Uranium Toxicity, Its Link to Radon, and Why You Should Care

I have been seeing a major uptick in uranium on hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) results so far this year with 45% coming back high or very high.  It’s not uncommon to see more high levels during the colder months of the year (and it’s March when I’m writing this) because uranium is often high due to radon gas entering the home.  And in the colder northern states, people don’t have a lot of fresh air circulating through their home from open windows to dilute that radon out.  Thus, it accumulates in the air and shows up in the hair!

Given the prevalence, I decided it was time to write an article about it.  So below I’m going to share some facts and some “next steps” you can take to determine if uranium or radon are behind your health issues and then correct the problem if this is culprit.

According to HTMA results compiled by Trace Elements for over 150,000 people, the two states with the highest amount of uranium were New Hampshire and New Mexico.  Other states that had averages that were considered high were Connecticut, Kansas, and Maine.^[1]

So what’s the connection between uranium and radon?

Uranium is a heavy metal and is considered a parent element.  It is found in rocks and soil, especially where granite is prevalent. It has a VERY slow decay rate, but when it does begin to decay, it turns to radium and radon, which are referred to as daughter elements.[2]  This radon gas can then enter your home and cause potential health issues, especially if your home is poorly sealed or has cracks in the foundation. Even the hole in the floor for sump pumps in basements can cause higher levels of radon to enter your home.

Another source of radon in the home is from improperly sealed or maintained granite countertops.  I once had a client conduct a radon test by placing the sample collector under a glass turned upside down on their countertop, and the results for radon came back sky high!

Whenever I see high uranium results on a hair test, I always recommend conducting a radon test in the home.  They’re cheap and easy to do, which makes them a great first step.  This one is only $15 on Amazon.

Other Sources of Uranium

If the air test comes back fine, then other sources to consider are food and water.  Food is much trickier to sort out, so I like to have people move on to water testing next.  According to Trace Elements, levels above 0.300 mg on the HTMA are usually indicative of water as the source of the problem.[3]

I’ve had clients ask me if their HTMA could show high uranium because of their water getting it ON their hair vs it being actually IN their hair.  While this is possible, it also means that they’re absorbing it through their skin while they shower or bathe anyway, and unless they have a filter that is filtering it out of their drinking water, they’re putting it into their body too.  The best way to know the concentration they might be getting exposed to is to just plain test for it.

Each state is different, but I always recommend starting with your state university system to see what testing they offer because it is almost always cheaper than other options.  If you’re on municipal water, find the testing records as they should be made publicly available.  If they aren’t, send an email to your town, village, or city and ask!

Food is harder to figure out because almost nobody grows all their own food, so it can be tough to track down where it’s coming from in order to decipher the source since it’s probably coming from many different places, including different countries for some of it.  Root vegetables are particularly prone to higher uranium levels if they are grown in soil with high levels (think granite).

Symptoms of Uranium Toxicity

Acute toxic uranium exposure is most likely to occur in uranium mine, mill, and fabrication workers either through inhalation or ingestion, and this can be lethal.[4]  But that’s not what we’re focusing on in this article, since that doesn’t apply to the vast majority of people in the US.

The more common ongoing, or chronic, uranium toxicity symptoms include:[5][6]

• Stress on or damage to the kidneys (by far the most common)
• Lung issues and eventually possible lung cancer
• Osteoporosis from uranium replacing calcium in the bones
• Bleeding (gums, easy bruising)
• Mental health issues
• Nervous system issues
• Thyroid problems
• Gut issues
• Fatty liver
• Reduced immune function
• Chronic fatigue
• Irritated eyes
• Myocarditis
• Hair loss
• Blood sugar imbalances or diabetes
• Fibrosis
• Reproductive issues
• Emphysema

Deficiencies Caused by High Uranium

Uranium (or radon) causes a lot of free radical damage, also sometimes referred to as oxidation of free radicals.  You’ve probably heard of antioxidants, and those can include vitamins, minerals, and herbs.  Antioxidants are critical in helping your body to handle toxic exposure not just to uranium or radon but to all the many other toxins you come into contact with every day.  The problem with uranium is that it depletes the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E.

What happens when antioxidant vitamins are depleted?  Your immune system becomes affected.  You might find yourself getting sick more frequently, having less energy, poor wound healing, or even develop skin issues.

It also affects iodine, which is critical for helping to protect against radiation.  Do you know what else iodine is needed for?  A healthy thyroid.  Notice how several of the symptoms listed above can ALSO be signs of hypothyroidism?  It’s ALL connected!

So What Next?

