Heavy Metals Can Act Like Estrogen

I’ve been telling you this for years. The heavy metal toxicity page is always among the top 2 -3 entry pages for www.alternative-doctor.com

Heavy metals cause cancer. There are a number of culprits:

1. arsenic and arsenic compounds,
2. beryllium and beryllium compounds,
3. cadmium and cadmium compounds,
4. nickel compounds and
5. hexavalent chromium (remember the movie “Erin Brockovich”?)

A recent study has focused, yet again, on the effects of cadmium and the way it may fuel the growth of some breast cancer cells and encourage them to spread.

Cadmium is found in many farm fertilizers and can make its way into soil and water. Some of the other main sources of cadmium include cigarette smoke, rechargeable batteries, certain cosmetics, bread and other cereals, potatoes, root crops and vegetables.

Unlike previous research, this new analysis looks at lifetime exposure to cadmium, not acute bursts of high levels of the heavy metal. This is important, of course, because this more closely mimics the way we are exposed on a chronic basis.

The researchers are still trying to figure out if the cadmium causes the cancers or cancers attract cadmium. But the message is simple. Get your body clear of this metal, along with all the others.

Cadmium acts like an estrogen in the human body. So it’s bad for men too. According to the new study findings, breast cancer cells can pass through the outer barrier of the breast with prolonged cadmium exposure.

Specifically, cells chronically exposed to cadmium express higher levels of SDF-1, a protein associated with tumor invasion and cancer spread, the study showed.

It is difficult to reduce exposure to cadmium, but there are other things women can do to lower their risk for breast cancer. Eat a healthy diet, don’t drink a lot of alcohol and maintain a normal body weight. Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t.

[April 23, 2012, presentation, Experimental Biology 2012 meeting, San Diego]