Mineral Deficiency & Metal Toxicity: Is the Root cause the Chicken, the Egg or both?

By Jeff Lioon

This information Is Opinion, is for educational purposes only and is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. You should always seek the advice of your physician with any questions you have regarding a medical condition before undertaking any diet, exercise, supplement, health program or other procedures discussed in this post.

TL;DR:

1.) You are what you eat and what you have been eating your entire life helps determine your health status

2.) Metal toxicity prevents the absorption of minerals via Antagonist/Synergist Relationships

3.) Detoxification is innate and the body decides where it's going to expend it's energy, not the ego. If it took 40 years for a metal to accumulate, we shouldn't have the false expectation of detoxing it in 2 months.

One of the most important concepts to understand when looking at an Oligoscan Test Report is: "Is the Mineral deficiency from lack of nutrition OR is the Mineral Deficiency from a Toxic Element that is preventing the absorption of a particular mineral?" The answer is likely both, but to what extent is where we can take action.

First, we need to fully comprehend the concept of Ionic Mimicry. Remember: Minerals & Heavy Metals are both Elements.

Ionic mimicry is the process where a toxic metal ion mimics an essential ion (from a mineral) in the body, allowing it to enter cells and disrupt normal functions. This is a biological mechanism used by toxic metals, such as cadmium and mercury, to bypass cellular defenses by using transporters designed for essential elements. The similarity in their charge, size, or other chemical properties enables them to substitute for essential ions, leading to cellular damage, altered signaling, and toxicity.

This similarity allows the toxic metal ions to be transported into cells via the same pathways that essential ions use. For example, cadmium can be transported into cells through transporters that are meant for zinc. 

Once inside the cell, the presence of the toxic ion can displace the essential ion, disrupting crucial cellular processes. 

This can lead to a variety of issues, including the generation of reactive oxygen species, disruption of calcium-mediated signaling, and interference with enzyme functions. 

Let's dumb it down and ask why do we care? Let's also ask, why do we eat food & drink water?

Minerals are essential for the production of Antioxidants, Vitamins, Proteins, Enzymes, Fatty Acids, Hormones. Yes, I said the production of. Minerals cannot be produced by the body, the only way to get them is through Food & Water.

Action Step #1 > Assess the Input

1.) Use Cronometer.com and keep a food diary of everything that you put in your mouth for 1-3 days. You have to put in everything, not only what you should be eating. After you do this, scroll down to the bottom and look to see what % of RDA you are hitting for the Minerals. If you are only getting 30% of the RDA for Magnesium, 40% for Zinc, 50% for Calcium, 10% of Selenium... and you extrapolate that over 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, you are setting yourself up for mineral deficiency due to Lack of Nutrition. It's ironic that in American today, most people are starved of nutrients, yet carrying 25 lbs + of excess weight (fat). Welcome to the United States Co. featuring Big Ag, Big Pharm, yada yada. The point is processed food is void of nutrients. The RDA is a low estimate of what we need to begin with, not to mention that the use of Phosphate Fertilizer and monocropping is depleting our soil of nutrients.

Here is an example of a nutrient dense meal:

Now, want to see a magic trick? Let's examine the Mineral/Vitamin after I add 2 Foods.

Beef liver is a superfood, period. Not all beef liver is created equal. You want to source liver from a regenerative farm or rancher, not from Publix or Albertsons. The last thing you want to do is eat liver from a sick cow. Be cautious if you are a slow oxidizer and/or already have Copper Toxicity. Everything in moderation. Use common sense: any time you put a fragile nutrient dense food into a shelf stable capsule, you are going to lose bioavailability. The real thing in it's purest form is always best. If you haven't heard of the one and only Joel Salatin, research begin now https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/.

Bee Pollen is another superfood, add it to your Milk and you've got one of the best tasting, healthy deserts out there.

I always strive to get the majority of nutrition (Minerals, Vitamins) from real food. I view supplements as tools to help us make up the difference. In today's world, it can be difficult to get all Minerals to 100% from food alone. This makes supplementation extremely important. We strive to be purists, but we have to be realists.

Action Step 2: Assess the Toxin Load

As we age, we accumulate heavy metals. It's called living in a beautiful world that has gone through massive industrialization. Daily exposure: Go through your day to day and assess where the metals could be coming from. This isn't intended to be stressful. It's called Knowledge is Power and it can be fun. If we don't identify the source and continue to intoxicate our body, how do we expect to detox?

