The pollution of our air, water, and food supply with mercury is a recognized health hazard, and the US and other governments have set guidelines to reduce its impact on the environment. Up until several years ago mercury in the form of thimerosal was used as a preservative in vaccines. It has been removed from childhood vaccines but still remains in some adult vaccines such as the flu vaccine. My attention in this paper is on “internal pollution” of our bodies with mercury.
Mercury is found in two basic forms: inorganic and organic. Inorganic mercury is found in nature. Organic mercury is mercury that has been processed through a living system. As mercury leaks out into your digestive tract, bacteria that are normally present will change this inorganic mercury into a form of mercury called methy mercury which is hundreds of times more toxic than inorganic mercury, or even arsenic.
Mercury exposure can permanently damage the brain, kidneys, and developing fetus. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recently reported that approximately 630,000 newborns in the United States had unsafe amounts of mercury in their blood which had derived from contaminated cord blood. The report suggests that mercury accumulates in the umbilical cord blood at a level higher than in the blood of the mother. This means that a woman whose mercury blood level was around 3.5 ppb could have a newborn with a mercury concentration greater than 5.8 ppb, the current safety limit for mercury. About one out of every six women of childbearing age has enough mercury in her blood to fit into that category and pose a threat to her fetus according to the statistics presented by researcher and author of the paper, Dr. Kathryn Mahaffey. Certain species of fish (tilefish, shark, swordfish, tuna, king mackerel) contain high concentrations of mercury and the FDA has issued warnings to pregnant women to avoid these species.
Mercury can also be found in cosmetics, contaminated well or drinking water, emissions from electric power plants, and batteries to name a few. U.S. dentists use an estimated 100 tons of mercury per year.
What are the symptoms of mercury poisoning or exposure?
There are over one hundred known symptoms of mercury toxicity, most of them vague. They include irritability, depression, bouts of anger, anxiety, numbness or tingling in extremities, frequent urination at night, unexplained fatigue, cold hands and feet (even in warm weather), stomach upset or heartburn, colitis, abdominal pain, constipation, sleep disturbances, headaches, unexplained chest pain, heart attack, heart palpitations and arrhythmias, dizziness, speech disorders, leg cramps, clumsiness, bad breath and metallic taste in mouth, bleeding gums to name a few. It is not known what role mercury toxicity may play in MS (multiple sclerosis) and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease).
Mercury and Dental Fillings
“Silver fillings” or amalgams are really a mixture of 50% mercury, 35% silver, 13% copper and traces of tin and zinc. Until the mid-1980's dentists assumed no mercury vapor was released from amalgam fillings. Since then studies have proven a significant level of mercury vapor is released by simply chewing your food. It's absorbed from tooth fillings through the mucous membranes of the mouth. Countries such as West Germany, Sweden, and Australia no longer allow the use of mercury fillings.
Why are many dentists still using mercury amalgams?
The ADA's (American Dental Association) position is that mercury amalgam is biologically safe in your mouth. What is being taught in dental schools is that the mercury is bound to the silver in the amalgam and does not escape to poison the patient. In the April 2006 issue of JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) a report on the 'safety' of mercury dental amalgams in children was presented. This report was supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health. In this study 2 groups of children were followed for five to seven years - those who received mercury containing dental amalgams to fill cavities, and those who received composite fillings. The report concluded that children whose cavities were filled with dental amalgam containing mercury “had no adverse health affects . . .” The report did acknowledge that the amalgam filling group had higher levels of mercury in their urines than the group of children who received non-mercury containing composite fillings for the first two years, but this higher excretion became equal after two years. The report did not explain this reduction in excretion of mercury. In my opinion, this reduction in excretion of mercury by the kidneys in the mercury amalgam group of children was due to the toxic effect of mercury on the kidneys. This study was flawed for a number of other reasons (see my September 2006 newsletter) .
Dr. D.W. Eggleston published a study using brain autopsy specimens showing a direct correlation between the accumulated level of brain mercury and the number of fillings in the cadaver's mouth. The more fillings, the more mercury. Dr. Boyd Haley, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky has done research for more than a decade documenting the leakage of mercury from dental amalgams and the damage it does to brain cells, causing changes identical to those seen in Alzheimer's disease.
