10 Heavy Metal Detox Strategies

Hi, I'm Jordan Rubin. Dr. Axe is out for the day, so you're stuck with me, but we're going to talk about a great topic today that I believe affects millions and millions of Americans, heavy metal toxicity. Now, how do you know if you have heavy metal toxicity? Well, let's begin to talk about some of the symptoms that mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic can cause.

But before we do, I think I should discuss some of the ways we're exposed to heavy metals. Now, there's a belief that heavy metal toxicity can be passed down in through giving birth. In utero, you can actually have a greater concentration of heavy metals due to the heavy metals that are stored in the mom. Now, think about this.

Heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic, they're heavier. That's why they're called heavy metals and they often store in your adipose or fat tissue. They're also similar to fat-soluble toxins which are the most difficult to get rid of. And that's one of the reasons why we have body fat to store those toxins away from harming our organs.

That's why fat can be actually pretty healthy. Important. So we can contract heavy metals through birth, really just coming into this planet. Then you start being exposed to an environment, so the heavy metals that are part of everything from toys to paint to other common household items. Now, dental work is a big one.

A lot of us have been very vocal against the use of metals or mercury in amalgam dental fillings and other dental work. And we know that vaccines, particularly in the past, have used thimerosal, which is a mercury compound, as a preservative. And that's not to mention several processed foods and even natural foods.

Bottom line though, folks, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, they're all in the food supply, they're in soil. Which means they're in plants. So it's not all bad, but most everyone has some level, in my opinion, of toxic metal exposure in the environment. We haven't even talked about various corporations dumping some of these byproducts. Aerospace is a big one, etc.

So that can be really, really dangerous. But what do heavy metals do to us? If you're somebody who has children that are autistic or on the autism spectrum, even hyperactivity, ADHD, ADD, likely a component of heavy metal toxicity.

Almost everyone who's dealing with cancer likely has heavy metal toxicity or at least abnormally high levels of one or more of the big 4 heavy metals that are out there. If you are somebody who is in the construction industry or printing or in a salon, all of those occupations can expose you to heavy metals.

So if you're interested in this information and you know others that are, because I think everybody needs to hear this, go ahead and click your share button. If you love what I'm talking about today, go ahead and punch that like button. And if you have some questions, Bailey is going to be parroting them to me because I am not as quick As Dr. Axe at reading a smartphone.

I want to be eyes on you the entire time. So if you're somebody also, we didn't talk about this, if you've got low energy, if you've got an imbalanced immune system, a lot of folks that have syndromes, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia, a lot of these conditions are related to heavy metal toxicity. Neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's.

Dementia, many of those are believed to be implicated with heavy metals. I also should have mentioned that antiperspirants, traditional antiperspirants can provide aluminum exactly where you don't want it and even using aluminum foil and various cookware.

So there's a lot of reasons to believe that most of us have an unhealthy exposure to heavy metals causing all manner of conditions from the gut the immune system, certainly the brain, but best of all, we're going to tell you today how to begin the body's natural detoxification process to get rid of heavy metals.

We want to arm the liver, we want to arm the kidneys, your eliminative organs such as the skin, the lymphatic system, even the respiratory system to naturally and daily eliminate these heavy metals. So let's get started. Number 1, chlorella. Chlorella is a single-celled or unicellular algae.

It's a green algae and its name comes from the fact that it is the richest marine algae source of chlorophyll. So that's where you get the chlorella. Chlorella typically is cracked cell wall chlorella, which means it's very hungry to absorb other elements. Taken in a powder or in tablet form is great at removing heavy metals from the body, particularly lead and mercury. How much chlorella?

I think 1 to 4 grams a day in powder or in tablets, there's a lot of different brands of chlorella tablets, is a great way to utilize this powerful single-celled algae to get rid of heavy metals and provide some nutrition. I believe there's a great article on chlorella and its benefits on draxe.com, so make sure to log on there.

Number 2, the number 2 detox strategy to get rid of heavy metals is using an activated charcoal. Now, charcoal, believe it or not, is very important in first aid. And I say believe it or not because while we would consider it a natural treatment, poison control centers will often tell you to use charcoal if you've been poisoned.

