NATURA
- Jul 4
- 7 min read

The Science of Heavy Metals

Updated: Jul 19

This time, I researched heavy metals✨✨

Do you all know about heavy metals??🤔🤔

Many people take supplements like zinc, which is a heavy metal. Zinc is beneficial in small amounts as it is an essential heavy metal.

However, some heavy metals are harmful to the body, such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium, which are classified as highly toxic heavy metals!!

Heavy metals are commonly found in agricultural soil, sewage, industrial wastewater, industrial waste sites, power plants, tobacco, exhaust gases, fertilizers, and more. They leach into the vegetables, grains, fruits, fish, and tap water we consume, gradually accumulating in the body over time. Eating vegetables or fish with high concentrations of heavy metals leads to their accumulation in the human body.

Once heavy metals accumulate in the body, it takes a long time to expel them, causing harmful effects on human health!!

Here are the characteristics of each heavy metal:

[Mercury]

Half-life: approximately 70 days

Mercury exists as methylmercury and inorganic mercury. It is released into the environment from volcanic activity, the burning of coal in power plants, tectonic activities, and more. Mercury has a property of vaporizing and can be released into the air, including in car exhaust, where it can be absorbed through the lungs.

Mercury has strong antibacterial properties and is used in cosmetics and deodorizing sprays✨✨

Mercury accumulates in fish, from small fish (sardines, mackerel) to medium fish (bonito, salmon), to large fish (tuna, swordfish, sharks), in that order.

Large fish accumulate more mercury, damaging the central nervous system, leading to cognitive impairments and gastrointestinal disorders. In a 2013 study, women and the elderly living near mercury mines in China were found to have mercury-induced renal dysfunction✨✨

[Minamata Disease]

In 1954, people in Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, suffered mercury poisoning from eating seafood contaminated with methylmercury.

[Lead]

Lead leaches into the soil from industrial waste sites and is often used in water pipes.

Lead is highly toxic, and long-term intake can cause cognitive impairments, damage to the brain, nervous system, respiratory system, and urinary system. Children may exhibit more problem behaviors and restlessness. A study of prisoners in the US found high lead levels in the blood of most inmates.

High blood lead levels are linked to asthma, anemia, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive impairments✨✨

[Chromium]

Chromium can be classified into trivalent (Cr3+) and hexavalent (Cr6+) chromium, found in seawater and soil. It is naturally occurring but also released into the air from metallurgy, chemical industries, and factory wastewater✨

A meta-analysis of human studies found a link between hexavalent chromium and increased rates of lung, laryngeal, bladder, kidney, testicular, bone, and thyroid cancers. In 2012, groundwater containing hexavalent chromium in India was linked to increased gastrointestinal and dermatological complications. Trivalent chromium has also been linked to increased rates of liver, lung, and genitourinary cancers in women✨✨

[Cadmium]

Half-life: approximately 25-30 years

Cadmium exists as a mineral in nature but is found in industrial and agricultural wastewater, accumulating in agricultural soil. It is also present in tobacco🚬✨✨

Cadmium binds to detoxification proteins (metallothionein) in the body, causing kidney and liver dysfunction. It releases calcium from bone tissue, leading to osteoporosis. Smoking increases the body's cadmium levels, raising the risk of cardiovascular diseases and arteriosclerosis✨✨

[Itai-Itai Disease]

In the 1910s, wastewater from the Kamioka mine flowed into the Jinzu River in Toyama Prefecture, Japan, contaminating nearby rice fields. Residents who ate the rice suffered from osteoporosis and bone pain, leading to the name "Itai-Itai Disease."

[Arsenic]

Half-life: a few weeks

Arsenic is naturally occurring and released into the environment from volcanic activity, accumulating in marine algae. It dissolves in groundwater and is known as the "king of poisons" due to its high toxicity✨✨

Arsenic binds to skin tissue, and drinking water containing arsenic increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth in pregnant women. Severe arsenic poisoning leads to an increased incidence of skin cancer and various other cancers🥲🥲

[Wakayama Arsenic Curry Incident]

In July 1998, a woman named Masumi Hayashi added arsenic to curry served at a neighborhood festival in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, causing 67 people to suffer poisoning symptoms and killing four.

