Toxic heavy metals are, unfortunately, present in our air, water, soil, and food supply as a byproduct of our industrialized society. In fact, contamination is so pervasive in our environment that it is no longer a question of whether one has been exposed to toxins, but rather the level of exposure. People who have acute toxicity from heavy metals – such as aluminum, lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium – may exhibit obvious and classical symptoms of poisoning. But toxicity from chronic low-level exposure is much more insidious in its presentation. Chronic low-level exposure can lead to a wide array of problems, ranging from neuropsychiatric disturbances such as aggressive behavior, memory loss, depression, irritability, and learning deficits, to physical manifestations such as liver and kidney dysfunction, fatigue, infertility, gout, hypertension, headache, and candida (yeast) infections.
Even though efforts are under way to curb the output of toxins and heavy metals into the environment, the problem is far from being resolved. Today, even in the United States, thousands of tons of toxic industrial wastes, including heavy metals, are dumped into the environment every year. We are left with a legacy of years of industrial pollution and toxic substance use that haunts us to this day. Perhaps the two most widespread and significant heavy metal toxins are mercury and lead.
Thousands of chemicals get a free pass in our industrial machine, being GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), but which have never been studied. Other chemicals and metals, e.g. mercury and cadmium, that are known to be highly toxic, are deemed acceptable at sub-lethal part-per-million concentrations that result from current levels of pollution. The trouble is, they accumulate to reach dangerous levels in fat, brain and bones. Medicine generally opts for blood tests which do not reflect their hidden presence. Hair analyses are much more telling and even reveal mineral deficiencies associated with heavy metal loads. Medicine tends to dismiss these dangerous molecules as causative, preferring to address downstream symptoms far removed from their oxidative source. The best example of this switcheroo is the war on tobacco, where it’s not the tar and nicotine, it’s the cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, mercury, pesticide residues and radionucleides. Almost every disease has been blamed on the mysterious workings of cigarettes. And what links all these diverse “diseases?” Could it be the positive charge metals and lack of electrons? Too simple for complicated minds?
Geoengineering
For more than a decade, first the United States and then Canada’s citizens have been subjected to a 24/7/365 day aerosol assault over our heads made of a toxic brew of poisonous heavy metals, chemicals, and other dangerous ingredients. None of this was reported by any mainstream media. The US Department of Defense [DOD] and military have been systematically blanketing all our skies with what are known as Chemtrails (also known as Stratospheric Aerosol Geoengineering).(2) These differ vastly from the usual plane contrails that evaporate rather quickly in the sky. Chemtrails do not dissipate. Rather, planes (fitted with special nozzles) release aerosols “lines” in the sky that do not evaporate. Multiple planes are deployed, flying parallel (or often “checkerboard” patterns) overhead; and soon the sky is blanketed with many grayish-white lines [miles and miles long, although this is changing]. At first, these lines are thin; but soon they expand and, in a short time, merge together. Our once-blue sky has vanished and has been replaced by a grayish-white toxic haze that blots out and greatly diminishes our usual sunshine.
