Mercury - dental amalgams, large fish, shellfish, medications, air pollution, manufacture of paper, chlorine, adhesives, fabric

MERCURY, THE POISON THAT IS ALL AROUND US

By Lawrence Wilson, MD

Mercury is among the most toxic elements known. It is also the most common heavy metal on the earth today. One could easily write a book about its sources and its many toxic effects. Here let us introduce the subject, followed by a brief discussion of how to reduce exposure and remove it from our bodies.

SOURCES OF MERCURY

Medications. Mercury is found in many prescription and over-the-counter remedies. The most important include vaccines. These may contain thimerisol, a mercury compound used as a preservative. Newborns and young children have much less ability to remove mercury from their bodies.

Thiazide diuretics, of which there are many, contain mercury and are used to lower high blood pressure. Other classes of prescription and over-the-counter drugs that may contain mercury include antiseptics, anti-fungal preparations, soaps, optical preparations such as contact lens solutions and others. Mercury is used because it is an excellent germ killer.

Dental Materials. Studies demonstrate that each time one bites down on a mercury filling, some mercury vapor, the most dangerous form of mercury, escapes. The amount that escapes is tiny, but it occurs thousands of times each day. It can quickly travel directly to the brain, an organ easily damaged by mercury.

The word “quack” originally referred to doctors and dentists who advocated mercury amalgams. When mercury amalgams were introduced over 100 years ago, most medical professionals, including the AMA and the ADA, rejected their use as too dangerous. However, those who wanted cheap, quick fillings that did not become infected used them anyway. The word for mercury in German is “quacksalver”. The mercury dentists and doctors were nicknamed “quacks” by the more respectable doctors. Eventually, mercury amalgams were accepted by the AMA and the ADA. We can only hope these groups return to their original opinion of this abominable practice.

Large Fish And Shellfish. In addition to drugs and amalgam fillings, the major sources of mercury exposure for most people are foods from the sea. In particular, large fish that eat smaller fish concentrate mercury up to one million times in their body fat and other tissues. Tunafish is the most common source. However, all fish are somewhat contaminated.

Shellfish, including clams, mussels, oysters, lobster and shrimp all tend to contain excessive mercury and may also contain other toxic metals such as cadmium, arsenic, lead, and even radioactive waste and other contaminants. This makes them basically unfit for human consumption today.

Other Sources. Many industries use mercury because it is cheap and has many excellent properties as a fungicide, an excellent electrical conductor and more. These industries include electronics, gold mining and the manufacture of paper, chlorine, adhesives, fabric softeners and waxes.

Among the hundreds of other common sources of mercury in our environment are bleached flour, a few Chinese herbs, cleaners including Ajax, Lysol, Comet, Derma Scrub, Dove Soap, Ivory Liquid, some bleaches, some cosmetics, dyes, paints, inks, embalming fluid, engraving supplies, exhaust fumes, fabric softeners, feeding tubes, felt, fertilizers and many more. For a complete list, go to www.mercuryexposure.com.

As a result of all this exposure, most children today are born with excessive mercury in their bodies. Vaccines add much more and the results are predictable. Mercury easily passes through the placenta so that each generation today is worse than the previous one. This source (congenital mercury) can be reduced if young women make an effort to reduce their mercury load before becoming pregnant.

SYMPTOMS

Hundreds of symptoms may be due to chronic mercury toxicity. The organ most affected is often the brain, and children suffer the most from many mercury-related disorders. Mercury may be a factor in increasing birth defect rates, autism and other developmental delays, ADHD and other learning disorders, anxieties, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive behavior, panic attacks, neuroses and paresthesias. A medical colleague reports that every case of multiple sclerosis he has seen involves mercury.

The “mat hatters” of the Alice In Wonderland story were real people who worked in the hat industry in the nineteenth century. Many became mentally ill due to rubbing mercury on felt or hides to soften it.

Here is a short list of other common conditions that may be associated with mercury: adrenal gland dysfunction, alopecia, anorexia, ataxia, blushing, depression, dermatitis, discouragement, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, hearing loss, hyperactivity, immune system dysfunction, insomnia, kidney damage, loss of self-control, memory loss, mood swings, nervousness, numbness and tingling, pain in limbs, rashes, excessive salivation, schizophrenia, thyroid dysfunction, timidity, tremors, peripheral vision loss and muscle weakness.

Symptoms may be ill-defined because the exact location and the amount of mercury vary with each individual. Metal toxicity is unlike many infections that have well-defined symptom presentations.

DETECTION

Chronic mercury toxicity does not receive more attention because it is difficult to detect. Simple blood or urine tests are practically useless because the body quickly removes mercury from the blood. It often settles deep in the tissues of the brain, kidneys and liver.