Aluminum (Adults typically ingest 7-9mg daily from food)

Antagonist: Silica, Boron, Magnesium, Lithium

• Aluminum Cookware (“non stick” pots & pans)

• Aluminum Cans (Food, drinks)

• Anti-Perspirant Deodorant (Aluminum Hydroxide)

• Anti-Acid Medications (Pepcid AC, Zantac, TUMS,  Diarrhea/hemorrhoid medicine)

• Aspartame (60%+ Alum)

• Aspirin (buffered)

• Baked Goods/Processed Foods

• Cheese- processed, single slices. 1 slice of individually wrapped processed cheese can contain up to 50mg of Aluminum. 

• Colgate Brand toothpaste

• Cooking with Aluminum Foil

• Cosmetics- makeup & eye shadow

• Fluoride- Known neurotoxin and interacts with Aluminum to increase toxicity of both

• Food additives in the USA have 6 aluminum salts (i.e sodium aluminum phosphates), added to cake/pancake mixes, self rising flours, processed cheese products

• Geoengineering (contaminating the rain & soil)

• Municipal Water (Alum Sulfate > Part of Water Treatment Process)

• Nespresso Coffee Makers

• Pickles that contain "alum" will contain aluminum and attack the bone. An average sized pickle contains 5 to 10 mg if it has been treated in an alum solution which is common. Alum is a form of aluminum sulfate that is used in the pickling solution to firm up the cucumbers.

• Processed Foods (Frozen Pizzas, Pancake mix), cheap baking powder

• Tea (attaches to oxalates)

• Steamers and strainers made from aluminum used in cooking contaminate vegetables.

• Vaccinations

Drugs High In Aluminum Oxide Excipients (https://www.drugs.com/inactive/aluminum-oxide-40.html)

• Amoxicillin 500 mg

• Benadryl Allergy Ultratab diphenhydramine 25 mg

• Buprenorphine Hydrochloride and Naloxone Hydrochloride (Sublingual) 8 mg (base) / 2 mg (base)

• Cefuroxime Axetil 500 mg

• Cephalexin Monohydrate 500 mg

• Clonidine Hydrochloride 0.1 mg

• Dicyclomine Hydrochloride 20 mg

• Estradiol 2 mg

• Hydrochlorothiazide and lisinopril 12.5 mg / 10 mg

• Meclizine Hydrochloride 25 mg

• Metaxalone 800 mg

• Nucynta tapentadol 50 mg

• Oxymorphone Hydrochloride 10 mg

• Prednisone 20 mg

• Prochlorperazine Maleate 10 mg

• Unithroid 25 mcg (0.025 mg)

• Unithroid 100 mcg (0.1 mg)

• Viagra 100 mg

Cadmium 

Antagonist: Zinc, Chromium, B9

Cadmium is a heavy metal that is taken up from the soil by plant roots. The combination of heavy use of Phosphate fertilizers, low organic matter in the soil (monocrop agriculture), Chlorinated (tap) water in irrigation, sandy acidic and nutrient void (Zinc) soil all increase the Cadmium levels in our food. 

Vegetables: Spinach, Lettuce, beetroots, celery

Grains & Cereals: Wheat, rice, bread, spaghetti

Nuts & Seeds: sunflower seeds, peanuts

Seafood: Shellfish, seaweed (polluted areas)

Starch: Potatoes, Potato chips

Sweets: Chocolate( see brands here), cookies

Other Top sources of Cadmium include

• Air & Water Pollution via living in a Metropolitan Area

• Cigarette Smoke

• Ceramics, textile work, manufacturing exposure

• Vapes

Fluoride

Antagonist: Iodine, Vitamin D, Calcium (which impacts Boron)

• Fluoride Toothpaste

• Drinking & Showering in Unfiltered Municipal water

• Teflon Non Stick Cookware (PFC’s - Per-fluorinated compounds)

• Pharmaceutical Medications (Anesthetics, antacids, anti-anxiety, antibiotics, antidepressants, antifungals, antihistamines, cholesterol-lowering medications STATINS, anti-malarial, chemotherapy, arthritis medications, psychotropics, and steroids)

• Tea (Black & Green)

Antimony

Antagonist: Iodine, Chromium, Iron, Sulfur, Magnesium, (likely Phosphorus)

• Plastic use (especially + Hot Water “Leaching”)

