Heavy metals, like lead, can build up in the body and cause poisoning or toxicity. For most people, this is unlikely to happen from everyday exposures. Your clinician can tell you if testing is a good idea.
Heavy metal toxicity can be very dangerous, but it is the amount of heavy metals that you’re in contact with, or your exposure, that matters. Most people are not exposed to high enough doses to have heavy metal poisoning.
Wellness influencers have made a lot of claims about heavy metals and frequently suggest many tests and treatments to “cleanse” yourself of heavy metals. Heavy metals include several different elements. Elements are the building blocks of molecules. Some heavy metals are ones we need to survive like iron, zinc, and copper. Other metals don’t have a biological purpose in humans like lead, thallium, and mercury. We’re all exposed to small amounts of heavy metals in our environment. The exposure can be from things like rocks and soil, or from pollution. But the amount you’re exposed to matters for toxicity. Your body can get rid of small amounts of heavy metals via proteins (like glutathione), which bind to the metals and help your body get rid of them. But if the levels are too high, they can accumulate (or build up) in the body, which is when toxicity happens. Heavy metal toxicity is real and dangerous. Below, we’ll discuss how heavy metal poisoning happens and when your clinician might recommend testing and follow-up.
What is heavy metal poisoning?
There are some heavy metals that are never okay, such as lead. But all exposures to heavy metals aren’t automatically toxic. Low levels of heavy metal exposure are typically subclinical, which means it won’t affect your health. Most exposures happen from our environment, such as from soil or water. Sometimes, heavy metals can also be found in small amounts in cosmetics and hygiene products, but usually not in concerning amounts.
Simply being exposed to something doesn’t mean we have heavy metal toxicity. The dose matters. Regulatory agencies are continually monitoring new research to make sure the levels of heavy metals considered toxic are accurate and up to date. Heavy metals can also be found in food, such as fruit, vegetables or meat and dairy from places with high levels of industrial pollution. Overall, levels of heavy metals in food aren’t usually high enough on their own to cause toxicity (for example, you might have heard about mercury in canned tuna fish, but realistically, you’d have to eat a lot of tuna to get mercury poisoning). The FDA also tests food for arsenic, lead, cadmium[archived link], and mercury to ensure food safety.
How would you be exposed to toxic levels of heavy metals? Most commonly, it’s due to large environmental exposure, such as working in industries like mining or smelting. It can also be from lead pipes or lead paint in older houses, run off from manufacturing, or drinking well water contaminated with arsenic (we’ll discuss this more below).
Should I be worried?
While it’s true that heavy metals can be harmful, especially to kids, most people aren’t exposed to high enough levels in daily life for it to be a health risk. That said, there are occupational and environmental exposures that are very serious. For example, you might remember the news about lead pipes in Flint, Michigan. Lead toxicity is dangerous and can cause neurological problems and anemia. That is why children are screened for lead levels [archived link] at their yearly doctor’s appointment when they are 12 and 24 months old. Lead can also be found in paint produced before 1978 and in soil in some areas. Soil can be tested for lead levels [archived link], which can give you more information about whether it is safe to plant a garden or let children play in the dirt.
Well water can also be a source of heavy metal toxicity. Metals can be found in water due to rocks or location of the wells. These metals can include arsenic, nickel, and lead. Since the early 2000s, the EPA has regulated the amount of naturally occurringarsenic [archived link] allowed in drinking water. Your local health or environmental department can help you with resources for testing well water for arsenic [archived link]. For lead, the EPA’s safe limit is zero lead in water [archived link].
Local power plants can also cause heavy metal exposure. For example, 60 power plants were recently exempted from federal mercury limits. This mean that people in those areas might be exposed to higher levels of mercury, which is a neurotoxin. Neurotoxins impact the nerves and the brain. These regulations are important to keep people safe from heavy metal toxicity.
What are the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning?
