Nature’s most effective chelator: Your first, most effective, line of defense against heavy metals and other toxins is a healthful balance of probiotic bacteria in your gut, because many bacteria are able to eat heavy metals and hold on to them in the their cell wall until both are eliminated in your bowels. This is particularly beneficial for humans, because probiotic bacteria are excellent at protecting you from the heavy metals you get in the foods you choose to eat (like tuna). For example, one study showed when you sterilize a rat’s gut and feed it food that’s high in mercury, 90% of the mercury was able to pass through the gut wall and into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a normal rat’s microbiome chelated more than 99% of the mercury in their guts before it ever entered the body.