Barium Toxicity

Barium is a metal used in medical tests and makes its way into your body from pollution. Reduce your exposure to this toxic metal and, with Myers Detox, detox your body from this dangerous element!

Toxic elements, like barium, replace nutrient minerals in enzyme binding sites. When this occurs, the metals inhibit, over-stimulate, or otherwise alter thousands of enzymes. An affected enzyme may operate at 5% of normal activity. This may contribute to many health conditions. Toxic metals may also replace other substances in other tissue structures. The replacement weakens these tissues, such as the arteries, joints, bones, and muscles. Toxic metals may also simply deposit in many sites, causing local irritation and other toxic effects.

Sources of Barium

Barium is found in compounds like barium sulfate, barium oxide, barium hydroxide, barium carbonate, barium chloride, and barium nitrate, just to name a few.

Exposure to barium and its compounds can happen a number of ways, including through groundwater contamination, ingestion of insoluble barium, inhalation, exposure to environmental pollution, cigarette smoke, occupational exposure, or even from certain medical procedures (3).

More specifically, barium can be found in such things as (3, 4, 6, 8, 9):

• Cigarette/tobacco smoke
• Paint pigments
• Pyrotechnics (signal flares, fireworks)
• Petroleum production
• Cathode-ray tubes in plasma TVs, LCD (liquid crystal display) TVs, LCD computer monitors, and laptop computers
• Flat panel display devices (FDPs), such as TVs, computers, and smart phones
• Manufacturing of ceramics and some types of glass
• Filler for rubber, plastics, and resins
• Clay slurries used in drilling oil wells
• Paper filler
• Barium sulfate beverages (used in certain medical procedures)
• Rat poison
• Contaminated groundwater

Now let’s talk about a few of the compounds more specifically.

Barium sulfate is a heavy, white, insoluble powder that occurs in nature as part of the mineral barite (4). Nearly 80% of world consumption of barium sulfate is from drilling muds for oil (4). Think of the environmental and groundwater contamination that happens as a result! Additionally, barium sulfate is used as a pigment for paints to create blanc fixe (aka, “permanent white”) and even, in some cases, as filler for paper and rubber.

Barium sulfate is also a good absorber of X-rays, which is why barium sulfate beverages are often used in a number of radiological medical procedures (9). The patient drinks a barium sulfate liquid, as the barium salts are used to improve x-ray imaging and create a contrast in the intestinal tract. The CDC states that barium sulfate can be safely ingested since barium does not dissolve in water (1). Though, I personally, would reduce my risk of exposure to this compound if possible!

Industrial use of barium is also a major concern for our society, due to the potential for massive environmental pollution from this poisonous metal. Other barium compounds, like barium carbonate, are used in the manufacturing of a whole host of products, including flat screen TVs, ceramics, certain types of glass, and computer monitors.  In California, the disposal of display devices such as cathode-ray tube TVs and computer monitors has been banned because they are known to contain toxic substances like barium (6). Newer models of flat panel display devices (FDPs) are also considered toxic, though more extensive studies are being conducted to determine the environmental impact of their disposal (6).

Finally, it’s important to know that barium carbonate is the exact compound used in rat poison (3)!

Symptoms of Barium Toxicity

As mentioned earlier, all soluble barium compounds are poisonous to humans. This is most likely because they interfere with the functioning of potassium ion channels in the body (4).

Specific symptoms of barium toxicity include (1, 2, 3):

• Low blood potassium
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Respiratory issues
• Respiratory failure
• Gastrointestinal dysfunction
• Muscle weakness
• Muscle twitching
• Lesions on lungs
• High blood pressure
• Vomiting
• Abdominal Pain
• Diarrhea
• Hypokalemia

Health Conditions Caused by Barium

As stated in a study conducted by the Department of Internal Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center, “Barium poisoning results from ingestion or inhalation of the acid salts; the most common poisoning occurs after ingestion of the rodenticide barium carbonate” (5).

Barium primarily blocks the acetylcholine-sensitive potassium current in mammals (7). Toxic levels of barium can be responsible for a range of adverse health conditions, including (1, 3):

• Respiratory failure
• Kidney damage
• Neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis
• Ventricular dysrhythmias
• Paralysis
• Death

Detox Barium with Myers Detox!

Myers Detox is the best program out there to remove all heavy metals from the body. Other methods, like chelation, only remove metals superficially and throw the body more out of balance because the body is using the metals for different purposes. Myers Detox is superior because it utilizes over 20 different methods at once to remove ALL toxic metals safely and deeply, while replenishing the minerals your body needs. You see, metals can often do the same jobs as minerals. So when we are mineral deficient, the human body is forced to accumulate metals to accomplish certain processes necessary to for us to survive. Myers Detox helps you restore balance to your body and gives it energy so that it can push the metals out when it no longer needs them to function.

When investigating and addressing possible barium toxicity, we first perform a hair mineral analysis to help create a Myers Detox Protocol best suited for your specific body chemistry. When reviewing the results of your Hair Mineral Analysis, remember that the ideal hair barium level is about 0.03 to 0.05 mg% (10).

Presently, humanity is exposed to the highest levels of toxic metals in recorded history, up to several thousand times higher than even several hundred years ago due to industrialization. The danger of toxic metals in our environment is greatly aggravated due to low mineral content of our food supply, as well as the contamination of our food supply. If one does not consume preferred minerals in the diet, the body will pick up whatever toxic metals it can from the food, air, and water as substitutes. A key principle to remember is that an abundance of essential minerals in the diet protects the body against toxic metals.

It’s time to restore balance to your body with Myers Detox!

Myers Detox is not about diagnosing or treating any particular disease. It utilizes a hair mineral analysis to design a customized diet, supplement, lifestyle and detox program to improve the entire body’s energy level, reduce stress, and improve the metabolic rate of the body.  My program focuses on the wellness model of health care, which is a “state of high resistance to all illness.” You can achieve this state with Myers Detox because most importantly, Myers Detox is wellness-based, not illness-based.