "wash" the inside of your body. Taking it in the form of herbal teas gives you extra benefits. And extra enjoyment if you learn to make them with variations - especially if you need to produce a gallon of urine a day!



Any edema or "water holding", whether in lungs, arms, or abdomen, also requires strengthening of kidneys with this recipe.



When kidneys or bladder are actually involved in the cancer, gradually increase the dose to double the regular amounts. Be sure to start just as slowly though to avoid feeling pressure in the bladder. You will need:



Half a cup dried hydrangea root (Hydrangea arborescens)

Half a cup gravel root (Eupatorium purpureum)

Half a cup marshmallow root (Althea officinallis)

Black Cherry Concentrate, 8 oz. [twice]

Pinch vitamin B2 powder

4 bunches of fresh parsley (obtained at supermarket) [a bunch at stems is about 2 inches]

Goldenrod tincture (leave out of the recipe if you are allergic to it)

Ginger

Uva Ursi

Vitamin B6, 250mg caps

Magnesium oxide, 300mg caps

HCl drops (Hydrocloric Acid)

Sweetening (optional)

Previous versions of this recipe included vegetable glycerine. Recently I have been unable to find a source free from asbestos and silicone. Omit it.

Measure 1/4 (one fourth) cup of each root [half of the roots] and set them to soak, together in 10 cups of cold tap water, using a non-metal container and a non-metal lid (a dinner plate will do). Add vitamin B2 powder. After four hours (or overnight), heat to boiling and simmer for 20 minutes. Add black cherry concentrate [8oz.] and bring back to boiling. Pour through a bamboo or plastic strainer into glass jar. Drink 3/4 (three fourths) cup by sipping slowly throughout the day (stir in two drops HCl first). Refrigerate half to use this week, and freeze the other half for next week.



Other versions of this recipe allowed reboiling the roots when you have finished your first batch. Although this saves a few dollars, advanced cancer sufferers should use new roots each time. You need to do the kidney cleanse for six weeks to get good results, longer for severe problems.



Find fresh parsley at a grocery store. Soak it in HCl-water (1 drop per cup) with a pinch of vitamin B2 in it for 2 minutes. Drain. Cover with [2 pints of] water and boil for 1 minute. Drain into glass jars. When cool enough, pour yourself 1/2 (half) cup. Add 2 drops HCl. Sip slowly or add to your root potion. Refrigerate a pint and freeze 1 pint. Throw away the parsley. Always add HCl at point of consuming even after pre-sterilizing.



Dose: Each morning, pour together 3/4 (three fourths) cup of the root mixture and 1/2 (half) cup parsley water, filling a large mug. Add 20 drops of goldenrod tincture and any spice, such as nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. Then add a pinch of B2 and 4 drops HCl to sterilize. Drink this mixture in divided doses throughout the day. Keep it cold. Do not drink it all at once or you will get a stomach ache and feel pressure in your bladder. If your stomach is very sensitive, start on half the dose.



Also take:

Ginger capsules: one with each meal (3/day) (3 per day).

Uva Ursi: one capsule in the morning and 2 capsules in the evening.

Vitamin B6 (250mg): one a day.

Magnesium oxide (300mg): one a day.

Take these supplements just before your meal to avoid burping. You do not need to duplicate the B6 and magnesium doses if you are already on them.



Some notes on this recipe: This herbal tea, as well as the parsley, can easily spoil. Reheat to boiling every third day if it Is being stored in the refrigerator. Add HCl drops just before drinking. If you sterilize it in the morning you may take it to work without refrigerating it (use a glass container).



When you order your herbs, be careful! Herb companies are not the same! These roots should have a strong fragrance. If the ones you buy are barely fragrant, they have lost their active ingredients; switch to a different supplier. Fresh roots can be used. Do not use powder.



From "The Cure for All Advanced Cancers", page 560.

.....