Charcoal, which is often made from coconut shells, is an organic material full of carbon that helps to remove toxins and poisons from the body and can be an important part every day in your health. We also know that various forms of charcoal called biochar are good in agriculture. You'll find that What helps the soil often helps your body.

I'm Jordan Rubin here discussing 10 heavy metal detox strategies. And if you are interested in improving your energy, helping your brain health, or if you've got parents or grandparents that are dealing with early stages of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, you have kids that are autistic, if you've got someone you know and love with cancer, you need to know how to detoxify your body. From heavy metals.

And if you're enjoying this, go ahead and click that like button. Make sure to share this information because it could be life-changing. Number 3, shilajit. Maybe difficult to spell, but awesome. Now, shilajit is very similar to charcoal in that it contains a lot of carbon, but shilajit also is a chelator of heavy metals due to its humic and fulvic acid.

Shilajit is, believe it or not, an adaptogenic organic mineral compound which is used in Ayurvedic medicine to support overall health. I recommend consuming shilajit every day, let's say between 100 and 500 milligrams. You can find shilajit at— in local supplement brands, you can even order powders online. Shilajit is really great.

Formed by the organic decomposition of plants and material over thousands of years, primarily found in the Himalayas. The fourth heavy metal detox strategy, which we just briefly mentioned, is fulvic acid. I've even seen now waters that are in health food stores that are all black. I think one of them is called BLK. That is a fulvic acid water. Fulvic acid is an organic acid.

That delivers nutrients to the body and removes toxins. You can consume fulvic acid in a liquid form or in a powder. It is extracted from something called shilajit or humic material. Both fulvic and humic acids help to detoxify the body.

If you're consuming shilajit, you don't need additional fulvic acid, but if you can find a fulvic acid product, in a liquid or powder form, it is great for detoxification. Folks, we're already almost halfway there.

And if you're somebody who lacks energy, who needs to boost your brain, who's dealing with cancer, or you just want to detox, it's time to get rid of heavy metals through 10 detox strategies. And if you're someone who says, how do I know I have heavy metal issues? Maybe You have adrenal issues. Maybe you have thyroid issues. Maybe you can't lose weight and don't know why.

Heavy metal toxicity is more abundant than you could ever imagine. In fact, every day I make use of at least half of these strategies to daily detoxify my body, and I believe you should too. Number 5, cilantro. Cilantro is a powerful antioxidant. Leafy herb, you've used it, common in Mexican dishes, that is amazing particularly to detoxify mercury.

Mercury found in dental products, vaccinations, we need to get rid of it. Cilantro is great. You can eat cilantro, but it's really best to juice it. So if you make a juice, a raw juice, here's what I recommend: celery, cucumber, Maybe a little parsley, that would be the base. You could certainly add carrot if you want a sweeter juice. And I would make cilantro about 10% of your juice.

If you drink straight cilantro juice, it can cause you, let's just say, to be in the bathroom a little more than you'd like. But cilantro is a powerful detoxifier, especially combined with these other powerful strategies. Cilantro can also be made into a tincture, which I've often enjoyed. It's really, really good. And certainly eating cilantro fresh is great.

Cilantro has chlorophyll and other compounds that we believe detoxify the body from mercury. So we're halfway done. I'm Jordan Rubin here for Dr. Josh Axe discussing 10 strategies to detoxify your body from heavy metals, boost your energy, boost your immune system, make sure your brain works properly, unburden your body To help tackle memory issues, children's behavioral issues, skin issues.

You may want to overcome syndromes such as Lyme disease or fibromyalgia, cancer of course, and then neurodegenerative diseases from Parkinson's to Alzheimer's to multiple sclerosis, all could have an underlying component of heavy metals. So Bailey, let's get some questions going. We are halfway done. With our 10 strategies today.

Maria would like to know, if you have a plate from reconstructive surgery in your body, is it possible to detox heavy metals?

It's a great question. If you have a plate from reconstructive surgery, and I'm also going to add this, Bailey, I don't know if anyone called in or is asking about this, but if somebody has had cosmetic surgery, implants in particular, that can often cause toxicity in a similar fashion. You can absolutely detox and you should. Here's the deal, folks.

Your body is detoxing whether you like it or not. Well, what do you mean? Last night when I put my 13-year-old Emma to bed, she had a fever. Now, some people freak out. She'd already taken some great advantage of the tips we shared earlier on how to fight colds and flus.

