Revised Protocol for Detoxifying Your Body from Mercury Exposure
January 13, 2013
|
561,864
views
By Dr. Mercola
It is likely you are accumulating mercury and other heavy metals at a
disturbing rate. This is occurring at a time when your body is already
bombarded with multiple chemical assaults, making it harder to keep its
natural detoxification system working smoothly and efficiently.
The two primary sources of mercury exposure are dental amalgams
(mercury-based fillings) and seafood consumption, followed by
thimerosal-containing vaccines and mercury pollution from coal-burning
power plants.
Other significant environmental offenders are chlor-alkali plants
(which make products like chlorine bleach and PVC), trash incinerators,
cement kilns, and gold mining1.
These industries are loading our environment with inorganic forms of
mercury that are then converted in the soil and water to a type of
mercury called methylmercury (MeHg) — which then accumulates in the fish you eat.
Dental amalgams are comprised of 50 percent elemental mercury. This
form of mercury evaporates from the surface of the amalgam and is
inhaled, absorbed into the blood, and then converted to inorganic
mercury, the most toxic form of mercury to cells. Inorganic mercury
builds up far more in your organs of elimination — it's 100 times as
high in your kidneys and liver than in your brain. But when it does make
its way into your brain, it's far more damaging than any other form.
Dr. Christopher Shade, a mercury and glutathione expert from the
University of Illinois, explains how your body's natural heavy metal
detoxification system works. It's a lengthy lecture — about three hours.
But if you truly want an in-depth understanding of this topic, he gives
an excellent presentation of the latest science about the human
biochemistry of mercury. I also previously interviewed Dr. Shade about
mercury detoxification, which you can listen to here:
Mercury Marches into Your Body and Takes Prisoners
Mercury's toxicity is related to inappropriate binding — it's never a
"free agent." Instead, mercury is always paired with a ligand, a
molecule or group of molecules that binds to other molecules to form a
larger complex. Mercury's favorite ligand is sulfur, especially a
reduced form called a thiol. Thiols are found throughout your body for
example, cysteine and the super-antioxidant glutathione. Enzymes use beneficial metals for their activity and hold those metals in place with thiol groups.
But mercury has a far higher affinity for the thiols than do beneficial metals like zinc. How much greater?
In the case of zinc, a billion times! This means mercury
fiercely grabs onto these groups and refuses to let go, depriving you of
the good metals and stopping your normal biological processes in their
tracks. Mercury will also grab onto cell membranes, which leads to
shattering of the membranes, vascular leakage, and subsequent
"spackling" of the damage with cholesterol.
A Two-Headed Dragon: Toxicity and Inflammation
It's an interesting fact that some people with high mercury exposure
don't become toxic, yet others with relatively low exposure do. Why is
this? Why does one person get really sick from her amalgams while
another is perfectly fine?
The difference lies in your ability to detoxify naturally. You
already have a system in place for removing mercury and other heavy
metals from your body. Mercury's half-life can range from 40 to 120
days, and the faster you can clear it out, the less you'll be affected.
It's important to realize that people are either slow detoxifiers or fast detoxifiers, and a small genetic subset are super slow
detoxifiers. If you are in the super slow group, your detox system is
significantly impaired and the result can be mercury overload. How
quickly you detoxify on your own depends on a several factors, such as
your exposure level, genetic makeup, genetic expression, and overall
health. For example, if your progesterone levels are low, you can't
detoxify as well, and unfortunately, decreased progesterone levels are
common today.
Additionally, people who are hypersensitive to metals will have toxic
effects at much lower levels than other people. When it comes to the
buildup of heavy metals in your body, the news is all bad. Heavy metal
toxicity produces a wide range of adverse biological effects.2
Your brain is a primary target for heavy metals, which results in
many neurological symptoms, including depression and anxiety,
irritability and memory loss. Mercury overload can even lead to major
neurological conditions like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
Heavy metals also target your kidneys, liver, heart, pituitary and thyroid glands, and increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
In fact, a mercury detoxification protocol can significantly improve
insulin sensitivity and metabolic syndrome. Mercury, especially from
dental amalgams, can accumulate heavily in your digestive tract where it
attaches to your gut epithelium.
