Ask Tamara: What about natural chelation?
Below is a post I originally wrote and shared in May of 2014. It’s a post I have shared often so I am re-sharing now, so those who are new to my page and my work have context for my story as well as the benefit of the information provided. Thanks for reading, friends! – Tamara
I am always asked about “natural chelation”* methods, since so many parents want to know what they can do if their baby tests positive (especially if they test lower level positive and are not hospitalized or given medical chelation*), or if they themselves test positive (especially if they are breast feeding.)
*Chelation refers to an risky emergency medical intervention – generally reserved for use in cases of extreme poisoning, when the patient might otherwise die – in which chemicals are introduced intravenously to bond with the toxic heavy metals so they can be excreted in urine (along with vital skeletal minerals like calcium)
To start: I am not a doctor (I think I have to say that!) I am not involved with medical organization, and not directly affliated with any medical staff. I always encourage people with medical and health related questions to seek advice of their regular medical provider. That said….
What I will share is what seemed to work for me (as a mother) and what many of the other parents in parent-support groups I am involved with have shared as solutions that seem to have worked for them as well. [If you would like to join one of the parent support group that I am part of (I belong to 10 or 12 on Facebook), please friend me at http://www.facebook.com/leadsafe and send a message that you want to join the groups and I will add you! Thank you.]
To learn more about the medical establishment’s concerns about natural chelation click here.
In making this inquiry for yourself and your child you may want to research the following natural substances online (“Google” them and see what you find!)
- Garlic (as a natural chelator)
- Modified Citrus Pectin [2017 update, I recently heard that some forms of this product may contain lead.]
- Cilantro
- Chlorella
Those are the four main ones I have heard of which are anecdotally purported to help. [For obvious reasons, funding and institutional interest is scarce for large-scale, peer-reviewed clinical studies into “natural”/”alternative” (i.e. non-pharmceutical, inexpensive, plant-based, DIY) remedies for human ailments.]
Here’s some links about the garlic study that was done with chickens—it’s a pretty useful bit of information, since many of us already eat a lot of garlic and can think of easy ways to incorporate more garlic into our diets.
For children, consider roasting the garlic in the oven at 425 for 30 minutes – with a drizzle of olive oil over it. The garlic gets sweeter that way and can easily be spread on toast or mixed in with other foods (although I must admit I have no idea how cooking it in this way might impact it’s purported chelation properties!)
- http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/garlic-beats-drug-detoxifying-lead-safely-body-
1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22151785
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1742-7843.2011.00841.x/full
- http://beforeitsnews.com/health/2013/07/garlic-better-than-rx-medications-at-detoxing-lead-from-the-body-2499462.html
For my children, I used a product called NDF by Bioray Natural Detox to lower their blood lead levels more quickly than they were going down without any intervention (please click here to read my separate post on my personal experience with NDF).
As one example, while using this product, Avi’s BLL came down from a BLL 15 to a BLL 11 in three weeks—by far the quickest decline he experienced.
I know the owner of this company (we have met in person) and I also researched her work. It is my understanding that this product is independently tested by a third party and guaranteed to be lead-free (many so called “all natural” supplements are not tested for lead nor guaranteed to be lead-free!) It is also made from “all natural” ingredients (broken cell-wall cilantro and chlorella) and it is the way they process it that allegedly makes it substantially more bio-available than other brands. I encourage you to read about it yourself on their site and through customers’ reviews.
You can buy other supplements with cilantro and chlorella – but I have not found another one that is guaranteed to be lead-free.
The logic there: if something naturally binds to lead in the body (to help the body excrete it) it may also naturally bind to lead in the growing or manufacturing or harvesting of the elements of the product, so independent third party testing seems crucial.
One mama in one of my parent groups (a mama who is now a very good friend of mine) had a baby girl with an initial blood lead level (bll) of 48 micrograms per deciliter. Under the care of a naturopath, she aggressively treated baby Katie by rubbing cilantro oil on her feet each day. Her understanding was that the feet are supposed to be a good pathway for detox and the oil can allegedly help “mobilize” the lead—increasing the amount that is excreted in the urine. With mama Amy’s amazing persistence (in spite of her personal allergy to cilantro!) Katie’s blood lead level dropped from a BLL 48 to a BLL 1.0 in about year.
Skeptics might argue that that might have happened over that time-frame on it’s own, but there is starting to be a lot of anecdotal evidence (and a few limited clinical studies) to suggest these kinds of interventions may indeed accelerate that process (of eliminating lead from the blood) substantially, and as a parent of lead-poisoned children, I am not going to risk NOT trying a non-toxic, plant-based solution that has the potential to help—especially in the absence of any available medical interventions whatsoever (as is currently the case for a “non-life-threatened pediatric lead poisoned patient”).
