Heavy metals are all around us, from the air we breathe to the food we eat, and even in household cleaning products. Most alarming of all is the presence of heavy metals in water supplies in 36 major cities across the US, contaminating the resources with a known carcinogen. Long-term exposure to heavy metals can wreak havoc on your health, with increased risks of life-threatening diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and cancer.
Many people suffering from chronic heavy metal exposure are misdiagnosed when they seek answers to the symptoms they experience, such as headaches, muscle and joint pain, constipation, and persistent fatigue, often being told the issue is psychological. However, there is a natural remedy available: probiotics.
Probiotics Support Heavy Metal Detox
Probiotics can protect your body from the dangerous toxic effects of heavy metals such as cadmium, one of the most hazardous metals that make their way into the food chain through phosphate fertilizers and sewage sludge. You don’t need to go to your doctor for this solution, but rather to your local health food store. You might even have probiotics in your fridge already. These helpful bacteria can support your body and protect it from heavy metal toxicity.
A study published in the Journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology discovered that mice given cadmium-laced water and the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum for eight weeks had less cadmium in their intestinal tissues than mice not given the probiotic. The probiotics helped the mice detoxify their bodies by excreting the cadmium in their feces, and it is believed they can perform the same function in humans.
Reduced Inflammation and Leaky Gut
The good news doesn’t stop there. The probiotics helped the mice reduce inflammation and intestinal permeability, also known as leaky gut, which is a condition you want to avoid. Lactobacillus plantarum can be found in foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, pickles, or in supplement form, and it is highly likely that most beneficial probiotic bacteria will have similar effects.
Gregor Reid of the Lawson Health Research Institute states that “beneficial bacteria are indeed capable of degrading pesticides and sequestering toxic chemicals.” With that in mind, actually taking probiotics is essential.
Heavy Metal Detox for Everyone
Even if you don’t experience symptoms of heavy metal toxicity, you should still add probiotics to your diet for two reasons:
- Whether you experience symptoms or not, you are exposed to heavy metals daily. Helping your body remove them before they cause adverse health effects is essential.
- Probiotics help prevent a plethora of other health issues, such as osteoporosis, liver disease, hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, bipolar disorder, and cancer, to name a few.
In conclusion, probiotics can help steer you down the path to good health by flushing out the harmful heavy metals hidden inside your body. Supplying your body with these beneficial bacteria is a natural way to detoxify from daily toxin exposure and can work as a preventative measure against long-term, life-threatening diseases. So why not incorporate probiotics into your diet today and invest in your health?