PlzChuckle is more of a naturalist than is Hulda Clark . I find her to be a germaphobe. Everything she writes has "drops of HCI" ... I've never taken a drop of hydrochloic acid and don't plan on starting, nor do I take isolates, such as vitamin B2 or 6.



The herbs in her list are THE herbs recommended for a good kidney cleanse, whether you make your own tea as she's recommending or buy a product or formula, the list is the things needed for kidneystone busting and for clearing the kidneys of toxic accumulation.



The old Drs state in their medical textbooks and personal writing, that by the time a dis-ease identifies itself, the kidneys are appoximately 80% gone.



Clearing and maintaining good bowel flow is #1 but without excellent kidney health, a body can't be all that it should be.

(NaturalNews) If you experience major, persisting health problems, either physical or emotional, your liver may be congested with toxic compounds that are trapped within clumps of hardened bile (intrahepatic stones. Almost all health conditions, beauty problems and premature aging are closely linked with declined liver performance which most often is elusive to blood tests. Congestion in the bile ducts of the liver undermines the body’s effort to make proper use of the food you eat. This, in turn, may lead to numerous physical ailments and accentuated expressions of discomfort, including fear, anger, impatience, greed, depression, dis-ease and cynicism. Cleansing the liver of existing obstructions and impurities can help restore balance, vitality and happiness in every facet of your life.



When the Body Complains…



Unlike the stomach, for example, the liver never tells you directly when it is upset or needs special attention. It tells you indirectly, though, when it starts to perform poorly. The following conditions are related to poor liver functions: skin irritation, weak eyesight, unhealthy bowel movements, irregular menstrual cycles, recurring headaches, unexplainable weight gain, loss of energy, sudden aging, elevated cholesterol levels, most allergies, constricted blood vessels, bloated abdomen, fluid retention, gastrointestinal trouble, breathing difficulties, poor memory and concentration, pain in the joints or elsewhere in the body, brittle bones and any other major illness such as heart disease, cancer, MS, diabetes or Alzheimer's disease.



The liver is responsible for processing, converting, distributing and maintaining the body's fuel supply which consists of nutrients and energy. Impeding these vital functions not only affects the body’s performance as a whole, but also the health of every single cell. The liver cannot perform any of these functions properly if its bile ducts are clogged with deposits of hardened bile or “gallstones” (made of gall or bile).



Gallstones are caused by a number of factors, including the modern fast pace of living, stress, imbalanced diets, disruptive lifestyle, use of medical drugs, stimulants and alcohol, and ingestion of chemical poisons, such as food additives and artificial sweeteners. Bile duct congestion results in major impairment of digestive functions, thereby restricting the nutrient supply to the trillions of cells in the body. This makes Gallstones in the liver to be a major cause of physical and emotional illness.



The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush



The Liver Flush mentioned in this context is a straightforward, safe and painless do-it-yourself procedure using apple juice (or malic acid), olive oil, citrus juice and Epsom Salts to dispel Gallstones from both the liver and the gallbladder. The actual Liver Flush takes place within a period of less than fourteen hours and can be taken conveniently over a weekend at home.. Although the Liver Flush is very easy to do, it is important to understand the process and follow all of the directions precisely.



Since introducing the liver and gallbladder flush to thousands of patients in the 1990s, I have received countless testimonies expressing total amazement about the fast and profound healing effects it produces. They encouraged me to write a book on the subject. The 200-page book, The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, includes the exact procedure and necessary background information for conducting this simple, yet most profound cleanse. Today, the liver and gallbladder flush has helped restore the health of hundreds of thousands of people in all parts of the world.



Gallstones in the Liver—The Most Common Cause of Illness



An estimated 20 percent of the world’s population will develop gallstones in their gallbladder at some stage in their lives; many of them will opt for surgical removal of this important organ. This statistical figure does not account, though, for the many more people who will develop gallstones (or already have them) in their liver. During some thirty years of practicing natural medicine and dealing with thousands of people suffering from all types of chronic diseases, I can attest to the fact that each one of them, without exception, has had considerable quantities of gallstones in his or her liver. Surprisingly, only relatively few of them reported to have had a history of gallstones in their gallbladder.



