The Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis / Why Heavy Metals are a Hazard to Your Health

Common Heavy Metals: Sources and Specific Effects

Arsenic

Heavy metals have no function in the body and can be highly toxic. Introduction Aluminum Arsenic Cadmium Lead Nickel Antimony Barium Uranium

Sources: Arsenic toxicity has been recognized for centuries, and hair shows significant correlation with intake.⁵⁸ Arsenic toxicity manifests with various symptoms including macrocytosis and neuropathy. Data show that cereals are a major source of arsenic during infancy and that changes in hair arsenic levels during infancy correspond to the introduction of cereals into the diet. ⁵⁹

Air pollution, antibiotics given to commercial livestock, certain marine plants, chemical processing, coal-fired power plants, defoliants, drinking water, drying agents for cotton, fish, herbicides, insecticides, meats (from commercially raised poultry and cattle), metal ore smelting, pesticides, seafood (fish, mussels, oysters), specialty glass, and wood preservatives. The labels of treated wood and insecticides may be checked for arsenic content.

Target Organs: Most organs of the body, especially the gastrointestinal system, lungs, and skin.

Signs/Symptoms: Abdominal pain, burning of the mouth and throat, cancer (especially lung and skin), coma, diarrhea, nausea, neuritis, peripheral vascular problems, skin lesions, and vascular collapse; macrocytosis and neuropathy.

Lower levels of exposure to inorganic arsenic may cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, blood vessel damage, a "pins and needles" sensation in hands and feet, painful and profuse diarrhea, shock, coma, convulsions and death, irritation, inflammation, ulceration of mucous membranes and skin, kidney damage. Direct skin contact may cause redness and swelling.

Chronic toxic effects are fatigue, loss of energy, G.I. disturbance, nasal septum perforation, ulceration in folds of skin, increased pigmentation of skin, appearance of small "corns" or "warts" on the palms, soles, and torso, exfoliative dermatitis, rashes, muscular paralyses and atrophy, sensory disturbances, visual disturbances and blindness, degeneration of liver (cirrhosis) and kidneys, garlic odor to breath, noncirrhotic portal hypertension.

Discussion: The greatest dangers from chronic arsenic exposure are lung and skin cancers and gradual poisoning, most frequently from living near metal smelting plants or arsenic factories. Arsenic toxicity has been recognized for centuries, and hair shows significant correlation with intake.⁵⁸

When arsenic enters the environment:
 

• It doesn't evaporate.
• Most arsenic compounds can dissolve in water.
• It gets into air when contaminated materials are burned.
• It settles from the air to the ground.
• It doesn't break down, but can change from one form to another
• Fish and shellfish build up organic arsenic in their tissues, but most of the arsenic in fish isn't toxic.

Risk of Exposure:
 

• Breathing sawdust or burning smoke from wood containing arsenic
• Breathing workplace air
• Ingesting contaminated water, soil, or air at waste sites
• Ingesting contaminated water, soil, or air near areas naturally high in arsenic
• Inorganic arsenic is a human poison. Organic arsenic is less harmful.
• High levels of inorganic arsenic in food or water can be fatal. A high level is 60 parts of arsenic per million parts of food or water (60 ppm). Arsenic damages many tissues including nerves (peripheral polyneuropathy, axonal degeneration), stomach and intestines, and skin. Breathing high levels can give you a sore throat and irritated lungs. All arsenicals except arsine act by inhibiting sulfhydryl enzyme systems required for cell metabolism and the potency of action depends on the valency of the arsenic atom. Arsine reacts with haemoglobin to form a very strong haemolytic poison.