Flint, Michigan lies about seventy miles from the shores of the largest group of freshwater bodies in the world, yet its residents can’t get clean water. Nearly two years ago, the state decided to save money by switching Flint’s water source from Lake Heron to the Flint River, a notorious tributary known to locals for its filth. (1)

What happened? The residents began complaining of a foul smell and taste from their tap water. Patients poured into doctors’ offices with a litany of health problems including skin rashes, digestive disorders, infections, brain fog, anxiety, depression, sleep issues, etc. But, what residents couldn’t see was far worse. The Flint River was polluted with heavy metals. Lead levels measured in the blood of children and adults had doubled and even tripled, in some cases.

Doctors fear that residents of Flint will suffer long-term medical maladies. Toxic heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, and arsenic, are potent neurotoxins that frequently lead to neurodegeneration in adults and lower I.Q. in children. They are also insidious poisons, increasing the risk of cancer, autoimmune, and heart disease.

Lawyers claim that, within reasonable certainty, these health conditions will develop at some future date. (2)

Let’s bring the problem closer to home. Ms. Jean P., a longtime Sarasota resident, came to my office with complaints of brain fog, poor memory, fatigue, and weight gain. Her lab work revealed very high levels of lead. But why? And from where did it come? She ate organic foods and had never lived in an industrialized area.

Truth be known, the Manatee River Watershed, our own water system, is contaminated with high levels of mercury, lead, copper, and arsenic. Dr. Patrick Schwing of USF Marine Science states, “There are areas in the Manatee River that currently have concentrations of some heavy metals above the EPA regional standards.” (An increase over the last one-hundred years of 100 times!) (3)

Heavy metals such as cadmium, aluminum, mercury, lead, and arsenic are added to our water system from upstream industrial and agricultural discharge, pesticide runoff, incinerator-emission and manufacturing smokestacks. Over time, the cumulative burden of these toxins increases symptoms of poor health, decreases our quality of life, and may cause medical conditions, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart disease, cancer, and autoimmune disease. Heavy metal toxins can literally steal your life. (4)

How to protect yourself and your family:

Filter your water: One of the most effective ways to lighten your toxin burden is to drink, shower, and bathe in filtered water only. Install effective water filters in your home.

Heavy Metal Provocation Test: Most people stockpile heavy metals, not in their blood cells (so they won’t show up on a simple blood test). Rather, they have lots hidden in soft tissues of the body and the brain (causing depression or poor memory), the kidney (causing swelling or poor kidney function), or the heart, causing cardiac arrhythmias or congestive heart failure. The only way to find these heavy toxins is to do a heavy metal provocation test. (5)

Clear your body of these heavy metals: Chelation is a safe and effective method of ridding the body of lead, mercury, and arsenic. It is approved by the FDA and has been used for this purpose for almost one-hundred years.

At The Renewal Point, we test for heavy metals. Patients who have undergone chelation report that, as their toxic levels decline, they feel a boost in their overall health, a feeling of less inflammation, improved memory, and less anxiety and depression.

To Your Good Health,

Dr. Dan Watts, MD, ND

References:

1.  CNN News

2.  Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press

3.  Patrick Schwing, Ph.D, “A Sedimentary Record of Regional Land-Use and

     Climate Change in the Manatee River, Manatee County, Florida.” 

4.  Amy Myers, M.D., The Autoimmune Solution

5.  Sherry A. Rogers, M.D., Detoxify or Die