Urine or Feces Challenge Tests. These are common methods for detecting chronic mercury. A high dose of DMPS, a chelating drug that is not safe, is often administered. Then urine is collected for 24-hour hours and analyzed for mercury. The test is almost always “positive”. This may be because mercury is high in many sick people. However, the lab and doctor must be careful not to confuse a “normal” mercury with a mercury produced by a challenge test.

Other problems with this test are that it misses a lot of mercury. The drug does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier very well, so it often misses this key organ where mercury accumulates.

Hair Tissue Biopsy. Mercury does not accumulate in large quantity in the hair. In my experience, however, the hair mineral test provides indicators of ‘hidden mercury’ that are relatively reliable. These include an elevated copper level, hidden copper toxicity, a low zinc level or indicators for a hidden zinc deficiency. Also, elevated levels of cadmium, arsenic or aluminum often indicate the presence of hidden mercury. It will only be revealed in the future in the hair or on other tests as it is eliminated from the body.

Using these assessment methods, most people have excess mercury today. This is no surprise. I assume mercury is a factor for most chronic health problems, especially for those who were vaccinated, those who eat fish at least twice weekly and for those who have had dental amalgams.

Others use electrical machines or applied kinesiology techniques (muscle checking) to identify mercury problems. These methods can be excellent but are dependent on the skill and clarity of the operator.

REDUCING EXPOSURE

Reduce Fish In Your Diet. To reduce mercury exposure, completely avoid tunafish and all fish caught in coastal waters. Other fish known to be high in mercury include most sea bass, marlin, all sharks, halibut, pike, walleye, swordfish and largemouth bass. Also, it is best to avoid slightly less contaminated fish such as mahi mahi, cod, pollack, salmon from the Great Lakes, channel catfish (wild) and lake whitefish.

Fish that are considered somewhat safer include trout (farmed), catfish (farmed), fish sticks, flounder (summer), sardines from Europe, salmon (wild Pacific), croaker and haddock. Beware of farmed fish, however. Quality varies tremendously.

I cannot recommend eating even small fish more than once or twice weekly. Anyone who is ill should eat even less, although they are an excellent source of nutrients such as omega-3 oils. These, however, can be obtained from fish oil preparations that have been cleansed of mercury and other toxic substances.

Avoid All Shellfish and Vaccines. Mercury is just one reason to avoid all shellfish, even though they are tempting and formerly were one of my favorite foods. Shellfish are also often high in cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and many toxic metals found on the coastal shelves of every nation.

Also avoid vaccines, including flu shots. Some are still preserved with thimerisol, and it is hard to know which are and which are not. There are many other reasons to avoid vaccines, no matter what is promoted on television and elsewhere. To read more about vaccines, click on the Vaccination article.

Avoid Tap Water. Tap water is likely contaminated with mercury and many other chemicals. The only drinking waters I recommend are distilled water, spring waters and filtered water. Carbon filters, however, will not remove much mercury. Carbon block filters are only slightly better.

Replace Dental Amalgams. Dental amalgams can be replaced by a dentist who can do the job without vaporizing too much mercury in your mouth. This can be costly, so it can be done in stages. One caution, however, about replacing amalgams. If you know or suspect you have an active cancer, do not replace amalgams. The extra mercury vapor that is released has proven lethal for some cancer patients. It is far better to wait until your cancer is controlled, or preferably gone altogether before replacing amalgams. There may be exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between.

All the above are simple steps anyone can take to limit mercury exposure.

REDUCING MERCURY IN YOUR BODY

A discussion of how to rid the body of mercury could fill a book. The method of nutritional balancing science that I use is discussed in several articles including Nutritional Balancing, Why I Recommend It. This method is not specific for mercury because in most instances mercury is just one of a dozen toxic metals and hundreds of toxic chemicals that plague us. The basics of mercury detoxification include:

1) Loads of rest and sleep. This is critical. Detoxification always takes energy.

2) A diet rich in vitamins and minerals. These nutritional factors help the body remove mercury through the liver, bowel and kidneys, in particular.

3) Very little fruit or other sweet items in the diet, including fruit juices or honey. Sweets, especially for children, tend to unbalance the body chemistry severely, which hampers detoxification. Unfortunately, many children eat so many sweets that it can halt mercury elimination in some cases.

4) Increase Adaptive Energy. This greatly enhances the body’s ability to excrete all toxic substances. Nutritional balancing science increases energy production by balancing the electrolyte levels on a properly performed hair mineral analysis.

5) Activate the skin. The skin is the largest organ of the body and an excellent eliminative route for mercury. The best way I have found to enhance skin elimination is daily use of an infrared light sauna for several years. After this, one should only use a sauna once daily several times a week, as one can overdo any therapy.

