Tag: Heavy Metals

Poison Found in 95% of Baby Food

  • A national investigation found 95% of baby foods tested contained the heavy metals lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Some also contained the rocket fuel component perchlorate
  • Apple and grape juice, oat ring cereal, macaroni and cheese, puff snacks and rice-based foods had the highest levels of heavy metals
  • Heavy metals are developmental neurotoxins that can harm a baby’s developing brain and nervous system
  • Organic food may still contain heavy metals due to the presence of heavy metals in soil
  • There are several ways parents can safeguard their infant’s food, including making their own or using organic or biodynamically-grown vegetables

Republished – Mercola

A national investigation commissioned by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) recently made a disturbing finding. A shocking 95% of baby foods tested contained the heavy metals lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury.1

I have often written about how most commercial infant formulas are high in processed sugar and questionable ingredients including soy. They can contain as much sugar as a can of soda yet lack the benefits of the natural sugars found in breast milk.

Worse, most formulas also contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), synthetic vitamins, inorganic minerals, excessive protein and harmful fats while lacking vital immune-boosting nutrients found in breast milk.

Still, the new findings about poisons like heavy metals lurking in baby food add urgency to the problem and raise questions about how parents can safely feed their infants.

Related: Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Disturbing Findings About Baby Food

Parent volunteers working with HBBF’s partner organizations were asked to buy the most prominent baby food brands at their local stores or online.

The organizations the parents worked with were the Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Campaign for Healthier Solutions, Coming Clean, Ecology Center, Environmental Justice Health Alliance, Getting Ready for Baby, Learning Disabilities Association of America, Organizacion en California de Lideres Campesinas Inc., and Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services.2

The foods selected by the parents included 61 brands and 13 food types, including infant formula, teething biscuits, cereals and fruit juices. The results were staggering. Lead was found in 94% of the baby foods; cadmium and arsenic in approximately 75% of the items; and mercury in just under 33% of the products.

Fifteen of the baby foods accounted for 55% of the heavy metal contaminants. These included apple and grape juice, oat ring cereal, macaroni and cheese, puff snacks and rice-based foods. Rice foods such as cereal and rice-based snacks account for one-fifth of the risks babies face, as these foods have high levels of arsenic, as well as the other three metals, HBBF says.3

Related: Autism Correlates with Circumcision

Contaminants Threaten Babies’ IQs

The presence of heavy metals in baby food has been known for a decade, but the HBBF’s study sheds new light on just how widespread the contamination is, and the specific risks babies and toddlers may face from such foods, especially to their IQs. An excerpt from the report reads:4

“The four heavy metals we found in baby food have a unique significance. All are developmental neurotoxins … They can harm a baby’s developing brain and nervous system, both in utero and after birth, for impacts that include the permanent loss of intellectual capacity and behavioral problems like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

All four metals are linked to IQ loss from exposures early in life. The scientific evidence spans decades and continues to build: at least 23 studies published in the past seven years confirm these four heavy metals’ impacts to a child’s healthy development …

These metals are so prevalent in foods eaten by babies and toddlers that every child could be exposed daily to all three of the most common heavy metals detected in food — lead, arsenic, and cadmium — based on an analysis of federal surveys of children’s dietary patterns and heavy metals levels in food …”

Rocket Fuel Component Also Found in Baby Food

Related: Johnson And Johnson Knew Asbestos Was In Baby Powder, More Lawsuits Are Coming

Heavy metals are not the only IQ-lowering substances found in baby food, according to HBBF. The industrial chemical perchlorate, a rocket fuel component, was also detected, and this dangerous substance adds to the cognitive risks posed by heavy metals, HBBF says:5

“Perchlorate disrupts thyroid functions crucial to brain development and has been linked to IQ loss among children born to mothers with thyroid dysfunction, who are more vulnerable to perchlorate toxicity …

It is a rocket fuel component used since the Cold War. In 2005 FDA approved its use as an antistatic in plastic food packaging, and in 2016 expanded the approval to cover dry food handling equipment.

