A doctor last week encouraged people to be on alert for the symptoms of heavy metal poisoning, after a woman returning from China was found to have a buildup of lead and mercury in her body.
Chen Hui-hsuan (陳惠萱), a physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at Taichung-based Everan Hospital, said that a 60-year-old woman surnamed Lee (李) was found to have heavy metal poisoning after complaining that her tongue was numb.
Lee, who has lived in China for a long time, experienced the sensation for several months and the symptoms worsened just before she returned to Taiwan, after which the condition improved, Chen said.
Photo: Chen Chien-chih, Taipei Times
Lee told Chen that her condition worsened whenever she used more than one tea bag to brew her tea.
Based on her symptoms, Chen said she suspected the environment Lee lived in or her dietary habits were the root cause and arranged for her to undergo tests, including for heavy metals.
The results showed an excess residual amount of heavy metals — lead and mercury, in particular — which could have caused the numbness of her tongue, Chen said.
The buildup of heavy metals in the organs could also result in a general regression of the nervous system, possibly contributing to the development of Parkinson’s disease or dementia, she said.
Excess heavy metal residue in the human body could also harm organs, and threaten the functions of the immune and circulatory systems, she added.
Chen said she instructed Lee to reduce her use of the tea, and start exercising and visiting saunas to help her body sweat more.
Chen also prescribed certain nutrients, and the treatment has significantly reduced the numbness of Lee’s tongue, she said.
If Lee’s condition when she first checked in to the hospital was a 10, then she was at a zero or one after treatment, she said.
Chen said people with high levels of heavy metals in their body should seek to isolate the source, such as water, a diet of fish or the use of herbs of unknown origin.
They should drink plenty of liquids and seek to sweat and urinate more to help the body remove toxic heavy metals, she said.
Using functional medicine could also bolster a person’s digestive and kidney functions, and enhance the body’s ability to expel toxins, Chen said, adding that chelation therapy should be considered in some circumstances.
Functional medicine is a form of alternative medicine that seeks to address the root cause of a disease, with a focus on nutrition.
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