Saunas deserve special mention because they are not part of regular medical care. However, they are highly effective, very safe if done right, extremely cost-effective and a comfortable therapy for most people. We do not recommend them for children under 4 or 5, however, because children can dehydrate faster than adults. For details, read Sauna Therapy by this author or work with a professional trained in sauna use.

6) Balance The Autonomic Nervous System. Most people overuse their sympathetic or fight-or-flight nervous system. This powerfully inhibits the activity of the eliminative organs such as the liver, kidneys, bowel and skin. Many simple methods can reduce sympathetic activity, primarily saunas, meditation, relaxation, biofeedback, prayer, massage and some forms of bodywork.

7) Strengthen The Eliminative Organs. An excellent diet, extra nutrients, herbs, reflexology and other natural methods can help restore the activity of the liver, kidneys, lungs, skin and intestines. Once again, the sauna excels in this area by dramatically improving circulation and decongesting the liver and kidneys.

8) Antagonists And Chelators. I also use mercury antagonists such as zinc, chromium, manganese and selenium as supplementary nutrients. Our diets are deficient in these elements in most cases. Chelating agents are also helpful including vitamin C, selenium, zinc, molybdenum and sulfur-bearing amino acids such as L-taurine and L-cysteine. Cilantro and chlorella are helpful substances when used judiciously. For instance, I am careful not to unbalance the electrolytes on a hair mineral test with any foods or supplementary nutrients. Also, too many supplements are often used, which adds stress to the body instead of reducing it.

Many physicians use chelating drugs such as the sodium salt of 2,3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonic acid (DMPS) and dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). DMPS, a widely used chelating drug, is not approved by the FDA and is considered an experimental drug. These help some people, but I do not recommend them. They remove beneficial minerals along with the mercury. Also, they dislodge mercury from storage sites in the body, many of which are relatively benign such as fatty tissues. Now and then, the body cannot eliminate the mercury fast enough and it will redeposit in vital organs such as the brain or liver. This problem can be minimized by excellent nutrition and with plenty of rest, although this is often overlooked. I recommend intravenous or other chelating drug regimens only in severe cases of multiple sclerosis or after the nutritional balancing approach has been tried and failed. Usually, the drugs are not needed and carry some risk.

Mercury is with us. Everyone needs to be aware of it and take at least basic preventive steps to reduce it in their bodies, and in those of the next generation as well. By combining the above eight simple practices, mercury will easily come out of our bodies in a safe and controlled manner.

METAPHYSICAL ASPECTS OF MERCURY TOXICITY

Mercury toxicity is at its greatest at the end of an age, as we are in today. There is no accident that mercury is so prevalent today. It is, of course, found in all fossil fuels, which are the major sources of energy on planet earth at this time.

Mercury actually develops aspects of the human mind, even though it negatively affects the mind and body. Mercury brings about death of the physical, while energizing the emotional and spiritual natures to some degree. Thus mercury is not just a toxic metal, but it also represents a certain energy needed on earth at this time. Otherwise, it would not be allowed, as it is very dangerous for health and healing. It gives rise to mental illnesses galore, but it is also helping humanity move forward into a new age of reason and integrated emotional/spiritual development.

REFERENCES

1. Casdorph, H.R. and Walker, M., Toxic Metal Syndrome, Avery Publishing, New York, 1995.

2. Dental Truth Magazine, published by DAMS International, 1079 Summit Ave, St. Paul, MN 55101, (800) 311-6265.

Droesti, I.E. and Smith, R., Neurobiology of the Trace Elements, Vol II, Neurotoxicology and Neuropharmacology, Humana Press, 1983.

3. Huggins, H., It’s All In Your Head, The Link Between Mercury fillings And Your Health, Avery Publishing, NY, 1993.

4, Pfeiffer, C., Mental And Elemental Nutrients, Keats Publishing, Ct., 1972.

5. Schroeder, H.A., The Trace Elements And Man, Devin-Adair Company, Old Greenwich, Ct., 1973.

6. Wilson and Eck, Toxic Metals In Human Health And Disease, Eck Institute of Applied Nutrition and Bioenergeteics, Ltd., Phoenix, AZ, 1989.

7. Wilson, Sauna Therapy, LD Wilson Consultants, Inc., 2006.

8. www.mercuryexposure.com - a long list of mercury sources.

9. www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mercury.html - This sight claims to be an anti-quackery website and presents a positive view of dental amalgams very well.

10. www.karlloren.com/ultrasound/p18.htm is a web page with a very positive description of DMPS.

11. www.dmpsbackfire.com - This is an excellent site about problems with DMPS and DMSA.

12. www.iabdm.org - This is the International Academy of Biological Dentistry And Medicine.

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