Zeolite: The Solution to Heavy Metal Pollution

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Healthy Living Livestream. I'm your host, Dr. Andrew Kaufman. Today, I'm going to talk about one of the few natural materials with a significant base of evidence in various types of clinical studies. That, of course, is zeolite.

Let me just announce before I get started that I actually sell zeolite on my shop from ZeoHealth. I've just introduced it in capsules as well as the powder for those who wish to take it in a slightly more convenient way.

So let me start off by saying what is zeolite? It is a natural substance, a mineral found in the earth, and there are different varieties of it. Today, I'm really going to be talking about the main variety that's been used for health applications, which is called clinoptilolite zeolite. You'll see that spelled out in some of the slides that I'll present if you want to write it down because it is a mouthful to say.

This is a mineral substance that is essentially an aluminosilicate. So it does have aluminum in it, but that aluminum is bound to the zeolite and does not leach out into your body or pose any health risk from taking it. In fact, I'll talk a little bit more about the potential toxicity of zeolite.

Oh, it looks like there's a problem with the YouTube livestream for some reason. I apologize for that, but we will post it certainly to YouTube after the fact.

OK, so back to the discussion on zeolite. It is a molecule that has properties of chelation as well as ion exchange. Chelation occurs when a molecule that is a chelating substance binds substrates, usually from more than one part of the molecule. So it can get at it from both sides or multiple angles, strengthening the interaction of the chelation. It can absorb the substances that it chelates and hold onto them. This is used in many industrial and health applications to remove contaminants from various sources like water, for example, that may be contaminated. I'll show you some of the data on that.

Ion exchange is a similar mechanism where it contains a binding site for charged particles or ions and can exchange one for the other. In our body, for example, we might want to get rid of toxic metals but keep the good minerals in our body, and zeolite is capable of doing that type of exchange.

Now, I'm not going to review every study on zeolite because this format doesn't give me enough time, but there's a wealth of data and information. Zeolite has many applications, some of which I'm not even going to discuss here. For example, it’s been shown to reduce the symptoms of reflux disease and improve the pathological structure of the stomach. It also has anti-inflammatory effects on the stomach lining.

It’s been shown to be useful in diarrhea, both acute and chronic forms, and probably can be used similarly to charcoal for that purpose. One special property I often recommend is its hemostatic properties. I discuss this in my free masterclass, How to Avoid the Emergency Department, on my website, andrewkaufmanmd.com. Zeolite can reduce and stop bleeding in emergencies and is an integral part of any first aid kit, instead of using some of the synthetic toxic chemicals standard medical practice employs for those purposes.

Today, I want to focus on the more significant toxins related to various health issues and how zeolite can bind those and remove them from your body.

Let’s go into some slides now. These are just review articles that examine the literature. There are also some clinical studies in here that I'll review.

First, I want to mention that there are different preparations of zeolite available for purchase. It should certainly be food-grade zeolite, which has been purified of any possible heavy metal contamination from the natural source. I think you'll find that all the products marketed for human or animal consumption meet this standard. You should be able to request a heavy metal testing report to verify this. Of course, it will have aluminum, as it is supposed to, like I mentioned earlier.

Further processing involves pulverizing or micronizing zeolite into particles generally in the micrometer scale. This increases its surface area and binding capability. Zeolite is generally available in powder form, which can be encapsulated or mixed with water as a suspension. It can also be mixed with food, as is done in livestock feed to improve health outcomes.

There are liquid forms containing nano-sized particles of zeolite, but I caution you about those products. Many of them are quite expensive, contain very small amounts of zeolite, and are not supported by clinical evidence. Claims that these forms are absorbed into the blood have not been confirmed, and I’ll present indirect clinical evidence today showing that powdered zeolite taken orally can achieve absorption. Without evidence, there’s no advantage to these nano-sized liquid preparations.

A review article describes zeolite’s primary uses for absorbing, chelating, and removing harmful substances from the gastrointestinal tract. Substances shown to be bound by zeolite include heavy metals, nitrosamines, ammonia, mycotoxins (like aflatoxins found in peanuts, pistachios, and corn), radioactive materials, and pesticides. Clinical studies show zeolite strengthens the intestinal wall and functions as an antioxidant by capturing free radicals.

Another article highlights zeolite’s use in wastewater treatment to remove contaminants like pharmaceuticals, PFAS (forever chemicals), and personal care products. Zeolite has shown a 72% reduction in PFAS and effectively removed pharmaceuticals like antidepressants and blood pressure medications.

In animal cancer studies, zeolite improved health, prolonged lifespan, and reduced tumor size. Local application of zeolite to skin cancers in dogs reduced tumor formation and growth, with no adverse effects observed.

For heavy metal detox, zeolite has been extensively studied. Sources of exposure include polluted water, food contamination, cosmetics, tobacco smoke, and industrial products. Heavy metals can lead to various health issues, including cancer, reproductive system dysfunction, and neurological problems. Zeolite binds and removes these metals, including lead, cadmium, and mercury.

A study on cadmium-induced anemia showed that zeolite significantly mitigated the anemia by restoring normal blood levels. Another study on lead demonstrated that zeolite reduced lead concentrations in bones by 77% and promoted excretion through urine rather than feces, confirming systemic detoxification.

Human studies support these findings, showing increased urinary excretion of toxic heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury after zeolite supplementation, with no depletion of vital electrolytes.

Zeolite is extremely safe, even at high doses, and provides broad-spectrum chelation without affecting essential nutrients. Its unique properties make it a valuable addition to many health protocols.

If you’re interested in trying zeolite, I offer a high-quality, micronized clinoptilolite product in my shop. Visit andrewkaufmanmd.com for more information.

Thank you for joining today’s Healthy Living Livestream! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments. I look forward to seeing you next week with another fascinating topic.