I have not tried modified citrus pectin, however many mothers (and their natural health care providers) swear by it as a natural detox supplement. Here are some links about that:
- http://www.econugenics.com/p-71-pectasol-c.aspx?gclid=CJTl1YXJlb4CFQqIfgod2zYASw
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18616067
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_citrus_pectin
One specific compound that has been alleged to be a detox agent if ingested, yet I have personally found to have high levels of lead and therefore I recommend that you avoid at all costs is bentonite clay (and any possible supplement or personal care item that contains any amount of bentonite clay.)
Food items are considered toxic if they have lead in the parts per billion (ppb) range, and I have personally used an XRF to test bentonite clay samples (being sold as a supplement and marketed as safe to take internally) that were positive for lead in the parts per MILLION range (ppm). This is much, much more toxic than is considered allowable in food items. I also specifically recommend avoiding toothpaste made with any bentonite clay. No level of lead is safe for ingestion (for adults or children), kids swallow toothpaste and it is simply not worth the risk.
When I originally posted this concern for bentonite clay on my website (with supporters of bentonite clay products insisting it was *natural* and therefore safe!) a wonderful response I got from a follower was that rattle snakes and hurricanes are also natural… so….
There you go! Happy researching. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Tamara Rubin
Unexpected Lead Expert
Mother of #LeadPoisoned Children
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It is my understanding that lead accumulates in the bones. Have these methods used for old exposure to lead or just for recent exposure?
wouldn’t blood lead levels from recent exposure go down anyway if the lead migrated to other tissues such as, as you say , bones?
This would then give a false impression of a lowered total load.
Foods with calcium sulfate can reduce blood lead levels. (It’s often added to bread, tofu, and corn starch). Heavy metals readily bind to sulfur compounds as they are molecularly compatible. Lead-sulfide is the strongest covalent bond the lead molecule can form. Same for other heavy metals. Filling your body with sulfur-containing compounds, such as those found in cruciferous vegetables, can prevent damage from lead and may reduce lead already in the body. Same chemistry behind lead out paint stripper used to prevent lead from leaching out of lead paint waste. Of course, for people dealing with lead poisoning, consult a doctor well versed on these matters. And listen to Tamara Rubin. Calcium sulfate should be part of the lead poisoning prevention tool-kit.
Thanks so much for chiming in Daniel!
Is the NDF link live or where is that post? The words are pink above but no link and when I searched the blog I found another called ‘detox’ but not the one about NDF…right?
I love your work but Chorella and Cilantro are very dangerous. They mobilize mercury, which everyone has to some degree. Mercury disrupts mineral transport which means mercury toxic people (whether they know it or not) will hold on to more metals like aluminum and lead. Chorella and Cilantro do bind to mercury but most of the mercury doesn’t make it out of the body, it is instead released in the bloodstream, allowing it to be redistributed in new tissue, thus causing new disease in the long term. In the short term these herbs might offer relief because they will displace metals in places causing agony but it is not acutely apparent when the metals are redistributed and what new symptoms are caused. I didn’t believe this myself and caused myself such ugly agony that cost me years. I didnt realize at the time what I did, but in hindsight it’s obvious.
In years of searching, only “safe” metal detoxes I’ve found are Andy Cutler Chelation and NIR sauna (which anyone can make for <$100). Detoxing lead can be painful and difficult since it often gets into bones. Just because somethings natural doesn't mean anything, appeal to nature logical fallacy. Though natural solutions are often a good choice, but not in this instance.
"Nearly all men die of their remedies, and not of their illnesses"
Hi Chrisg,
I have heard this and I have not seen (or been able to find) any of the science that supports it.
I had an exchange with Andy Cutler maybe a year before he died in which he clearly demonstrated his lack of understanding about lead poisoning, blood lead levels, the impacts of lead exposure on children, sources of lead exposure and more.
He had advised a parent in a way that shared incorrect and even blatantly false information and if the parent had followed his advice her child would likely have had serious long term acute lead exposure as a result. His information about lead was not science based and, in fact, was completely contradictory to the well studied [forward thinking progressive innovative] scientifically-based understanding of the issue by the current body of top scientists working with childhood lead poisoning today.
I need to write a blog post about this and was going to – but then he passed away.
I know some parents have reported benefits from his work, but where lead was concerned he was a complete ignorant fraud spreading dangerous opinions and misinformation that may have led to the prolonged Lead-poisoning (prolonged exposure to a specific and significant source of Lead) for possibly hundreds of children (if not more.)
Again – I will write more about this when I have time.
Tamara
Like most Lyme types will tell you your problems are Lyme, or medicare clinics will tell your problems are lack of psych meds, Andy preached Mercury as the be all end all of health and disease. To paraphrase: “If you remove the mercury, you will near completely heal. You don’t need herbs or nutrition other than low thiol diet.” He was pretty sick…like most of the people who still moderate that group and follow his word religiously (super ocd, to be polite). He would likely still be alive if he gave herbs or infection/parasites and nutrition credence…huge part of heart disease…
You know, per doctoring yourself, you decide what to take and leave. if you can’t afford a goood doctor, you have to doctor yourself. If you want to safely treat mercury, you follow Cutler’s protocol. He was a bit arrogant, r.i.p. but his work on mercury is unparalleled. Thousands have been killed or maimed by mainstream medicine mercury protocols.
