Metalhead

Could toxic heavy metals be making you ill? Here's how to spot the signs and symptoms, says Dr Leigh Erin Connealy, and your action plan for effective detox

- Dr Leigh Erin Connealy

Toxic heavy metals are all around us. They’ve been linked to cancer and other serious health problems, so it’s vital you’re aware of where they may lurk and how to rid your body of these noxious elements. Here’s a guide to the worst ones to watch out for and what you can do about them.

Common problematic heavy metals

There are multiple ways to be exposed to heavy metals—from the air you breathe, the foods you eat and the water you drink to the fillings in your teeth and the cosmetics and personal care products you routinely slather on your skin. Some of the most toxic and damaging heavy metals are mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium, chromium and arsenic.

A recent study looking at the toxic mechanisms of some of these metals found that “bioaccumulation of these heavy metals leads to a diversity of toxic effects on a variety of body tissues and organs. Heavy metals disrupt cellular events including growth, proliferation, differentiation, damage-repairing processes, and apoptosis.”

In other words, the buildup of these toxins wreaks havoc throughout the body, changing how your cells function, grow, multiply, repair themselves and die. Any time foreign elements begin disrupting the body’s natural processes, disease has a chance to take root.

Long-term exposure to heavy metals has been linked to several problems, including the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) , oxidative stress, DNA damage, enzyme inactivation, inflammation, and more. As the study above explains, the effects of heavy metals can be acute or chronic and can affect a wide range of different body organs.

Research has long supported the link between heavy metals and cancer. In a landmark study published in the