Simple Steps to Heavy Metal Chelation, Preventing Damage from Heavy Metals

It’s not likely that you are the victim of arsenic poisoning. But the average modern lifestyle could put you in contact with heavy metals through your food, the air you breathe, and the water you drink—not to mention the products you use in your home. These heavy metals can do significant damage to your body over time. Luckily there are completely natural ways to expel these metals from your body and therefore prevent the damage they are capable of causing.

Heavy metal chelation is often marketed as some major undertaking that requires bottles of various supplements and several days of free time to dedicate to the process. And while significant heavy metal contamination may warrant such an approach, your body can handle heavy metal removal with just some simple additions to your diet and lifestyle.

Drink Water

Firstly, stay hydrated. No toxins will be removed if you don’t provide the vehicle for them to exit on. In other words, water is the ultimate purifier and should be your first line against toxins of all kinds. Make sure your water is purified and free of fluoride and chlorine whenever possible. And don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water; drink it when you first wake, with meals, throughout the day, and before bed. Drink water when you exercise and when you relax. Basically, drink it all the time.

Include these Specific Foods in Your Diet

Next, include foods that are naturally good at heavy metal chelation. I profiled six of them here in 6 Foods for Natural Heavy Metal Chelation. Foods like garlic, onion, and cilantro naturally bind with heavy metals to remove them from the body. Amino acids found in eggs and fish are particularly good to balance enzymes in the liver, crucial to detoxification. Charcoal is another good source of chelating benefits.

Omit these Specific Foods

Change what you eat. High fructose corn syrup often has high levels of mercury. If you are still eating processed foods that contain HFCS, it’s high time you stopped. Consumer reports also points to fitness protein shakes as a common source of heavy metals. But even things like non-organic produce, wines, and canned foods can be contaminated with heavy metals.

As with any unhealthy foods or toxins, you must pay attention to both what you take in and what you expel. From eating the right foods to practicing hydration and other methods to eliminate toxins, there are several naturally simple ways to reduce your exposure to heavy metals.