Military and commercial planes are involved in more than 60 secret operations. Last year, when I flew across the country, I saw a United Airlines jet (flying below us at about 37,000 feet) spraying a black aerosol that went for miles and miles across the sky. This clandestine program now includes aerosol-spraying planes in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand [all NATO countries]. Hundreds (if not thousands) of people have called and written their public officials to get answers. Replies from US and Canadian officials are not forthcoming; or, if they do reply, queries are dismissed. This remains an ongoing, deliberate cover-up. No one is held accountable, while we continued to be poisoned daily. This is not the first time, however, that citizens are being used as experimental laboratory test subjects. The US government and its military have a very long and sordid history of using us, without informed consent, in this illegal manner. As Carole Pellatt notes:
The U.S. military has been spraying chemical and biological weapons in open air testing over civilian populations since the 1940’s. They are called “vulnerability tests”. This is not a controversial statement. The military has admitted to this practice on many occasions and there’s plenty of documentation from the government to corroborate it. There is also documentation of intentional, experimental releases of radiation on civilian populations. Unfortunately, this information tends to surface long after it could have saved lives, or eased the suffering of victims.(3)
Over the past decade, independent testing of Chemtrails around the country has shown a dangerous, extremely poisonous brew that includes: barium, nano aluminum-coated fiberglass [known as CHAFF], radioactive thorium, cadmium, chromium, nickel, desiccated blood, mold spores, yellow fungal mycotoxins, ethylene dibromide, and polymer fibers. Barium can be compared to the toxicity of arsenic.(4) Barium is known to adversely affect the heart. Aluminum has a history of damaging brain function. Independent researchers and labs continue to show off-the-scale levels of these poisons. A few “anonymous” officials have acknowledged this on-going aerosol spraying.(5)
Numerous tests have been done to verify that these poisons are off the scale in their toxicity. They are documented in our water, in our soil, and in our air. For more than 10 years, researcher Clifford Carnicom has been valiantly and systematically reporting on the various detrimental aspects of these aerosols –and what they are doing to our entire environment, as well as our blood.(6) Various “sky watch” groups also have been carefully documenting and diligently reporting about these daily assaults.(7)
With all these poisons surrounding our every breath, it is not surprising to see a dramatic increase in illnesses. There are numerous reports of the increase in cardiac deaths and upper respiratory illnesses (asthma, chronic bronchitis, lung cancer, and often multiple chronic illnesses). Chemtrails toxicity has already dramatically affected our deteriorating “collective health.” The significant increase in heart disease and various upper respiratory illnesses has been linked to a vast increase in “particulate matter” in our air.
Vaccines
Many people, including many physicians, believe and will tell you “There is no mercury in vaccines anymore. They took that out years ago!” This is not true. For a list of vaccines that still contain mercury above EPA safety levels click here. Seven vaccines are reported to still contain thimerosal, which is 49.5% mercury.
The statement that there is no thimerosal in vaccines anymore is usually made by those attempting to make the claim that there is no link between autism and vaccines. These folks will frequently say things like, “They removed mercury from the shots and the autism rate has continued to go up! That proves vaccines don’t cause autism!”
Ummm….. No. and No.
At almost the exact same time they took a large percentage of mercury out of what was then the childhood schedule, the CDC and ACIP made a new recommendation. The vaccine-pushers recommended every pregnant woman receive a flu shot during the second trimester. In addition, the recommendation was made that every child receive annual flu vaccines, beginning at six months of age.
Flu vaccines often contain high levels of thimerosal, which is 50% mercury. Those pregnant mothers and infants who are most likely to get the flu vaccines with mercury are those who are the least likely to have adequate health care. Physicians in private practices are more likely to use single-dose vials. It’s the multi-dose vials that contain the highest level of Thimerosal: 50 mcg. for the adult dose and 25 mcg. for the pediatric dose. That means when a pregnant woman gets a flu shot from her local health department, Walmart, CVS, University Health Center, etc… her tiny fetus is being injected with levels of toxic mercury that are hundreds of times above the “safe limit” (as defined by the EPA).
If the fetus survives and if he/she is vaccinated again at six months, 18 months and every year after that, and if those vaccines are administered from multi-dose vials, he or she is getting a whopping dose of mercury every year.
Myth dispelled. There is still mercury in the vaccines given to infants and children. They just changed the schedule and adjusted the dose so that now, infants are getting their doses of mercury at a much earlier stage of neurological development, and when their body weight is significantly lower, which makes the dose per pound much higher.
A lot of discussion has been had about the link between autism and mercury. I sometimes wonder if the reason mercury continues to remain in the forefront of the argument is because those who want us to believe vaccines are safe want it that way. If we make it all about mercury, then nobody questions the other ingredients in vaccines. This is why, I believe, many people are just now beginning to consider whether or not all the aluminum in vaccines may be a problem.
Another claimed adjuvant, aluminum, is added to many vaccines ostinsibly to boost your immune response to the antigen. The antigen is what your body responds to and makes antibodies against (the lab altered bacteria or virus being injected). By boosting your body’s immune response, the vaccine manufacturer can use a smaller amount of antigen, which makes production less expensive.
