Toxic heavy metals are impossible to avoid, they are everywhere! Gas emissions, industrial processes and manufacturing, pesticides, fertilizers, deodorant sprays, paints, PVC plastics, to name but a few, all contribute to polluting our water systems and air with toxic heavy metals. Although, we need to be heavily contaminated to suffer serious nerve, brain and tissue damage or even death, light to moderate contamination also has its negative effects. Oxidative stress leading to cancer, heart disease and premature aging, a weakened immune system and an increased acidic body PH in which disease can develop more freely and rapidly are all conditions that can be cause by toxic heavy metals in out cells. Fortunately there are some everyday foods that can help us detox heavy metals.

Cilantro (Chinese Parsley)
Using cilantro to clear toxic heavy metals out of the body is a method strongly supported by several scientific studies. One of these studies, conducted in S.Korea, found that cilantro is especially effective at flushing the toxic heavy metal mercury out of the body. Patients who just had amalgam fillings removed, a process that leeks an extensive amount of mercury into the body, were tested to see if cilantro would help. The results found that those who were given cilantro excreted vasts amounts of mercury through their urine compared to those who were not treated with cilantro! As a result of this study and other similar ones, cilantro has become a staple ingredient in many heavy metal detox program. Cilantro is not just limited to detoxifying mercury either. It also helps to clear out aluminum and lead to, just not to the extent that it does with mercury.

Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli, kale, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower and brussel sprouts are all members of one of the most potent plant families for helping us to detoxify. Cruciferous vegetables greatly enhance our ability to remove all sorts of toxic substances from the body, including toxic heavy metals. They contain specific antioxidants called sulforaphane and indoles that stimulate the liver to greatly increase the production of detoxification enzymes needed for phase I and phase II detoxification of our cells.

Phase I detoxification actually changes the toxic substances within us to a chemical form that can be passed out of the body. Unfortunately, this makes the toxic substance even more harmful! However this is a necessary process, otherwise we would need be able to clear the toxins out. Phase II then converts these altered toxins into yet another form that is now much less harmful and safe to be passed out of our cells and bodies. Making fresh juices from cruciferous vegetables has been found to be a lot more effective for detoxification than eating them.