What you eat, where you live, what medicines you take – there are plenty of factors that can cause exposure to heavy metals. Unfortunately, while it’s often unavoidable, heavy metal can build up in the body and lead to unhealthy side effects. The good news is that there are ways to detoxify from all of these metals. At Health and Wellness of Carmel, Dr. Clifford Fetters is an expert at heavy metal detoxification (or chelation therapy), helping his patients return to their healthy states in Carmel, Indianapolis, and Noblesville, IN.
Here’s a look at the dangers of too much metal in your body – and how heavy metal detoxification can help.
What kinds of metal build up in the body?
Diet, medications, and environment can all play a role in how much metal builds up in your body. For instance, some foods have high levels of metal, such as brown rice (arsenic), some types of fish (mercury), leafy greens (cadmium), bone broth (lead), and unfiltered tap water (lead).
Some of the most common types of metal that can build up in your body include:
- Iron
- Aluminum
- Mercury
- Copper
- Lead
- Nickel
- Zinc
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Chromium
What are the dangers of too much metal in the body?
When the level of metal in your body becomes too high, it can lead to what’s called heavy metal poisoning or heavy metal intoxication.
There are a wide range of symptoms of heavy metal intoxication, including:
- General changes, such as brain fog, mood changes, depression, insomnia, loss of memory, and fatigue
- Changes in the nervous system, such as tremors, tics, and gait changes
- Changes in circulation, such as cold feet and hands
- Inflammation
- Decreased immune function, leading to more colds, cases of the flu, muscle and joint pain, and headaches
This list is just the start of symptoms from heavy metal intoxication. There are many more changes that might occur in your body due to too much metal in your body.
How can heavy metal detoxification reduce metal buildup in the body?
For patients in Carmel, Indianapolis, and Noblesville, IN, metal toxicity can be treated safely and effectively. At Health and Wellness of Carmel in Carmel, IN, Dr. Clifford Fetters uses chelation therapy to reduce metal buildup to help patients return to their healthy state.
Chelation therapy involves using chelating agents (chemical compounds that attach to metal ions) to remove heavy metals from the body. This type of therapy has long been used in clinical toxicology and poison centers around the world.
The most common forms of heavy metal intoxication involve lead, arsenic, and mercury. For these, there are many chelating agents available. For instance, dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) is the leading treatment for lead poisoning, and it’s recommended by poison centers around the globe.
There are also other chelating agents that can be used in heavy metal detoxification, such as 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS) and alpha lipoic acid (ALA). These are used in both conventional and alternative medicine practices.
Are heavy metal detoxes safe?
You might be wondering if heavy metal detoxes and chelation therapy are safe, and the answer is yes. What’s not safe is allowing too much metal to build up in your body.
When performed by experienced and skilled professionals, like Dr. Fetters and our team at Health and Wellness of Carmel, heavy metal detoxes are considered not only safe – but also effective. In fact, chelation therapy is an FDA-approved method to treat metal poisoning.