[sdiy] heavy metals

[jhno]

just a reminder to watch your exposure to metals - whether from inhaling
solder fumes or airborne particles from grinding/cutting activity.

i just saw 'the blood lady' here in albuquerque, nm - she pricks your
finger and pops a slide of blood immediately into a quite nice leica
microscope with a video adapter. i got to see my blood close up while she
pointed out various malformations and problems.

the heavy metal showed up as a very bright dot in the plasma. since these
particles are not soluble and can not be metabolized, they can end up in
bad places like the brain, causing bad things like early dementia and
memory problems. hmmm.

she recommended alpha-lipoic acid as a supplement that could bind to these
heavy metals and flush them out. we'll see in a few months how well it
worked. fortunately i don't have too many floating around, but my father,
who is an EE, has significantly more, and they have probably been around
much longer.

i will be taking steps to prevent further absorption of heavy metals -
better ventilation around my bench, and breathing mask/respirator
protection when producing clouds of metal dust. any further advice in this
area would be welcome, though.

meanwhile my brain is still working - at least, given a loose
interpretation of the concept of 'working'. best wishes for more of the
same -

jhno


ps - we watched as a white blood cell sniffed out a fungal/yeast colony
(lots of these, sustained by excess sugar in the blood plasma), and backed
away because its chemical arsenal did not have the capability to break it
down. pretty cool. more protein and less white flour/sugar for my bad
vegetarian self.