In a desperate attempt to figure out what’s been causing my adrenal burnout, general fatigue, poor sleeping habits, and a myriad of other unpleasant symptoms, I’ve turned to hair analysis and raw genetic data to see if anything turned up. Well, in short, quite a few things came to light that I wasn’t expecting; a gene mutation known as MTHFR (which you can learn more about here) and heavy metal toxicity.

The hair analysis tested for possible food and environmental allergies, nutritional deficiencies, and heavy metal toxicity. My report showed that I have a number of allergies, a folate deficiency (among a few others), and quite a few heavy metals in the medium to high range.

I have reason to believe that the hair analysis is accurate because my genetic data confirms my deficiencies, as well as a peculiar mutation which is responsible for inhibiting proper detox in the body.

Without a streamline detox system, the body cannot release built up heavy metals, let alone other toxins. A buildup of toxins in the body, especially heavy metals, can wreak havoc causing all manner of unexplainable symptoms. I’m so relieved to finally have the answers I’ve spent years searching for!

Why Worry About Heavy Metals?

The accumulation of certain heavy metals in the body can lead to dangerous health risks such as kidney damage, impaired immunity, and chronic inflammation. They can poison our organs, disrupt our digestive system, and leave us more susceptible to illness and disease.

Without detoxing them from our bodies, these issues will only get worse – and the sad part? Heavy metal toxicity is often misdiagnosed. This is why many of us have visited more doctors than we care to admit, have taken every promising supplement on the market, and have completely overhauled our lifestyle and STILL see little improvement.

It’s a never-ending spiral of questions, exhaustion, and mistrust – because when your own doctor starts saying it’s all in your head and you’re perfectly healthy, you know you’re ready to scream at the top of your lungs that NO, you’re not making things up, and NO, you don’t FEEL healthy.

Well, I know exactly how you feel.

Having too many heavy metals in your system can make you seem normal if doctors aren’t looking for them specifically, so it’s important to throw it out there and ask for testing.

If you have acute heavy metal poisoning/exposure you may experience:

• Candida
• Chronic headache
• Coma
• Confusion
• Constipation
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Impaired cognitive function
• Insomnia
• Joint pain
• Muscle pain
• Nausea
• Numbness
• Sweating more than usual
• Vomiting
• Weakness

Heavy metals are all around us – in the air, in our water and our food, in our cosmetics and body care products, in canned goods, in cookware, in old paint, and even in our mouths in the form of amalgams.

The truth of the matter is, it can be really difficult to eliminate heavy metals completely which is why keeping our elimination pathways open and working optimally is so important.

Can Essential Oils Detox Heavy Metals?

So, now that I’m armed with this knowledge, I began to research how it might be possible to detox heavy metals from my body, specifically, can essential oils detox heavy metals? Because you know, essential oils are supposed to be good for pretty much everything right?

And this is where things have gotten a bit tricky. The only information I could find anywhere was what I found below:

According to Tisserand, there are no essential oils that help chelate heavy metals from the body, including cilantro. The herb cilantro itself does in fact chelate heavy metals but the essential oil does not. He states that this is because essential oils lack the necessary constituents in their molecular structure needed for chelation.

The discussion goes on to say that essential oils have the ability to help stimulate and support the body’s natural detoxification processes which may encourage the elimination of heavy metals. For example, the limonene found in citrus essential oils is known to stimulate glutathione production; an antioxidant known to bind to heavy metals.

Then I came across another bit of info in the book The Chemistry of Essential Oils by David Stewart which goes on to say:

(Mercury, Hg) has an atomic weight of 200 and is a major source of heavy metal poisoning, which we get from dental fillings, vaccinations, and some fish. This is where essential oils can be extremely valuable in that many of them can chelate heavy metals out of our bodies. By our normal processes of elimination, it can take decades or even a lifetime to cleanse them from our systems. Helichrysum (Helichrysum italicum) and cardamom (Elletaria cardamomum) are examples of oils thought to have heavy metal chelating power.

So, as you can see, these are opposite views by two prominent figures in aromatherapy. Helpful but not helpful.

Continuing on with cardamom essential oil being a possible heavy metal chelator, according to Connie Higley in the book Reference Guide for Essential Oils she states briefly:

Since this blend [Clarity] contains cardamom and high levels of tranphenol, it may cause headaches when inhaled if petrochemical or heavy metals are accumulated in the brain.

To me that sounds like cardamom may have the ability to chelate heavy metals and that a headache would be the detox symptom.

I also came across a random tidbit of information that states:

“Essential oil Geranium will chelate all of the above [heavy metals], but not nickel. Average taken internally is one diluted drop a day for a few months.
European scientists have found that geranium essential oil works as a natural chelator, bonding to metallics and chemicals and carrying them out of the body.”

Sounds promising, but the study for geranium essential oil wasn’t linked and I couldn’t find it.

Another study seemed to say that mugwort (Artemisia argyi) essential oil has chelating properties, but I wouldn’t recommend using it for safety reasons.

I also found a study on ruta (Ruta chalepensis L.) essential oil stating that at the flowering stage, stems and flower essential oil showed the highest metal chelating activity.

And lastly, it seems that vetiver may have weak chelating properties according to this study while cumin may have moderate chelating effects.

I have scoured the internet high and low trying to find other sources of information on whether or not essential oils can detox heavy metals with very little findings as most of these studies were not focused on chelation,but on antioxidants.

I was also unable to find anything on how to apply or use the essential oils that exhibit promising chelating properties, though I imagine diluted application to the corresponding vitaflex points would work, and if nothing else, the bottoms of the feet.

I have yet to try heavy metal detox using essential oils since there is so little information out there as of now. I will, however, use other known methods to help lower my body’s heavy metal burden such as fresh cilantro, chlorella, diatomaceous earth, bentonite clay baths, and other proven methods.

***NOTE

Before starting any type of chelation protocol, I implore you to read about the Cutler Protocol in order to chelate heavy metals properly. Otherwise, those metals will simply float around the body and possibly deposit somewhere else or cause other havoc you simply don’t want to deal with!

Have you come across anything promising on using essential oils for heavy metal detox/chelation? I’d love to hear about your findings!

You may also enjoy:

How to Detox the Liver Using Essential Oils
How to Detox the Lymphatic System Using Essential Oils
Detoxifying Essential Oils and How to Use Them
Essential Oils for Detox

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