Interestingly enough, according to Dr. David Ayoub, a radiologist and physician who has become a specialist on the additives and preservatives used in vaccines, says even our modern medical literature admits that exactly how this happens is still a mystery. And it’s not a consistent finding either. In an interview he mentioned a couple of studies on the more recent HPV vaccine, which found that the aluminum adjuvant had no effect at all on immune response. So it could be that adding aluminum to vaccines is not having the intended effect at all … but rather is causing unforeseen, and potentially devastating, consequences.
Aluminum in vaccines damages not only the neurological system, it also damages the immune system and is a major contributor to the huge increase in autoimmune disease in children. Have you heard of mitochondrial disorder in association with severe vaccine-injury, including autism? As this article, published in the peer-reviewed medical literature indicates, aluminum toxicity targets the mitochondria.
Heavy Metal Toxicity
Heavy metal toxicity refers to an excessive build-up of toxic metals in the body that can contribute to numerous chronic degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. However, accumulation of toxic metals can also cause vague symptoms such as: chronic pain, chronic fatigue, brain fog, mood disturbance (mood swings, depression, and/or anxiety), headaches, dizziness, digestive disturbance, chronic infections, and neurological symptoms such as numbness, tingling, burning or paralysis. Such symptoms are often unexplained or misdiagnosed as other conditions.
The term “heavy metal” is used because the majority of these metals, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, are 5 times heavier than water. However there are other metals, such as aluminum, that are also toxic but aren’t classified as “heavy”.
In the modern world, our environment, food, and water regularly expose us to these toxic metals which, over time, accumulate in our bodies and negatively impact normal cellular function. The disruptive effects of these metals are numerous including:
- Coronary heart disease is now the leading cause of death in the US. According to the CDC, in 2006, 631,636 died of heart disease. This means 1 out of every 5 Americans are affected.(8) In Canada, every seven minutes someone dies of heart disease.(9)
- Asthma and upper respiratory illnesses. Between 100-150 million people suffer from asthma worldwide. In the US, 16.4 million adults have asthma and 7 million children have it. Chronic bronchitis and emphysema: 9.8 million Americans were diagnosed with chronic bronchitis this past year; for emphysema the figure is 3.8 million.(10) Total: 37 million Americans afflicted. In Canada, 2.4 million have been diagnosed with asthma.
- Particulate matter in air pollution. Particulate matter [PM] consists of tiny particles 10 microns or less. [1 micron is about 1/70 the thickness of a single human hair.] These particles can lodge in the deepest part of your lungs; and over a period of time, they can damage lung function. This kind of pollution, that we breathe daily, can and does cause various upper respiratory illnesses, coronary heart disease, and premature aging and death. Particulate matter can also exacerbate any existing illness.(11) Unanswered questions: Does hazardous particulate matter act in synergistic ways in human bodies (as do endocrine disrupting chemicals)? How does PM affect millions who already have multiple chronic illnesses?
- Brain Injury. Even with the increases in preventable illnesses, the issue that has not been linked or addressed –with what Clifford Carnicom rightly calls “aerosol crimes”– is the deterioration of cognitive function. Our immune system is already under siege daily; and this has resulted in millions (possibly billions) of people with not just one illness, but often multiple ones. The skin, the largest organ in our body, is a permeable membrane. This means that invisible toxins in our air, including Chemtrails and other highly dangerous chemicals, go right into our skin. Poisoned rainwater (or snow touching our skin) does the same thing. When the air we breathe is filled with a dangerous assortment of toxins, with each breath we take, these poisons assault our entire immune system. These poisons also affect our brain and, thus, our cognitive function.
