“Some edible plants, such as tomatoes (rich in iron, calcium, selenium, zinc, vitamins B and C, quercetin and naringenin), berries (rich in essential elements, vitamin C, anthocyanin and catechin), onions (rich in selenium, quercetin and vitamins B and C), garlics (rich in sulphur-containing compounds, essential elements and vitamins C and E) and grapes (rich in vitamins, essential elements and anthocyanin) are of special importance as natural antagonists to cadmium and lead toxicity and should be consumed on a regular basis.
These dietary supplements are an affordable option, with fewer side effects than chelation therapy, for the billions of people around the world who are inadvertently exposed to toxic metals on a daily basis. In addition, with the increasing contamination of the food chain, the accumulation of cadmium and lead in edible animals can present an indirect route of heavy metal poisoning in humans. Therefore, providing livestock and farmed fish with the above-mentioned food interventions may also be helpful to reduce cadmium and lead exposure in humans.
it is the compound c-phycocyanin which is the key to spirulinas detox capacity.
Other nutrients also have the potential to alleviate cadmium and lead-induced pathogenic effects. For example, royal jelly protects against cadmium-induced genotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice, due to its antioxidant effects. Algae such as Spirulina and Chlorella can attenuate cadmium or lead toxicity in the liver, kidneys and brain of animals. Spirulina also has marked anti-teratogenic effects in cadmium-injected pregnant mice. Oral administration of a high dose of Spirulina significantly decreased the frequency of foetuses with exencephaly, micrognathia, and skeletal abnormalities induced by cadmium. Moreover, Spirulina has been reported to reduce the quantity of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes and micronucleated normochromatic erythrocytes in blood cells of cadmium-exposed mice (both the mother and the foetus). These algae possess many dietary antioxidants, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, phycocyanobilin and carotenes, which enable them to alleviate toxic metal-induced oxidative stress.”
Read the full study here: Nutrients. 2015 Jan; 7(1): 552–571.