Mercury is the only naturally liquid metal on the planet, and you’ve got to admit liquid metal is pretty awesome. It’s also classified as a “heavy metal”. Also awesome.
But despite all its awesomeness, Mercury is also a neurotoxin that has been linked to immune system suppression and a host of physical problems including brain damage, Autism, Alzheimers, ALS, MS, Cancer, and other chronic diseases.
“Scientific research has demonstrated that mercury, even in small amounts, can damage the brain, nervous system, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, thyroid, pituitary and adrenal glands, blood cells, enzymes and hormones. Mercury is also known to suppress the T-cells of immune system by as much as 100%.” -Eastin Center for Modern Dentistry
Mercury is a naturally occurring element, and about half the mercury in our environment is produced by natural sources like volcanoes. The other half comes from industrial pollution. In other words, modern industry has doubled the amount of mercury present in the environment.
The majority of mercury pollution is spewed into the air by coal-fired power plants. From there it finds its way into the soil, rivers, lakes, and the ocean.
When most of us think of mercury, we think about thermometers and that’s about it. But mercury is all around us.
Thimerosal is a mercury compound used a preservative in vaccines. Because of the controversy surrounding the toxic effects of thimerosal, it has been removed and/or reduced in childhood vaccines with the exception of the flu vaccine. In recent years, there has been growing concern about the connection between childhood vaccines and autism, especially among parents of autistic children.
This is why our family doesn’t get flu shots, and we delayed our kids vaccinations.
We staggered them out over a much longer period of time to reduce the concentrated exposure of potential toxins. We asked nicely and our doctor was fine with it.
Vaccines are a major profit center for the pharmaceutical industry and many of the diseases children are vaccinated for are not fatal to children, like chicken pox for example.
And there’s still a chance you could be exposed to a viral strain different than one you were vaccinated against.
Mercury in our food
Unfortunately a lot of fish and shellfish have high concentrations of mercury in their bodies, trapped in their fatty tissue. They absorb it from contaminated water and food like this:
Little fish eats mercury contaminated algae. Bigger fish eats little fish and absorbs the mercury from him, and so it goes until that fish ends up sitting in front of you on plate at the dinner table. This is called biomagnification. So the longer a fish lives, the more toxic mercury it absorbs. And yes when you eat the big fish you absorb it all from him, almost 100% of it.
Biomagnification can also happens inside us. Every time you are exposed to mercury it accumulates in your tissues. Repeated exposure over time can lead to a toxic tipping point in your body. Your body’s ability to function properly decreases and health problems will begin.
The most contaminated fish are the predators at the top of the food chain: Albacore Tuna, Swordfish, Shark, King Mackerel, and Tilefish. The high mercury levels in these fish have been linked to brain and nervous system damage in unborn babies and young children, which is why the FDA and EPA strongly advise that pregnant women abstain from eating those fish.
This is why I am very selective about the fish I eat. I explain what kind of fish I eat in this post.
Other fun places you can find mercury:
-Mascara and skin care products, unless you live in Minnesota. They banned it from cosmetics in 2008.
-Mercury vapor is in fluorescent light bulbs and neon signs. If you break one inside, get away from it quick. Then open all the windows and doors to air out your house.
My Mercury Exposure
When I was a kid, I stayed home sick from school one day. I was playing with the dog in the living room with a thermometer in my mouth. Somehow I stumbled and hit my chin on the coffee table biting the glass thermometer in half in my mouth. As dumb as it sounds, this is not that uncommon.
When I was a junior in high school I thought it would be cool to “accidentally” break a huge thermometer on the lab table in chemistry class. I poured some of the mercury into the palm of my hand and let it roll around for a few seconds. I remember one of the other kids saying, “I don’t think you’re supposed to touch that stuff”. At which point I let it roll off my hand back onto the table. Holding liquid metal in your hand is super weird because it’s really heavy. I’ll never forget that feeling. Little did I know that mercury is the most toxic non-radioactive metal on the planet. Unfortunately it did not give me any super powers, and it may have contributed to my suppressed immune system and the proliferation of cancerous cells in my body.
Perhaps if there had been youtube when I was a kid, I might have seen this 30 second PSA:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzZuvtDFqCQ]
I also had flu shots as a young adult and ate massive amounts of albacore tuna.
Ok here comes my final blow, brace yourself:
If you have silver fillings in your mouth, they are 50% mercury.
This is the second biggest source of mercury exposure besides fish. Mercury Amalgam fillings throw off toxic mercury vapor into your body every time you agitate your teeth. This agitation process I’m referring to is chewing, brushing, eating acidic foods, and drinking hot liquids.
Several times a day, every day, these fillings are releasing mercury vapor into your mouth and you are breathing it in. This is especially toxic as your body absorbs 80% of mercury vapor you breathe in. And it never stops, no matter how old the fillings are.
Much like fluoride, the American Dental Association’s official position is that mercury amalgams are safe and non-toxic. This is absolutely false. Mercury Amalgam has never been tested or approved for safety by the FDA. And what’s really crazy is that the EPA and OSHA classify old mercury filings hazardous waste. Even though they were “safe” enough to be in your mouth, they cannot be thrown away. They have to follow strict disposal procedures to prevent further release of mercury vapor into the environment.
I’ve never had any mercury fillings in my mouth, but my wife Micah did. We had her fillings removed and replaced with white resin fillings in 2004. For the record, her dentist at the time told her he thought it was “unnecessary”.
Watch this video. The intro music makes me laugh, and the narration is a bit dry, but the demonstration is excellent.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ylnQ-T7oiA]
Most dentists aren’t trained in safe mercury filling removal. You can find a dentist specializing in safe removal and replacement at www.iaomt.org.