Amalgams BATHE Your Brain and Digestive Tract in Mercury
Besides creating a significant environmental burden, the biological damage from amalgams
is two-fold. Mercury vapor emitted from amalgams passes readily through
your cell membranes, across your blood-brain barrier, and into your
central nervous system where it causes immunological, neurological, and
psychological problems.
At the same time, mercury is leaching into your saliva and being swallowed,
making its way down your digestive tract where it causes inflammation
and damages your immune system — because the frontline of your immune system is in your gut. This blocks one of your body's major detoxification pathways: passage out of your GI tract.
Additionally, mercury shuts off the ability of your liver and kidneys
to move mercury into your gut for elimination. So, if you have amalgams
in your mouth, you are bathing your digestive tract AND your brain in
mercury every day, poisoning your brain while at the same time blocking
its route out of the body... the perfect recipe for mercury poisoning.
How do you know if mercury toxicity is a problem for you? Well, if
you have a mouthful of amalgams and a laundry list of health challenges,
chances are mercury is a factor. According to Dr. Shade, there is 2,000 times
more mercury coating the inside of the mouth (and thus the whole GI
tract) of people who have amalgams than in those who don't. The only way
to know for sure whether you are accumulating mercury is to have
yourself tested. But before you do this, there are some important items
you need to know.
What You Need to Know about Mercury Testing
Traditional mercury testing involves testing either your hair, blood,
urine, or stool. Challenge tests that implement a chelating chemical,
such as DMPS or DMSA, are also commonly used. However, all of these
tests have drawbacks. They primarily measure total mercury load — and
inaccurately at that. But most importantly they don't give you any
information about the forms of mercury in your system or how efficiently
you are getting rid of them.
Traditional mercury tests don't answer questions like, how much of
your mercury load is from the seafood you eat? How much from amalgams?
How well are your kidneys and liver eliminating it?
The two principal forms of mercury accumulate differently in your
body, and are eliminated by different pathways. For example, mercury
levels in your hair only reflect the mercury from the fish you eat. But
mercury levels in your urine reflect the mercury coming from your dental
fillings (plus some of the fish-based methylmercury that has broken
down into inorganic mercury). The only way to determine if there is a
problem is to compare your hair and urine levels with levels in your
blood. So, if mercury testing is to be meaningful, it must measure both
of the following:
- Exposure level: Overall mercury level for each of the two main forms of mercury (methylmercury, related to your fish/seafood consumption, and inorganic mercury, related to dental amalgam exposure)
- Excretion ability: How well your body is getting rid of each kind of mercury, regardless of your overall mercury level
A newer testing method called "mercury speciation "does just this —
it measures both of these factors. This test uses blood, urine and hair
to give you a more comprehensive picture of how your body is eliminating
mercury and where the process may be blocked. This information can be
immensely helpful in preparing a successful detoxification plan. For
more information about mercury speciation testing, refer to my recent interview with Dr. Shade.
Your Body's Natural Detoxification System: The Glutathione Machine
Toxicity is not just the level of a toxin — it's your body's response
to a toxin, which depends on the strength of your natural
detoxification system. Many people don't understand that your body comes
with its own built-in detoxification system. It's a common myth that
once you ingest mercury, it stays in your body forever.
Your body has a system to efficiently remove mercury and other heavy metals, as long as your detoxification system is working properly.
The problem is, many of you have one that's broken, and one of the
principal causes is inflammation. Your genetic makeup is another factor.
As Dr. Shade says:
"Your genes load the gun, and the environment pulls the trigger."
The glutathione "supersystem" is your body's main detoxification
system. Glutathione binds to heavy metals, but it doesn't do it alone —
it requires the assistance of enzymes, antioxidants, and transport
proteins.
