You should be worried about heavy metals because they affect your
vitality and health. Toxicity from heavy metals is linked to
conditions such as autoimmune disease, mood disorders such as
depression, and fatty liver. You should be especially worried,
however, if you are planning to have a child soon, as in Hong Kong
it is quite commonly linked to infertility.
Every day we are exposed to hundreds of toxins in Hong Kong through
the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, cleaning
products, and the building materials that surround us. Mercury, for
example, is extremely toxic. In power stations, mercury is released
into the air when coal is burnt, and rain carries mercury into sea
water. We then breathe in the toxic air and consume contaminated
seafood. In addition, silver-amalgam fillings have also been linked
to mercury toxicity. Studies show that 40% of adults and 60% of
children have mercury levels above the standards recommended by the
World Health Organization (WHO).
Toxins accumulate in our tissues and organs. Our body can only
tolerate a certain level daily as we detoxify and excrete the toxins
in the liver and kidneys. "When we overload ourselves with toxins or
are exposed to increased levels of heavy metals, at a certain point
the protective detoxifying capacity of the liver runs out," explains
Graeme Bradshaw, Co-Founder and Director of IMI. "In addition to a
long list of symptoms, the elevated level of mercury is associated
with infertility because it leaves rapidly dividing cells such as
sperm unprotected."
Research has also shown that heavy metals such as mercury can be
passed from mother to the foetus during pregnancy, which could lead
to many child development issues. A video produced by the
Environmental Working Group (EWG) called "10 Americans" explains how
babies are born polluted with as many as 300 industrial chemicals
and describes the possible health effects.
Test Yourself for Toxic Metals
To assess the levels of heavy metal in your system, the simplest
method is Hair Mineral Analysis, but it can miss the toxicity in
many cases. for this reason Graeme Bradshaw has switched to a urine
test, called "Urinary Porphryns" Certain porphryns only appear in
the urine if cellular damage is occurring, preventing proper red
blood cell production. It is the only test showing us if mercury and
other heavy metals are indeed at toxic doses within the patient.
If high heavy metal levels are indeed detected, you should identify
and then eliminate the sources of contamination. You may also
consider undergoing a clinically-based, therapeutic detoxification
program to lower the level of toxicity in your body. IMI offers safe
and effective detox programs, should you be interested.
Heavy Metal Detoxification With Chelation Therapy
Chelation therapy is a proven treatment for more burdened patients
whose tests show high heavy metal concentrations. Derived from the
Greek word chele, which means "claw," chelation is the process by
which heavy metals and other toxins are removed from the body by
using a binding agent to grab and carry away these elements.
Different chelating agents are used depending on the metal needing
removal.
Heavy Metal Detoxification
Chelation is a process that happens in nature. Chlorophyll is a
chelate of magnesium, and hemoglobin is a chelate of iron. The human
body naturally cleanses itself of small quantities of heavy metals
by manufacturing its own chelating agents such as cystein,
glutathione, histidine, and metallothioneins. Using proteins and
sugars as building blocks, our bodies produce what is needed to
naturally chelate heavy metals from the body.
Chelation therapy using EDTA, a chelation agent, has been approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for
lead poisoning for over forty years, while DMPS is usually used for
mercury poisoning.
"Chelation therapy, when administrated by a qualified healthcare
practitioner, is considered to be generally safe for most people,"
said IMI practitioner Alen Liaw, M.D. Dr Liaw gained board
certification in Intravenous Chelation Therapy from the American
College for Advancement of Medicine (ACAM) and has been helping
patients with heavy metal detoxification. "Toxicity levels are
recorded by urine assessments during the treatments. People usually
begin to feel better after three to four treatments."
Because EDTA can reduce the amount of calcium in the bloodstream,
chelation therapy could have a possible effect on blood vessel
rejuvenation. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) is
sponsoring a study through The National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine to determine the efficacy of EDTA chelation therapy for
patients with coronary artery disease. The results of this study are
currently being analyzed.
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