By Patricia Stokes

How do we know if presenting symptoms are caused by a nutritional deficiency or an overload of toxicity? As a practitioner, one needs to be able to supply the answer.
Available Testing.

Practitioners who are used to treating symptoms with nutritional medicine become very good at recognising symptoms of deficiency and toxicity, and the patterns of disease they present.

Common modern medical practise is to look at a set of symptoms , place a disease name on it and then supply a drug treatment to suppress the symptoms instead of looking at what deficiency/toxicity may have contributed to the symptoms.

It is good to know of the different available testing when heavy metal toxicity is suspected.

 

There are a range of tests available, and their usefulness will depend upon the practitioners understanding and interpretation of them.

Ionic Heavy Metal Test (IHMT) is Heavy Metal Detection Testing using Dithizone.

This testing is available in kit form for home use and is becoming very popular with practitioners who like to be able to see immediately if heavy metal may be an underlying cause for their clients health conditions. It is also excellent to monitor the progress of a detox programme. Test results are immediate. Testing can be done on urine, blood, breast milk . A range of environmental object tested by soaking the item in distilled water, and then testing a sample of the water.

In 1925 Helmut Fischer of the Siemens Concern in Berlin succeeded in detecting heavy metal ions by means of a dithizone process. As a reagent, dithizone is able to indicate the presence of heavy metal ions. Dithizone, in binding the metals, form coloured complexes in the interior of the molecule which are soluble in non-polar organic solvents.

The coloration of these solutions is very intense, its particular coloration determined by the atomic radius of the respective metal present in the complex. The reaction times of the heavy metal ions vary; therefore, depending on their respective concentrations, different colorations may occur from which one can, in addition to the qualitative conclusions also semi quantitative ones regarding the contaminant. (At the lower ppm level, even at the ppb level).

The solvent used is especially developed by Fulhealth Industries to bind the dithizone molecules quickly and effectively to ensure dissolution for testing.

The difference between the Heavy Metal Test Kit and other methods for detecting heavy metals (Atomic Absorption Spectro Photometry etc.) is that this Kit will exclusively detect ionic and free radical generating heavy metals. 

This means that an essential element such as Zinc will not be detected with the test kits but ionic Zinc that produces free radicals will be. We know that a change in colour of the green test solution indicates the presence of ionic metals.

When checking the urine for mercury,  by using the dithizone reagent, toxic amounts of copper and zinc (direct antagonist to mercury) will always show up first.

To the inexperienced practitioner or those conducting Heavy Metal Urinary Excretion Tests with the dithazone reagent at home, it can be surprising to find the colour in the test doesn’t show mercury(yellow) when there are huge amalgam fillings present. Instead we will find bright pink or brown indicating ionic (unbound) zinc or copper.

This is a very important concept to understand as both zinc and copper are essential for immune function and metabolic processes, yet mercury will fill zinc and copper receptors at a cellular level and they cant to be absorbed. They are what is then called unbound and are ionic or toxic. So one can be both zinc deficient and still have toxic amounts.

These test will only show the presence of mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, and nickel.

Hair Analysis or Tissue Mineral Analysis.

Hair is used as one of the tissues of choice by the United States Environmental Testing Agency in determining toxic metal exposure with the following summary: “The milk, urine, saliva and sweat measure the component that is absorbed but excreted. The blood measures the component absorbed and temporarily in circulation before excretion/storage. The nails , hair, and teeth are tissue in which trace elements are sequestered and/or stored.”

Since the hair structure remains unchanged once it is formed, the minerals are fixed in the hair and levels do not change significantly. Therefore human hair is like a recording filament that reflects metabolic changes.

Testing requires taking a small sample no longer than 5cm of the newest growth at the nape of the neck and sending it to a laboratory for analysis. Most Laboratories will test for about 40 different elements, including toxic, non- essential elements and essential mineral nutrients. This test is simple, not invasive and used correctly can be a very important tool in the detection of mineral deficiency and toxicity.

Blood tests
are only reliable when the toxins is still in the blood. The body is very clever at “sequestering” toxins. This means getting them out of blood circulation and deeper into bones, tissue and organs in a attempt to minimise the potential damage. Relying on blood tests for old exposures isn’t wise. There are blood/urine tests that can be done using a chelating /provoking agent that will cause the body to release some of the sequestered metal but this is not advised with any sort of kidney/liver impairement.

Kinesiology and Energetic Testing.
These vibrational energy techniques can be excellent when used by a skilled practitioner.

Summary

The quickest results will be using the IHMT, dithazone testing , although it does not give a comprehensive analysis of all the essential or toxic elements. Its cheap, accurate, easy to use and an invaluable tool for monitoring the progress of a heavy metals in a detox programme.

Tissue mineral analysis (hair) is great for those who need to see exactly what a broad range of essential and toxic mineral ranges are and for those doing slow, expensive, dangerous EDTA chelation programmes.EDTA chelation can remove calcium as well as heavy metal. Hair analysis would be crucial to moniter essential minerals levels.

All hair analysis reports I have seen so far with the client using Activated Liquid Zeolite detox programme have shown a decrease in Toxic metals and an increase in the level of essential minerals.

If you find a cooperative and informed Dr, blood testing is available.

By Patricia Stokes

Patricia is a fully qualified Bowen therapist and has a passionate interest in looking for the underlying cause of ill health. Having observed hundreds of IHMT tests, she can say that there are very few people who don’t show heavy metal level in a urine test.

IHMT test kits are available from 0269757233 or stokes40@bigpond.com

 

 

 

Dithizone References:
1. Isolation and Determination of Traces of Metals. The Dithizone System. H.J. Wichmann, Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C; Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.;
2. Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology Vol.29, No.3, May, 1947; A comparative Study of The Lead Content Of Street Dirt in New York City in 1924 and 1934.;
3. Kaye, Sidney: A study of the analytical methods for the determination of lead from biologic materials, with special emphasis on the dithizone method. M.Sc. thesis, New York University 1939;