Toxic Metal Assessment

The Toxic Metal Assessment focuses on toxic heavy metals through both a random and challenge urine test. Conventional testing for heavy metal toxicity has two main limitations: 1) the reference ranges used are far below what levels are now known to cause long-term health risks 2) they cannot adequately assess long-term accumulation as they only look at blood or urine and most of these metals are stored in the organs, connective tissue, nervous system and bone. While random and provoked urine testing has its limitations it is much more sensitive to detect long-term heavy metal accumulation when compared to conventional approaches.

The metals that are measured in the urine include: Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cadmium, Cesium, Gadolinium, Lead, Mercury, Nickel, Palladium, Platinum, Tellurium, Thallium, Thorium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, and Uranium. Heavy metals exposure comes from a variety of sources and has a neurotoxic effect on the body. Many metals can get deposited in the brain, the kidneys, liver, and bone, where they are stored extremely well. This makes it challenging for the body to remove these metals without additional nutraceutical or botanical support. Some of the highly toxic metals include mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and aluminum. Identifying body burden of these metals is especially important in those who consume fish and shellfish, have “silver” fillings, and root canals. Those who smoke, or are in construction or in plumbing would have increased levels of metals in their bodies.