METALLOPATHY Evidence on heavy metals in people

Static evidence pages. Grades A to F. Sources named.

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Detox and binders

Does selenium increase excretion of mercury or arsenic?

A randomized trial in a mercury-mining area found higher urine mercury and lower oxidative markers with selenium-enriched yeast. A larger randomized trial in adults with chronic arsenic exposure found higher urine arsenic and dimethylarsinic acid with selenium-rich lentils, and lower asthma and allergy incidence. Both are excretion findings. They are not trials of removing metal already stored in organs.

Trials

  • Li 2012: 53 versus 50 residents of a mercury-mining area, 3 months, selenium yeast versus non-selenium yeast. Higher urine mercury and lower MDA and 8-OHdG. PMID 23033886.
  • Smits 2019: double-blind, 405 adults with chronic arsenic exposure, 6 months, selenium-rich lentils versus placebo lentils. Higher urine arsenic (p=0.001) and DMA. Lower asthma and allergy incidence. PMID 31299617.

Related pages

Sources

  1. Li et al. 2012, doi:10.1021/es302241v, PMID 23033886
  2. Smits et al. 2019, doi:10.1016/j.envres.2019.108561, PMID 31299617

Heavy Metal Index

Heavy Metal Index: Mercury. This Heavy Metal Index URL returned HTTP 200 on 15 October 2026. Figures on this page are not copied from that index. They come from the sources named above.

What's safe to buy

The Heavy Metal Tested and Certified public register listed no licensees on 15 October 2026. That page reported 0 certified brands and 0 certified products, and it stated that no brand has completed the three-lot baseline. A specimen layout on the register is an illustration, not a licensee. This page does not name or rank any brand.

The program states that certification is a measurement of a product against a published limit, not a statement that the product is safe. If a licensee is later listed for this category, it will be on the register.

This page summarizes cited documents. It does not diagnose or prescribe. Reviewed 15 October 2026.