Perchlorate is also a degradation product of hypochlorite used to disinfect food processing equipment. Levels in children’s food increased dramatically from 2005 to 2012 …”

This is not the first time perchlorates — salts derived from perchloric acid used in the ways described above — have been found in baby food. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 15 brands of powdered infant formula were contaminated with the substance 10 years ago.6

Most people are exposed to perchlorate through their diet, in the form of contaminated water and/or foods. But the exposure infants receive may be far greater than that of adults if they are fed infant formula, as the toxin may be present in both the formula and the milk or water used to prepare it.

Perchlorate blocks the thyroid gland from taking up iodine, which can have a serious effect on a developing fetus and infant whose neurodevelopment depends on access to iodine.7 The harmful impact of perchlorate is also mediated by other endocrine disruptors that affect the thyroid found which might be found in the environment.

Related: Nurses Against Circumcision

Even Organic Baby Food Poses Risks

Sadly, parents can’t “shop their way out of” the toxic heavy metal problem by buying organic products, HBBF warns. Heavy metals are everywhere — they naturally occur in the soil, but pesticides, fertilizers, factory farms and other environmental pollution greatly increase their presence.

Because heavy metals are in the soil (whether deposited there naturally or through artificial means), leafy greens and root vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes take up and retain them to a greater degree than fruits and above ground crops.

While parents may decide to buy organic foods and make their own baby food, this does not entirely solve the problem because organic standards do not set strict limits for such contaminants; both adult and baby foods may contain heavy metals.8

Parents also cannot rely on bottled water to avoid heavy metals. Bottled water is no safer than filtered tap water and generates toxic plastic waste to boot.9 In a previous article, I noted that that microplastics are also found in bottled water.

Parents Should Beware of Fruit Juices

The HBBF report recommends against giving babies and toddlers fruit juices for two reasons. First, because common juices like apple and grape contain heavy metals and secondly because parents tend to give excessive amounts of juices to their children. This means the metal levels can build up.

According to a consensus statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, “Even 100% fruit juice offers no nutritional benefits over whole fruit.”10

There are other reasons to shun juice, say child and medical experts. Fruit juices can cause weight gain and lifelong obesity to the same degree as soft drinks, and their effect on teeth is equally destructive.

Most parents probably don’t realize that giving their child apple juice is akin to giving them a Coke, but metabolically, and in terms of dental health, it is. The lack of protein and fiber in juice counteracts any nutritional benefits, add the experts.11

Over seven years ago, Dr. Oz and Consumer Reports exposed high levels of arsenic in fruit juices. A full 10% of juice tested by Consumer Reports exceeded federal drinking-water standards for arsenic in the U.S.

Low-level chronic exposure to arsenic can lead to gastrointestinal problems, skin discoloration and hyperkeratosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, high blood pressure, diabetes, reproductive problems, neurological problems, various cancers and reduced IQ, as cited in the HBBF report.

Rice Is Also a Harmful Baby Food

Though pediatricians continue to tell parents that rice cereal mixed with breast milk or formula should be a baby’s first meal, it is irresponsible advice that I have always resisted.

Acclimating infants to the taste of highly processed white rice could set them up for a lifetime of bad eating habits and put them at risk for diabetes.12 The way that white rice is processed strips away vitamins, fiber and other nutrients. The rice that is left turns to sugar and raises insulin levels.

Since rice is submersed in water to grow, it also readily absorbs inorganic arsenic, which is the most harmful kind of arsenic. “Rice cereal has six times more arsenic than other types of cereal, like oatmeal and multigrain,” says Jane Houlihan, HBBF’s national director of science and health.13

“I have not been recommending rice cereal as a first food for many years, because I prefer babies eat whole grains with more nutrition,” agrees pediatrician Dr. Tanya Altmann.14 So, just how can baby food be made safe? Government clearly needs to do more, says the HBBF report, pointing out that:15

“FDA can use its testing programs, recall authority, and guidance to industry, among other tools, to characterize and control heavy metal levels in food. The agency tests a fraction of imported food in their Import Program, prioritizing food likely to pose risks to consumers, including those with high heavy metals levels.

