What Happens After a Toxin Enters Your Body?
What Happens After a Toxin Enters Your Body? | Mercury & Lead Two substances can enter the body and behave completely differently.
Take mercury and lead, for example.
Mercury exists in different chemical forms, and those forms behave differently in the body. Methylmercury, for example, is readily absorbed through the digestive tract and can cross the blood-brain barrier. The body eventually eliminates it primarily through feces, but elimination can be relatively slow.
Lead behaves differently. Once absorbed, it can circulate in the blood and become stored largely in bones and teeth, where it can remain for years or even decades. Some lead can later be released back into the bloodstream, particularly during periods of increased bone turnover.
Same broad category: heavy metals.
Very different behavior once they're inside the body.
This is why understanding the specific substance, its chemical form, how it enters the body, where it travels, where it accumulates, and how it is eliminated matters when we're talking about environmental exposures.
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