In a situation where you are exposed to high amounts of heavy metals, the symptoms can be vague. They can include abdominal pain, diarrhea, tingling or loss of sensation in arms and legs. In children, the symptoms can be more severe, such as anemia, changes in development, and neurological problems like distractibility or loss of focus. There can also be no symptoms at all. Heavy metal poisoning can be acute, where you have a high exposure at one time, or chronic where there is a low exposure over weeks or months. For example, if you visit a friend in an old house, you don’t have to worry, but if you live in an older house, it would be worth it to check paint and pipes for lead.
That’s why it’s important to be aware of potential exposures in your environment like living in houses with lead paint, drinking from well water in areas with high levels of naturally occurring arsenic, or working in fields where you are exposed to heavy metals. These are all risk factors and you should discuss them with your clinician if you’re concerned.
How do I protect my family?
There are some steps you can take to reduce potential heavy metal exposure:
- Make sure the children in your life get screened for lead levels based on guidelines [archived link] and risk factors.
- Avoid cosmetics that contain color additives not permitted for use by the FDA (a list of allowed color additives can be found here [archived link]).
- You can sign up to receive FDA safety alerts [archived link] for information about foods, drugs, and cosmetics that may be recalled due to heavy metal contamination.
- Only buy foods, medicines, and cosmetics [archived link] that are clearly labeled and purchased from trusted retailers.
- If you’re doing renovations to your home, take precautions to avoid exposure to dust and debris, especially for children and anyone pregnant. You can also check old paint for lead.
- Some states, such as Maine and the Western United States tend to have higher levels of arsenic in well water. If you have a private well, ask your clinician or local health department if your water should be regularly tested [archived link] for heavy metals like arsenic.
- If you live in an area with high exposure or work in an industry, such as construction or manufacturing, where you might be more exposed, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about any concerns you have and be sure to bring up any new symptoms.
⚖️ Health Equity Alert
People with hands-on jobs in construction, manufacturing, transportation, mining, and lead abatement or building cleanup are more often exposed to heavy metals than the average person. People living in older houses built before 1978 often have lead paint and pipes, which can also increase the chance of heavy metal exposure. Historic redlining means that poor and BIPOC families are more exposed to heavy metals since they’re more likely to live in older homes that haven’t been renovated. Redlining is a discriminatory practice of not providing financing to minority families for certain neighborhoods. Redlining is no longer allowed by the Federal Housing Administration, but the repercussions are still felt today. There is often a larger burden of heavy metal toxicity in poor and minority communities.
How do you test for heavy metals?
Blood and urine tests are the most commonly used tests for heavy metal toxicity. For example, blood tests for lead levels are used to check for lead exposure in children. There are also some tests that are not validated, which means that there isn’t good evidence that they’re providing clinically useful information. These tests include hair and urine challenge testing (where patients are given chelation agents before the test). Chelation works by binding to the heavy metal and making it easier for your body to remove it.
As a rule of thumb, if an influencer is trying to sell you on a fancy test, it’s a good idea to question the test. Looking into whether that test is clinically validated and checking in with your clinician is a good idea before spending money.
How do you treat heavy metal poisoning?
If you’ve been diagnosed with heavy metal toxicity by a clinician, they might start you on chelation therapy. Chelation uses medications that are FDA-approved to treat certain types of heavy metal poisoning. The medications bind to the heavy metal and make it easier for your body to remove it. Overall, chelation is a safe and effective way to remove certain types of heavy metals. However, it’s important to work with a clinician because chelation therapy can deplete your body of important nutrients like calcium. Chelation medications are not approved [archived link] for treating chronic health or mental health conditions. Using chelation therapy when it isn’t necessary may cause harm and has no proven benefit. That’s why it’s always necessary to follow up with a clinician instead of relying on what an influencer suggests.
Overall, heavy metal toxicity is very dangerous, but it generally occurs due to very specific environmental exposures. Talk to your clinician if you’re worried about being exposed.
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