Federal law gives FDA the authority to require a recall of food it deems to be adulterated, that ‘bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health,’ including heavy metals …

Despite FDA’s many areas of authority and its recent emphasis on reducing exposures to heavy metals, for 88 percent of baby foods tested by HBBF — 148 of 168 baby foods — FDA has failed to set enforceable limits or issue guidance on maximum safe amounts. And none of the agency’s existing guidance considers the additive neurological impacts of multiple metals in baby food.”

How Can Parents Ensure Baby Food Safety?

I have often written about how parents can make sure their babies and toddlers eat the most nutritious and safest foods. For instructions on how to make your own homemade baby formula, see “The U.S. Campaign Against Breastfeeding.” Here are a few other ideas sparked by the HBBF report that appeared on CNN:

Feed your baby a variety of healthy foods — This will help children be less picky eaters and avoid future food allergies.16
Choose snacks carefully — Rice teething rusks and other teething biscuits have little nutrition.
Reduce juice — Water and milk should be the drinks of choice.
Serve carrots and sweet potatoes less frequently — When you do, peel them carefully and cook them in water that is then disposed.
Minimize the use of plastic, especially with reheating foods — Heat causes dangerous plastics to leach into the food.
Steam and puree organic or biodynamically grown vegetables — Cool them in small glass containers, then freeze and put in bigger containers.
Mercola

How to Detox Heavy Metals to Help End Exhaustion and Chronic Fatigue

Detoxification Treatment

Detoxification is an important aspect of optimal health, but can be quite confusing, not to mention risky if done incorrectly. Wendy Myers, a functional diagnostic nutritionist, founder of MyersDetox.com and author of “Limitless Energy: How to Detox Toxic Metals to End Exhaustion and Chronic Fatigue,” is a treasure trove of information on this topic.

One key component many fail to take into consideration when detoxing is their exposure to non-native electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and microwave radiation from cellphones and Wi-Fi routers. Unless you address these exposures, your detoxification capacity may be impeded. In other words, your body may not be able to excrete heavy metals as efficiently as it would otherwise, due to the interference caused by EMFs.

Related: Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included

EMFs Hinder Detoxification

As explained by Myers, when you have heavy metals in your body, you tend to attract EMFs to your body. EMFs in turn impact your body’s metabolism and functioning — and its ability to effectively eliminate toxins and heavy metals.

“That is one of the things I work with,” Myers says. “Identifying and trying to reduce EMF in [my clients’] environment, so they can improve their body’s ability to function generally and to detox.”

In my book, “Fat for Fuel: A Revolutionary Diet to Combat Cancer, Boost Brain Power and Increase Your Energy,” I detail a program to improve your mitochondrial function, and reducing your toxic burden is an important part of the equation. Your mitochondria will suffer as long as you bombard your body with EMF. In fact, EMF exposure itself is intrinsically a mitochondrial poison.

Professor Emeritus Martin Pall wrote an excellent paper explaining one of the primary mechanisms of harm from exposure to microwave radiation from cell phones. It is related to voltage-gated calcium channels. EMFs impact these calcium channels that release calcium into the cell.

Calcium causes nitric oxide release and combines with superoxide, thereby creating perioxinitrate, which is a massive producer of f hydroxyl free radicals, the most destructive free radical known. Regular exposure to EMFs can actually poison your cells more than ionizing radiation from X-rays.

Common Metals That Wreak Havoc With Your Mitochondrial Function

Fatigue is a widespread problem today. “In doing my research, I was trying to figure out what is making us so tired,” Myers says. Eventually, she discovered a treasure trove of mitochondrial research and studies showing how various metals impact the mitochondria’s ability to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy currency in your body. Metals that are particularly detrimental to mitochondrial function include:

•Aluminum, which is very prevalent in our environment, including the air we breathe, thanks to geoengineering. Aluminum is also found in many vaccines, and is used in water treatment plants to separate out sediments. Antiperspirants, aluminum cans, foil and cookware are other common sources of exposure.