- Inflammation: toxic metals place tremendous stress on our anti-oxidant systems and contributes to the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease
- Nerve Damage: research out of the University of Calgary has shown a causative relationship between mercury exposure and nerve degeneration (for a video explanation please seehttp://www.iaomt.org/patients/video.asp?page=0&vid=1)
- Kidney Damage: the kidneys help to detoxify heavy metals from our body and are particularly susceptible to toxic metal-induced damage
- Immune Dysfunction: not only do toxic metals reduce our body’s ability to fight infections and destroy cancer cells, but they can also contribute to autoimmune processes by making self-proteins targets for the immune system
- Mineral Disruption: heavy metals can bind onto essential minerals and prevent their proper function in the body. For example, 95% of lead in the body is stored in the bone, which displaces calcium and other minerals and can contribute to the development of osteoporosis.
- Endocrine Disruption: including hormonal imbalance, infertility, and hypothyroidism
When numerous metals are present in the body they exhibit synergistic toxicity meaning that the combined toxicity is much greater than the effect of each metal on its own. For example, a research article published in 1978 by Shubert, Riley, and Tyler in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health demonstrated that a dose of mercury sufficient to kill 1% of tested rats, when combined with a dose of lead sufficient to kill less than 1% of the rats, resulted in killing 100% of the rats tested.
Although many of these metals are found in the air, water, and soil, either naturally or as a result of industrial contamination, there are also specific sources that contribute to the majority of human exposure.
Twenty-two military veterans commit suicide every day due to PTSD and millions of men, women and children are taking psychoactive drugs. At the bottom of many neurological/psychiatric disorders is brain inflammation caused by metals, radiations and other toxins coupled with inappropriate nutrition, not drug deficiencies. These toxins are everywhere in air, water and food and place positive charges where they shouldn’t be. They catalyze the production of vicious hydroxyl radicals which gnaw at cell membranes and short-out the body’s electrical system without ever being consumed. They reduce circulation and oxygen penetration which causes cell acidity and loss of function. They must be dispelled from the body before cells can begin to heal. Military PTSD and “football dementia” also contain the element of repetitive brain-rattling concussion where highly underutilized HBOT is being proven effective.
“Poisons” have different modes of attack. Plastics mimic human estrogen. Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) bonds to manganese, zinc, cobalt and sulfates, creating deficiencies and disruptions of flora and normal biochemistry. Factory food processing has been found to create high levels of free glutamates and one more avenue to autism. Others, such as ionized fluoride, destroy enzymes or block receptor sites or precipitate calcifications or carry metals into the brain and generally trigger acute inflammations. Pharmaceutical wastes, fracking gases, by-products of mining and chemical production and anything burned, buried or flushed finds its way into living cells. When you say “detox,” people think either Betty Ford or high colonic, not the mobilization and chelation of metal burdens and freedom from a stealthy cause of many dire diseases. Learning to avoid them requires being aware of the unnatural chemistry in one’s everyday environment. But face it, we live on a drugged-up grain feedlot in an industrial sewer.
Lead
It is estimated that about 64 million homes in the United States still contain lead paint and that 5 to 15 million of these have been identified as “very hazardous” by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Other sources include: candle wicks, cosmetics including lipstick, car batteries, ceramic glazes, fishing weights, pre-1970 water pipes. According to the EPA, an estimated 1.7 million children are currently affected by lead toxicity in United States, and almost 900,000 of all children affected are under the age of six. This statistic is very important because the symptoms of lead poisoning in children are strikingly similar to several psychiatric “diseases” that are on the rise in the U.S. Children with high lead levels can exhibit lower IQ scores, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, aggressive or disruptive behavior, and difficulty maintaining attention. A child exhibiting this type of behavior today would likely be sent to a doctor’s office, diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, and promptly started on Ritalin or other psychoactive drugs.
Children with high lead levels are much more likely to drop out of school, have reading disabilities, and exhibit criminal behavior. Herbert Needleman, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, conducted a study of nearly 2,000 children in Boston. He found that girls with elevated levels of lead were more likely to be dependent, to be poor at concentration, and to “display an inflexible and inappropriate approach to tasks,” while boys were more likely to have difficulty with simple directions and sequences of directions. Dr. Needleman concluded: “…Our findings would appear to add to the weight of evidence that even a lower level of exposure to lead, or its correlates, place children at increased risk of difficulties in school.”