One of nature’s most powerful heavy metal detoxifiers is a blue-green algae harvested in Japan called Chlorella.
We buy it in bulk and take it twice a day, every day.
Sun-Chlorella broken cell wall chlorella is the most trusted, highest quality brand I’ve found on the market.
Another supplement you might want to take is Integrative Therapeutics Mercury Detox.
Also check out this book:
Amalgam Illness, Diagnosis and Treatment : What You Can Do to Get Better, How Your Doctor Can Help by Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD PE
Chris Beat Cancer: A Comprehensive Plan for Healing Naturally Get it on Amazon here, or anywhere books are sold. I've interviewed over 70 people who've healed all types and stages of cancer. Check them out here. Or use the search bar to find survivors of specific cancer types.
I also created a coaching program for cancer patients, caregivers, and anyone who is serious about prevention called SQUARE ONE. It contains the step-by-step strategies used by myself and many others who have healed cancer with a holistic approach using nutrition and natural non-toxic therapies.
Watch SQUARE ONE Module 1 for free here
(((c)))
Chris Beat Cancer is ad-free and reader-supported. If you purchase a product through a link on this site I may receive compensation from an affiliate partner (like Amazon). Your support helps fund this blog and my mission so my team and I can continue to do the work that we do. Thank you!
This Post Has 17 Comments
I have mercury fillings and have been seriously thinking about taking them out. But I read somewhere that taking them out can be more dangerous than leaving them in due to the extremely high exposure you get when they are taken out. What is your take on that?
Also – if you don’t mind me asking – how much was it?
Hey Melissa You’re right. The dentist needs to use special equipment and take extra precautions when removing them.
But it is my understanding that most dentists don’t.
We didn’t know that much about it when Micah had hers taken out, and we’re pretty sure he didn’t take all the precautions he should have.
We can’t remember if we had dental insurance through back in 2004 or not, or what the cost was.
IAOMT.org has 8 dentists listed in TN that follow the correct removal protocol. Most of them are in the Nashville area, none in Memphis.
Figures they would all be in Nashville. Could be worth the trip though to have it done right tough. And sweet if dental insurance covers it!
I’m getting a cracked filling removed on Dec. 20th and replaced with a crown. This was not something I was concerned about but now I am. I will talk to my dentist but I am sure he will say it’s safe. hmmmm…
My mother had all of her mercury fillings (a mouth full )removed in a very short time span. Less than a year later she died of stage 4 colon cancer. I refuse to accept that there is no connection there. Please everyone who gets their fillings removed see the link Chris provided for safe filling removal. Chris so happy to hear a positive story, we tried natural therapies with my mom however she also took chemotherapy even though her body was to weak to handle it. I think the chemotherapy is what finally took her life we may have had more time without it.
J
I’m so sorry to hear about your loss.
Colon cancer is typically a very slow growing cancer and may have been there for several years,
however a toxic overload of mercury exposure from improper filling removal could have severely damaged your mother’s immune system
allowing the cancer to spread more rapidly.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
I didn’t notice a Digg button, I would suggest you add one for great articles like this one.
Hi Clarita
Thanks for the feedback
It’s actually on the side bar and scrolls down with you.
But maybe I should put it at the end of the post.
Is that where you expected it to be?
:)
Chris I heard that only DMSA and ALA taken in very low frequent doses (every 3 hours) is the only positive and safe way to chelate mercury from the body. I learned this from talking to Andrew Cutler, he is a chemist/scientist who had mercury poisoning and has been studying it for a long time. Here is his website: http://www.noamalgam.com and he has a yahoo group as well called Frequent Dose Chelation. I hope this helps someone out there.
Thank you so much for sharing this Mia!
I am mercury toxic. I lost effective thyroid and adrenal function even with so-called safe amalgam removal. I have been chelating for 9 months and now have CFS.
This week, colonoscopy indicated bowel is riddled with precancerous sessile serrated adenomas (SSA). They are the more concerning flat type.
I am guessing that I have no t-cell function to speak of. Any comments or advice?
Hi Brad
It’s hard to say without knowing more about your situation. In general I recommend people do what I did, which includes raw foods, juicing, etc.
Chelation is to extract heavy metals, but it’s not enough. You also need to flood your body with raw useable nutrients to support so it can properly heal and detox.
In general I recommend people do what I did, which includes raw foods, juicing, etc.
Read all the posts on this site, there’s a ton of info here that can help.
Also the link in Mia’s comment below yours might be worth looking into.
Do you know where your exposure to mercury came from aside from dental amalgams?
Brad,
I had eight amalgams removed and am experiencing the worst of the symptoms two years post-removal. I did not do any chelations though.
I’ve found cooked vegetables for their high fiber content to be extremely helpful, especially carrots, broccoli, spinach, onions, and garlic with grass-fed protein. This has been very helpful.
Juicing was problematic for me. It does detox, but there is a high amount of sugars which can be problematic.
Juicing carrots seemed to help open the detoxification pathways, but I believe the fibers in the cooked vegetables helps to bind the mercury and remove it from the body. There is some evidence that carrot juice removes heavy metals from the body.
Hi there, where do you buy the Sun A chlorella in bulk? It’s not there on the link supplied. Also I had read that powder form is best..what’s your take on that?
Hello-
I recently had all silver fillings removed from my mouth and want to start on chlorella. I noticed on the insert of Sun Chlorella that there is a lead warning…any thoughts???
Any recommendations for pediatric dentists in Memphis who are Mercury free. I need to take my daughter for her first dentist appointment, but don’t know who to see. I haven’t had much luck searching online.
I think many dentists offer mercury free options now, just ask. :)
Comments are closed.