Sources of Lead: artificial turf, candy, costume jewelry, toys produced outside of North America, homes build before 1970, soil, lead paints when refinishing old furniture, lead solder in copper pipes, stained glass, and cans of food from other countries, water, brass plumbing fixtures, glazes on ceramics, china or porcelain may leach into food, eyeliner, and batteries. People who work in auto-repair shops or do home renovations have high exposure.

Symptoms of Chronic Lead Exposure: depression, impairment of long-term memory, confusion, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, constipation, muscle/joint pain, headaches, pain, numbness or tingling in extremities, reduced sperm count or abnormal sperm, miscarriage or premature birth.

Testing: Hair Element Analysis. The hair root is in constant contact with blood vessels, allowing both nutritional and toxic elements to enter the hair shaft continuously as it grows, therefore reflecting long term exposure to the various elements. This is a significant advantage over urine and blood samples, which only measure the levels from one point in time. 

Treatment: Heavy metal detox consisting of a combination of homeopathic and botanical medicines as well as clinical nutrition. Each patient case is individual and treatment depends on laboratory analysis results, severity of toxicity and symptoms.

For specific information on how lead toxicity has impacted your health, and testing to determine levels of lead in your body ($99), make an appointment by visiting my website www.vitalforcenaturopathic.ca or phoning the Norwich Medical Centre at 519-863-2338.