It is important to note that childhood exposure to lead can result in adverse effects well into adulthood. A study by Stokes, et al, showed that a group of 281 young adults who had been exposed to lead as children showed significant adverse neurobehavioral effects 20 years after environmental exposure. While lead has been eliminated from the nation’s gasoline supply, the major source of contamination is lead-based paint, which was composed of up to 50% lead. Flakes and microscopic dust from the paint continue to contaminant homes for many years, and can be released in larger amounts during renovations. Additional sources of lead include water pipes, pesticides, factory emissions, cosmetics, and some folk remedies.
In addition to being a cellular toxin, lead competes with calcium in the body, which can cause various malfunctions in calcium metabolism including a decrease in neurotransmitter (chemicals that relay messages along nerve cells) release and blockade of calcium channels. The central nervous system appears to be affected to the greatest degree by lead toxicity, and this can explain the many neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with exposure to this heavy metal.
Why are some people more susceptible to heavy metal toxicity than others? One must always remember that each individual has a unique physiology, and may have an inherently strong or weak detoxification system to handle heavy metal exposure. In addition, poor nutrition, such as iron or calcium deficiency, has been shown to exacerbate the symptoms of lead exposure.
Lead can be absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and also inhaled as small particles. Chronic exposure to lead can result in significant accumulation in the brain, soft tissue, and bones. Lead that has accumulated in the skeleton can remain there for many years, releasing lead slowly back into the bloodstream over an extended period of time.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms of chronic lead exposure include:
- Headaches
- Poor memory
- Inability to concentrate
- Attention deficit
- Aberrant behavior
- Irritability
- Temper Tantrums
- Fearfulness
- Insomnia
- Lowered IQ
- Difficulty with the reading, writing, language, visual and motor skills
Mercury
Mercury is considered by many to be even more toxic than lead. Although mercury is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, mercury vapor is easily taken in through the lungs and readily passes into the brain. Once in the body, mercury also concentrates in the nerves, liver, and especially the kidneys. Mercury is a potent cellular toxin and is known to decrease neurotransmitter production, disrupt important processes within the nerve cells, and decrease important hormones such as thyroid and testosterone.
“Silver” amalgam fillings are the major source of inorganic (does not contain carbon) mercury exposure in humans, while seafood and fish constitute our largest exposure to organic mercury compounds. Over 95% of the mercury in fish (methymercury) is absorbed into the body. Amalgam fillings actually contain approximately 50% metallic mercury, and they continuously release mercury vapor during chewing, brushing, or when drinking hot beverages. Studies have shown that exhaled air of subjects with amalgam filling contains a significantly higher level of mercury than subjects without amalgams, and there appears to be a direct correlation to the number of amalgam fillings and the level of mercury found in both blood and urine.
Although the presence of higher levels of mercury in people with amalgam fillings is not in dispute, there continues to be an intense debate regarding the health effects of this finding. While groups such as the FDA and the American Dental Association steadfastly maintain that amalgam fillings are safe, a growing number of physicians and researchers are convinced that mercury from amalgam fillings poses a significant health hazard.
In addition to amalgam fillings, common sources of mercury include vaccines with thimersol (a mercury containing preservative), pesticides, laxatives, batteries, paper and pulp products manufacturing, drinking water, and paint products.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with mercury toxicity include:
- Insomnia
- Nervousness
- Hallucinations
- Memory loss
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Drowsiness
- Emotional instability
- Depression
- Poor cognitive function
Arsenic, Cadmium, and Aluminum
Arsenic is a by-product of smelting, mining and coal burning. Conventionally raised poultry, pesticides, beer, table salt, tap water, paints, pigments, cosmetics, glass and mirror manufacture, fungicides, insecticides, treated wood, contaminated food, and rodent poison.