I am excited when my kids have a fever in short duration because that fever is destroying microbes and helping the body detoxify. If somebody's got what they would call an upper respiratory infection and you expectorate lots of mucus, guess what also comes out? The breeding ground for microbes and metals.

So if you've got metal in your body, if you've got foreign substances in your body, you need to detox. Don't make it a 10-day deal only, do it every single day. So I believe we have 2 more questions, Bailey.

Tracy would like to know, what's the best way to test your body for heavy metals?

Great question. Heavy metal testing is widely available.

In the old days, and I still think it's relevant, hair mineral analysis was used, which is certainly something you can do, but go to a local integrative practitioner or look up on draxe.com heavy metal testing and you will learn some of the tests that your integrative or complementary practitioner can give you, but almost every anti-aging doctor, functional medicine doctor will do some form of metal diagnostic testing and you absolutely should take advantage of it if you believe you have toxicity.

But the bottom line, folks, you don't need to test to incorporate these 10 powerful natural strategies today. Next question.

Denise wants to know, are there side effects to expect while you're detoxing heavy metals?

Denise, this is a great question. When you detoxify, you often experience something called a Herxheimer reaction. Now, it's kind of interesting. Some of us want to be known for certain things with our legacy.

Could you imagine good old Dr. Marvin Herxheimer, might not be his name but sounds pretty good, he's known for an effect that occurs during detox when you reabsorb some of the toxins and you have gas, bloating, loose bowels, a rash, you feel nauseous or yucky. Good old Dr. Herxheimer, he'll always be remembered for that.

But truth be told, I would estimate when detoxifying from heavy metals, about 30% of the people will begin to feel worse before they feel better. And an old naturopathic paradigm is that the body heals itself from the top to the bottom and in reverse order of when you first experienced the symptoms. So think about that.

You often need to go through a cleansing or detoxification reaction to feel better. So if you're drinking cilantro, if you're consuming shilajit, if you're following some of these strategies, you might feel a little worse before you feel better. But here's the good news: the remaining five, they will actually help you mitigate the detoxification reaction.

So anytime you're getting rid of metals or Candida. When you're changing your microbiome, you're going to experience some detox symptoms. Rest assured, that's a good thing, and when you get through it, you'll feel even better.

So if you're starting these strategies and you get a quick cold or nausea or you have loose bowels or you may even be constipated, I got to tell you, you're on the right track. And this is really tough to say because I'm one of those people that absolutely hates to throw up.

And I don't very much, but in the Ayurvedic tradition, they would actually force vomiting because it is an amazing way to detox the body. I do not recommend that, but understand that when the body is getting rid of something, that's a good thing. Conventional medicine suppresses and pushes it all back. We need to get it out, so make sure to do that.

I'm Jordan Rubin, by the way, here for Dr. Josh Axe sharing with you 10 powerful strategies To detox your body from heavy metals, more energy, more brainpower, better immune system and gut function, better skin. Get the metals out because they're in your body and they last. So let's do that together. We've already shared the first 5, we're on numbers 6 through 10.

Number 6 is SBOs, soil-based organisms or probiotics that actually help break down junk in the body and facilitate the elimination of heavy metals. In the environment, soil-based organisms do this for plants. In your body, they do it for you. They create powerful enzymes to get rid of waste material that harbors toxicity, including heavy metals. Now, I can't tell you the mechanism of action.

Why do SBOs get rid of metals? I don't know. But I've seen amazing results time and time again, especially when SBOs are combined with a shilajit or fulvic acid, powerful combination. So take a probiotic with SBOs, eat natto and other foods that contain soil-based organisms, and those would include Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus coagulans, and Bacillus clausii.

They're really, really good to remove metals from the body primarily through the bowel. Number 7, clay. Now remember what I told you, some of these strategies help trap the toxins, getting them out of the body so you don't feel yucky. Clay is critical. I like bentonite or montmorillonite clay.

In fact, the very first clay supplement was created by Victor Earl Irons out of Kansas, a pioneer in colon cleansing. And this liquid clay in that case was a great detoxifier. Now, here's what's awesome about bentonite or montmorillonite. It both absorbs and adsorbs toxins. It acts like a toxin sponge and a toxin magnet, and it can even neutralize acids.

