Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1364104
Page 18 | Abby's Magazine | www.AbbysMag.com 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 chela ng agent that can be administered either orally or intravenously. When taken together with a synergis c 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, rela vely inexpensive and provides a significant amount of informa on. 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' detoxifica on program myself. While some believe detoxifica on is unnecessary and view such recommenda ons with suspicion, I believe accumula on of toxins is an unfortunate ar fact of living in the 21st century. You're con nually exposed, so not only might you need to go through an aggressive detoxifica on program, but then you need to have some form of maintenance program to keep up with the con nuous 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 be er than someone who is sick… or their detox organs aren't func oning 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, energe c 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 posi ve effect. Unfortunately, virtually no one, not even most detox experts, understand the EMF issue. I'm trying to change that by star ng 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, inves ng me, energy and resources while limi ng any poten al benefit. Near- Versus Far-Infrared Saunas Saunas are an excellent detoxifica on 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 func on. Delivering near-infrared light to the compromised mitochondria synthesizes gene transcrip on 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 your 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… The 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 detoxifica on, but you want to add more concentrated near-infrared energy. You can do that with near-infrared light emi ng 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 Considera ons Another important considera on 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 specifica ons on EMF emissions. As a general recommenda on, avoid the really cheap ones made in China. In addi on to EMFs, many of those made with inexpensive materials contain glue and par cle board that emit vola le organic compounds (VOCs). Some recommenda ons call for construc ng your own near-infrared sauna using four 250- wa 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 radia on 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 ge ng mostly far-infrared even from these bulbs. I prefer Myers' recommenda on, which involves using infrared LEDs, as they generate very li le 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 Recommenda ons for Detoxifica on Contraindica ons 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 regula on 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, star ng with about