Related: Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

Aluminum poisons enzymes that transport nutrients into your mitochondria, impeding their ability to produce energy. “When you remove aluminum and other mitochondrial poisons, we see a dramatic uptake in people’s energy levels, even people who are chronically fatigued or bedridden from their fatigue,” Myers says. “Within a year or so, they are able to start functioning again just from detoxing these metals”

•Arsenic, found in antibiotics fed to conventionally-raised chickens and eggs, is another. To avoid arsenic, eat organic, pastured eggs and chicken. Rice is another common source, and Myers recommends avoiding brown rice for this reason. Other sources include wine, apple juice and drinking water

•Tin affects your mitochondria a bit differently. The membrane of your mitochondria needs to have a certain charge to function properly. Tin dispels that charge, effectively handicapping the mitochondria. According to Myers, many have surprisingly high levels of tin in their bodies

•Thallium, a gasoline additive, is a common air pollutant thanks to smog and car exhaust fumes. Thallium is added to gasoline for the same reason lead used to be added — to reduce knocking and improve engine performance. Lead was successfully removed from gasoline after public outcry, but now they add thallium instead. Few are aware of this, or understand its health effects, but thallium is a major factor in chronic fatigue

Related: Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease

How to Test for Heavy Metals

There are a number of different ways to test for heavy metals, including hair, urine and stool. Certain metals, such as thallium, show up best in a urine dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) challenge test. DMSA is a chelating agent that can be administered either orally or intravenously. When taken together with a synergistic agent like glycine, it binds to the metals in your body, forcing them out through your stool and urine.

Myers typically starts out doing a hair mineral analysis. It’s easy to do, relatively inexpensive and provides a significant amount of information. Ideally, you’ll want to do all three — hair, stool and urine tests — as no one test is perfect. Some metals come out in hair, others in urine and/or stool. Cadmium, for example, comes out in stool, so a stool test will be the most accurate.

“A lot of people have cadmium toxicity, so it’s very important to measure that,” Myers says. “A lot of people have mercury fillings, so we’ll see a lot of silver from those amalgams coming out in the stool as well. Those kill gut bacteria and cause gut dysbiosis … Other metals prefer to be excreted in the hair. That’s why I’d like to use all those different tests.”

No One Is Exempt From Heavy Metal Toxicity

I did a heavy metal analysis on hair, urine and stool, and despite leading a fairly clean lifestyle, I had every single one of these heavy metals in my body. So, I’m currently doing Myers’ detoxification program myself. While some believe detoxification is unnecessary and view such recommendations with suspicion, I believe accumulation of toxins is an unfortunate artifact of living in the 21st century.

Related: Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases

You’re continually exposed, so not only might you need to go through an aggressive detoxification program, but then you need to have some form of maintenance program to keep up with the continuous exposures.

“Yes, that’s my main message to people,” Myers says. “You should think of detox as a lifestyle, not something that you’re doing for 30 days, six months or even a year. It’s just something that you incorporate into your healthy lifestyle. We’ll talk about some of the supplements and detox protocols that you can do to facilitate that …  

I’m always surprised that my healthiest clients, like yourself, have a lot of metals coming out. Your body is working really well. You’re very healthy, so your body is able to excrete these metals much better than someone who is sick … or their detox organs aren’t functioning very well. But no one is exempt. Everyone has toxic metals in their body that we want to tend to if we plan to live a long, healthy, energetic and disease-free life.”

Indeed, because I lead such a healthy lifestyle, I thought I was somewhat immune to this kind of toxicity. I now suspect my arrogant ignorance of EMF exposure sabotaged my body’s ability to excrete these toxins. Now, I’m extremely diligent about avoiding EMF exposures, and I believe it’s having a positive effect.

Unfortunately, virtually no one, not even most detox experts, understand the EMF issue. I’m trying to change that by starting a dialogue about it. Because you can implement all of these detox strategies, but if you don’t radically reduce your EMF exposure, you’re merely spinning your wheels, investing time, energy and resources while limiting any potential benefit.

Related: Sugar Leads to Depression – World’s First Trial Proves Gut and Brain are Linked (Protocol Included)

Near- Versus Far-Infrared Saunas

Saunas are an excellent detoxification tool, and Myers is one of the few clinicians who actually understands the difference between regular infrared saunas, which use far-infrared and the near-infrared. Far-infrared helps accelerate removal of toxins through sweat, but near-infrared, in the range of 830 to 850 nanometers (nm) is especially important for improving mitochondrial function.

