What None of the Health Gurus are telling you about Detoxing Heavy Metals

PSA to a Culture Obsessed with Heavy Metal Detox

I’m going to make a really bold statement:

Detoxing heavy metals before your body has the cellular and metabolic energy to do so—along with a well-functioning liver—is detrimental to your health.

As a Hair Tissue Mineral Analyst who looks at mineral and heavy metal levels on HTMA results regularly, let me tell you what no one is saying when talking about heavy metal detox.

Let’s start here:

Almost every adult is a Poor Eliminator.

This means your detox pathways are not strong. And honestly, that’s not surprising.

Most adults have spent decades exposed to environmental toxins—everything we’ve breathed, eaten, put on our skin, and been surrounded by. And as we age, our systems naturally slow down. That includes detox.

Liver stagnation is incredibly common. Every adult I see in HTMA work shows signs of liver congestion and sluggish detoxification pathways. The symptoms often show up in their NAQ intake forms too.

We live more sedentary lives than our ancestors. We’re not moving our lymph, sweating enough, or engaging in the natural rhythms that once supported elimination. It shows.

Now let’s talk metabolism.

A common trend I see in adults is Slow Oxidation Rate—but let’s clear something up:

Slow or fast metabolism is not about weight.

It’s not about whether you’re gaining or losing fat—it’s about how your body is using minerals to produce energy.

For example, a “fast oxidizer” burns through minerals quickly, often from being stuck in a sympathetic, fight-or-flight state. That doesn’t mean they’re healthy—it usually means they’re under constant stress.

Here’s where it gets even more important:

When the body is minerally depleted, under constant environmental and emotional stress, and trying to keep up with life’s demands, it does something brilliant:

It uses heavy metals to maintain homeostasis.

Yes, heavy metals are toxic. But in a state of survival, your body may sequester them into tissues to fill in for depleted minerals and to aggravate the system just enough to create…

Drum roll please 🥁🥁🥁

Metabolic Energy.

It’s wild, right? But this is why we often see very low or no heavy metals on HTMA results—not because the body is clean, but because it's storing them. Holding onto them. Using them, in a twisted way, to function.

So what happens when you try to detox too soon?

When your body is:

In a Four Lows pattern (low calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium)

Stuck in Slow Oxidation

Dealing with a congested liver

Living with mineral depletion

Experiencing adrenal burnout

… and then you try to force detox with binders, chelation, intense saunas or detox supplements?

Your body can’t keep up. And the heavy metals? They don’t get eliminated. They just get redistributed—stirred up and sent circulating, causing inflammation, anxiety, fatigue, mood swings, and deeper mineral loss.

Symptoms get worse, not better. Not because you’re failing—but because your body was never ready to let go in the first place.

It’s hard to hear this, but it’s important

Heavy metals may be what’s holding you together right now. They’re not ideal, they’re not safe long-term—but in the absence of adequate minerals, your body is using them to survive.

The body is intelligent. It holds on when it needs to. It lets go when it’s safe.

(And yes—this shows up beautifully in HTMA, especially in the Calcium/Magnesium Ratio.)

So here’s the truth no detox protocol is telling you:

If you force heavy metals out before rebuilding your foundation with minerals, rest, and nourishment— You risk:

Oxidative stress

Worsening symptoms

Deeper adrenal fatigue

A further crash of your metabolic energy

So what do we do instead?

When I interpret HTMA results and see poor elimination patterns (meaning low or no heavy metals showing up), I never jump to detox.

We start with:

Mineral Replenishment

Balancing Ratios

Addressing Nervous System Stress

Supporting Liver & Lymph

Restoring Cellular Energy

And the beautiful thing? When the body feels safe and strong enough—it will let go of what it no longer needs. It will detox naturally. Without force. Without chaos. Just the way it was designed to.

the body needs to feel safe to detox.

the body needs to trust life to let go.

the body needs you to trust it's wild intelligence and listen deeper

Beautiful Woman, I want you to know..

If you’ve tried detoxing and felt worse, you’re not broken. Your body may just be asking for a different kind of support.

Address the Patterns of Holding. Address the Depletion. Address the Stress.

And then… Watch your body release what it's been carrying. In its own time. With grace. With intelligence.

Ready to support your body in a deeper, wiser way?

If this resonates, and you're curious about your mineral patterns,

Book an HTMA session with me here

Your body already holds the wisdom.

Let’s help it feel safe enough to let go.