So even if the clay that you see in stores is for topical use only. I would contact the company and see if you can take it orally. You can mix powdered clay, about a half a teaspoon, in water or juice 1 to 2 times a day, shake it up, and drink it. And when you're on a detox program, it's a great way to do it.

Dr. Josh Axe wrote the book Eat Dirt where he talks about people in indigenous cultures who eat clay, and there's a name for them called pica. They say that women all over the world during certain times of their life are interested in consuming or actually crave the minerals found in soil or clay as it were.

And I know as a farmer, I watch my animals at certain times consume clay and we use clay in their dietary regime to help remove parasites from the body. I'm a huge believer in consuming clay. Keep this in mind though, some clays actually have on the bottle a Prop 65 warning saying that they may contain heavy metals.

The clay and its inorganic material does not contribute heavy metals to the body, it rather sucks them out. So keep that in mind. One of my favorite clays to use is Redmond Healing Clay out of Utah. Check it out, you'll be glad you did. Number 8, bone broth. You didn't think I would leave bone broth out. Bone broth is a powerful superfood that helps detoxify and rehydrate.

So think about it, if you're detoxing, you have loose bowels or you're vomiting, I know that sounds terrible but sometimes you got to break through, you need something to make you feel better. Bone broth simultaneously hydrates. And detoxifies by contributing to the liver production of glutathione.

The glycine that is plentiful in bone broth helps the liver detoxify along with cysteine and glutamic acid forming a tripeptide, 3 amino acids to facilitate detoxification. Also contains minerals and helps build the body, the best cleanse I know of. Is a bone broth cleanse. And if you want to really cleanse, 3 days on bone broth, consume clay twice a day.

So morning and evening, bone broth cleanse. You can use liquid bone broth that you make, you can buy it, or you can use a powder. It is amazing and it's pretty short and you'll lose some weight but maintain that muscle mass because bone broth has protein. Sparing effects.

Number 9, the 9th detox strategy to remove heavy metals from your body, freeing you from brain issues, immune system issues, and gut issues is milk thistle. Milk thistle is probably the most popular liver detoxifying herb. Milk thistle seed contains silymarin. Now, you can buy milk thistle seeds. I bought some right at the health food store in bulk. And you can make a tea or a decoction.

Here's how you do it. Take 1 tablespoon of milk thistle seed, put it in a pot with 16 ounces of water and boil. So bring it to a boil, simmer for about 20 minutes or as long as 4 hours, and the resulting liquid, which doesn't taste all that bad, is concentrated milk thistle, which also supports the liver producing glutathione and naturally removing heavy metals.

Folks, your liver is critical to remove those metals and make them into smaller, easier compounds to eliminate. That's what your liver does. It breaks big things down into small things so that they can be excreted in your urine, through your bowel movements, respiration, etc. One thing that I wanted to bring up, I've put people on cleanses before, particularly juice cleanses.

And when they're getting rid of metals, their mouth tastes like metal. They sort of have a lot of thick, sour-tasting junk. In fact, a friend of mine who was in construction ate a normal sort of conventional diet, was diagnosed with cancer, and I put him on a detox, a metal detox, and he said to me, Jordan, can I cut my tongue off? I know that's severe, but it was painful.

There was a yucky taste in his mouth, but ultimately The metals were excreted. That's a way to know that it's working and that partially reiterates my answer to the question Denise posed, do we experience detox symptoms? So these are 9 of the 10 heavy metal detox strategies and number 10, broccoli sprouts.

Broccoli sprouts contain glucosinolates, dimethyl— excuse me, DIM, which is a type of isothionate which also supports the liver. Okay. And it helps you detoxify. If you can consume broccoli sprouts fresh in salads or juice them, you will be so glad you did.

They are powerful for the liver, they've been proven to be anti-cancer, and they are more than a dozen times more potent than mature broccoli stalks or broccoli flowers, if you will. All of these are powerful, all of these are for you.

Let me give you a quick recap, folks, if you are somebody who has an autistic child, child with ADD, ADHD, if you've got parents or you yourself early stages of Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, if you've got multiple sclerosis or an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, if you've got skin issues, acne, psoriasis, eczema is a big one, if you've got low energy, if you have reproductive issues, All of these can be attributed in part to heavy metal exposure and toxicity.