Old age, impaired genetics, poor diet, and toxic exposures of all
kinds — aflatoxin, chloroform, DDT, organic nitrates, radiation, and
others — impair your glutathione system. Some people try to supplement
with glutathione or its precursors and expect the system to jump up to
speed but for the most part this doesn't work very well as typically
this is done orally with non-liposomal forms or done with IV
glutathione, which is very expensive, inconvenient, and only marginally
more effective. A far more effective strategy is to upregulate the
expression of the genes that produce the enzymes and transport proteins
that assist glutathione in doing its job.
Efficient detoxification depends on a series of seamless reactions
that bind toxins to shuttle molecules and "escort" them out through a
series of doors. Specifically, in order for your glutathione
detoxification system to operate well, it requires the following three
elements. If you have a shortage of any one of these three key elements, your cells lose their resistance to mercury, so it can accumulate and make you sick:
- Glutathione in your cells: Your body has to manufacture most of its own glutathione (biosynthesis), so it needs adequate building blocks
- Glutathione s-transferase (GST): An enzyme responsible for prying the mercury OFF the cellular proteins, then linking it TO the glutathione in the cell
- Transport proteins: A series of transport proteins
(multi drug resistant proteins, or MRPs) are responsible for getting the
conjugated mercury out of your cells and into your blood, as well as
from your blood into your liver and small intestine, and into other
places so it can be eliminated
Before You Do Anything Else, Optimize Your Diet
As with nearly every other health challenge, your diet
is a critical factor in supporting your body's detoxification system.
In fact, consider dietary optimization the "pretoxification" phase,
which should last for two to six weeks before starting the full
detoxification phase.
Your goal is to remove inflammatory and allergenic foods such as sugar (especially fructose/HFCS),
processed and packaged foods, fast foods, most starch and grain. Your
diet should be low in carbohydrates, moderate-to-low in protein, and
high in beneficial fats (as high as 50-70 percent). Proteins repair
mangled protein molecules and supply sulfur, and fats repair your cell
membranes. This type of diet not only prepares your body for
detoxification but also has the additional benefit of improving your
insulin sensitivity and reversing type 2 diabetes.
Overall CAUTION
It is important to realize that mercury detoxification is a marathon
and NOT a sprint. You do NOT want to do this quickly. Even if you
believe you are healthy you want to start this process SLOWLY as you
could easily cause severe flare ups. I am one of the healthiest people I
know and when I did my program I did it over six months. Some people
may need to do it far more slowly and may need a few years to
effectively eliminate the mercury safely.
Your Most Important Goal: Removing the Source of Exposure
Now that you understand what's required to eliminate mercury, we can
start discussing how to support and augment your body's natural
detoxification apparatus. That is really what "mercury detoxification"
is all about — simply helping your own natural detox system to function
better. In other words, you must "upregulate" this system.
The very first goal is to plug the hole in your leaking ship. You
must remove your source of mercury exposure, whether it's primarily from
the seafood you eat or from amalgams (or both). Mercury speciation
testing, as described above, can help you identify which source is
problematic. There is little point in embarking on a major detox mission
if you continue exposing yourself to the offender... that's like trying
to bail water out of a sinking boat. Avoid the consumption of
contaminated fish and seafood. Most fish
and seafood are now contaminated, unfortunately, but some types are
worse than others. Avoiding fish is relatively easy, but having your
amalgams removed is more involved and costly and must be done with great
care. You should do this ONLY with the help of a qualified biological
dentist as you can become quite ill if your amalgams are extracted
incorrectly.
However, if you have a mouthful of amalgams it is no mystery that you
have exposure that ideally needs to be addressed. Just be very careful
about jumping from the frying pan into the fire and have your mercury
amalgam fillings removed by a non-biological dentist like I did. That
mistake caused very serious damage to my kidneys that still troubles me
20 years later. You can find a trained and qualified dentist from the
following list:
I. Boosting Your Glutathione Production
The first requirement for effective mercury detoxification is
boosting your glutathione levels. Most forms of oral glutathione are not
effective because they are destroyed in the digestive process. But you
can consume foods that contain the precursors of glutathione so that
your body can make more of it — specifically, cysteine-rich foods. The
absolute best source is high quality whey protein. This whey must come
from the "clean" milk of organically raised cows, and not have been
overly processed, which denatures the fragile proteins.