According to the World Health Organization, the average daily absorption of mercury from dental amalgam is from 3 to 17 micrograms per day, compared to a maximum of 2.6 micrograms from all other sources combined. Other researchers contend that just one amalgam filling can release as much as 40 micrograms per day.
In Sweden, West Germany and Australia mercury amalgams are viewed as dangerous health hazards. Even in this country, the ADA Council on Dental Materials sensibly warns dentists that the mercury vapor that comes out of scrap amalgam is extremely dangerous and a no-touch technique for handling the amalgam is taught. They also insist that dentists store mercury in tightly sealed containers, avoiding heating mercury or amalgam, and perform yearly mercury determinations on all dental office personnel. But why does the ADA say a mercury amalgam is safe in your mouth and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) says when amalgam is taken out of your mouth it is a toxic waste and must be handled a certain way to protect dental personnel from getting mercury poisoning!
Why hasn't my dentist told me about this?
In medicine, if a drug has a 1 in a 1000 chance of causing an adverse reaction, the patient is informed of the risks and benefits. This is called “informed consent.” The ADA has deemed it unethical for any dentist to tell a patient to have their mercury amalgams removed for health reasons. They can remove it if it is deemed ugly. The ADA has spent large sums of money prosecuting dentists who say that mercury is poisonous and who refuse to place it in their patient's mouths. In my opinion, their concern is over the tremendous financial liability it places all dentists, the ADA, and the amalgam manufacturers in.
In 2001, the state of Maine put into effect legislation requiring every dentist's office to provide informed consent. Dental offices must feature a poster and a brochure informing the patients about the presence of mercury in amalgam fillings and about its negative health effects. The state of California has followed suite.
What Is Dr. Erickson's Experience in this Area?
Since the late 1990's I have been involved in the treatment of patients with chronic bio-accumulation of mercury, lead, arsenic and other toxic metals. I attend conferences where the issues of chronic environmental exposures adversely impacting health are discussed, and how best to diagnose and treat them on a preventive health basis.
In addition, I am a Diplomat of the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology (previous named the American Board of Chelation Therapy), having passed both written and oral Board exams. What I have found is no two persons are alike, and each person's treatment protocol must be individualized based on age, medical condition, severity of the heavy metal burden, the ability of the person to detoxify and excrete the metals, psychological factors, lifestyle, etc. This is not a simple treatment. You probably want to know how long the process will take. Generally, the minimum time is six to eight months, although in fragile patients it might take several years of intermittent therapy to complete. Each heavy metal comes out in a specific order and often “pockets” of stored toxic metals release months or even a year into the treatment process. In most cases we will use periodic provocative urine challenge tests to monitor a patient's progress. Hair analyses for toxic metals are used as a screening tool to document exposure, but not body burden. Traditional medicine does not recognize these tests, relying on whole blood heavy metal assays to document an acute toxicity.
Acute Mercury Toxicity vs Chronic Increased Body Burden
Acute toxicity from mercury is rare, and most traditionally trained physicians have no awareness of how to look for bio-accumulation from low dose exposures to these metals over a long period of time. Because the metals are joined with the tissues in the body, they do not show up in blood tests or urine tests, and require a special type of testing either of hair or urine after a provocative chelating agent is given to release them from the tissues. For example inorganic mercury stays in the blood for for only a few days before it is distributed to various tissues in the body and cannot be measured in the blood.
Why Take Mercury Out?
In spite of what the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and other governmental health agencies would have us believe, in my opinion there is no such thing as a “safe” amount of toxic metal because microscopic amounts of these poisons affect us on a cellular level. Although our understanding of all the mechanisms of action that metals affect is incomplete, we do have knowledge about several mechanisms. In a brilliant but very technical report Metals In Medicine by Robert A. Nash, M.D. (published in Alternative Therapies July/August 2005. Vol. 11. No. 4), twelve different mechanisms of damage to our health were outlined. Toxicant metals can cause bioelectrical short circuits, damaging body function. Metals can combine with proteins creating metal-protein complexes that our body's immune system sees as a foreign invader. This results in our immune systems attacking our own tissues, resulting in autoimmune disorders and allergies. Toxic metals act to deplete glutathione and vitamin C, our two most important anti-oxidants that help prevent cancer and keep our immune systems strong. They alter brain function. Mercury, in particular, causes neurofibrillary tangles identical to those seen in Alzheimer's disease. Mercury and lead also cross the placental barrier, allowing this poisonous metal into the unborn baby. Toxic metals decrease dopaminergic brain activity leading to degeneration of nerve and brain cells. Toxic metals also affect DNA directly and can lead to cancer.