We've today talked about 10 heavy metal detox strategies. Chlorella in tablets or powder every day to remove mercury, cadmium, lead, and arsenic. Charcoal, you can do this occasionally a couple times a week, really great at absorbing toxins. Shilajit containing fulvic acid, use one or both. To bind to metals and remove them from the body and support digestion.

Cilantro is great particularly for mercury as part of your fresh juice or a tincture. SBOs are the probiotics that help your body remove junk which also lessens your metal load. Clay not only helps remove metals but makes your detoxification experience much more comfortable and that's important.

Bone broth has glycine among other nutrients to help your body produce glutathione, the master antioxidant which helps remove metals. Milk thistle, the number one herb to support your liver, make it in a tea. You can take a supplement, of course, but 1 tablespoon of seeds in a decoction 1 to 2 times a day, powerful liver support. Broccoli sprouts, great for the liver as well.

Anything bitter is good, by the way. Great in a salad, juiced, or eaten by itself. So these are the 10 detox strategies to remove metals from your body. Now it's time for you to ask some more questions. We've got 3, I believe. What are they, Bailey?

Linda wants to know, will cilantro essential oil work the same way as drinking juice cilantro?

Linda, that's a great question. Cilantro essential oil is amazing. It does not provide all the benefits because the plant plant has chlorophyll, which also is a very powerful purifier of the body. All that to be said, the essential oil is amazing. So use cilantro or coriander essential oil as part of your detox strategy. Folks, these are only 10 of probably 50 amazing strategies.

I wanted to give you some easy, simple-to-execute strategies today, but cilantro essential oil is great. I would recommend 1 to 2 drops. 2 To 3 times a day mixed in water or juice.

Lisa wants to know, is it okay to cook your foods in aluminum foil or will this cause some toxicity?

Great question. I do not recommend cooking your food in aluminum foil. I know this is frustrating with sweet potatoes, etc., but really try to use some type of glassware, something like that. The occasional use of aluminum is not going to harm anybody tremendously, but we are exposed to too much in our environment to take the risk. So I would not cook in aluminum foil.

Wrapping things in aluminum foil are a little less of a problem than when you heat the aluminum, which releases some of the metal ions.

Maria would like to know, what's the best way to get more milk thistle into your diet?

The best way to get milk thistle into your diet is to either A, take a supplement capsule, look for silymarin extract, which is the key component in milk thistle. Make a decoction or an infusion. An infusion is easy. Get milk thistle at— in your store in bulk or order it online, a tablespoon, just pour hot water over it like you would any other tea. That's a great way to do it.

You can buy tinctures and you can also find a tea. So there are detox teas that are in the tea section that you can use that are very, very easy. Folks, I'm Jordan Rubin today here for Dr. Josh Axe and I believe this information that I shared Can absolutely change your life.

If you've had dental work, if you have parents with a history of disease that may have passed on metal toxicity to you, if you or your child has learning or brain issues, if you've got cancer, particularly breast cancer, a lot of toxins accumulate in breast tissue, men prostate cancer, if you've got reproductive issues. Okay. Skin issues, immune system issues, or gut issues.

Bottom line, everyone listening to my voice and watching me, you need to detoxify your body. And today, we shared 10 powerful strategies to eliminate heavy metals, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and aluminum from your body. No matter what your exposure is, today's the day that you begin to get your health back. And let me also say. Avoid using toxic products. Don't use antiperspirant with aluminum.

Don't use other body care products, hair care products. Don't use lead-based paint if at all possible. Make sure to live in a healthy toxic-free home. Draxe.com has articles to give you all of this great information. In fact, check out draxe.com for an article on how to remove heavy metals from your body. So you can continue to review it.

Also, keep the link to this video, watch it over and over again. Please share this information with someone you know and love. I do believe it can change or save a life. Tomorrow I'll be here with Dr. Josh Axe sharing powerful information that you don't want to miss. In fact, you can set your calendar, 10:30 Central Standard Time every weekday.

That's right.

Dr. Axe and I share you powerful information right here that you can't get anywhere else. We practice what we preach and we preach what we practice. I'm Jordan Rubin on behalf of Dr. Josh Axe, thanking you for joining us. God bless you. See you tomorrow.