Heavy metals are substances present in the environment or in the food we eat. The way our body assimilates them can cause symptoms and diseases.

Heavy metals are substances that are found in many environments that humans access or come into contact with.. They are in the air we breathe, whether from car fumes, pollution, incineration of industrial waste. They are in the water we drink, as it is often polluted by industrial discharges. And they are also found in in many products we use, household products, paints, fabrics, lacquers, cosmetics, pesticides, amalgam fillings and medicines.

It is estimated that heavy metals may underlie the 82% of chronic degenerative diseases. In other words, memory loss, depression, anxiety, cancer or erectile dysfunction can be caused by the accumulation of heavy metals in the body. In many cases, without specific treatment, the body will never eliminate them on its own.

Some of the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning are alcohol intolerance, allergies, anxiety and irritability, difficulty losing weight, unexplained chronic pain, cold hands and feet, depression, digestive problems, extreme fatigue, headaches, insomnia, memory loss, low body temperature, muscle and joint pain, sensitive teeth, skin problems or vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

A blood test cannot accurately determine the level of heavy metal toxicity unless they are being ingested at the time. Many metals pass quickly from the blood into the tissues, where they can lodge and cause serious long-term health problems.

So far, different health consequences of heavy metals have been investigated. Heart disease from iron lodged in heart tissue; aluminium in brain tissue is linked to Alzheimer's disease or dementia; mercury lodged in the brain may be a factor in causing autism spectrum disorders; and lead in bones may interfere with the production of red blood cells or white blood cells.

Allergic processes are also related to chronic heavy metal poisoning.

How to detect heavy metals in the body?

In general, the amount of mineral elements we can extract from the scalp is proportional to the concentration of the same mineral elements in other tissues of the body.

For this reason, at Biosalud, we have protocolised a specific analysiswhich falls within the procedural structure of the other analyses we use in our clinic. It consists of a hair analysis for the determination of the level of heavy metal toxicity and quantification of the body's mineral reserves.

See the process we follow to carry out the analyses at Biosalud, which you can also do at home.

The heavy metal analysis o HEAVYMETALSCHECK® is the most suitable system for detecting and quantifying heavy metal toxicity and preventing the onset of chronic degenerative diseases.

Once toxicity has been detected and treatment has been instituted, the elimination of the excess heavy metal must be checked by urine analysis to verify the efficacy of the treatment.

In addition to having a high load of heavy metals in the body, we must take into account the sensitivity of each person to these elements. The consequences of this sensitivity can be an alteration in people's immune response. With the Heavy Metal Sensitivity Test we can determine if there is any level of allergy to these elements.

How to remove heavy metals from the body

There are different methods or instruments that can help us to get rid of these harmful substances that are heavy metals.

Intravenous chelation therapy

This therapy consists of the intravenous drip application of a chelating agent, EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid). This acid is a free radical scavenger. This technique results in the urinary elimination of heavy metals and restores the enzymatic activity of arterial walls that have been affected by these metals.

Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid is used for the detoxification of lead, cadmium and mercury.

The word Chelation comes from the Greek word chele which means something like claw. This acid has a claw that binds to heavy metals and other toxins.

EDTA therapy is approved by the US FDA, and by the Spanish pharmacopoeia, as a therapy for poisoning or intoxication by lead and heavy metals. It is also indicated for excess calcium or hypercalcaemia and the control of ventricular arrhythmias associated with this excess.

This technique is also used in the United States for cleaning arteries when there are calcium and fat deposits in the arteries. It is called the bypass chemicalThe effect is precisely to cleanse the coronary arteries and other arteries in patients who have suffered a heart attack.

It is a widely accepted medical technique or treatment for lead poisoning. Injected intravenously and once in the bloodstream, EDTA traps lead and other metals, forming a compound that the body can rid itself of through urine. The serum should be given for one and a half to three hours, depending on the concentration of EDTA, which ranges from 1.5 to 3 mg, always with renal control every 4 sessions, to ensure that there is no renal overload due to the passage of the heavy metals to be eliminated in the urine.

Other heavy metal poisonings treated with chelation include mercury, arsenic, aluminium, chromium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, selenium, zinc, tin and thallium. Chelating agents other than EDTA are also used to clear several of these substances from the bloodstream, such as DMSA and DMSO.

Heavy metal toxicity in humans has been associated with different pathologies, including heart disease, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Alzheimer's disease, immune system disorders, gastrointestinal disorders (including irritable bowel syndrome or IBS), allergies, and autism.

EDTA is a synthetic chemical and does not occur naturally. Because of concerns that EDTA may also trap some important vitamins and minerals, EDTA chelation therapy is combined with other therapies or dietary supplementation based on essential nutrients (such as calcium, B vitamins, vitamin C and magnesium).

The most common side effect of intravenous EDTA chelation is a burning sensation at the injection site.

David Rowland's oral chelation

This type of chelation consists of providing the body with nutrients that carry out the natural task of detoxifying heavy metals. Chelation is produced by biochemical elements that exist in nature.

This is why this technique provides the body with the trace elements that nature has made available to us, especially antioxidants.

This system has been used for years in the USA and Canada, but is still little known in Spain. At Biosalud Day Hospital we use it as a complement to intravenous chelation or when it comes to children or patients who cannot come to our clinic with the necessary assiduity that chelation therapy requires.

The Rowland Method removes excess free radicals, reduces calcium in the body, reduces other heavy metals such as lead and mercury and restores enzyme activity in the arteries.

At Biosalud Day Hospital we frequently use natural oral chelators such as Zeolite and Chlorella.

Whether we apply chemical or natural chelators, doses are specific to each case and are revised according to the patient's response.