While doing some searches on the net I ran into this product:

http://www.metalfree.com/home.html

I could not however find the ingredients. Russ or Laura any thoughts on this one?

Thanks,
Nina

Please check the post entitled "Natural Chelation". I asked Russ about this awhile back and he gave me his opinion on it. If you keep searching on the Metal Free website, you'll find the list of ingredients. I would consider taking this myself.

Thanks Eileen, I found the post..Don't know if I will decide to try it yet. I will look for the list of the ingredients once again on their website, must have missed it.

Let me know if you decide to try it.

Hi Nina,

I found the list of ingredients for the Metal-Free product. You have to click on the "About Metal-Free" page, then click on "Characteristics", then click on "Microfermentation" on the right-hand side of the page (it would be nice if they just provided a direct link for the ingredients to make it easier).

In any case, they claim that this product is free of any mercury contamination, which would be important since they include chlorella in the formula (which can be contaminated with mercury since it binds to mercury naturally).

I actually asked a customer rep if this product was formulated according to California's Proposition 65 (the strictest legislation in the U.S. concerning mercury and other heavy metal contaminants in products manufactured or sold within the state of California). The Metal-Free customer rep never directly answered "yes" or "no" to this question, but instead said that they monitor and test their products to make sure they contain no mercury.

Now according to Nature's Sunshine Products Health Sciences Department:

To me, the above statement is very reassuring, especially when you consider that Nature's Sunshine is located in Utah and is voluntarily adhering to Prop 65.

I don't know if the customer rep for Metal-Free didn't know about Prop 65 or if their company just doesn't adhere to these standards. It would seem to me that if a product really was free of heavy metal contaminants, then it would want to have as much manufacturing credibility behind it as possible.

However, what really surprised me was how incredibly expensive this product is...$129.95 per bottle.

One last word of caution...some people with mercury poisoning do not respond well to intense detoxification. This product is advertised as a "very potent heavy metal remover" and also claims that it crosses the blood-brain barrier.

If I was ever going to try this product, I would absolutely take Algin with it to make sure that the mercury is being absorbed and removed from the body.

Honestly though, I would be much more inclined to try Heavy Metal Detox first, since it costs only $14.75 wholesale ($22.15 retail). I would still take Algin with the Heavy Metal Detox, even though there's some algin already in the formula.

For me, I would rather detox slowly and not stir up or release more mercury than I can eliminate.

With the rapidly-rising awareness of mercury toxicity (thank God), there is going to be a tide of "metal detox" products that will hit the market in the next few years.

Being a science-minded person, I usually like to see research on products, especially when they make special claims like, "our product chelates 100%".

I certainly don't know if it does or not, but I do believe spending over $100 on a product like this is not warranted unless you can really prove it does what it says.

Several inexpensive supplements cross the BB barrier and cause mercury to expel from tissue. I am a detox success story and I used inexpensive, readily available substances to get to this point (except for the first few weeks in which I used DMPS injections which I would not do again).

I'm a huge advocate of innovative natural/alternative health modalities, but being in this business this long and knowing as many health food store owners and Herbalists as I do, I'm still skeptical when I hear "out-of-the-box" claims.

Please be careful and do your research before trying a new product. ...And I wholeheartedly agree with Laura: Always keep the Algin handy.

All the best.

Thanks Laura and Russ for your comments and research. They are much appreciated as always.

I think I would rather take one supplement at a time as a chelator. Perhaps even the Heavy Metal Detox maybe too much for me as I am only 5 months past removal and only now starting to feel better.

Perhaps a single supplement may work better at this stage. What do you think about starting off with cilantro and taking Algin with it? I am debating between cilantro and the metal detox formula. I just can't handle feeling horrible as I have to work and need to make my life livable in the mean time while trying to detox SLOWLY. But since I just started the whey drink maybe it best be left one thing at a time...

It's like you said Russ, I know we are all different and we should all have our own specialists to help us through this but you and Laura are the only people that have guided me through it so far, and as with most of us going through this experience, we have no one to turn to, so your advice and time that you spend on the forum is so very valuable to me.

I'm so glad I can help.

Here's my suggestion for your situation...

If you're 5 months out from the removal and you're starting to feel better, I wouldn't change anything yet. Let yourself feel better and get stronger for a few more months. Then, when you're stronger and feeling pretty decent (won't that be a great day <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ), then take your detox to the next level.

This is what I did. Even now, I detox very gently and plan on it for the next 10 years. I feel good and only occasionally have symptoms when doing hard physical labor or eating bad foods for days in a row (which I sometimes do?shame on me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ).

Being 5 years (to the month) past my removal (July 2000), I am considering taking my detox to the next level with an infared sauna and/or by taking a strong chelating product (probably Heavy Metal Detox).

Slow and gentle is good, and it helps ensure that mercury redistribution stays to a minimum. Plus, you get to enjoy life in the mean time.

Hope this helps and let us know what you decide to do.

Thanks Russ. I guess deep down I knew that not changing anything is the best thing for me right now as I have great results just from using Algin as a mild chelator (I believe that's what you called it). I get a lot out of my system daily through stool elimination and since the symptoms can be really scary I would rather avoid them if I can..(even though they still come and go, but like you said it gets better with time)

I will keep you posted as to my progress in the months/years to come..I know it's a long road ahead but at least I can look forward to feeling even better soon.