Anyway, per your logic, I should not trust the rest of your site because suggesting cilantro to cure metal toxicity just idk like because it’s natural and the first results on google that you and some other people followed, is groundless and seriously dangerous.
I don’t know too much about lead, but why measure blood level of lead? I know one can be severely mercury toxic and have very low blood levels (because they are so diseased they cannot begin to detox). Wouldn’t lead be in tissue and bone? With acute poisoning, blood test makes sense, especially for children.
Re: lead reduced from using cilantro–how are they sure its not redistributed somewhere else in their body? Cilantro will reduce mercury blood levels too.
What were his dangerous ideas on lead?
https://sci-hub.tw/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17408840
This explains how mercury is moved in the body by thiols. ALA, a dithiol, the primary chelation agent for mercury, is taken on its half life to minimize mercury being left to redistribute. Cilantro contains dithiols that are not studied. Chlorella contains monothiols. If cilantro was better studied and the dithiols could be better standardized, then it could possibly work as a safe detox, however, for mysterious (likely political) reasons, there is no avalible information on this. Chorella’s monothiols are less useful for detox and stir up mercury, like trying to clean up lead paint dust with a leaf blower.
I don’t know about lead
Hello,
I am one of those people that are extremely interested to hear what is this lead source that Andy Cutler was exposing hundreds of children to, about what lead properties he was completely ignorant and what misinformation he was spreading. I think that such a clarification should take few minutes to write, not half of a year.
“he was a complete ignorant fraud spreading dangerous opinions and misinformation that may have led to the prolonged Lead-poisoning (prolonged exposure to a specific and significant source of Lead)”
Hello,
If you feel your child is in danger (as a result of a specific or suspected Lead exposure) you should seek the advice of a doctor who has extensive experience with Lead exposed children. Andy gave advice to parents of Lead poisoned children that was 100% wholly contradicted by well settled science.
Tamara
Could You please quote this advice ? The only advice I could find Andy gave for parents with lead poisoned children was : chelate with DMSA. Which is exactly the advice that doctors give. I am also very interested to know how was he exposing children to lead. The only thing I can come up with is the ridiculous amount of magnesium (and supplements in general) he advised people to use and used himself (which probably contributed to his heart attack) which may be contaminated with lead. Please elaborate.
I hope nobody follows your chelation advice, especially for children! So unsafe to use cilantro and chlorella…so many people have been INJRED by this. Your blog post is ridiculous. Your comment about Andy Cutler Chelation is ridiculous. Please do more research surrounding safe low dose chelation and help others know the right information. You have a duty with so many followers.
Per the post – my advice is to do your own research and make your own informed decision that is best for your family. That is the overarching theme of my work and I hope everyone follows that advice Sandy.
Tamara
Obviously Cutler’s protocol is still alive and his book is for sale, so perhaps it would be useful to post and share your insights. As a researcher, I am sure he’d be delighted by the debate, even if you disagree with him.
Hi, Tamara. Thank you for all you do. I am considering Bioray NDF for myself and my one-year-old who has moderate BLL of lead (3.3 – which we’re also addressing through more mindful and regular cleaning, window replacement, and addressing the exterior, and other steps). I was on the the Bioray website, and read the third party testing report for NDF, and its most-recent report showed it contained lead at 0.05 micrograms/gram. Isn’t that 0.05ppm – or 50 ppb (https://www.bioray.com/pub/media/wysiwyg/Test_Results/HM/HM091318_NDF-1oz.pdf)? Is that still safe? I want to be sure before going that route. I’m ingesting plenty of garlic, too – though it’s not easy to impose on a one-year-old, raw or cooked. I might try adding more cilantro. He’s a picky one.
Should I dilute the cilantro oil with a carrier oil, such as sesame oil?
Do you know about herbal formulas to clean out heavy metals?
There is https://www.herballegacy.com, click Ailments and Programs, then click Extended Herbal Cleanse.
There is also a heavy metal formula.
I have had very painful legcramps for 18 years. It started in my lat apartment where the previous owner
had painted the kitchen bench red and when I baked on it, color came out. I only baked a few times there. Also another person made my cast iron skillet rusty. Iron toxicity – and rust on iron is the worst.
Do you think I might be lead poisoned?
Have you tested Fire king cups or dishes?
Just wondering if you’ve ever tested the Bioray NDF bottle/glass dropper for lead, like you have other similar liquid herbal brown bottles as I am looking to purchase. Asking since it stores alcohol which can serve to leach?