Four years into my healing journey, I had done everything from gut healing to hormone balancing. I was moving forward, applying all the information I had learned, and making some real progress. Next up was taking care of my liver, which my research suggested would be vital for curing my melasma. I began supporting my liver with supplements and decided to take it to the next level. I started receiving glutathione pushes, which is when a practitioner slowly injects glutathione intravenously into the bloodstream.
Glutathione is an enzyme made in the liver that protects the body from damage caused by free radicals. It is the fastest way to kick-start the liver, and I expected it to accelerate my healing. Instead, I suffered a massive setback.
Soon after the second session, I noticed my melasma rapidly spreading and darkening. I was worried and confused. If glutathione and liver support didn’t help, I wasn’t sure what else I could do. I had done bloodwork and hormone panels, gut healing protocols, and liver support, but nothing was working, and in fact, I was getting worse.After more research, the only thing I hadn’t explored was testing my body for heavy metals. Surprisingly, the results came back with dangerously high levels of mercury and lead. So it suddenly made sense why glutathione made my skin worse.
The glutathione had pulled the heavy metals from their storage in my liver and circulated them throughout my bloodstream, aggravating my condition. By not following the proper order of operations, I had put my healing progress back by what might have been years!
I was devastated. I thought I had come so far, but I felt I was right back to square one. Had I known then what I know now, I would have started with a heavy metal detox and taken steps to nourish and support my liver. In retrospect, though it was brutally hard to have come so far only to exacerbate my condition, I realize now that the heavy metal detox was the beginning of curing my melasma.
What Are Heavy Metals?
Toxic heavy metals and toxic trace minerals include lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and aluminum. Over time, these metals can damage DNA, cause neurological conditions and hormonal imbalances, and impair gut, liver, and kidney function. In addition, they can produce oxidative stress and even cause cancer to develop. Heavy metal exposure can also interfere with the absorption of other essential nutrients like iron and zinc, causing a deficiency.
Our modern world is full of heavy metals. A brief list includes:
Foods:
You quickly see that there are many sources of heavy metals through diet, products, and the environment. These metals are inescapable.
METALS AND MELASMA
Toxic metals can also slow the production of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. With slower detoxification, the body will have difficulty eliminating hormones that can recirculate, causing them to turn toxic. Excess estrogen can lead to estrogen dominance. Metals like Cadmium and nickel can mimic estrogen and are called metalloestrogen. Evidence suggests that heavy metals can initiate, promote and progress breast cancer.
It is also suggested that heavy metals may play a significant role in developing thyroid disorders like Hashimoto’s and Grave’s, both are autoimmune thyroid diseases. In addition, accumulating heavy metals may also play a role in developing thyroid cancer.
HEAVY METALS AND BIRTH CONTROL
There is evidence that prescription drugs can induce hyperpigmentation. The mechanism is not well understood, but metal particles can induce epidermal melanin production, and some medications may even bind to melanin. So drug-induced melasma is relatively common, and heavy metals in these drugs are the prime suspect.
I discussed copper toxicity in Vitamins, Minerals & Your Skin and how birth control can cause excess copper, especially with low zinc levels. Zinc binds to copper and helps regulate the absorption of copper. Too much copper in the body can cause symptoms like anemia, mood swings, depression, fatigue, brain fog, hair loss, irritability, and cravings. Excess copper is widespread in women who take birth control. This can happen with any type of birth control, not just a copper IUD. Excess copper can also cause thrombotic risk. Thrombosis is the process that increases blood clotting, this, combined with high estrogen, which is also caused by birth control, can cause more problems to develop, like fibroids and endometriosis.
Detoxification.
Detoxing heavy metals is a critical step in reversing melasma and was the most important step in my personal healing journey. Due to lifestyle and environment, we are exposed to heavy metals continually throughout our lives. Most of the time, we don’t even know it. Heavy metals aren’t something you can see with the naked eye, so we don’t think of them as something we interact with, but they are everywhere, and accumulation is dangerous. Unfortunately, these toxins are one of the most under-discussed topics in health.
As I mentioned above, heavy metal detoxification is crucial to safe and successful liver support. Heavy metals are stored in the liver, and taking liver support supplements will stimulate the liver, pulling heavy metals from fat cells and recirculating them in the body. If you already have heavy metals in your system, adding more into circulation can be dangerous. This may cause your melasma to worsen. Minimizing re-exposure during a heavy metal detox is incredibly important. Strategy is critical in this protocol.
In Closing.
Preventing the spread of melasma is the focus of this protocol. I spent years doing this process, and I don’t want people to make the same mistakes I did. This is why these steps are essential and should be done correctly. It prevents you from having more problems and making your melasma worse. During my journey, I made the mistake of following misguided practitioners who guided me improperly, causing me to lose a lot of time and worsening my condition. I want you to benefit from the mistakes I learned from and save you the time and heartache I went through.
Next up!
We are going to discuss liver support which is going to boost detoxification. It is essential to do Steps 3, 4, and 5 slowly and not back-to-back. Pushing your body too fast can have adverse effects, so remember to go slow, be patient, and trust the process.
Are you ready to do a heavy metal detox? Leave a comment and let me know how your process is going.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9805216/
https://europepmc.org/article/med/6268671
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.643972/full
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-drug/def/modified-citrus-pectin-supplement
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