Heavy metals are absorbed through drinking water, air, food, and skin, entering the body through various pathways. Once absorbed, heavy metals accumulate in the body, binding to proteins (cysteine) in fats and muscles, a process called chelation. This accumulation disrupts cellular processes like growth, proliferation, differentiation, damage repair, and apoptosis, causing oxidative stress and leading to various diseases✨

These heavy metals are listed in the top 20 hazardous substances by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)✨✨

Heavy metal pollution is a serious issue globally, affecting countries like China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Belgium, the UK, and the US. Heavy metals have been detected in grains and vegetables from China, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, as well as soybeans from Argentina. Pesticides have been found in candies and snacks from the US, Europe, and Chile, prompting countermeasures in each country.

China faces a severe problem, with research showing that 10% of domestic soil is contaminated with heavy metals🥲🥲

In developing countries like Africa and India, heavy metals leach from factory wastewater. In Australia and Europe, they flow from agricultural irrigation water. In the US, Brazil, Europe, and Asia, substances like PM2.5 from exhaust gases are released into the air, accumulating in urban agricultural fields and leading to heavy metal buildup in vegetables, fruits, and grains🥲🥲

Given the seriousness of heavy metals, here are some foods that help expel them from the body✨✨

Seventy-five percent of heavy metals are expelled through feces, with the remainder excreted in urine and sweat✨✨

[Coriander🌿]

A spice that chelates heavy metals

[Chlorella]

A well-known chelation food used in supplements✨✨

[L-Cysteine]

A muscle protein that chelates heavy metals, available in hospitals✨✨

[Alpha Lipoic Acid]

Binds to mercury in the brain and helps expel it from the body✨✨

[Onions🧅]

Contain quercetin, which chelates heavy metals

[Apple Cider Vinegar]

Pectin in apple cider vinegar chelates heavy metals

[Vegetables]

Dietary fiber in vegetables helps expel heavy metals from the body

A Bulgarian study reported that consuming probiotics with LAB strains (lactic acid bacteria) removed heavy metals, chemicals, and pesticides from the body. Therefore, I recommend consuming gut health supplements, kimchi, yogurt, sauerkraut, and olives✨✨

Additionally, since lead might be present in tap water, it's best to avoid drinking directly from the tap. Installing an RO (reverse osmosis) water purifier is recommended. Although RO purifiers are expensive, they remove 99% of lead from tap water, making them worth the investment for long-term health🌈🌈🌈🌈✨✨✨✨

If you are concerned about your body's heavy metal levels, you can purchase a hair test kit online or get tested at a hospital✨✨

What do you think??✨✨

This time, I researched heavy metals. Personally, I eat onions🧅, plenty of vegetables, and use coriander in my diet😂😂✨✨

Please be mindful of heavy metals and maintain a healthy lifestyle✨

Thank you very much✨✨✨✨

[Multi-intestinal bacteria supplement]

https://amzn.to/3XMwguX

Contains 22 types of lactic acid bacteria, 10.2 trillion lactic acid bacteria in one bag. Contains butyric acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, 7 types of grain koji and 133 types of fermented plant extracts!! Helps break down pesticides through intestinal bacteria activity.

[Alpha Lipoic Acid]

https://amzn.to/3xM3uQG

Removes mercury

[Coriander🌿]

https://amzn.to/3VPeftA

Effective in removing heavy metals

[Spirulina]

https://amzn.to/4cpfBSP

Effective in removing heavy metals

[My scientific recommendations]

I will introduce health foods and items with scientific evidence that I also use regularly!!

(California Gold Nutrition series)

California Gold Nutrition is a globally renowned brand for organic supplements sold by iHerb. It undergoes strict testing called "I Tested" and is rigorously checked by third-party organizations for heavy metals and harmful substances, making it the strongest supplement brand.

[California Gold Nutrition. Whey Isolate Protein Vanilla flavor]