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:
"We [Nature's Sunshine Products] follow strict guidelines for heavy metal testing, including California's Proposition 65. This legislation was created to ensure that any product sold within the state would not contain hazardous materials at harmful concentrations. It is the most restrictive law in the country. Any lot failing to pass any of the established acceptable test values will be rejected. Our Quality Assurance Department uses the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) to screen raw material for unwanted compounds. This device can detect presence of elements down to parts per million."
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.
