Update: This blog post has drawn so much traffic to my blog! I have received countless emails looking for Part 2. In short, there isn’t one. My plan was to focus on supporting my liver to try to ease the burden the detox took on my skin. But I actually found out I was pregnant two days after this post was shared! And because liver supplements aren’t recommended while pregnant, I decided to hold off. Now, I am still breastfeeding and have decided to start back up on a heavy metal detox once my nursing journey ends. So one day I hope to do another round of TRS, but it will be a little while. Feel free to follow me on Instagram @LivingWellwithL to keep up with my journey of living a non-toxic lifestyle.

A while back I shared a post on my Instagram feed about a tallow balm I was using to treat an eczema flare up that was bright red, raw and uncomfortable. I briefly mentioned that this flare up surfaced as a part of a “heavy metal detox” I had started. I hadn’t officially planned to discuss the detox, since it’s something that is somewhat costly and I try to be as inclusive as possible, but since many of you asked to hear my experience, I thought I would go into a little more detail.

But first, why are heavy metals problematic?

Heavy metals are natural elements that are very dangerous and toxic to the body—even in small quantities. Common heavy metals are mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum, uranium and thallium. They’re referred to as “heavy” because they latch onto fat cells. This means they aren’t detoxed naturally through the body’s primary methods and become very difficult to get rid of.

Heavy metals are often a root source of chronic health issues as well as issues like brain fog, mood problems, low energy and cognitive issues. On the other hand, some people may be dealing with heavy metal toxicity but not have any overt, obvious symptoms. Over time, heavy metal exposure can result in a damaged central and nervous system function, along with damage to vital organs (liver, kidneys, heart, endocrine glands).

Additionally, the presence of heavy metals has also been linked to multiple chronic conditions and diseases. For example, recent evidence shows a correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and the presence of mercury, aluminum and cadmium. Another example links heavy metals with autism; in this study, autistic children were found to have higher levels of heavy metals found in hair samples, versus the levels of children who were not on the spectrum.

Why I decided to Detox

I’ve struggled with eczema since I was an infant. I was one of the unlucky ones who had an adverse reaction to vaccines that caused my whole body to be covered in bright red eczema. As I grew up, I continued to get flare ups in the winter, but more recently I’ve been able to pinpoint reactions to certain foods. After a particularly bad flare up on my face that I documented for the day, one of my followers asked if I had heard of heavy metals being a cause of eczema. I hadn’t, but I started looking into the TRS detox she recommended. I followed the page for a while, reading amazing testimonials of people’s health being transformed—many of the reviews sharing success with eczema, too. At the same time, I also decided to read up on the connection between systemic eczema (opposed to acute eczema) and heavy metals in the body. My suspicion (total conjecture) is that my gastrointestinal system was damaged at a young age when my body was not able to properly detox toxins as it was supposed to, which then caused inflammation on a systemic level. Ultimately, I decided to give the TRS detox a shot because of the many testimonials I read it clearing up chronic health issues!

What is TRS?

TRS stands for “Advanced Toxin and Contaminants Removal System”. It is a lab grown zeolite, called clinoptilolite, that is shaped like a cage and has a negative charge that is able to capture and remove heavy metals, which have a high positive charge. Once the clinoptiliolite binds to these heavy metals, it safely removes them through the body’s natural processes, without trapping them elsewhere in our system.

The TRS comes in a spray bottle and has no taste (literally, I thought I was the biggest sucker that had spent a fall fortune on a bottle of water). TRS is safe for all ages! For every 30 lbs, you take one spray orally. For example, I worked up to 4 sprays a day but started out with just one to ease into it. TRS strictly detoxes metals, and while there are no inherent side effects of TRS itself, everyone experiences different things when detoxing. If you have a higher burden of metals, it’s likely you’ll experience more side effects from detoxing.

My Experience Detoxing with TRS

When I started my detox, I eased in with just one spray a day for the first few days and slowly worked up to 4. I was super consistent in the first 3 weeks and immediately noticed eczema surfacing on my hands after starting. I wasn’t surprised by this, as I knew that our bodies often use the skin as a way to expel toxins. After a few weeks, I fell off the bandwagon after simply forgetting to take my sprays morning and night.

After about 3 more weeks of inconsistent use, I finally found a place to put my spray so that I would remember to take it morning and night. That’s when I started to really see results—shocking results but not in the way I had hoped. I developed an eczema patch on the side of my neck that looked like a ringworm (if you’re trying to picture that, it also looked like a hicky so that’s been just SUPER fun). Within days, I started developing a rash on my underarms—it was in a large oval around where you would put deodorant. Over the next weeks, the rash kept growing, developing and becoming more uncomfortable. It had spread down to the side and had crept in around the front crease of my arm in a way that you could see the redness if my arms were down.

To be honest, it was really uncomfortable and at times painful. However, if the TRS was causing a reaction like this I’m glad that I was getting these metals out! I’m dismayed thinking about what these metals were doing internally; using energy to fight this systemic inflammation most likely on a recurring, if not constant basis. After enduring the rash for about 3 or 4 weeks, I finally ran out of the TRS spray. I originally wanted to push through and start a new bottle, but I’ve ultimately decided to take a short break before jumping back in.

What’s next?

At the start of next month, I’ll be directing my attention towards supporting my liver function. In trying to make sense of this, my assumption is that my reaction was so intense because my body was using my skin as a vehicle to help get these metals out in an effort to reduce the burden or load on my liver. As I take a break from the TRS spray, I will be starting a daily liver tonic to help support and optimize my body’s natural detoxification routes. I’ve decided to try out this Liver Juice from Organic Olivia. My hope is I’ll see improvement in some of the other symptoms I’ve experienced that pointed me in the direction of addressing the liver—fatigue, moodiness, dry skin/eczema and brain fog.

Additionally, I would like to eventually get tested to see if I carry a MTHFR gene mutation. MTHFR mutations is associated with poor methylation and enzyme production, often making it difficult for the body to detox itself naturally through the GI tract. While I’m not sure if this will necessarily aid in immediate healing, I think it will help answer a lot of the mysteries of my medical history, as well as allow me to make better choices for my body and the health of my future children going forward.

I do plan on hopping back on TRS to continue the heavy metal detox. Even if I didn’t have an issue like eczema that prompted me to start this process, detoxing metals is beneficial for everyone because we are exposed to so many of these toxins in our day to day lives.

If you are curious about detoxing heavy metals I highly encourage you to read more on the subject and do your own research. One great resource for TRS particularly is the @safeheavymetaldetox Instagram page, run by Jeff & Talia Cruz—who I purchased my bottle through. They are both great at answering DMs and have created multiple highlights of testimonials. Whether it’s stories of passing parasites in bowel movements, improvements in eye prescriptions, eczema clearing, less meltdowns and mood swings in children and even stories of autistic children gaining back speech, they have a wealth of information on their page.

So there you have it! That’s where I’m at right now. I hope this was helpful for those of you who have been curious about what I mean when I say I’m “detoxing” from heavy metals! If you have any more questions on things I didn’t cover, I’m happy to chat. I plan on revisiting this and creating a “Part 2” article after I take steps to get to the bottom of what is the root cause of these health issues.