PectaSol for Lead Detox

Lead is a heavy metal once used extensively in pipes, paint, cosmetics, and gasoline--before anyone understood just how toxic it is to humans. While the primary sources of lead poisoning have mostly been removed, long-term exposure, even at low doses, can seriously impact overall health. Because chronic lead exposure affects so many systems in the body, a lead detox can be important to lower one’s heavy metal burden and support optimal health.¹

Though there are a few options to remove lead from the body, some approaches like conventional chelation using harsh medications can have serious side effects. Thankfully, safe, natural, plant-based metal removal is possible using science-backed, natural binding ingredients. One binder that has proven especially effective is PectaSol modified citrus pectin (MCP). This fiber, extracted from the pith of citrus peels, has shown promise in several studies as a safe way to undergo lead detox.

To better understand its effects on lead detox, one study aimed to examine PectaSol’s ability to safely remove the heavy metal from children hospitalized for lead poisoning.

Children are the most vulnerable to both acute and chronic lead exposure. Studies show that lead toxicity in children causes delays in both physical and mental development. In fact, high rates of lead exposure have been linked to antisocial and even criminal behavior. This is due to the way lead affects neurons and receptors in the brain, affecting brain development, learning, and memory.¹

In the 2008 study, researchers examined how PectaSol could affect lead levels in the blood of children between 5 and 12 years old. The children had high levels of this metal in their blood and had not received any type of detox therapy for 3 months before the study. They were given 15g of PectaSol three times per day, with blood and urine tested over 28 days.

The results were very encouraging. By the end of the study, levels of lead in the blood decreased by 161% and urine excretion of lead increased by 132%. Additionally, there were no adverse side effects of the PectaSol on the children in the study.²

Lead poisoning often happens over time, accumulating in the tissue, blood, and bones of the person exposed. While lead is no longer featured in paint and pipes, homes built before the 1980s may have remnants of this heavy metal.

For example, old or chipping lead paint can be inhaled--or even ingested by young children. Metal pipes soldered with lead can affect drinking water, leading to slow contamination. If pipes corrode--as they did in Flint, Michigan in the mid 2010’s--lead from the soil could contaminate the water supply.¹

While children commonly exhibit cognitive effects of lead toxicity, adult symptoms vary depending on short-term or long-term exposure. Short-term (acute) symptoms include:

• Tiredness
• Tingling or pain in the hands or feet
• Weakness
• Abdominal pain
• Irritation
• Headaches
• Constipation
• Memory loss
• Loss of appetite
• Anemia
• Kidney damage
• Brain damage

Long-term (chronic) symptoms of lead exposure include:

• Nausea
• Memory loss
• Irritability
• Depression
• Abdominal pain
• Constipation
• Easily distracted
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Reduced fertility

Since both acute and chronic lead toxicity symptoms mimic those of many other conditions, a diagnosis is not always quick or obvious. Additionally, symptoms of lead poisoning in adults are less easy to identify than in children.³

Because lead poisoning can impact so many key systems in the body, it’s important to find safe, natural ways to remove lead and other toxic metals and environmental toxins from the body.

Chemical chelation therapies—where a chelation agent binds to metals in the body and is then eliminated—can be expensive and cause unpleasant side effects. However, PectaSol as well as PectaClear—which combines PectaSol and alginates from kelp—is clinically proven to remove lead, mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals and toxins, naturally and effectively without removing essential minerals from the body, the way conventional chelation drugs do.

PectaSol is created when citrus pectin is modified with a pH and enzyme treatment, which allows it to be absorbed by the small intestines and enter the circulation with a high level of bioactivity. PectaSol can then safely bind to heavy metals in the bloodstream, efficiently excreting them through the urine. In the formula PectaClear, the additional alginates work in the GI tract to remove toxins and prevent reabsorption.⁴

ecoNugenics comprehensive, research-based detox formulas provide broad-spectrum support against the body burden of toxins like lead and others. Decreasing toxic body burden is a primary strategy to promote optimal long-term health and vitality in a safe, effective way.

Sources:

1. Pedersen T. Facts About Lead. LiveScience. https://www.livescience.com/39304-facts-about-lead.html  Published October 6, 2016.
2. Zhao ZY, Liang L, Fan X, Yu Z, Hotchkiss AT, Wilk BJ, Eliaz I. The role of modified citrus pectin as an effective chelator of lead in children hospitalized with toxic lead levels. Altern Ther Health Med. 2008 Jul-Aug;14(4):34-8. Erratum in: Altern Ther Health Med. 2008 Nov-Dec;14(6):18. PMID: 18616067.
3. Health Problems Caused by Lead. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/health.html  Published June 18, 2018. Accessed
4. Eliaz I, Raz A. Pleiotropic Effects of Modified Citrus Pectin. Nutrients. 2019;11(11):2619. Published 2019 Nov 1. doi:10.3390/nu11112619
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