When you think of the things contributing to the status of your health, you may not consider exposure to heavy metals as a relevant factor. But, in reality, heavy metals are all around us; in our water, in our food supply, in our homes, and even, in the air we breathe.
All of this exposure has been linked to ailments as pervasive as headaches, poor digestion, and fatigue, and as serious as degenerative diseases like Parkinsons, Alzheimers, MS, and cancer.
On the Genius of Wellness podcast, Heavy Metals in Our Bodies, functional nurse nutritionist Leslie Frodmea, RN, explains why she assists patients to better equip their bodies for managing heavy metal exposure,
“I try to really help people think about how to create nutrient-dense diets. Because our minerals, our nutrients, our vitamins are being drawn from us . . . in order to handle and detoxify and move out metals and other toxicities.”
“Because,” she adds, “If the terrain is healthy, the body will survive.”
Meaning, if our food is providing us with the nutrients we need to support our body’s detoxification and heavy metal management, we won’t be so susceptible to the negative side effects of exposure.
Leslie offers some practical tips on creating a nutrient-dense way of eating, setting up our bodies to best manage heavy metal exposure.
- Center your diet around whole food, plant-based ingredients – Plant foods are packed with the micronutrients our bodies need for healthy immune systems and natural detoxification. Whole foods, or foods that are unprocessed, don’t add additional stress to our systems, allowing for greater natural detoxification.
- Eat foods that support our detox-powerhouse, the liver – Leafy-green vegetables, like spinach and kale, and cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cabbage, help support a healthy functioning liver, and therefore, improve our body’s detoxification capability.
- Avoid sugar and processed foods – sugar robs our bodies of critical minerals, which leave us more susceptible to heavy metals binding to our cells. The more beneficial minerals we have, the less opportunity heavy metals have to infiltrate our systems.
- Don’t hinder your body’s detoxification process through antiperspirants – Antiperspirants (differing from deodorant) stops your body from sweating, which is one of the primary ways toxins are eliminated from the body. Choose a deodorant with good ingredients instead, avoiding antiperspirants altogether.