Gallstones in the liver may be the main impediment to acquiring and maintaining good health, youthfulness, and vitality. Gallstones in the liver may, indeed, be one of the major reasons people become ill and have difficulty recuperating from illness.



Medicine’s Most Unfortunate Oversight



Many people believe that gallstones can be found only in the gallbladder. This is a commonly made yet false assumption. Most gallstones are actually formed in the liver, and comparatively few occur in the gallbladder. You can easily verify this assessment by giving yourself a liver flush. It matters little whether you are a layperson, a medical doctor, a scientist, or someone whose gallbladder was removed and, therefore, is believed to be stone free. The results of the liver flush speak for themselves. No amount of scientific proof or medical explanation can make such a cleanse any more valuable than it already is. Once you see hundreds of green, beige-colored, brown, or black gallstones floating in the toilet bowl during your first liver flush, you will intuitively know that you are on to something extremely important in your life.



I am repeatedly asked the intriguing question—why is there only little or no reference in mainstream medicine to the occurrence of gallstones in the liver? Standard clinical tests almost never reveal the occurrence of gallstones in the liver. In fact, most doctors don’t even know they grow there. Only some of the most advanced research universities, such as the prestigious Johns Hopkins University, describe and illustrate these liver stones in their literature or on their web sites. They refer to them as “intrahepatic gallstones.” The failure to recognize and accept the incidence of gallstone formation in the liver as an extremely common phenomenon may very well be the most unfortunate oversight that has ever been made in the field of medicine, both orthodox and holistic.



Relying so heavily on blood tests for diagnostic purposes, as conventional medicine does, may actually be a great disadvantage with regard to assessing liver health. Most people who have a physical complaint of one kind or another may show to have perfectly normal liver enzyme levels in the blood, despite suffering from liver congestion. Liver congestion is among the leading health problems, yet conventional medicine rarely refers to it, nor do doctors have a reliable way to detect and diagnose such a condition. Liver enzyme levels in the blood become elevated only when there is advanced liver cell destruction, as is the case, for example, in hepatitis or liver inflammation. Liver cells contain large amounts of enzymes. Once a certain number of liver cells are ruptured, their enzymes will start showing up in the blood. When detected through a blood test, this increased count of liver enzymes indicates abnormal liver functions. In such an event, however, the damage has already occurred. It takes many years of chronic liver congestion before liver damage becomes apparent.



Unfortunately, unless there is a specific liver disease, this vital organ is rarely considered a “culprit” for other diseases. The majority of gallstones in the liver consist of the same “harmless” constituents as are found in liquid bile, with cholesterol being the main ingredient. A number of stones consist of fatty acids and other organic material that has ended up in the bile ducts. The fact that the majority of these stones are just congealed clumps of bile or organic matter makes them practically “invisible” to x-rays, ultrasonic technologies, and Computer Tomography (CT).



The situation is different with regard to the gallbladder, where up to about 20 percent of all stones can be made-up entirely of minerals, predominantly, calcium salts and bile pigments. Whereas diagnostic tests can easily detect these hardened, relatively large stones in the gallbladder, they tend to miss the softer, non-calcified stones in the liver. Only when excessive amounts of cholesterol-based stones (85-95% cholesterol) or other clumps of fat block the bile ducts of the liver, may an ultrasound test reveal what is generally referred to as “fatty liver.” In such a case, the ultrasound pictures reveal a liver that is almost completely white (instead of black). A fatty liver can gather up to 20,000 stones before it succumbs to suffocation and ceases to function.



