Article
on Heavy Metal Detection and Importance in Clinical Practice
Conrad G. Maulfair, Jr. Osteopathic Physician
The analysis of human hair and blood cells for the presence of toxic
metals and mineral nutrients is essential in a health assessment
when determining the causes of symptoms. I have a medical philosophy
that includes some detective work before the prescription plan is
determined because I want to know what causes symptoms for people
who come to me.
The
uninformed or people with suspect agendas try to convince the public
that this type of diagnostic work is "unscientific" or
worthless. A surprising attitude when you consider the science of
human toxicology, forensic science and addiction medicine rely on
hair and tissue analysis. Why hair? I use it because it does not
hurt when we clip it off your head. We do tissue samples for testing
for the presence of pesticides and solvents but when it comes to
toxic metals and mineral nutrients hair is the best as it is painless,
something people who come to our clinic appreciate.
The
presence of heavy metals in the body contributes to, or directly
causes all kinds of maladies. Why would you prescribe a drug to
someone who is depressed when they may have an overload of a metal
causing their symptoms? Is the drug going to handle the metal overload?
No. So, they now have another toxin their liver has to deal with
and they still are suffering from a toxic metal overload. Depression,
irritability, aggressive behaviors, sleep difficulties, mood swings,
chronic fatigue, weakness, anxiety and attention problems have all
been related to toxic metals in the medical literature and in clinical
practice.
In
the case of heart disease a person's toxic metal overload is essential
to the proper care of the person and if not addressed alone can
cause death. Concentrations of cadmium in the air of 28 cities for
which data are available show a marked correlation with death rates
from hypertension and arteriosclerotic heart disease. The heart
muscle of people with cardiomyopathy has shown levels of antimony
12,000 times higher than control subjects in a study using biopsy
of heart muscle. The same study showed 22,000 times the level of
mercury than controls. They also found 11 times the amount of gold,
13 times the level chromium, and 4 times the level of cobalt, in
study subjects compared to controls. The study concluded that toxic
metals may adversely alter heart cell energy production and therefore
worsen cellular function.
As
a physician treating people with chronic degenerative diseases,
including heart disease, I certainly would not want to overlook
these potential causes for people who count on my opinion. Why would
I be attacked for doing so? If the presence of toxic metals interferes
with optimal health and is a causative factor in some disease processes,
something should be done. Chelation. People who fight chelation
as a therapy object to the public finding out about toxic metals.
Even the FDA recognizes toxic metals and provides for their safe
removal with a special chelating agent. The public needs the truth.
We can provide copies of studies on request. I have included a sample
of such diagnostic tools used in our center and a discussion of
the results. It may take some of your time to review this information
but you will learn a great deal about what should be done for you
if you are carefully cared for by a physician who you count on for
help.
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