Why Heavy Metals Could Be Making You Tired: A Doctor Explains

As a medical doctor who focuses in fatigue, I immediately pinpointed Margaret's problem as she sipped on a liter bottle of designer water and casually described the amazing salmon she'd had last night at her favorite restaurant. A urine challenge test1 confirmed what I suspected: Margaret had heavy metal and chemical toxicity.

Unfortunately, Margaret's situation isn't unique. Modern industrial practices mean you're exposed to numerous heavy metals and toxic chemicals that contribute to problems like neuropathy, inflammation, fibromyalgia, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, and, yes, fatigue. Mercury, lead, aluminum, bisphenol A, perfluorochemicals (PFCs), and other heavy metals and chemicals hide in everything from last night's salmon dinner to the water you picked up at the gas station. Even the most health-focused person becomes inundated with these chemicals, which stealthily find their way into your body, where they linger and accumulate.

And while you can't completely avoid these toxins, you can definitely limit your exposure to reduce fatigue and other problems. Besides focusing on the essentials like proper sleep and reducing chronic stress, I helped Margaret reduce her toxic burden with these five strategies:

Smaller fish like anchovies and sardines contain less3 mercury and other toxins than larger fish. If you regularly eat fish, purchase those that have undergone third-party testing to ensure they are free of heavy metals or take zeolites when you do consume them.

Toxins lurk everywhere, including4 household cleaning products, cosmetics, food containers, and water bottles. Visit the Environmental Working Group's (EWG) website to learn more about how to minimize these ubiquitous toxins in your home and beauty products.

These little powerhouses, located inside your body's cells, produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is your main energy source, and insufficient ATP means you will become fatigued more quickly. Heavy metals and other toxins can damage5 mitochondrial membranes, making them unable to produce sufficient ATP and keep you energized throughout the day.

Although you can't completely avoid toxins, supporting your body's detoxification process is an extremely important part of healing from the toxins you are exposed to. A trained nutritionist or physician can guide you through an effective, fatigue-reducing detox protocol.

Nutrients like d-ribose, acetyl-L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, acetylcysteine, caffeine (half a cup in the morning), taurine, tyrosine, and glutathione can remove biotoxins, provide intracellular mitochondrial energy optimizers, and reduce6 fatigue.

A functional medicine doctor can conduct a health inventory and perform lab testing to determine how many—and what kind of—toxins most accumulate in your specific body. Based on your lab results, symptomatology and medical history, he or she can determine whether or not you will benefit from a heavy metal detoxification protocol.