Recognizing and Verifying Heavy Metal Toxicity: Integrative Resources

Abstract

T his issue of Alternative & Complementary Therapies explores, from several different angles, chronic heavy metal and toxic chemical exposure. This article summarizes some of the clinical manifestations of heavy metal toxicity and presents resources that some practitioners have found to be helpful for identifying and confirming that patients may be carrying unusually heavy toxic metal loads. It is important to note that “chronic heavy metal toxicity” is not a clinical diagnosis nor is it a condition that has a well-defined set of symptoms. Indeed, many prac t it ioners of conventiona l medicine concede only that acute metal toxicity is a problem deserving medical attention and question whether chronic low-level toxicity can be assessed objectively or whether it is a condition that justifies medical intervention. The myriad possible effects of longterm exposure to heavy metals, and the elusive damage caused by their accumulation in the body, can make identification of chronic heavy-metal toxicity one of the most difficult challenges a practitioner might face. The particular metal (s) to which an individual has been exposed, the level and duration of exposure, and the health of the individual determine the nature and severity of symptoms. Toxic metals—most typically aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and thallium (Tl)—cause damage at the cellular and molecular levels. The mechanisms of action include alteri n g c e l l -m embr ane p e rmea b i l i t y , impairing oxidative phosphorylation, replacing critical metallic components of enzymes or their cofactors, or binding to large molecules and distorting them. Cellular and molecular level dysfunctions then manifest as a wide range of poss ib le physical symptoms that potentially can affect every organ system in the human body. A person who is carrying a heavy load of toxic metals may experience no symptoms at all or may have any combination of many possible symptoms of physiologic dysfunction. Moreover, the presenting symptoms are frequently not the primary result of metal toxicity but are secondary and even tertiary results of the disturbances associated with high titers of heavy metals. For example, a patient who is seeking relief for chronic fatigue or food allergies may be feeling the combined effects of inadequate absorption of essentia l minerals through a leaky gut, overgrowth of beneficial intestinal flora by pathogenic microbes, and impaired function of liver enzymes that remove metals and harmful chemicals from the body. The elimination of toxic metals is one of several treatment measures such a patient requires. The difficulty of recognizing heavy metal toxicity is highlighted by very facts that metals accumulate at the same time that numerous physiologic dys functions may occur and that the toxic act ions of the metals exacerbate the other physiologic problems, which, in turn, contribute further to the toxicity of the metals. In short, neither the recognition nor the treatment of heavy-metal toxicity is an isolated event . Heavymetal accumulation is a systemic problem that demands an integrative treatment plan. T a b l e 1 s umma r i z e s f r e q ue n t l y observed symptoms and signs of chronic heavy metal toxicity that the practitioner may encounter in the clinical setting. A patient who is experiencing several of these symptoms should be evaluated not only for possible heavy metal toxicity but also for nutritional deficiencies, hormonal and metabol ic imbalances, food and chemical sensitivit ies and allergies, disturbances in intestinal flora, and subclinical or asymptomatic infections. These are all conditions that may coexist and mutually reinforce an internal environment of toxicity and dysfunction. The practitioner needs to have a complete assessment of the patient’s health problems in order to draw up a treatment plan that addresses maximal restoration of health.