Urine heavy metal analysis is an invaluable tool for the assessment of retention of toxic metals in the body. Toxic metals in the body do not have any useful physiological function, adversely affect nearly every organ system and disrupt the homeostasis of nutrient elements.
Blood levels of toxic minerals are unreliable indicators of the actual body burden. They are trapped within the tissues of the body where they replace nutritional minerals in critical areas and poison cellular function. The body has a difficult time excreting these toxic metals and over time can accumulate to higher and higher levels. Individuals will vary in their ability to eliminate these metals and will also vary in their individual sensitivity to the toxic effects of these metals. Due to this variability of sensitivity and excretion capacity, it is difficult to predict how individuals will be affected when exposed to heavy metals and whether it is a factor in the symptoms and dysfunction of each patient. What we do know is that it is very common to find toxic metals like lead, aluminum, mercury, barium, cadmium and arsenic, among others, when testing.
Most conventional physicians do not accept the concept of chronic metal toxicity as a cause of chronic degenerative disease. While they recognize and accept acute poisoning by toxic metals, they fail to appreciate how many of their patients are severely burdened with a buildup of toxic metals over time and the role they play in their patient’s health problems. Acute poisoning by metals and chronic exposure will present very different symptom pictures.
When acutely poisoned, a person will have the metal present in the blood and urine. However the body will rapidly distribute the toxic metals into safer areas in the tissues and they will no longer be detectable in either blood or urine. When acutely poisoned with toxic metals, an individual is critically ill and needs chelation treatments immediately. When poisoned more slowly over time, an individual can become chronically ill and often has just as much need to remove these metals to improve their health as well.
When evaluating for heavy metal toxicity, patients use a rectal suppository of EDTA and a few capsules of DMSA taken orally. Both EDTA and DMSA are chelators that have a strong affinity for toxic metals and bind them with sufficient strength to adequately remove them from the tissues and induce their elimination mostly through the urine but to a smaller extent through the stool. An overnight urine collection is then sent to the laboratory for evaluation of the various metals. Both chelators have a long history of safe and effective use in the removal of toxic metals. If there is a need for additional chelators to clear out heavy metals we are not without alternatives. These can be in addition to or in place of the above. NDF is an excellent binder of metals and even a good Vitamin C and Glutathione are excellent binders and removers of metals, although generally a bit slower. Lypospheric Vitamin C and Lipospheric Glutathione I would highly recommend. Glutathione is the powerful intracellular antioxidant absolutely critical for good health. For most individuals the problem is that toxic metals are coming in faster than the body is able to get rid of them.