Mercury in low levels can result in decreased senses of touch, hearing, vision and taste, as well as a metallic taste in the mouth. Fatigue, lack of appetite, numbness in the extremities, headaches, hypertension, irritability and excitability, immune suppression, and anemia can also occur. It can also cause a lack of libido and sexual response. In severe cases, psychosis, manic behavior and autoimmune dysfunction, renal failure are seen. There is also an association between mercury containing dental amalgams and intra-oral cancers.
Are Your Symptoms Due to an Increased Body Burden of Toxic Metals?
This is a very complex area that I will try to summarize in this section.
Toxicity is based on 2 factors: 1) the amount of toxic substance(s); 2) the genomic factors (genetics) of the person and their ability to detoxify the substance. For example, two people have identical blood alcohol levels. One person is clinically drunk and the other is not.
Acute toxicity is often easy to diagnose after an acute exposure to the toxic substance. Chronic toxicity, which by its very nature, is difficult to diagnose as it occurs over a long period of time (sometimes decades) with exposure to very low levels of toxins that bioaccumulate in your tissues. Further complicating this is the concept of total body burden of multiple toxins that are in our environment. Multiple different toxins can act synergistically together, having a much greater toxic effect than each would individually. We often see this in medicine with patients taking multiple different drugs, where one drug increases the toxicity of another drug. Keeping these factors in mind, we do not know whether your symptoms will improve until after all your known sources of heavy metals are removed (e.g. dental amalgams, fish consumption, environmental toxin exposures, etc.) and until your body is also detoxified. It has been my experience with patients who have increased body burdens of toxic metals who decide to undergo physician supervised elective/preventive detoxification of metals, that over 85% of these patients have had very good to dramatic improvement, with less than 5% having little or no improvement once therapy was completed. This includes a wide spectrum of patients, including those with diabetic neuropathy and also multiple sclerosis. My experience has been that the most dramatic improvements are in the lifting of chronic fatigue, brain fog, asthma, and muscle weakness and pain previously diagnosed as fibromyalgia. But this is no guarantee that your symptoms will resolve should you elect to undergo treatment.
Some of my sickest patients have had only mild elevations of their urine or hair mercury levels. This group of patient's often have autoimmune problems such as asthma, fibromyalgia, skin rashes, multiple chemical sensitivities. Transition metals such as mercury are unstable and can bind to proteins in a person's body, creating a foreign protein. The body's immune system is stimulated and “attacks” the foreign protein-metal complex. An allergy, rather than toxicity, can cause symptoms. Dr. Vera Stejskal is an Associate Professor of Immunology at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. She is an expert on mercury allergy and toxicity and has developed a test called MELISA which diagnoses allergy to mercury and other heavy metals. She has brought this technology to the United States. Her web site is www.melisa.org and you may want to read the articles on this site. We can order this test for you.
Do I Need My Dental Amalgams Out?
This is an area of controversy between holistic dentists and physicians, and traditional dentists. The American Dental Association (ADA) has deemed it unethical for a dentist in this country to remove a mercury amalgam from a patient for medical reasons (but they can for cosmetic reasons!) In my opinion, the ADA position is contrary to scientific fact.
The World Health Organization position is there is no “safe” level of mercury in human beings. I agree. I would, for this reason recommend that a person who wishes to remain healthy, have any mercury amalgams replaced with non-toxic materials according to proper protocol, and not to have mercury amalgams placed in the future. If you have cancer, diabetes, thyroid disease, multiple sclerosis, or any other immune system disorder, removal of mercury amalgams in my opinion is critical. Your dentist may be a traditional dentist and not agree with this viewpoint and you will have to make decisions as to what is proper for you and your health. I don't have any of these diseases and I have had my amalgams removed to protect my immune system. I further recommend using only a dentist who is experienced in safe amalgam removal, as improper amalgam removal will make a bad situation worse. Ask the dentist if he/she is a mercury-free dentist. Ask your dentist if they use a rubber dam, nasal oxygen, high volume suction, a removal by quadrants rather than all at once, and if they do compatibility testing for dental materials before they replace your amalgams. If your dentist answers “no” to these questions or is still putting mercury in patients, I would be concerned. You will also need to have high dose vitamin C given intravenously following each amalgam removal. Vitamin C is a weak chelating agent and will help remove the mercury spilled during the dental procedure. This needs to be done within 2 hours of completion of your dental procedure. If you cannot afford removal at this time, or if your condition is very fragile and doesn't allow amalgam removal currently, there are still options to reduce the level of mercury in your body.
