Toxins - Metals

Metals have played an important role in medicine for years, ever since humans have walked the planet. Many are essential in our diets in varying quantities, although people have only recently realised their significance. This could probably be attributed to our increased awareness of our personal and families’ health, and increased media involvement in our lives.

However at the other extreme, certain metals remain toxic in trace amounts, which can enter the body via a variety of routes and often cannot be excreted leading to metal toxicity. Until recently many people were unaware of the full extent of the risk of metal toxicity, for example in the use of lead piping in houses; the legacy of which continues to this very day.