If you had a fatty liver and went to the doctor, he would tell you that you had excessive fatty tissue in your liver. It is less likely, though, that he would tell you that you had intrahepatic gallstones (stones obstructing the liver’s bile ducts). As mentioned before, most of the smaller stones in the liver are not detectable through ultrasound or Computer axial Tomography (CT). Nevertheless, careful analysis of diagnostic images by specialists would show whether some of the smaller bile ducts in the liver were dilated because of obstruction. A dilation of bile ducts caused by larger and denser stones or by clusters of stones may be detected more readily through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). However, unless there is an indication of major liver trouble, doctors rarely check for such intrahepatic stones. Unfortunately, although the liver is one of the most important organs in the body, its disorders are also under-diagnosed all too often.



Even if the early stages of a fatty liver or gallstone formation in the bile ducts were easily recognized and diagnosed, today’s medical facilities offer no treatments to relieve this vital organ of the heavy burden it has to carry.



On the other hand, a qualified iridologist, an Ayurvedic physician or a natural health practitioner who knows the signs and indications of gallstones in the liver and gallbladder, can easily determine the extent of gallstone formation in these organs. [Such indicators are listed in the book The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, www.ener-chi.com.] Most people in the civilized world have gallstones. But even in alternative or holistic medicine, there is rarely mention of an effective therapy that can actually remove gallstones safely and without pain. Gallstones are a direct product of an un healthy Diet and lifestyle. If gallstones are still present in the liver even after all other disease-causing factors are eliminated, they pose a considerable health risk and may lead to illness and premature aging. By removing these stones, the body as a whole is able to resume its normal, healthy activities.



Reaping the Benefits



People with chronic illnesses often have several thousand gallstones congesting the bile ducts of the liver. Some stones may have also grown in the gallbladder. By removing these stones from these organs through a series of Liver Flushes and maintaining a balanced diet and lifestyle, the liver and gallbladder can restore their original efficiency, and most symptoms of discomfort or disease in the body can start subsiding. You may find that any persistent allergies will lessen or disappear. Back pain will dissipate, while energy and well-being will improve.



Sweeping the liver clean eliminates thousands of bits of poisonous substances that have helped form the stones and block thousands of liver bile ducts. Ridding the liver bile ducts from gallstones is one of the most important and powerful procedures you can apply to improve and regain your physical and emotional health. By reopening the bile ducts, the body’s energy circuits become restored and healing can take place on all levels of body, mind and spirit.







About the author

Andreas Moritz is a medical intuitive; a practitioner of Ayurveda, iridology, shiatsu, and vibrational medicine; a writer; and an artist. He is the author of The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation, Lifting the Veil of Duality, Cancer Is Not a Disease, It’s Time to Come Alive, Heart Disease No More, Diabetes No More, Simple Steps to Total Health, Diabetes—No More, Ending the AIDS Myth and Heal Yourself with Sunlight. For more information, visit the author’s website (www.ener-chi.com).



Does Your Liver Need an Overhaul? The Importance of Liver Flushing

Lymphatic Cleansing With Rebound Exercise

(NaturalNews) With each passing decade since the end of World War II our planet has become silently, yet increasingly, toxic as pollutants from pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, industrial chemicals and other residual offenders choke the land, water and air that sustain us. As our planet becomes dangerously congested with debris so do our bodies, as evidenced by the alarming rate of deaths due to preventable illness and disease. We are neither helpless nor hopeless in this dire state, and just as we can strive to minimize our imprint on the planet, we can also take measures to reduce, eliminate and cleanse toxins from the blood, tissues and organs of our bodies. One of several effective methods of detoxification is through lymphatic cleansing.



Among the various functions of the lymphatic system is its ability to carry waste away from the cells and bloodstream to the body's organs of elimination. The system is comprised of veins and capillaries, with one-way valves, that contain a clear fluid called lymph. This fluid also surrounds cells throughout the body and collects cellular debris before draining it into the lymphatic system. Lymph carries the waste on a one-way path toward the heart and passes through many filters (lymph nodes) where special white blood cells attack and eliminate foreign molecules.



