A lot of people don’t realize that Lyme disease and heavy metal toxicity can go hand-in-hand! Shortly after discovering I had Lyme, I found out I was heavy metal poisoned. My lead and mercury levels were through the roof from my 8 amalgam fillings, among other things.
When your body is compromised by a Lyme infection, it loses its ability to protect itself from heavy metal toxins. This causes the body to start a bioaccumulation of heavy metals. Bioaccumulation is when your body builds up substances, such as pesticides, or other chemicals. It happens when you begin to absorb a substance at a rate faster than your body can metabolize and excrete the substance.
Additionally, heavy metals can actually form the parts of the biofilm (a type of chronic infections caused by bacteria) in our systems that STOP our immune systems from being able to fight off Lyme!
How Heavy Metal Toxicity Assists Lyme
If you’ve tried addressing chronic Lyme disease to no avail, it could be that you have heavy metal toxicity concurrent with your Lyme infection.
If your body is consumed with struggling to fight off heavy metals, Lyme bacteria will take this opportunity to dig in deep while your body is distracted.
Heavy metals must be detoxed and addressed simultaneously with Lyme for someone who is infected to be able to fully recover. This can be a complicated process (but it CAN be done), so I recommend working with someone who is trained in this area!
Sources of Heavy Metal Toxicity
The most common heavy metals are aluminum, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and lead.
Amalgam fillings can cause elevated levels of mercury (even if you’ve had them removed). Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) amalgam study show that the number of fillings in your mouth is proportional to how much mercury is in your brain!!
If you eat a lot of fish that have mercury in them, the chemicals can build up and stay in your body, too. Mercury is also passed from mother to baby in the womb so the more amalgams your mother had, the higher mercury load you will have.
Lead can be found in lead-based paint, water, rubber products, and gasoline. Lead is also passed on for 4 generations from mother to baby while in the womb. Lead is stored in the bones and when the baby is developing, they pull out nutrients from the mother’s bones. Unfortunately, they absorb the lead as well.
Aluminum is mostly found in deodorants and contaminated water. In my humble opinion, using conventional deodorants with aluminum is mainlining heavy metals into your lymphatic system.
Cadmium is found in cigarettes (e-cigarettes too!)
What to do if you suspect you may have heavy metal poisoning.
Work with an expert! Some commonly used tests might not show heavy metal toxicity if it is chronic rather than acute. A trained expert will know the proper tests to use to determine whether you’ve been affected.
If you are interested in getting amalgam fillings removed, be sure to work with a biological dentist that is trained in filling removal, so they use proper removal procedures and don’t worsen the problem. You can find one here: https://iaomt.org/
Once any fillings are removed, it’s time to begin the detoxification process to get the heavy metals out of your brain. It CAN BE DONE! With my clients, I suggest using a supportive protocol to open up the detox pathways for 3-4 weeks before having any dental work done. The day of the procedure we add in extra binding agents and more nutritional support as well. Once the amalgam is removed from the mouth, we can then focus upon deep, cellular clean up. I strongly recommend working with a trained practitioner as there are many pitfalls in this process.
Please reach out to me here if you suspect you may have heavy metal poisoning. I would love to help you through the journey to health.