Heavy metal toxicity can lead to disruptions in your mood, emotions, mental and physical health.

Did you know that having high levels of heavy metal toxicity for a long period of time can affect your personality and outlook on life? Those ‘salt of the earth’ people, people who are highly cynical, and others who possess a very matter-of-fact kind of attitude usually have very high levels of heavy metals in their system.

Cadmium, lead and mercury, are toxic heavy metals. Almost everything in today’s world contains a level of cadmium in it. It’s in healthy foods such as leafy greens, seafood, rice and sweet potatoes. It’s also in the ambient air we breathe in everyday, all our seas, even rain drops. This is due to industrialisation, pollution, sewage, fertiliser and pesticides which all make their way into the air, oceans and soil.

The biggest source of cadmium and heavy metal toxins is from smoke. First hand and second hand cigarette smoke being the leading source.

The average non smoker who lives in a suburban town in Europe probably has a tolerable level of heavy metals in their body, and they get most of it via their (healthy) diet and air.

I don’t know if I can say the same for populations who live in urban dwellings, near industrial sites and particularly, those who smoke regularly.

Smoking cigarettes in particular doubles the amount of cadmium and other heavy metal levels in the body, causing significant hormonal disruptions.

Diabetes, kidney disease, depression, leaky gut and fatigue are all very commonly seen in people with high heavy metal levels. One of the reasons for this is that these heavy metals displace the beneficial ones like iron, zinc, magnesium, copper etc from your cells. The heavy metals hijack the transporter proteins which are intended for the distribution of essential minerals in the body, resulting in a widespread presence of toxic metals instead.

Now, not only are we left with a high toxicity level, but also with a deficiency in essential minerals which are needed for everyday function.

Unfortunately, cadmium is one of the hardest heavy metals to detox from your system, as it has a very long half life. Think years and decades. There are some therapeutic measures you can take with a nutritional therapist to help balance things out if you suspect you have cadmium overload, such as supplementing with beneficial minerals. Although this would need to be assessed on an individual basis, as it can go quite wrong if not done properly.

So what CAN you do about it?

-avoid being around cigarette smoke, car fumes, factory smoke and pollution whenever possible.

-eat organic (way less exposure to pesticides and other harmful heavy metal containing chemicals).

-Soak your grains, rice, nuts and legumes (lentils, beans) in warm mineral water and a splash of salt/lemon/vinegar overnight, and rinse well. This helps significantly remove heavy metals as well as antinutrients (check my previous posts).

-Eat lots of organic, pre-soaked nuts. They are rich in good metals which can chemically replace (albeit, slowly) the bad ones and help reduce your toxicity levels.

-Eat lots of fresh vegetables as the antioxidants, minerals and vitamins can create a better tolerance and resistance to heavy metal toxicity.

-Descale your kettle often and don’t use scratched pots and pans.

-Avoid ingesting tap water whenever possible.

-When choosing seafood, go for wild caught (equivalent to organic) smaller fish from pristine waters such as Alaskan and Norwegian.

-Avoid shitty fast food and low quality restaurants and fast food. I’m sure it’s a no brainer.

-EXERCISE, use a sauna or sit in a hot bath till you sweat and feel your face flush (preferably all 3, and use Epsom salts in the bath). These will help get toxins out of the lymphatic system.