Once the lymph fluid approaches the heart it is returned to circulation and makes its way for further cleansing of toxins by the liver and kidneys. The lymphatic vessels are not connected to the blood circulatory system, and unlike blood which is pumped by the heart, lymph fluid relies on bodily movement and exercise to drive it through the lymphatic system. Forceful flushing of the system cleanses lymph nodes, contributes to healthy, clear lymph fluid, and boosts the immune system. Stagnant, slow-moving and thick lymph fluid is due to a lethargic, toxic body and weakened immune system.



When the lymph fluid remains sluggish the lymph nodes become clogged and lose their filtering ability. Without routine flushing of the lymph, debris becomes trapped in the body, creating a toxic overload and contributing to the onset of disease.



Exacerbating the problem caused by lack of exercise is the constant onslaught of toxins from processed, denatured food and exposure to environmental pollutants. Regular exercise will help to offset these offenders.



Rebounding on a mini trampoline is perhaps the most efficient and forceful means of flushing the lymph while stimulating the immune system and defending against cancer and other ailments. During rebound exercise the forces of the upward and downward bounces – acceleration and deceleration – are vertically aligned on the same plane with gravity. It was proven by Albert Einstein in 1911 that the aligned forces of acceleration, deceleration and gravity result in an increased gravitational load (1). What this means for the body is that during rebound exercise cells adjust to the increased load by becoming stronger. Rebounding strengthens virtually every cell of the body at the same time and is equivalent to resistance training for the cells.



It takes only two minutes of rebounding to flush the entire lymphatic system, while cleansing and strengthening cells and lymph nodes. A further benefit to the body is that during this brief time span the white blood cells of the immune system triple in number and remain elevated for an hour. These specialized cells play a major role in the body's defense against illness and disease. For one full hour their activity is increased as they perform their tasks of destroying and eliminating cancer cells and other toxins, expending themselves in the process. An hour after rebounding for two minutes the white blood cell count returns to normal (1, 2, 3).



At this point another two-minute rebound session would increase the demand for white blood cells as the process of cleansing, strengthening, and the flushing away of spent cells and other cancerous debris is repeated. A therapeutic strategy to rebuild health would be to rebound for two minutes every waking hour, or as many times a day as possible. Two minutes of gentle bouncing throughout the day is more effective for healing than one long session. Repeated short sessions sustain an active immune system, oxygenate and strengthen cells, and continuously cleanse the lymph. Therapeutic rebounding has been shown to reduce cancerous tumors and improve or heal a host of other ailments (3).



Those who are too weak to exercise or have difficulty standing can use a stabilizer bar which is available with most quality rebounders, such as the Needak model. This enables the weak individual to feel secure while bouncing gently. It's important to begin slowly, and gradually increase to two minutes.



Rebounding can be performed by healthy individuals for health maintenance and disease prevention. One or more long sessions of aerobic rebounding will help stimulate the immune system, improve digestion, control weight, tone and strengthen the body, and build endurance – especially when done with hand-held weights.



When beginning a program of regular rebounding it's best to gradually increase time and intensity as the body – including bones and internal organs – adjusts to the increased gravitational load and becomes stronger.



A healthy existence can only be sustained when we recognize the correlation between our toxic planet and our polluted bodies and become conscious stewards of both. One means toward this end is through daily rebounding combined with an alkaline diet to detoxify the body and profoundly contribute to optimum healing.



Future reports will cover the effectiveness and physiology of fasting, enemas and infrared sauna use for therapeutic detoxification.



References:



1. Brooks, Linda: Rebounding and Your Immune System. Urbana, OH: Vitally Yours Press, 29; 33-46, 2003



2. Brooks, Linda: Cancer – A Simple Approach. Urbana, OH: Vitally Yours Press,

33-6, 2002



3. Brooks, Linda: Rebounding to Better Health. Sixth Printing, KE Publishing, 51-2; 39-56; 71-6, 2006

About the author

Mary Laredo is an artist, educator and gallery curator who lives and works in Detroit, MI. As a Breast Cancer survivor who shunned conventional treatment, she is writing a book about her experience with natural therapies and nutritional healing. Visit http://marylaredo.blogspot.com/