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Arsenic

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What is Arsenic?

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in soil, rocks, groundwater, and some foods. It exists in two main forms:

  • Inorganic arsenic – the more toxic form, found in polluted groundwater, old pesticides, wood preservatives, and certain industrial processes.

  • Organic arsenic – less toxic, mainly found in seafood like shellfish and seaweed.

Most people encounter small amounts of arsenic daily through food and water. But when exposure is elevated or prolonged, arsenic can become harmful. The urine arsenic test (µg/g creatinine) is a reliable way to assess recent arsenic exposure.

Common Sources of Exposure

  • Water: wells or groundwater contaminated with inorganic arsenic

  • Food: rice, grains, leafy vegetables, and seafood (especially shellfish and seaweed)

  • Workplace: mining, smelting, glassmaking, or pesticide use

  • Environment: regions with naturally high arsenic in soil or water

  • Household: older pesticides or pressure-treated wood

Why Arsenic Exposure Matters

Arsenic is a toxic heavy metal that can affect nearly every organ system. Risks increase with long-term or high-level exposure:

  • Skin problems: rashes, pigmentation changes, thickened skin

  • Digestive upset: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea

  • Neurological symptoms: fatigue, brain fog, tingling in hands/feet, headaches

  • Immune suppression: more frequent infections, slower recovery

  • Organ stress: kidney and liver damage

  • Cardiovascular harm: high blood pressure, vascular damage, heart disease

  • Cancer: strong links to skin, bladder, and lung cancers from chronic inorganic arsenic exposure

Vulnerable groups include children, pregnant women, and individuals with impaired detoxification capacity.

Health Effects by Exposure

  • Short-term (acute) exposure: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, confusion, seizures (in severe cases)

  • Chronic (long-term) exposure: skin lesions, anemia, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, developmental delays, and cancer risk

Because arsenic can accumulate in the body over time, even moderate exposure may contribute to long-term health problems.

Why Test for Arsenic?

A urine arsenic test is especially important if you:

  • Live in an area with known arsenic contamination or rely on well water

  • Eat diets high in rice, seafood, or grains

  • Work in industries with metals, pesticides, or glass manufacturing

  • Have chronic symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, or skin changes

  • Are undergoing a Heavy Metals or Total Tox Burden panel

  • Want to track detox progress after reducing exposure

Key Takeaway & How to Lower Risk

Elevated arsenic in urine means recent or ongoing exposure—usually from contaminated water, food, or workplace contact. While low-level exposure is common, high or chronic exposure increases risks of immune dysfunction, organ stress, and cancer.

Steps to lower your risk:

  • Drink filtered water (reverse osmosis or activated alumina systems are effective)

  • Choose low-arsenic rice and limit seaweed or shellfish from unverified sources

  • Avoid contact with arsenic-treated wood or old pesticides

  • Support detox with hydration, a nutrient-rich diet, and medical guidance

If your test shows elevated arsenic, consult a healthcare provider experienced in environmental or heavy metal medicine for next steps.

What does it mean if your Arsenic result is too high?

Elevated Arsenic – What It Means

Elevated arsenic levels show that your body has recently absorbed more of this toxic metal, usually from contaminated water, foods like rice or seafood, or workplace exposure. While small amounts are common, consistently high levels add to your overall toxic burden and raise your risk for health problems.

Potential Health Effects

High arsenic exposure can affect many systems in the body, leading to:

  • Digestive upset: nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea

  • Neurological symptoms: fatigue, brain fog, tingling, headaches

  • Skin changes: rashes, dark spots, thickened skin

  • Organ stress: strain on kidneys and liver

  • Immune suppression: frequent infections, slower recovery

  • Long-term risks: increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers (skin, bladder, lung)

Steps to Reduce Exposure

  • Check your water: Use reverse osmosis or activated alumina filters

  • Limit high-arsenic foods: Choose safer rice, shellfish, and seaweed sources

  • Avoid outdated pesticides and arsenic-treated wood

  • Support detox: Stay hydrated, eat nutrient-rich foods, and review nutrition or detox options with your provider

Key Takeaway

Elevated arsenic means your body is processing more than normal and could face long-term health risks if exposure continues. The priority is to identify and reduce sources; if symptoms persist or levels remain high, seek guidance from a provider familiar with environmental and heavy metal medicine.

Frequently asked questions

Healthmatters is a highly-personalized health dashboard.

Instead of searching for your lab results in different places or tracking them down from different providers, Healthmatters houses, organizes, and interprets them all in one central location.

With a Healthmatters account, you can dive into the details of each biomarker and gain insights into the meaning behind your medical test data, anytime, anywhere.

For our professional users, Healthmatters provides intuitive tools that not only streamline analysis but also save valuable time when delving into your client's lab report history.

Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:

  • The GI Effects® Comprehensive Stool Profile,
  • GI-MAP,
  • The NutrEval FMV®,
  • The ION Profile,
  • Amino Acids Profile,
  • Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones (DUTCH),
  • Organic Acids Test,
  • Organix Comprehensive Profile,
  • Toxic Metals,
  • Complete Blood Count (CBC),
  • Metabolic panel,
  • Thyroid panel,
  • Lipid Panel,
  • Urinalysis,
  • And many, many more.

You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.

If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.

While we work with many popular labs, we welcome reports from lots of other places too.

It's as simple as this: if you can get a test done, you can upload it to Healthmatters and we can interpret results from any lab out there. If laboratories can analyze it, we can interpret it.

If you’re on the hunt for a specific biomarker, contact us and we'll add it to our database. Anything from blood, urine, saliva, or stool can be uploaded, understood, and tracked with your Healthmatters account.

There are two ways to add your test reports to your Healthmatters account. One option is to input the data using the data entry forms. The other method is to utilize our "Data entry service."

Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values.

For those who prefer assistance, we offer a "Data entry service" to help you input your data. Simply attach an image or file of your lab test results, and a qualified team member from our data entry team will add the results for you.

We support various file types, including PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is particularly useful if you have many reports to upload or if you're too busy to handle the data entry yourself.

Our special data entry service makes it easy to add your results to your private dashboard. Just attach an image or a file of your lab test results, and our skilled data entry team will do the work for you. It's all done by humans, ensuring that your data is entered accurately and with personal care for each client.

Depending on your account, the data entry service can be included for free or come at an additional cost of $15 per report.

For users on the Complete monthly plan, the first report is entered free of charge, and each additional report incurs a fee of $15.

Unlimited account holders enjoy the entry of ten reports without charge. Subsequent reports are subject to a $15 fee per report.

Additionally, users on the Complete plan can upgrade to a yearly subscription from the account settings. The annual subscription includes a data entry service for five reports.

The Unlimited plan is a one-time purchase for $250, and it covers your account for a lifetime with no additional payments.

For the Complete plan, the cost is $15 per month. You have the flexibility to cancel it anytime through your account settings, ensuring no further payments. To avoid charges, remember to cancel at least a day before the renewal date. Once canceled, the subscription remains active until the end of the current billing cycle.

Additionally, you can upgrade to the yearly Advanced plan from within your account. The annual cost is $79, and it comes with a data entry service for five reports.

You can always upgrade to a lifetime version with a prorated price from a monthly or yearly subscription.

Simply log in and navigate to your account settings to cancel your subscription. Scroll down to locate the 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the page. Ensure you cancel at least one day before the renewal date to prevent any charges. Once cancellation is requested, the subscription remains active until the conclusion of the current billing cycle.

Our goal has been to make your Healthmatters account as intuitive as possible.

We’ve crafted multiple ways for you to navigate your data, whether you're glancing at a single report or delving into your historical test reports.

1. Graph View:

Dive into a visual journey with our biomarker graphs, showcasing over 40 data points. Combining years of results unveils trends, empowering you to make informed decisions. Our visualization tools make it a breeze to compare and understand changes over time, even if your results are from different labs. A search function and filters simplify the exploration of extensive data, allowing you to focus on what needs attention.

2. All Tests View

Explore neatly organized reports on a timeline, highlighting crucial details like dates, critical results, and lab/panel names. Each report opens up to reveal in-depth descriptions and additional recommendations for each biomarker. The history of previous results is just a click away, and you can download a comprehensive report for deeper insights. Color-coded and user-friendly, it's designed for easy reading, understanding, and navigation.

3. Table View:

For a holistic view of all biomarkers side by side, our table view is your go-to. Results are neatly displayed in a categorized and dated table, ideal for those with an extensive test history. Utilize sorting, filters, and color-coding to enhance your analysis and gain extra insights.

Yes, you can download information from your account. We can compile your labs into a CSV file. To download all your labs, you can go to Account Settings, and at the bottom of the page, you will find a link to download your information.

Yes, you can print your report. To do so, navigate to "All tests" and open the report you wish to print. You'll find a print button in the right corner of the report. Click on it, and your browser's print window will open. If you prefer to print in a bigger typeface, adjust the scale using the print window settings.

Yes, you can! We highly recommend activating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your account. To do so, please navigate to the "Profile and Security" section of your account, where you will find instructions for activating 2FA.

Yes, you can. When entering values for the biomarker, you will see an "Edit Range" button. Click this button, and you'll have the option to enter a custom range.

A personal account is all about keeping your own lab test results in check. It's just for you and your personal use.

The professional account is designed for health professionals who wish to track and organize their clients' laboratory results.

To learn more about Healthmatters Pro, please refer to the professional page.

Yes, you can! Simply go to the "Invite Doctor" section, enter your doctor’s email address, and send the invitation. Your doctor will receive an email with secure access to view your results. You can revoke this access at any time. All shared information is securely encrypted and protected for your privacy.
Yes, you can! Go to the Graph view or Spreadsheet view. In the top-right corner, click "Export to Excel," and the file will be downloaded to your device.

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At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.

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