Low Nickel Diet Detox Supplements

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A low nickel diet is one of the most effective ways to reduce excess nickel in the body, but the detox process can be challenging. The right supplements can make a tremendous difference by helping bind and remove nickel, calming inflammation, supporting healthy mineral levels, improving gut health and making detox symptoms much easier to manage. Below are the supplements my doctor recommends, along with the ones that have helped my family the most during our own nickel detox journey.

Low Nickel Diet key supplements help:

relieve symptoms as nickel detoxes
bind nickel to expedite its removal from the body
reduce inflammation and pain caused by nickel
aid its detoxification in various ways (other than binding)
improve mental health challenges associated with detox (including anxiety, depression and more)

Best Supplements for a Low Nickel Diet

Binders

My doctor recommends taking a binder for one month before starting a low nickel diet, to make it more gentle and reduce symptoms. This may not be necessary if you’re only reducing nickel and not other toxins. Either way, the detox can be very intense, so be prepared for potential symptoms (headache, GI issues, change in one’s cycle and related symptoms [women], mood swings, aching joints and more).

Which binders bind nickel

Zeolite grabs hold of nickel, as do pectins and a seaweed compound called alginate.

These four supplements can be used to bind nickel as it detoxes:

Zeolite (Read more about how to use this and which one to choose here.) I also write more about zeolite below.
Pectaclear (Modified citrus pectin, potassium + alginate — Most recommended by Dr. Garrett Smith, both my husband and daughter take this.)
Pectasol (Modified citrus pectin and potassium — I find this one gentler personally for my body.)
Apple Pectin (Taking apple pectin has similar benefits to eating a lot of apples, as far as the pectin it provides. I find this supplement to be very gentle, yet helpful.)

Protective

PEA (or find it here in bulk)– PEA doesn’t remove nickel from the body directly like a binder does. Instead, it helps calm the inflammation and immune reactions (including mast cell) that nickel can trigger, which may make it easier for the body to recover while nickel levels are being reduced. PEA can help reduce symptoms (stress) during a nickel detox.
- Regarding stress, PEA also helps reduce anxiety. I personally experienced this benefit. As nickel detoxes, new symptoms can surface over time. About two months into my nickel detox, my stress mechanisms shifted, and I started feeling acute stress every afternoon. Upon Dr. Smith and Kelsey’s suggestion, I added PEA 3x daily, one with each meal, alongside NA (flush niacin) 3x daily, and I had significant benefits, with the stress symptom and anxiety greatly reduced and mostly disappearing.
- Some people also report that PEA helps them with joint pain.
- Basic information on PEA: PEA (palmitoylethanolamide) is a natural fat made by the body that helps calm inflammation, support the nervous system and improve the body’s ability to handle stress. The fatty acid helps prevent the breakdown of the body’s natural relaxing compounds (like anandamide). It may take several weeks to three months of taking 300–1,200 mg daily to notice the full benefits.
  - New research also shows that nickel allergy increases the growth of tiny blood and lymph vessels in the skin, which can worsen inflammation and allergic reactions. Scientists believe that palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) may help because it calms overactive mast cells (immune cells involved in allergies), reduces inflammation, slows this abnormal blood vessel growth and helps repair the gut barrier. Because of these combined effects, PEA may be useful for both nickel allergy on the skin and systemic nickel allergy that affects the whole body.

Minerals (and related) on a low nickel diet

What are we missing in all modern diets — not just restricted ones?

Certain minerals like magnesium, zinc, potassium, selenium and molybdenum aren’t abundant enough in our soils or foods to meet the requirements of our bodies.

You may have heard that around 300 processes in the human body require magnesium. Similarly, hundreds of functions require zinc.

As mentioned in this article on what foods to eat on a low nickel diet, calcium needs to be obtained from food sources.

Vitamin D (not a mineral, but a needed nutrient) needs to be made by the body itself, after exposure to sunlight or a safe light source.

But the other minerals mentioned are best taken through wise supplementation. What follows are the minerals I take, with dosage options, based on my doctors’ recommendations. (Please see his website for more information or to join his community of like-minded patients and followers.)

Specific minerals that help with nickel detox

One important aspect of a low nickel diet is supporting adequate mineral levels, because certain mineral deficiencies allow nickel accumulation — and for nickel to become more disruptive within cells. Proper mineral balance helps protect the body from nickel’s effects — and supports normal cellular function. When nickel displaces essential minerals inside cells, dysfunction can occur.

Conversely, with proper supplementation, minerals like magnesium and zinc can kick nickel out to restore normal function.

Mineral supplements to take:

Magnesium — Here’s the best lotion. Read more here about other forms of magnesium if constipated.
Zinc — Read more here about how to add in zinc and how much, if you’re not already doing this.
Potassium — Learn more about how to supplement potassium here.
Selenium
Molybdenum

Dr. Smith sells a mineral supplement (here) that contains zinc, selenium and molybdenum all in one capsule. It’s perfect for many people and simplifies daily pills, but not everyone can tolerate these minerals. Choose his product if you know you tolerate all three minerals, or buy them separately to introduce them one by one.