Just be careful not to consume too much of the whey. For more
information on whey, please refer to my interview with Ori Hofmekler, an
expert on the health benefits of whey protein. The video below is older
than this article but my new position is to be careful with your
protein intake and limit the amount you are using.
Additionally, you may want to try liposomal glutathione. Liposomal
glutathione is a relatively new form of oral glutathione that is
actually well absorbed and eliminates nearly all the concerns previously
mentioned with oral glutathione. It's encapsulated into extremely tiny
phospholipid particles, which increase its bioavailability 100-fold.
II. Mobilizing Mercury by Boosting Enzymes and Transport Proteins
Now that your glutathione levels are up, you can work on building up
the other parts of your glutathione system — specifically, enzymes and
transport proteins. Your natural production of these factors can be
augmented with superfoods.
Plants contain thousands of natural chemicals (phytochemicals) that
help your body to work properly, including production of enzymes and
antioxidants. One group of phytochemicals is the polyphenol group, which
actually helps activate health-promoting genes.3 Polyphenols are abundant in a wide range of fruits and vegetables.
Sulfur-based
phytonutrients are particularly important in supporting your
glutathione system, since glutathione is a sulfur-based molecule.4 Therefore, you should consume vegetables from the cruciferous family (cabbage, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, kale,
collards, radishes, wasabi, etc.), which are rich in sulfur. Fermenting
these vegetables is the most nutritious way to consume them.
Garlic is especially powerful, but it's the oil of the garlic
that supports detoxification, not the allicin (which is the compound
known for its antimicrobial effect). And you want the smelly kind of
garlic — deodorized garlic is useless for detox! Either eat the garlic
raw (yes, you have to chew it up), or purchase a garlic oil supplement.
Some of the other compounds recommended by Dr. Shade include:
- Haritaki (Terminalia chebula) extract5:
An Ayurvedic fruit used extensively in Tibetan medicine, called the
"King of Herbs;" it has potent effects on your glutathione system and on
expression of other intracellular antioxidants, such as superoxide
dismutase (SOD)
- Sodium R-lipoic Acid 6 : The
most bioavailable and active form of alpha-lipoic acid; also good for
increasing insulin sensitivity and treating type 2 diabetes,
cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and mitochondrial dysfunction
- Lumbrokinase7: a enzyme derived from earthworms
- Pine Bark Extract8: One
of the most potent polyphenolic antioxidants; has been found to prolong
the activity of vitamin C in your body; good as an adjunct to vitamins
C, E and lipoic acid
Your approach with these agents should be to gradually titrate the
dose upward to a high therapeutic level, then back it down. It's best to
"pulse" the treatments because your body can't sustain upregulation for
very long. You will be more productive with shorter bursts at an
appropriately stout therapeutic dose. This means taking the treatments
for a few days, followed by a few days off. Dr. Shade suggests cycling
your treatments on the schedule of five days on, two days off (to
start), working up to 10 days on, four days off. He instructs, never go
more than 10 days on when upregulating your detoxification system.
Ideally, this should be done with the assistance of a healthcare
professional trained in heavy metal detoxification who can help you
decide on an optimal dose and schedule. If you begin to feel worse, you
may be titrating up too quickly.
III. Capturing and Eliminating Mercury with Intestinal Binders
You do NOT want to mobilize mercury without making sure it has an escape route out of your body!
Once the mercury is in your intestine, you need something to bind it
and pull it away from your intestinal wall, and for this we use
something called an intestinal binder. Intestinal binders help carry the
mobilized toxins out, which prevents them from building up in your
bloodstream where they can end up making you sicker.
Binders prevent you from absorbing or reabsorbing the toxic agent,
but they also help prevent intestinal inflammation. If your intestine
becomes inflamed, the traffic stops because the transport proteins are
shut off. That causes toxins to back up into your liver and kidneys, and
blood. Removing mercury from your gut will also help prevent dysbiosis, which is at the root of a mind-blowing array of health problems.
Thiol Resins
There are several types of intestinal binders, but only a couple of
them work well for grabbing mercury. Dr. Shade's favorite binder is
thiol resin, because it's the most specific to heavy metals (mercury,
lead and arsenic) and produces high rates of excretion. Thiol resins
have a powerful attraction for mercury.