Delivering near-infrared light to the compromised mitochondria synthesizes gene transcription factors that trigger cellular repair. So, ideally, you’ll want to use a full-spectrum sauna. At present, those are hard to find, but you can modify you far-infrared sauna by adding a near-infrared light in the 830 to 850 nm range to it. Myers explains:

“Infrared saunas are one of the best ways to detox your body. I recommend them to all my clients … [T]he most common sauna is a far-infrared sauna … I’m a big fan of near-infrared saunas also.

There are near-infrared bulbs saunas, which are fine for detoxification, but you want to add more concentrated near-infrared energy. You can do that with near-infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs). The best detox combo is a far-infrared sauna with a near-infrared LED and a red LED panel inside of it. That’s the best combo.”

Other Sauna Considerations

Another important consideration when looking for an infrared sauna is to make sure it’s a low-EMF version, as many will emit very high amounts of extra-low frequency EMFs. So, look for manufacturer specifications on EMF emissions. As a general recommendation, avoid the really cheap ones made in China. In addition to EMFs, many of those made with inexpensive materials contain glue and particle board that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Some recommendations call for constructing your own near-infrared sauna using four 250-watt heat lamp bulbs. Most of the energy they produce is in the mid- and far-infrared range, with only 10 percent or so in the near-infrared. The drawback is that the radiation tends to decrease rapidly the further you get from the bulb, and you cannot get too close to the bulb because it’s so hot you’ll burn yourself. As a result, you’re getting mostly far-infrared even from these bulbs.

I prefer Myers’ recommendation, which involves using infrared LEDs, as they generate very little heat, so you can put them very close to your body, right where you need it. Myers explains:

“The near-infrared LEDs are something that have been available in the last few years. There are amazing companies making products like these, the near-infrared and red LED combo products that you can add to your near-infrared bulb sauna or far-infrared sauna. That’s the way that I would go if you’re looking for that maximum detox effect.”

Sauna Recommendations for Detoxification

Contraindications for sauna use include having a pacemaker or metal implants in your body, as they may be heated by the infrared rays. Most people with metal pins in their body will not experience any problems, but it’s something to be mindful of. Saunas are also generally contraindicated for children under the age of 7.

“Their temperature regulation system doesn’t quite work well enough, so I would not have a child use an infrared sauna,” Myers says. “As far as how to use a sauna, I recommend people do them three to five days a week, starting with about five to 10 minutes.

If you’re really, really ill, you’d want to start with a low amount and then slowly work your way up; like maybe each week add a couple of minutes to your sessions. You ought to do what works for you. It doesn’t matter what I say or what I recommend. I want you to listen to your body and do what works for you. If you start to feel nauseated, lightheaded or unwell in any way, it’s time to get out of the sauna.”

Dry brushing your skin prior to the sauna is also helpful as it will get your lymph moving. Then, as soon as you get out of the sauna, be sure to shower right away. The last thing you want is for those excreted toxins to dry out on your body after you’ve sweated them out.

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

I will typically jump into my pool right afterward. The water being a cool mid-40s in the winter to 80s in the summer, it gives me the added advantage of cold thermogenesis in the winter, but also helps remove the toxins excreted through the skin in my sweat. Also be sure to use some kind of binder when detoxing in a sauna. You need something to mop up all the toxins mobilized from your tissues to keep them from your vital organs.

The Importance of Magnesium

Myers also has an online program called “Mineral Power,” which focuses on replenishing minerals lost during the detoxification process.

“There’s always a cost to any kind of detox protocol you do,” Myers says… But the benefits far outweigh the cost. We’re willing to sacrifice some minerals for the benefits. But there are other minerals, like magnesium, which 80 percent of people are estimated to be deficient in. Magnesium is incredibly important to facilitate all of your body’s enzymatic processes, your metabolism … including facilitating detoxification.”

Earlier I mentioned the importance of avoiding EMF as it affects your voltage-gated calcium channels. In studies on calcium channel blockers, researchers discovered these medications mitigated and nearly eliminated the EMF effects. Now, magnesium is a calcium channel blocker, which means that not only will magnesium help your detoxification process if you’re deficient, but it may also remediate some of the inevitable EMF exposure we’re all subject to.

