Heavy Metal Detox Herbs

Some heavy metals are nutritionally essential for the functioning of our body. As an example of these, we have iron, cobalt, and zinc. But there is a group of heavy metals that are highly toxic such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and lead, which are very often found in our environment.

Our body absorbs these heavy metals either through the air we breathe, the water we drink or use for our hygiene, the food we eat, or the industrial products we use.

Our body is prepared to eliminate the heavy metals that enter our body when the amounts are low, but when exposure to them is continuous and in amounts higher than our ability to eliminate, they accumulate in our cells becoming a great risk to our health.

Fortunately, nature provides elements that can help us eliminate these heavy metals and toxins from our bodies when we exceed our capacity to detoxify. Here we will review some of the most important Heavy Metal Detox Herbs.

Chelation of Heavy Metals

Chelation is the ability of a chemical compound to form a ring structure with a metal ion resulting in a compound with chemical properties different from those of the original metal. It consists of one compound that combines with another to result in a different final compound.

In a detoxifying treatment, chelation is the systematic reduction of harmful heavy metals in the body, either in response to accidental poisoning or lifelong accumulation, through the action of chelating elements produced by our body or administered from the outside.

To complement our body’s native detoxification function, some foods with chelating properties can be consumed to help eliminate heavy metals.

4 Effective Herbs for Heavy Metal Removal

When our body has higher than normal levels of heavy metals in the blood, we may suffer from heavy metal poisoning. This may be happening yet you don’t have symptoms.

Depending on the level of intoxication, treatment may be required to help the body get rid of the heavy metal as quickly as possible. The doctor or specialist should recommend the most convenient chelation therapy in these cases. These therapies can be based on the delivery of medication orally, or an injection of medication that helps remove metals from your body in the urine. In some cases, the chelation medication is given intravenously.

If no level of poisoning requires chelation therapy, or if we simply want to detoxify to restore the natural balance of our body, we can resort to the consumption of some foods with great chelating qualities that will help our body in its purification process. Below, we will look at four of these extraordinary foods:

Garlic

Garlic has been used as a medicine for centuries to prevent and treat many conditions and diseases. It has been used to treat bronchitis, hypertension, tuberculosis, liver disorders, intestinal parasites, rheumatism, and diabetes, among many other conditions.

Garlic is also known as a plant with excellent preventive properties for cardiovascular diseases, to reduce the level of sugar and cholesterol in the blood, against the bacterial, viral, parasite, and fungal infections.

Garlic has been shown to have a protective effect on the liver because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. But can it protect us against the accumulation of heavy metals?

Garlic is rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6, and manganese. The organo-sulfur compounds and allicin present in garlic are biologically active ingredients that provide their main protective capabilities. These components can contribute to the detoxification of heavy metals as they can bind to most chemical compounds that harbor positive charges.

In studies, garlic shows a protective effect by reducing the accumulation of heavy metals in the liver, kidneys, bones, and testicles. Also, regular consumption of garlic has been shown to reduce histopathological damage.

Garlic in the highest dose promotes the elimination of mercury thus decreasing the accumulation of this heavy metal in the brain. The protective effect of garlic is probably caused by sulfur compounds that combine with heavy metals in the body and promote excretion through bile into the feces.

Some studies suggest that the absorption of garlic through the respiratory tract may limit the effect of lead.

In short, garlic can be used as an alternative medication to increase the elimination of lead, mercury, and cadmium.

Cilantro

Cilantro is a plant native to Mediterranean Europe. It has been used for millennia as a spice in cooking, and the treatment of conditions due to its medicinal properties.

Cilantro has been used in the treatment of male infertility. The ancient Egyptians used coriander tea to treat clinical conditions such as urinary tract infections and headaches.

Research has been done to determine the potential of coriander in the elimination of heavy metals in our body, observing that its ability to remove heavy metals is inferior to that of garlic, but shows a better ability to remove them from bone tissue.

Cilantro is an ideal alternative for the elimination of mercury and lead from our bodies.

Turmeric

Turmeric is a root that grows in the form of a rhizome, from the ginger family, which has been used in India for thousands of years as a highly appreciated species in cooking and as a medicinal herb. It has strong anti-inflammatory effects and is a very powerful antioxidant.

While turmeric is perfectly safe and a wonderful spice, it is not as useful for our body system as its main component, curcumin.

Curcumin has historically been used in Ayurvedic medicine to combat a wide variety of conditions and diseases. The anti-hepatoxic effects of curcumin are well-known. Curcumin reduces liver toxicity caused by heavy metals present in the environment such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury.

Curcumin in turmeric prevents the growth of cancer cells, and lipid peroxidation as a result of the action of free radicals, and balances the level of glutathione to recover the antioxidant capacity of the liver and protect liver enzymes against oxidative stress.

Most of the benefits of Curcumin are due to its antioxidant ability to trap free radicals, and its chelating property of removing heavy metals accumulated in our body, being the chelator element of a greater spectrum because it is effective to remove arsenic, cadmium, and chromium, lead, and mercury.

Ginkgo Biloba

Ginkgo Biloba is a plant native to China and is one of the oldest known plants. It has various uses in traditional medicine. From its leaves is obtained an extract that has antioxidant properties to fight free radicals in different organs and offers protective benefits against conditions of the senses, a condition in which the brain has problems processing the information it receives through the senses.

The most beneficial components of ginkgo Biloba are flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants, and terpenoids, which help improve circulation by dilating blood vessels and reducing blood viscosity.

Ginkgo Biloba is one of the most effective natural medicines for treating patients with high levels of lead in their bodies. Ginkgo Biloba inhibits lead poisoning by reducing the production of malondialdehyde, which occurs as a consequence of excess of this heavy metal, and corrects biochemical parameters.

Ginkgo Biloba is then the ideal chelating food to eliminate lead from our body.

Conclusion

The administration of chelating agents is the most common therapy for the treatment of heavy metal toxicity.

In addition to chemical compounds prescribed orally or injectable as chelating agents required in severe cases of poisoning, some medicinal herbs can be used as potential treatments for heavy metal poisoning.

Medicinal herbs such as Garlic, Cilantro, Ginkgo Biloba, and Turmeric can be considered potential treatments for the removal of heavy metals.

If you suspect heavy metal poisoning in your body, immediately consult your doctor before applying any treatment to detoxify.