Chlorella
Another good binder for heavy metals is chlorella. Dr. Shade suggests working up to 50 to 70 tablets per day, which is a lot of chlorella. Please work up to that level gradually.
Other binders you'll hear about are clay/zeolites, and pectin. For
mercury, these bind very weakly, and you would have to take enormous
quantities for many years to see any benefit so I don't recommend them.
If you haven't yet had your amalgams removed, you may find rinsing
with a binding agent helpful. Chlorella, activated charcoal, or N-acetyl
cysteine can be prepared as a mouthwash where it binds to the mercury
coating your oral epithelium. Levels of mercury can be very high in this rinse — make sure you don't swallow it.
Beneficial Bacteria
Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride believes that one of the most potent detoxifiers
of mercury and heavy metals are beneficial bacteria. Their cell
membranes tend to bind very effectively to the metals and they are
typically excreted in the stool. One of the best ways to provide your
body with this resource is with fermented vegetables
Other Factors to Consider Adding to Your Regimen
In addition to a healthful diet as discussed earlier, the following
supplements and other measures will enhance and support your body's
detoxification ability:
| A good whole food multivitamin that includes the full spectrum of B vitamins |
A good mineral supplement (consider Thorne Citramins II, citrated minerals without copper or iron) |
Fermented foods and probiotics |
| Astaxanthin, to protect your cell membranes from free radical damage |
Cilantro9 |
Vitamin C, a powerful detox agent |
| Plenty of fresh, pure water daily |
Flax seeds (ground) to keep intestines moving |
Regular exercise |
| Infrared sauna |
Address your emotional issues (I recommend EFT) |
Address malocclusions and cranial trauma |
Help Support Mercury Free Dentistry
The use of Amalgam for fillings not only pollutes our mouths, it also
pollutes our environment. We need to end the use of dental amalgam -- a
primitive, pre-Civil War, pollutant that leads to cracked teeth -- for
three reasons::
- The new Minamata Convention on Mercury is the game-changer for
dental amalgam. Each nation that signs this comprehensive treaty against
mercury pollution – now numbering over 100, including the United States
– commits itself to scaling down dental mercury without delay.
- Consumers for Dental Choice, who spearheads the campaign against
amalgam, brings the Minamata Convention home. Commissioning a Zogby
poll, they issued a scathing indictment of the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) for covering up amalgam's mercury from American
parents and consumers – and for putting the US government out of
compliance with the pledge it made at Minamata.
- Your financial support for Consumers for Dental Choice is now
needed. Working with talented environmental, consumer, and health
leaders, Consumers for Dental Choice is launching phase out campaigns in
Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Resources to Help You Find a Biological Dentist
The following organizations can help you to find a mercury-free, biological dentist:
Together, Let's Help Charlie Brown and Consumers for Dental Choice Get to the Finish Line
Let's help Consumers for Dental Choice get the funding it deserves. I
have found few NGOs as effective, and none as efficient, as Consumers
for Dental Choice. Its small team has led the charge on six continents
-- including ours!
Please make a donation to help Consumers for Dental Choice give
dental consumers, amalgam victims, and parents a strong voice against
amalgam.
What Are GMOs?
From April 19th through April 25th we launch GMO Awareness Week. We
set aside an entire week dedicated to providing you with information on
GMOs and labeling initiatives.
GMOs are a product of genetic engineering, meaning their genetic makeup
has been altered to induce a variety of “unique” traits to crops, such
as making them drought-resistant or giving them “more nutrients.” GMO
proponents claim that genetic engineering is “safe and beneficial,” and
that it advances the agricultural industry. They also say that GMOs help
ensure the global food supply and sustainability. But is there any
truth to these claims? I believe not. For years, I've stated the belief
that GMOs pose one of the greatest threats to life on the planet.
Genetic engineering is NOT the safe and beneficial technology that it is
touted to be.