You might be tempted to start searching for uranium detox products, but hold on.  First thing’s first.  It’s critical to rule out your home as the culprit because if you’re living in and breathing toxic uranium or radon all day long, then no detox is ever going to clear your body out.  You may as well pour money down the drain.  Radon tests are simple and cheap, so be sure to start there.

What happens if your results come back high?  Well, this is the not so cheap part.  If you, your husband, or another family member or friend is handy, that could save you some money.  Radon remediation involves finding all cracks, holes, etc in the floor of your home that could be allowing radon gas up through them and then sealing them off.

If you live in an area, like me, where most homes have sump pumps, the solution is to place a fan down in the sump pump hole attached to a PVC pipe that runs up to the ceiling of your basement and then out through the side of the house.  A tight fitting, well-sealed cover is placed over the sump pump hole to prevent additional gas from entering the home.  Then all other cracks or openings are sealed as well.  This vents the radon from under the home up and outside, bypassing your home.  Costs can range from a few hundred to a couple thousand dollars depending on where you live and whether or not you can do it yourself or need a professional.

If you find that it’s high in your water, you will want to get a water filter that can filter it out.  I am not personally a fan of reverse osmosis water because it is very hard to balance electrolytes and mineral levels simply by remineralizing the water that’s just been eliminated by the reverse osmosis process.  I see lots of clients that are extremely depleted from this.  Black Berkey filters claim to remove over 97% of uranium, and this is personally what I use for my family.  I don’t love their fluoride filters though, so if you live in town, you may want to consider something different.

Uranium Detoxing

Ok, now that you’ve gotten your source of uranium figured out hopefully, it’s time to clear it out of your body once and for all!

• The best place to start is with kidney support since this is the primary system affected by uranium. Stinging nettle infusions are one of my favorite ways to support kidney health, and the bonus when it comes to using them for uranium toxicity is that they also support adrenal health, which is affected anytime there is a stressor on the body (like uranium toxicity).  Nettles are incredibly nutrient dense also, which is great for helping to replenish the vitamins and minerals that are used up as the body tries to keep up with detoxing.
• The best foods to support kidney health are beets, carrots, lettuce, parsley, garlic, and celery. Vegetables in general are especially helpful for kidney health, so they should be a high priority here.
• Hydration is extra important for kidney health because it helps to flush everything through the kidneys to allow it to leave the body. This doesn’t mean just water though.  It can include things like nettles mentioned above, coconut water for electrolyte replacement, adrenal cocktails, and more.
• Resveratrol, which you might have heard of before as being found in foods like grapes, is really good for kidney health. You can easily find it here, or you can find several options at 10% off through my Fullscript account.  Be sure to look for the highest percent you can find that comes from trans-resveratrol if you’re also looking for cardiovascular support.
• Salvia miltiorrhiza, also known as Dan shen, has powerful moving abilities, so this is a great herb choice when it comes to moving toxins out through the kidneys.
• Since the liver can also be affected and is useful in helping to detox no matter where the uranium might be stored in your body, it would probably be wise to support that too with herbs like dandelion root, burdock root, milk thistle seed, goldenseal, Oregon grape root, and others. I prefer dandelion root in a tea, but some people prefer it as a tincture or in combination with other herbs like this (These tinctures are also available through my Fullscript account.)
• Castor oil can be rubbed over your kidneys, adrenals, and/or liver to support your body with gentle detox. If you feel ready to work up to a castor oil pack at some point, that’s an option for some stronger support.  To do a castor oil pack, you simple use a piece of flannel or cotton fabric and saturate it with castor oil and place that in the desired location for a short time (5-10 minutes at first) and work up to an hour or more – even overnight if you have something to cover it and hold it in place.  Make sure to find a castor oil that is cold-pressed and hexane free like this.
• Electrolyte support is also critical, but depending on the level of kidney impact, it can be difficult to tolerate high levels of potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Additionally, it’s important to know what your tissue levels are before going overboard on one or more while missing a major deficiency in another.  To learn more about HTMA and how it could help in this situation, you can check out the details here.

[1] Trace Elements, Inc.  Trace Elements Newsletter: Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis – Uranium. July-August 2014.

[2] U.S. Dept. of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. The Geology of Radon.

[3] Trace Elements, Inc.  Trace Elements Newsletter: Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis – Uranium. July-August 2014.

[4] Centers for Disease Control. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. What Are the Physiological Effects of Uranium Exposure? May 26, 2023.

[5] Natural Health Group. Uranium toxicity, should you be concerned?

[6] Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Experts. Uranium Toxicity and Hair Testing.

Denise Brusveen is a Certified Women's Herbal Educator and Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Practitioner  and holds a Master of Science degree with a research emphasis in reproductive physiology.  She is passionate about helping girls and women to become informed about holistic options to overcome health challenges related to their hormones.