“I can’t tell you how many clients have told me that they just started taking magnesium alone and they start feeling better within a week or so,” Myers notes. “I had the same experience when I did my first hair tissue mineral analysis a long time ago. I started taking magnesium. I couldn’t believe how much better I was feeling. I had to become a practitioner and tell more people about this, about the importance of minerals.”

The Importance of Zinc

Zinc is another important mineral required for detoxification. Minerals help push out metals, as many metals bind to receptors that would normally be occupied by minerals. When you’re deficient, metals can easily take the minerals’ rightful place. Zinc helps push out cadmium, a metal that causes more cancers than all of the other metals combined. Myers explains:

“This is why cigarette smokers get cancer. It’s why my dad got esophageal cancer. He smoked for 40 years … [Y]ou get cadmium from cigarettes … our environment [air] … shellfish and fish. It’s not only mercury that’s in fish. It’s cadmium as well. Cadmium interferes when DNA copies. When a cell multiplies or divides, cadmium interferes in the DNA copying properly, so you get this mutated cell.

We have about 100 million cancer cells in our body at any one time. But if your immune system is malfunctioning, say it’s damaged by metals, EMF or it’s nutrient-deficient or just doesn’t have the energy to function, that’s when that mutated cell caused by cadmium will be allowed to grow and manifest into a tumor, be it malignant or benign. That’s the mechanism by which cadmium causes cancer.”

Cadmium is also a significant contributor to hardening of the arteries. If you are zinc deficient, your body is forced to accumulate cadmium to repair the arteries. However, cadmium is hard and brittle, so when it deposits into your arteries, it reduces the arteries’ ability to expand and to contract, thereby contributing to high blood pressure and heart disease.

This is also the mechanism by which smoking leads to heart disease. The good news is you can reverse this process by taking proactive steps to remove cadmium from your system. It is a slow, long process, however.

Other Important Minerals

Other important minerals include:

•Selenium. Most people have insufficient levels of selenium, and you need this mineral to repair chromosome damage. Selenium is also needed for the conversion of thyroid hormone, from T4 to T3. You need it to make glutathione in your body — a master antioxidant made by your liver that is important for heavy metal detoxification.

Selenium also prevents viral replication, and helps detoxify arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, mercury and silver. The daily recommended dose is 200 micrograms (mcg) per day.

•Potassium, while not a primary detox mineral, does help push out thallium.

•Iodine can also be beneficial. Thyroid disease is extremely common, especially in those drinking fluoridated water, as fluoride displaces iodine. Chlorine and bromine also displaces iodine, and they too are added to your water supply and/or food. Iodine helps push out halogens that compete with iodine uptake in the thyroid. To facilitate detoxification of halogens, you will need to take much higher amounts of iodine than typically recommended for general health.

All these supplements are classified as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), so there are no toxicity concerns. One exception is selenium. You do not want to take excessive amounts of it, and it has a very low therapeutic ratio. So, don’t take more than the recommended 200 mcg per day. More is not better in this case.

Where to Find Detox Help

Wendy is currently working on starting a detox institute, scheduled to open in 2018. She’s partnered with Dr. Bruce Jones to develop and legitimize hair mineral analysis. The Institute will teach medical doctors, licensed professionals and laypeople the science behind the use of hair mineral analysis.

“To date, most of what you learn about hair mineral analysis doesn’t have a scientific backing to it. What we want to change, and what I want to do, is really legitimize it in the eyes of the medical profession. We’re going to accomplish that by [making sure that] everything we say is backed by scientific research. You can look forward to that in 2018.”

If you would like to schedule an appointment with one of Myers’ personally trained Mineral Power practitioners, visit MineralPower.com.

“That’s where you can learn all about our detoxification program. It’s really a healing program as well. I wake up every day so excited to teach people about the importance of detoxification and how metals are affecting their body, because they’re not getting that information from their conventional medical doctor.

They go to their doctor and maybe they’re getting advised to take medications or surgery, which is useful in many situations. But there’s a big absence of information into the underlying root causes of people’s health issues, which are mineral and nutrient-deficiency, metal and chemical toxicities, EMF and other factors. I really want to educate people what they’re missing in trying to reach their health goals,” Myers says.

