Heavy metals can lead to higher estrogen levels. High levels of heavy metals such as uranium, arsenic, mercury, lead, and aluminum are a big stressor on the body.
Not only can they mimic estrogen in the body, but they also lead to a lot more work for our detoxification organs, especially our kidneys and liver. Heavy metals like mercury also use up selenium stores and can disrupt thyroid function. This post isn’t meant to scare you, it’s meant to educate and empower you if you’ve been struggling with period problems and estrogen dominant symptoms.
I don’t personally recommend heavy metal detox protocols if levels are high. Most often, people are not in a good place to handle that type of detox in the first place. Reducing stress, eating enough, supporting minerals, and setting a solid nutrition foundation is the best way to support detox pathways.
A couple of things to consider when it comes to heavy metals:
1. There are many common exposures, but one of the most frequent ones I see is water. Looking at the health of your water source is not only helpful for your hormones but your long term health.
2. Beauty products can contain heavy metals, especially makeup. This is why it is worth the investment (both time and money) to find a brand that tests for heavy metals and provides safer ingredients. Check out @balanced.bod for more info on this! You can use code AMANDA for a discount.
3. Be mindful of seafood consumption. King mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, tilefish, ahi tuna, and bigeye tuna all contain high levels of mercury.
Supporting your minerals helps to support your liver and detox pathways. I love using the HTMA to assess mineral status and show you how many heavy metals your body is getting rid of. In my Master Your Minerals course, you can purchase an HTMA, and I walk you through how to read your results and start implementing changes to improve your minerals.
Not ready for a course but still want to learn about minerals? click here for a free mineral training!
reminder: i’m currently taking on 1:1 clients. if you’d like to explore what it would be like to work together and if we are a good fit, fill out this form to get more details!
