Identifying a Missing Link for
HEART DISEASE Heavy Metals & Heart Disease
THERE IS A SILENT CONTRIBUTOR TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES. ONCE IDENTIFIED AND DETERMINED, APPROACHES CAN BE TAKEN TO REDUCE RISK. By Thomas Nissen When you think of someone at risk of heart disease, you likely picture someone who is severely overweight, who has a poor diet, high cholesterol, or hereditary conditions. You would be right. However, there are many others at risk whom have none of those issues – maybe, even someone close to you. Statistics Canada reports cardiovascular diseases kill more Canadians than any other disease.1 Heart disease and stroke affects each and every one of us, if not in a physical or emotional sense, then certainly in a monetary one. The cost to Canadian taxpayers: hospital expenses, physician services, reduced productivity and lost wages adds up to a staggering $18 billion every year. 2 Clearly, it is in all our best interests to learn more about heart disease causes and prevention. Scientific research has made great strides in treatment and education related to heart disease. Diet, exercise, blood pressure monitoring and stress management have become common practice for those seeking to avoid heart problems, but there is another element frequently overlooked – a silent insidious contributor to heart disease and just about every other ailment known to man – heavy metals. Heavy metals can take a cumulative toll on our
cardiovascular systems; they are, in and of themselves, a weight which acts in counterbalance to even the healthiest of lifestyles. Heavy metals – environmental toxins, the result of years of industrial pollution are all around us. They invade our bodies, erode our well-being, slowly eat away at our defenses and quietly incite disease. As early as 1974, the World Heath Organization suggested that at least 80% of all chronic diseases can be attributed to environmental pollution in one way or another. Heavy metals, such as, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, nickel, mercury, lead and cobalt are by-products of common industrial practice, and we are exposed in many ways. They are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, as well as, in amalgam fillings and some vaccination serums. Of all environmental pollutants, heavy metals pose the biggest threat to our health. Naturopathic and forward-thinking practitioners know heavy metals likely play a role in many diseases. Robert A. Nash, MD, Chairman of the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology writes, “I was taught in neurology residency training in the early 1970s that when symptoms cannot readily be explained, look for toxic metal poisoning.” 3 Healthy Directions April/May 2009 39