Can't I just have my dentist remove my fillings?
There is a specific protocol recommended to safely remove dental amalgams. Some dentists are not aware of this protocol. During the removal the dental drill will vaporize mercury, potentially releasing a large amount into the body, making your condition worse than what it currently is. So there are specific steps which must be followed in order to reduce your exposure.
Also, just removing your fillings does not take care of the mercury in your tissues. You would need to undergo a detoxification process to remove this.
How Do I Get Mercury Out of My Body?
Even if you do not have acute mercury toxicity, a variety of different medications (chelating agents) can be used to reduce an increased body burden of mercury . The most common one is DMSA. DMSA binds with mercury, arsenic, and lead, and allows the removal of these metals from the body. It is believed DMSA does not cross the blood-brain barrier, but indirectly pulls mercury and other heavy metals out of the brain. It is excreted by the kidneys and liver (going into the feces). DMSA has to be absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract to be effective, and if a person's digestive system is impaired, DMSA may not work. DMSA has not been show to have a significant effect on the urinary elimination of calcium, iron, or magnesium, but zinc excretion doubled in studies done by the drug company. This is different than the experience with EDTA chelation.
DMSA is custom formulated as to dose by a compounding pharmacist, based on your weight and condition. DMSA was developed to treat lead poisoning in infants and children and is approved by the FDA for this purpose, and is marketed under the name of Chemet. It has been used safely for over 30 years in large numbers of patients and has relatively little side effects. It complexes easily with mercury , especially organic mercury, and the other metals mentioned. DMSA therapy may take anywhere from several months to several years to reduce a body burden of mercury.
Other medications which can remove mercury include BAL, DMPS, D-Penicillamine.
Do I Need Special Supplements Before or During Treatment?
The answer is “YES.” Chelating agents do not work by themselves. Your body's detoxification pathways must also be supported nutritionally if you are to excrete the bound heavy metals. Otherwise, they will stay inside your body and be recycled. THE RATE AT WHICH YOU DETOXIFY WILL DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF SYMPTOMS/SIDE EFFECTS YOU HAVE DURING THE TREATMENT PROCESS. We are not in a race and we want to keep the detox symptoms tolerable. You can expect to feel some of the following symptoms, depending what metal you are excreting: fatigue, headaches, body aches or flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrhea, foul smelling stools or urine, anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, and muscle weakness (especially as the mercury is coming out).
Dr. Erickson will look at your lab work and clinical situation and custom tailor a nutritional support program for you.
What About Your Diet?
• Dr. Erickson recommends that your diet contain a high level of complex carbohydrates, to include fresh fruits and vegetables, organic when ever possible. If you have trouble with grains (they may contain a pesticide or fungicide some patients react to), use the Mediclear™ powder nutrient support more often as it is rice based, and try organically certified grains and whole breads. We find if you have a diet 50% complex carbohydrates, at least 20% high protein foods including nuts and soy, and no more than 30% fat, you will do better. Some patients may be on an Adkin's type of program, but this is not the time to be worrying about your weight. You will have less detox symptoms with the carbohydrates binding the toxins in the intestine on their way out.
• Juicing is important. It provides your body something no supplement can - namely, fresh plant enzymes that will help in the detox process and give you an energy boost. Use organic vegetables and fruits. I recommend drinking an 8 oz. glass in the morning and an 8 ounce glass in the evening (start with 1 glass a day for a few days to get used to this). Try an equal mix of carrots, celery, and zucchini (with the skins on) for detoxification support. Celery-apple juice relieves inflammation and achiness, and helps nervous tension. Cucumber juice or watermelon juice (including the skins/rinds) acts as a diuretic/flush. And buying frozen or bottled stuff doesn't work the same. If you don't already have a juicer, the Miracle Juicer is a great starter juicer, and you can toss it's parts in the dishwasher. It lists for around $129, but you can get it cheaper if you shop around.