Help Support GMO Labeling
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)—Monsanto’s Evil Twin—is
pulling out all the stops to keep you in the dark about what’s in your
food. For nearly two decades, Monsanto and corporate agribusiness have
exercised near-dictatorial control over American agriculture. For
example, Monsanto has made many claims that glyphosate in Roundup is
harmless to animals and humans. However, recently the World Health
Organization (WHO) had their research team test glyphosate and have
labeled it a probable carcinogen.
Public opinion around the biotech industry's contamination of our
food supply and destruction of our environment has reached the tipping
point. We're fighting back. That's why I was the first to push for GMO
labeling. I donated a significant sum to the first ballot initiative in
California in 2012, which inspired others to donate to the campaign as
well. We technically "lost the vote, but we are winning the war, as
these labeling initiatives have raised a considerable amount of public
awareness.
The insanity has gone far enough, which is why I encourage you to
boycott every single product owned by members of the GMA, including
natural and organic brands. More than 80 percent of our support comes
from individual consumers like you, who understand that real change
comes from the grassroots.
Thankfully, we have organizations like the Organic Consumers
Association (OCA) to fight back against these junk food manufacturers,
pesticide producers, and corporate giants.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
Together, Let's Help OCA Get The Funding They Deserve
Let’s Help OCA get the funding it deserves. I have found very few
organizations who are as effective and efficient as OCA. It’s a public
interest organization dedicated to promoting health justice and
sustainability. A central focus of the OCA is building a healthy,
equitable, and sustainable system of food production and consumption.
That's why I'm proud to announce I will be matching donations up to
$250,000 this week.
Please make a donation to help OCA fight for GMO labeling.
What Are GMOs?
From April 19th through April 25th we launch GMO Awareness Week. We
set aside an entire week dedicated to providing you with information on
GMOs and labeling initiatives.
GMOs are a product of genetic engineering, meaning their genetic makeup
has been altered to induce a variety of “unique” traits to crops, such
as making them drought-resistant or giving them “more nutrients.” GMO
proponents claim that genetic engineering is “safe and beneficial,” and
that it advances the agricultural industry. They also say that GMOs help
ensure the global food supply and sustainability. But is there any
truth to these claims? I believe not. For years, I've stated the belief
that GMOs pose one of the greatest threats to life on the planet.
Genetic engineering is NOT the safe and beneficial technology that it is
touted to be.
Help Support GMO Labeling
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA)—Monsanto’s Evil Twin—is
pulling out all the stops to keep you in the dark about what’s in your
food. For nearly two decades, Monsanto and corporate agribusiness have
exercised near-dictatorial control over American agriculture. For
example, Monsanto has made many claims that glyphosate in Roundup is
harmless to animals and humans. However, recently the World Health
Organization (WHO) had their research team test glyphosate and have
labeled it a probable carcinogen.
Public opinion around the biotech industry's contamination of our
food supply and destruction of our environment has reached the tipping
point. We're fighting back. That's why I was the first to push for GMO
labeling. I donated a significant sum to the first ballot initiative in
California in 2012, which inspired others to donate to the campaign as
well. We technically "lost the vote, but we are winning the war, as
these labeling initiatives have raised a considerable amount of public
awareness.
The insanity has gone far enough, which is why I encourage you to
boycott every single product owned by members of the GMA, including
natural and organic brands. More than 80 percent of our support comes
from individual consumers like you, who understand that real change
comes from the grassroots.
Thankfully, we have organizations like the Organic Consumers
Association (OCA) to fight back against these junk food manufacturers,
pesticide producers, and corporate giants.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
Together, Let's Help OCA Get The Funding They Deserve
Let’s Help OCA get the funding it deserves. I have found very few
organizations who are as effective and efficient as OCA. It’s a public
interest organization dedicated to promoting health justice and
sustainability. A central focus of the OCA is building a healthy,
equitable, and sustainable system of food production and consumption.
That's why I'm proud to announce I will be matching donations up to
$250,000 this week.
Please make a donation to help OCA fight for GMO labeling.
-
Spread the Word to
Friends And Family
By Sharing this Article.
-
-
-
28
inShare
-
-
-
Email
No comments:
Post a Comment