… It can really help to have someone holding your hand and getting support if you run into a road block or a problem with detoxification. Sometimes, there is preliminary work we have to do to get someone to the point where they’re able to detox … We help to troubleshoot what those issues are and develop a really individualized detox program to get your body where you want to get it.”

Myers’ book, “Limitless Energy: How to Detox Toxic Metals to End Exhaustion and Chronic Fatigue,” goes into these and many other details not covered in this interview. At $6 for the electronic version, it’s an absolute steal. If there’s a specific toxin you’re concerned with, Myers’ book will help you identify the different sources and the specific strategies you can use to eliminate it.

Also consider getting a high quality, low-EMF infrared sauna, and use it regularly in combination with these binders and any minerals you may be in need of. We live in a very toxic world. Even if you think you’re doing most everything right, chances are you have accumulated heavy metals in your body, which may prevent you from experiencing peak health.

80% of Infant Formulas Contain Arsenic, Study Finds

(Independent) A large amount of baby food products contain dangerous chemicals, a new study has found.

Products were revealed to include arsenic, lead, cadmium and acrylamide in a test carried out by The Clean Label Project, a non-profit organisation that advocates consumer transparency.

They used Nielsen data to analyse 530 different snacks, cereals, formulas and drinks that had been purchased in the last five months.

Are babies born by caesarean more likely to be obese?

Out of the products analysed, researchers found that 65 percent contained arsenic, 58 percent contained cadmium, 36 percent contained lead and 10 percent contained acrylamide.

80 per cent of infant formula samples were also found to contain arsenic, a toxin which the World Health Organisation associates with a slew of health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

 While the amounts of each chemical varied with each product, some contained up to 600 parts of arsenic per billion.
 Many of these were rice-based products such as crisps and “puffs”.
Recommended Reading: How to Reduce the Arsenic in Your Rice by 80%

Mother is shocked when her breastmilk turns yellow, then finds out why

The study also found that baby foods today had 70 percent more acrylamide than the average French fry, a chemical which has been linked to brain damage and reproductive challenges.

The report named and shamed some major baby food retailers, including Enfamil, Plum Organics and Sprout, who they deemed as some of the worst offenders for containing harmful chemicals.

They also found that 60 percent of products with “BPA free” labels, in fact, tested positive for bisphenol A, an industrial chemical which is used to make plastic.

Clean Label Project concluded their findings by identifying the top and bottom five cereals, formulas, snacks, drinks and jar meals in terms of dangerous chemical contents.

Their full list can be seen here.

Studies Link Heavy Metals To Explosion Of Neurodevelopment Disorders And Declining IQ In Children

(Natural Blaze) A “silent pandemic of neurodevelopmental toxicity” is disabling a generation of children around the world. This is the verdict of neurology experts Philippe Grandjean and Philip Landrigan in a 2014 report in Lancet Neurology. The staggering tsunami of developmental disabilities now affects at least one in six children in the U.S. and millions more worldwide. Two new studies suggest that the most common of these illnesses—autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and tics—are related to each other and may share common causation. The culprit? Environmental toxins, particularly heavy metals.

About 11% (or one in nine 4-17-year-olds) have received an ADHD diagnosis—and in some states, as many as 19%. The most recent ASD estimates in the U.S., from 2014 data, report a prevalence of one in 45 children, representing a “significant increase” compared to 2011–2013.

Adding to the worry, scientists and physicians are increasingly seeing children with multiple neurodevelopmental disorders. Children with “comorbid diagnoses” (i.e., more than one disorder) often have “greater levels of emotional, behavioral and educational impairment and the need for more intensive treatment.” Notably, ASD and ADHD frequently co-occur. The current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) recognizes this trend by allowing for a combined diagnosis, whereas prior versions (DSM-IV and DSM-IV-TR) barred simultaneous ADHD and ASD diagnoses.

Related: Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

Neurodevelopmental disorders overlap even in the general population

A new UK-based study in the Journal of Attention Disordersexplores undiagnosed ADHD and ASD in a population of mostly female adult volunteers drawn from the general population. The researchers included only participants who had never received a diagnosis of ADHD, ASD, dyslexia or another mental disorder. Participants completed four online questionnaires that measured ADHD and ASD traits.

