Our environment is filled with heavy metals, and we keep pumping more of them into it every day.  We put mercury into the air by burning coal for electricity.  The mercury is either breathed in, precipitated into our drinking water, or even introduced into the food supply through fish or even land animals that drink contaminated water.  We have put literally tons of lead into the air by burning gasoline and oil as a fuel for automobiles and machinery.  This lead enters other environmental systems similarly to mercury.  Arsenic is used as a pesticide, as a preservative for food and animal feed, as well as for pressure treating wood.  Arsenic is also released into the air during the smelting of several metals.  The most common source of arsenic is from eating foods and drinking water.  Arsenic is in shellfish, fruits and vegetables, and in the meats that we eat.  These are only 3 of the possible heavy metals that can build up to toxic levels in the body, leading to heavy metal poisoning.  Heavy metal poisoning is an extremely serious condition with a variety of signs and symptoms and must be treated immediately.

Heavy metals are defined as chemical elements that have a specific gravity (or density) that is at least 5 times the density of water.  There are a myriad of elements that meet this description.  The significance of these elements are that they are metals and thus do not break down.  Instead, they accumulate over time in the environment and in the bodies of people or animals that ingest or absorb them.  Heavy metal poisoning is defined as the toxic accumulation of heavy metals in the soft tissues of the body.  Often times these heavy metals accumulate in the organs of the body, disrupting the body’s ability to absorb essential vitamins and minerals, displacing vitamins and minerals already in the body, or in the case of the brain, blocking the ability of neurons to execute essential brain functions.

There are a wide range of symptoms of heavy metal poisoning, and they can vary based upon the particular heavy metal or metals that a person has been exposed to, as well as the organs or tissues of the body that have been effected.  It is important for anyone who has believes that they have been exposed to heavy metals in a higher than normal rate to get themselves tested immediately.  For many cases of heavy metal poisoning chelation therapy, the process of removing heavy metals from the body, can halt any further damage to the body.  Unfortunately, chelation therapy cannot reverse the damage already done to the body so it is important to have yourself tested as soon as possible.  For certain elements such as Thallium, if treatment is not started within 72 hours of exposure damage to the nervous system is likely to be permanent.  Even if there has not been a specific exposure incident, it is important for anyone who is noticing that something may not be quite right with their body to get checked out.  For that matter, with the amount of exposure that we all get every day from the environment around us, it wouldn’t hurt to get tested even if you feel fine.  Better to catch heavy metal poisoning early rather than wait for the symptoms and risk permanent damage.

Heavy Metal Testing and removing of poisons are available at the AIM Center in New Jersey. Call Robert at 201.618.3534 to discuss your needs and answer any questions.

Robert Galarowicz ND – Naturopath
201-618-3534

AIM Center is located in Bergen County, NJ. Bergen, Passaic, Rockland, Orange, Morris, Essex, Hudson and Rockland Counties
of New Jersey (NJ) and New York (NY).