Toxins, Testing and High Blood Pressure, How They Play Together

Toxins are silent and pervasive. We are unknowingly bombarded by them on a daily basis, and they can quietly and covertly disrupt our health. Mold, metal and environmental toxin testing is so important when looking for the root cause of dis-ease in the body. All of these substances are cardio toxins that can weaken the heart muscle or damage the heart’s electrical system by causing circulatory issues such as high blood pressure, irregular beats and clotting issues. We are exposed to these every day from many sources, but how?

Mold

Could mold be affecting your heart? It can lead to high blood pressure. If you have struggled to get your blood pressure under control, it may be time to dig deeper for the root cause.

It isn’t actually the mold that causes the problems within us, it is something called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites that are capable of causing disease and even death. Mold is the gun and mycotoxins are the bullet. Mycotoxins are disruptive to the gut microbiota balance, and this can then lead to systemic toxicity and inflammation, which impacts everything from our immune system to our brain to our heart.

There are thousands of mold species, some helpful, some harmful. Let’s take a look at some of the sources of mold:

• Unventilated bathrooms-shower/bathtub
• Sink and toilet
• Walls and floor
• Under the kitchen sink
• Around the refrigerator, microwave, stove
• Windows
• Air conditioning vents
• Indoor plants- don’t overwater
• Fireplace
• Drainage around the house

There are multiple ways to detox from mold and a sauna is one of them. The body sweats out toxic substances and studies show people who regularly use a sauna are 77% less likely to die over a 20-year period than those who don’t.  See, “Do Sauna’s Help Lower Blood Pressure?“.

We can see “How Mold Can Cause Hypertension” through numerous pathways. And to test for mold you can do this Triple Toxin Test which tests for heavy metals, mold and environmental toxins. I also recommend my talk on Mold Health Risks

Metals

Heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead are major root causes of dysfunction in the body and have the potential to cause high blood pressure.  Our bodies attempt to eliminate heavy metals using glutathione, a chelating molecule.

Why are heavy metals so damaging? They have the ability to:

• Deactivate enzymes within our body, which leads to damage to our blood vessels and inflammation, leading to high blood pressure, arrhythmias and increased risk of heart attack,
• Deplete antioxidants, which increases reactive oxygen species (ROS)
• Bind to glycation end products, which promote oxidized end products that collect in tissues in diabetics
• Reduce availability of Nitric Oxide, which is needed to help dilate blood vessels.
• Oxidize LDL

Keep in mind mercury is found in fish, dental fillings, prescription drugs and it can cause your heart to fail over time or even immediately, depending on exposure, as it is extremely toxic to the heart. Lead is found in the air, soil and water. Other metals are less well known but nevertheless toxic.

Environmental Toxins

Environmental toxins have been proven to raise blood pressure.  Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are byproducts of  burning  fossil fuels. Particulate matter includes dust, dirt, smoke and liquid droplets. Sadly, the United States is not known for banning chemicals: “Of the pesticides used in USA agriculture in 2016, 322 million pounds were of pesticides banned in the EU, 26 million pounds were of pesticides banned in Brazil and 40 million pounds were of pesticides banned in China”.

Indoor toxins

• Second hand smoke
• Fumes from cleaning products
• Off gassing from furniture, floors, mattresses etc.
• Molds
• Asbestos
• Wood Burning Stoves

Outdoor toxins

• Pesticides
• Fertilizers
• 187 more toxins from particle pollution, traffic and gases

We cannot completely avoid these, but we can mitigate the effects and lessen our exposure. An air purifier should be in every home. Older adults spend 90% of their time indoors, and even children don’t get outside enough today.

We recommend the Austin Air Purifier and have them running in our home 24/7.

These pollutants also make it into our waterways, streams, rivers, lakes and drinking water. Pharmaceuticals, hormones and antibiotics are a significant source of contamination in water. This contamination exposes us over a long period of time to low levels of toxins. Of course the goal is to work towards eliminating these toxins all together. In the meantime, since I doubt many of you are getting your water from a pristine spring, you can use this Pristine Hydro Water Filtration System in your home, we love ours!

Toxins, testing and high blood pressure all go hand in hand. If you are struggling with high blood pressure, it is a good idea to further investigate with testing. You will discover so much about your health issue and finally discover a path to wellness. We cannot avoid toxins, as we have seen, but we can take steps to remediate and prevent future health problems from high blood pressure to cancer.

You can learn all about Toxins, Testing and High Blood Pressure in this 8 part series:

How to Treat High Blood Pressure Naturally

Supplements that can assist with detox and managing mold,metals and toxins:

• Daily Defense
• Daily Greens
• Detox Starter Kit

Testing is also another great way to discover what may be stressing your body:

• Triple Toxin Test Panel
• Mold Mycotoxin Test – stand alone
• Micronutrient Testing

As always, we can help. Schedule a FREE call with a Natural Heart Doctor health coach.