  • The researchers classified one-fifth (20%) of the participants as having ADHD despite their lack of a prior diagnosis.
  • A substantial proportion (4.3%) of undiagnosed participants also had a score indicative of at least mild autism.
  • The investigators noted considerable overlap between ADHD and ASD traits, particularly for pragmatic language(“knowing what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and generally how to ‘act’ around others during conversation”) and for attention-related skills.
  • An intriguing correlation between seemingly contradictory measures of distractibility (ADHD) and hyperfocus (ASD) prompted the researchers to speculate that “these two extreme manifestations of attention deficits could be controlled by the same mechanism.”

Comorbidities abound

A new Canadian study in the International Review of Neurobiology also found an overlap in neurodevelopmental disorders. The study’s authors note that 85% to 90% of patients with Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders have comorbidities and manifest an overlapping spectrum of “sensory-, behavioral-, cognitive- and sleep-related problems that have a major impact on their functioning and quality of life.” These comorbidities commonly include ADHD, ASD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and mood and anxiety disorders. These data support prior studies showing that the rate of Tourette syndrome in autistic children is almost seven times higher (6.5%) than the rate for children drawn from the general population (0.95%).

…share a “common mechanism and represent a comorbid condition” that links nervous system injuries to immune system damage.

Many other studies of comorbidities have suggested that ADHD is comorbid with a wide range of other neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, including dyslexia, depression, oppositional defiant disorder and eating disorders. One group of researchers has even postulated that ADHD and allergic rhinitis share a “common mechanism and represent a comorbid condition” that links nervous system injuries to immune system damage. This suggests that perhaps a single toxic culprit may be causing both kinds of damage simultaneously. All of these studies raise the question of whether these concurrent disorders represent a “neurodevelopmental continuum” that “transcends traditional diagnostic boundaries.”

Related: Increase your IQ with the Right Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, and Exercises for Your Brain

Multiple metals

Multiple studies have pointed to heavy metals as the leading culprit in the cascade of neurodevelopmental disorders. Moreover, the effects of heavy metals on cognition and behavior are synergistic: “Co-exposure to multiple metals can result in increased neurotoxicity compared to single-metal exposure, in particular during early life.” Research indicates, for example, that ADHD and problems such as sleep disturbances are more prevalent in children who live near coal ash (which contains metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic); childrenwith ASD have significantly higher blood levels of arsenic and mercury compared to healthy controls; and autistic children have higher levels of mercury, lead and aluminum in their hair compared to matched controls.

…environmental toxins are causing widespread brain injury and loss of function across a generation of children.

Where are we headed?

Grandjean and Landrigan believe that environmental toxins are causing widespread brain injury and loss of function across a generation of children. The broad decline in neurological function is not captured by the increasing diagnoses of discrete neurodevelopmental disorders; the UK study of ADHD and ASD seems to bear this out, detecting overlapping ADHD and ASD symptoms in 20% and 4.3%, respectively, of its sample of undiagnosed adults.

This finding suggests that widespread brain damage may be affecting an entire generation without anyone taking official notice. Those indications are supported by the explosion in special education clinics in schools across western nations.

Related: How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders

Referring to the epidemic in childhood brain disorders, Harvard researcher David Bellinger has noted the urgency of paying more attention to “subclinical effects.” For example, many environmental toxins decrease IQ.

Bellinger states, “Even a modest impact that does not push a child’s neurodevelopment into the range of clinical concern cannot be dismissed as benign because, if the exposure is prevalent, the total number of IQ points lost in the population as a whole might be large, and the reduction in the intellectual resources available to a society substantial.” Citing Bellinger’s work, a group of Oregon researchers reports that a 5-point decrease in mean IQ would increase the cognitively impaired population by 57%.

Far from being “little adults,” children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental toxins. Not only is the human brain “exquisitely sensitive to the impacts of environmental toxicant exposures during development,” but it “can serve as ‘the canary in the coal mine’ for such exposures.” Yet even though U.S. children’s catastrophic state of health and neurodevelopment is emblazoned across virtually every set of child health statistics, public health and regulatory agencies continue to turn a blind eye.