Cadmium is commonly found in industrial workplaces, especially where ore is processed or smelted. It’s also found in chemtrail aerosols sprayed in the air, cigarette smoke, artist and automotive paint pigments, batteries (nickel-cadmium), seafood, processed and refined foods, tap water, auto exhaust, plated containers, galvanized pipes, air pollution from incineration and occupational exposure.
Aluminum sources include: antacids, anti-perspirants, chemtrails, vaccines, baking powder, aluminum cookware and cans, cosmetics, as well as many industrial/manufacturing uses.
Others
Beryllium sources include air pollution (burning fossil fuels), manufacture of plastics, electronics, steel alloys and volcanic ash.
Nickel sources include dental crowns and fixtures, hydrogenated oils (margarine, commercial peanut butter and shortening), shellfish, air pollution, cigarette smoke, plating and occupational exposure.
Copper sources include copper water pipes, copper added to tap water, pesticides, swimming in pools, intra-uterine devices, vegetarian diets, dental amalgams, nutritional supplements – especially prenatal vitamins, birth control pills, weak adrenal glands and occupational exposure.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of heavy metal toxicity must take into account the exposure history, clinical signs and symptoms, and laboratory tests. While the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has steadily dropped the “allowable level” of lead in the blood over the last fifteen years, there remains a problem with using blood levels in the first place. Blood levels may not accurately reflect the total body burden of toxic metals. High blood levels are usually only found in acute toxic metal exposure, or in people exposed to high levels of toxins over a long period of time. In chronic low level exposure, however, the blood levels may actually be low due to redistribution of the toxins throughout the body, while bone and other tissue levels remain high.
Hair analysis is another method of determining toxin exposure that is popular with many clinicians. Hair can be a good indicator of exposure because it grows slowly and incorporates toxic metals into its structure over a long period of time, and therefore may be a better measure of actual tissue levels. There are arguments over the accuracy of hair analysis due to the possibility of contamination from hair dyes, shampoo, and other factors. Nevertheless, hair analysis can be a valuable screening tool if the proper questions are asked and the proper steps are taken prior to its use.
A more accurate method for evaluating toxic metal burden is to do a urine challenge test with a “chelating” agent. Chelating agents bind to heavy metals throughout the body, and then are excreted in the urine, taking the heavy metals with them. In the urine challenge test, a chelating agent is administered and then urine is collected and analyzed to determine the amount and type of toxic metals that are excreted.
Treatment
The good news is that effective treatments are available for heavy metal toxicity. DMSA is an FDA-approved chelating agent that is particularly useful in cases of mercury exposure (it is also approved for lead toxicity in children), while EDTA is particularly useful for lead toxicity. It should be noted that both of these agents remove other toxic metals in addition to lead and mercury. There are many different protocols used for heavy metal detoxification, as well as other chelating agents, but that is beyond the scope of this article. For more information on detoxification protocols and testing, contact an alternative medicine physician familiar with these procedures.
Summary
Toxic heavy metals are found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the houses we live in. Toxic metal exposure can result in a wide array of common mental health disorders that can mimic many psychiatric “diseases” and thus lead to psychoactive prescription drug use or other unnecessary treatments. Unfortunately, the majority of clinicians dealing with patients who have mental health issues are unlikely to suspect heavy metal toxicity as a cause of their patient’s problems due to a general lack of knowledge of this subject in the medical community. Unique biochemical, genetic, and nutritional factors can make certain people more susceptible to the effects of toxic heavy metals, thus each case must be handled on an individual basis. Fortunately, the number of practitioners trained in “functional” or “orthomolecular” medicine is on the rise, and these practitioners are very familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of problems associated with heavy metal toxicity.
Source:
- https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/toxic-metals-and-mental-health/
- https://advancednaturopathic.com/news-events/health-articles/heavy-metal-toxicity-an-overview/
- https://www.geoengineeringwatch.org/chemtrails-the-consequences-of-toxic-metals-and-chemical-aerosols-on-human-health/
- https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/21/could-this-be-the-most-dangerous-aspect-of-vaccines.aspx
- http://vaxtruth.org/2012/01/aluminum-toxicity-and-a-primer-on-the-vic/