Soluble fiber

Consider not only apple pectin, but also two sources of modified citrus pectin that uniquely grab onto nickel and may help to reduce symptoms as it detoxes: Pectasol, and Dr. Smith‘s recommended Pectaclear — that even grabs nickel from the bloodstream. Pectaclear includes a seaweed compound, alginate, known to grab nickel in studies.

Dose: Start slowly with these, and if no excess gas or other symptoms, increase gradually. Dr. Smith recommends up to six capsules of Pectaclear 3 times daily. (Two doses of three capsules may be a gentler approach for some bodies or children.)

Real life examples of how people are different

I find that I tolerate more apple pectin, whereas I am more sensitive to higher doses of Pectaclear. However, my eight year old daughter does best on three capsules of Pectaclear twice daily.

Both Pectasol and Pectaclear make a huge difference for our daughter as she detoxes nickel. These two supplements really can make a night or day difference with how uncomfortable the detox process is. She thrives, with high positive energy, when she takes these, and conversely, really suffers without them.

Personally, since I don’t tolerate “the Pectas”, I eat a couple of apples each day, reduce stress and get outside to exercise. I also take most of the other supplements in this article (just not Pectasol or Pectaclear).

Niacin

Only one form of niacin is recommended, and that’s nicotinic acid (flush niacin).

Nicotinic acid helps to detox all extremities of the body, reaching into organs and detoxing out through the skin. Taken more than once per day (three times daily with meals), it provides constant detox support, expediting the process. (For some, niacin improves the detox process, but it’s not gentle for everyone when taken more than once a day. For some, it can aggravate symptoms. As always, start slowly. Flushing with this supplement is normal and to be expected, but what we don’t want is for other detox symptoms to become uncomfortable.)

We see in studies, niacin makes a measurable difference in getting rid of H. pylori and restoring immune system health and normal digestion.

Since we know that nickel is required for H. pylori to thrive, it stands to reason that niacin is a great addition to a low nickel diet.

Lower dose flush niacin here, and higher dose here.

Zeolite

Zeolite is my personal favorite among long term supplements. It adsorbs a variety of toxic heavy metals, including nickel. Zeolite is even used commercially — to reduce the nickel content of soil and for improving farming yields.

Zeolite is also healing to the gut as nickel detoxes: Often times a low nickel diet yields bloating, reduced appetite and other uncomfortable symptoms in the GI tract — as nickel detoxes from the gut. Zeolite helps with these symptoms and can be taken once or twice daily, including with the onset of any symptoms.

Probiotics and prebiotics

The gut microbiome plays an important role in Systemic Nickel Allergy Syndrome (SNAS). Studies show that a low-nickel diet combined with specific probiotics — especially Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 — help reduce GI symptoms, inflammation and skin flares.

Studies also indicate that prebiotics such as partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG), find it here under the brand name SunFiber, can support beneficial gut bacteria, improve regularity and strengthen the intestinal barrier. SunFiber also helps regulate immune responses linked to nickel toxicity.

Combining the probiotic (L. reuteri DSM 17938) with the prebiotic (SunFiber) has shown to be effective when overcoming nickel toxicity, preventing nickel from passing through the gut lining.

If you have low ferritin, this study showed an improvement in the bioavailability of iron from taking SunFiber (PHGG). Because high nickel is associated with low ferritin, SunFiber may be especially helpful for those on a low nickel diet who need to improve their iron levels.

SunFiber also helps with the uptake of other nutrients like calcium and magnesium. We know that magnesium helps with nickel toxicity.

(I haven’t personally used this dynamic duo yet, but it’s likely I will at some point.)

Mental Health and 40Hz

If you’re like me, as you go through your own nickel detox, your emotions and mental health are affected.

One modality has helped me more than anything else — to fight PMS type emotions — to have joy. And that’s my 40 Hz lamp.

Read more on this topic here, where you’ll also find the link to the lamp I use.

Ginger

This study shows ginger grabbing hold of nickel to aid in its elimination from the body.

Personally, ginger has been one of the most helpful supplements I’ve taken for relief of nickel detox symptoms.

I find that organic crystallized ginger (three to four cubes) works better to address symptoms than ginger tincture or tea. Another approach is to take freshly grated peeled ginger (in water or on its own).

I found the effectiveness of ginger before finding PEA. Once I found PEA, I used ginger only occasionally.

Sauna

Sauna use is effective for detoxing nickel! It’s a great tool I use about three days a week. If you don’t have a home sauna, consider buying one or using one at a local gym.

Here’s an article about detoxing copper through sauna use, but it applies just as much to nickel.

I can really shift nickel symptoms with the use of my sauna! Just hop in whenever you don’t feel well to shift symptoms.

This modality is under-utilized in America. Although many have heard of the benefits, few take advantage of this great and powerful tool that allows us to detox nickel through our sweat.

I always feel, and even look, better after a sauna.