  • Microwave use, Keurig Coffee pods

• Coffee Makers (plastic)

• Plastic Wrapping

• Dental work (especially with the Blue light to “seal”)

Barium 

Antagonist: Lithium, Potassium, Calcium

• Dental Amalgam Fillings, Especially Root Canal Procedures

Mercury

Antagonist: Selenium, Zinc, Iodine, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin B9, Vitamin D)

• Dental Amalgam Fillings

• Seafood

• Vaccinations

• Playing w/ Thermometers

• Some light bulbs

• Located near heavy industry pollution

Lead

Antagonist: Zinc, Selenium, Phosphorus, Copper, Manganese, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron

• Dark Chocolate

• Municipal water

•  Hair dyes, cosmetics, glazes on ceramics

• Industry pollution via soil, air, water, 

• Infant formulas

• Pipes, dust in and around old buildings 

Gadolinium 

• Radiology - MRI’s w/ contrast (Injection or Drink)

Nickel 

Antagonist: Zinc, Calcium, Iron, Manganese, Magnesium

• Dental Amalgam Fillings (particularly Porcelain Fused to Metal) 

Silver

• Geoengineering

• Overuse of Colloidal Silver

Arsenic 

Antagonist: Iron, Zinc, Selenium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium

• Water/ Food via contaminated environment, seen very prevalent in India

• Pesticide exposure 

• Cigarettes

Other Common Toxin Sources

• Breast Implants 

• Botox

• Teflon via Cookware

• Laundry Detergent (SLS, Synthetic Fragrances). If you smell your laundry detergent, total red flag

• Air Fresheners (Glade)

• Personal Care Products - Makeup

• Perfume Cologne (massive endocrine disruptors)

Action Step 3 > Maximize Excretion, Detoxification

I'm going to hit you with some truth and a shocking revelation. Are you ready?

The Human Body was designed to detoxify what does not serve us. The Human body was designed with an innate detoxification system... for a reason!

Let me pose a question: Did God, Creator, what ever you want to call him/her/they say, "Well, we did a heck of a job creating this masterpiece of a human being. However, X Thousand years from now, it's going to be mandatory for this specimen to survive, beyond how we designed him, and we're going to have to jab him with 72 shots before he Is 4 years old to give him a flying chance of survival."

Hmmm.....I'm going to go with a resounding No, but that's just me.

Contrary to popular belief, detox is up to the body, not our ego. We do need our ego, it's essential and makes us who we are in this world, but most of the time it's not in balance. When we wake up in the morning, we don't have to say to ourselves, "You know what? I'm going to detox today!" The body is detoxing 24/7. More importantly, the body dictates where it is going to spend it's energy. If the body is fighting an infection, dealing with a chronic emotional trauma, undergoing a massive amount of stress, it's going to expend its energy elsewhere. The point is: our body knows how to detox...on it's own. We need to give it the good, reduce giving it the bad, and sometimes... do nothing. What I mean by "Do Nothing", is discussed in Starving to Heal in Siberia by Michelle Slater. This isn't the only way. But it's one potential way, especially if it resonates. The premise is that the body can heal itself, if we give it a chance.

A few ways to Maximize Excretion and enhance innate Detoxification

• Sauna use (one of the absolute best)

• Exercise, Grounding, Sunlight

• Mineral Balancing

• Colonics ( aka clean the pipes of waste)

• Coffee Enemas (Stimulate the Liver)

• Liver Flushes & Enzyme Nutrition

• Ionic FootBaths/ Epsom Salt Baths w/ Baking Soda

• Lymphatic Drainage, Rebounding, Massage

• Binders

• Parasite Detox/Protocols

We need to start seeing these & other modalities as TOOLS, not as THE Solutions. One thing might work Incredibly well for one person and another thing might work better for another. It totally depends on the person, where they are at and where they have been. If It took 30 years to accumulate a high Mercury burden from an amalgam filling, who is to say that the body can or would even want to release all of that Mercury in 2 months? The Goal is to increase each of the bodily functions and organs so that it can do it's job better. The Body decides and we can help It. The goal is always to get our body in the best shape possible so that it can do it's job. The first step begins with radical accountability. Is there currently balance and if not, how can I shift my life towards balance, with community, in the highest relation to nature.

To your Health,

Jeff

Amazonia Jungle- 2020

A wise man once told me that the secret to life is never losing sense of your 17 year old self