• If you have an increased body burden of mercury, NO SEAFOOD. Period.
• Lean protein foods such as lean Maverick beef (no more than 7% fat), lamb, turkey, and Empire Brand Kosher chicken or Springer Mountain Chicken (no hormones, chemicals, etc.) should be used.
o No more than 30% of calories should come from fats, and these should be the “good” fats from butter, olive oil, flaxseed oil, safflower oil. Do not deep fry foods. Bake or broil.
• Eat foods with a high sulfur content, as this tends to bind mercury. Eggs (from free roaming chickens, no antibiotic or hormones in feed), cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, garlic and onions all have a high sulfur content.
• Obtain the best quality water you can get. I suggest purified mineral or spring water, or distilled water (if you add the missing minerals). Add lemon or lime juice to the water. Drink 6 - 8 glasses of juice or water a day to help flush toxins.
• No alcohol (depletes B vitamins and acts as an additional toxic load on the liver).
• No sugar added. This means avoidance of cakes, pastries, cookies, candy, soda pop, and anything that says “High Fructose Corn Syrup or Sugar Added.” Sugar stresses your adrenals and pancreas further, and is not good for your immune system. If you need a natural sweetener, buy Stevia in liquid or powder at a health food store. Ask us about Standard Process™ Food Bars if you have a sweet tooth or snacks are needed.
Other Things That Can Help
Removing heavy metals is a major undertaking. It is important to treat yourself well during this time, as most people feel more tired and have some symptoms related to the detoxification. Here are some additional things I have found helpful:
• Give Thanks everyday. We all have a lot to be thankful for.
• Get adequate rest. Take a 30 minute nap in the afternoon if you need to.
• Do not go on a diet during this time. Fat dumping of stored toxins will add to symptoms.
• Walk every day 20 minutes. Vigorous exercise is not needed, but it's okay to continue an exercise program if you're used to one.
• Sauna therapy, especially an infra-red sauna can be very helpful in removing toxins and increasing body temperature in patient's with thermoregulatory dysfunction so their enzyme systems can function more normally. Talk to Dr. Erickson about this before doing on your own. If you have a serious medical problem such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. do not do this without direct medical supervision.
• A negative pole magnetic mattress pad made by Magnetico™ out of Canada, can help “energize” the body and help in the detoxification process. No one else in the U.S., including Nikken, has this technology, to my knowledge. Ask us about this.
• Take one day at a time. Stress has an adverse affect on health. Be kind to yourself as you go through this treatment. Some days will be better than others. When you are having a tough day, just remember you are taking one step at a time to improved health, and you're that much closer to where you want to be.
Summary
It has been asserted that mercury dental amalgam is safe because it has been in use for over 150 years. Length of time in use is no proof of safety. It has also been asserted that there are over 100 years of studies showing that amalgam is safe. I personally have not been able to find these studies. The 2006 study published in JAMA is flawed, and leaves a number of questions unanswered. Standards change and we must face facts. We have at least three precedents in recent times where materials were previously used on a widespread basis for a very long time that were harmful to humans and the environment - the use of asbestos, the use of lead in paints, and the use of lead in gasoline.
“Mercury compounds have no known normal metabolic function and their presence in the cells of living organisms, including human beings represents contamination . . . all such contamination must be regarded as undesirable and potentially hazardous” -- the conclusion of the National Research Council of the U.S.A. in their 1978 report 'An assessment of Mercury in the Environment.'
Traditional medicine and dentistry do not recognize mercury amalgams or increased body burdens of toxic metals as a health problem. Many CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) physicians and integrative physicians such as myself are not in agreement with this viewpoint for the reasons outlined in this paper and elsewhere. The decision to reduce your body burden of mercury through a physician supervised elective/preventive program of mercury detoxification and/or to have your mercury-containing dental amalgams replaced with non-toxic material is a decision only you can make.
Partial Listing of References
www.altcorp.com
www.melisa.org
www.hugnet.com
www.davidhoward.com.au/Article1.html
www.web-light.nl/AMALGAM/EN/SCIENCE/sciencemain.html
1. It’s All In Your Head – book by Hal Huggins, D.D.S.
2. Uniformed Consent – book by Hal Huggins, D.D.S. and Thomas E. Levy, M.D., J.D.
8. www.iaomt.org (This is a dental site and has great information)
