Question: What are the effects of heavy metal toxicity?

Dr. Wright: Anywhere toxic metals are deposited, your cell, tissue, and organ function are impaired. In addition to causing direct damage, the toxic metals also cause damage by displacing nutritional minerals in key positions in cellular function, which results in slowing down or stopping these functions altogether. A study published in the journal Neurology clearly illustrates this point.

Almost 1,000 community-living adults between 50 and 70 years old had multiple measures of cognitive function and measurements of both blood and tibia lead. After adjusting for age, sex, and apoE4 blood levels, the researchers found that higher tibia lead levels were clearly linked with worse cognitive function.

On the other hand, blood lead was not associated with any aspect of cognitive function. The researchers concluded that cumulative doses of lead that have been stored away in the body could have persistent effects on cognitive decline. In addition, it seems as if earlier exposures to lead may account for a portion of cognitive decline that had previously been attributed to age.

Although this study only focused on lead, the same principles apply to any toxic metal exposure. What's stored away for years in the tissues is what's going to cause problems, not what happened in the last few months.

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