Re: why do they give egg whites to someone who swallowed heavy metal?

Aloha, Victoria,

     You have asked a question that has taken me a fair amount of time to 
locate a possible answer.  I have been looking in all my toxicology texts, 
as well as nutrition/food resources.  I had some ideas for a possible 
answer, but wasn't sure enough to answer it by myself.
     I finally enlisted the aid of one of my colleagues, Dr. Wayne Iwaoka, 
who is a Ph.D.-level Food Scientist on our faculty.  He helped confirm some 
of my ideas.  We believe that the 'old' remedy of giving egg whites as an 
emergency treatment to someone who has accidently swallowed metal salts is 
based on the protein content of egg white.  Some of the proteins in egg 
white (such as ovotransferrin) should act as chelating agents for the heavy 
metals, since that is the function that they perform in the egg, 
itself...that of complexing with and transporting metals, such as iron.
     So, probably what is happening, as protection, is that the proteins, 
which constitute much of the egg white (the yolk is other stuff, such as 
fat, fat soluble vitamins, cholesterol, etc.), are binding up the 
toxic/heavy metals, such as mercury, cadmium, or lead, and holding on to 
the metals so that they can do less damage in the digestive tract...and 
maybe not be absorbed into the body...at least until further medical aid 
can be administered.
     Thanks for asking such an interesting question.

Dian Dooley