Toxic Waste (from bottom line)

[Guest guest]

Toxic WasteIn a recent issue, I talked about the havoc that mercury can wreak upon your health. Exposure to this toxic heavy metal even in low levels -- through such common avenues as mercury-amalgam dental fillings, thimerosal (Merthiolate) -laced vaccines, mercury in fish, occupational, environmental and atmospheric pollution -- can cause weakness, fatigue, headache, tremor, skin rashes and memory and concentration difficulties. Even worse is chronic poisoning, which has been linked with autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis and chronic fatigue syndrome. With all that risk, the natural question is how to rid yourself of mercury. To learn how to diagnose and counter the toxic effects of mercury poisoning, I turned once more to Tom McGuire, DDS, a leading authority in the field and author of the upcoming book, Your Complete Guide to Mercury Detoxification: How to Safely Remove Mercury from Your Teeth and Body (Medicis). How to Evaluate Mercury ExposureMany tests promise to measure exposure to mercury, notes Dr. McGuire, but none are perfect. While measurements of mercury accumulation in the hair, urine, blood and feces all have a certain value, in various ways all are also intrinsically flawed. Most significantly, none are able to pinpoint exactly where mercury is stored in the body, how much is stored, what harm it is doing and exactly how it got there in the first place. That said, in Dr. McGuire's opinion, the fecal metals test is the most useful. He explains that 90% of the mercury that the body removes is naturally released into the intestine and exits with the feces. The fecal metals test is useful in several ways...It will tell you if you are releasing mercury (which obviously means that you have mercury in your body in the first place) and how much is being removed. Once you know that mercury is a problem, fecal metals tests can be used as a reference point to help monitor a detoxification program. Because this test is an objective and scientific measurement, it is useful if you are skeptical about being mercury-toxic or have been told by a pro-mercury-amalgam dentist that these fillings are harmless. If you think you should be tested, go to www.doctorsdata.com. Again, it is important that the dentist or health-care professional know how to interpret this test. What You Can DoWhen mercury poisoning is the diagnosis, Dr. McGuire recommends a multi-pronged approach to detoxification...Limit sources of mercury exposure. While it is impossible to completely control environmental exposure to mercury in air and water pollution and pesticides, you have control over the fillings in your mouth, the immunizations you receive and the fish you eat. Safely replace silver-mercury-amalgam fillings (learn about the best way to go about this in Daily Health News, September 6, 2005 ) and be sure any future fillings are mercury free. Tell your doctor that you want only vaccines that are free of the mercury-based preservative thimerosal... and eat low-mercury fish such as shrimp, salmon, pollack, trout and catfish. (Likewise, avoid highly contaminated large predator fish such as swordfish, shark, tuna, tilefish and king mackerel.) This is a good strategy in general whether or not you test positive. It also is especially important for women who are planning to have children, have conceived or are nursing, as well as for children and adolescents whose nervous systems are still forming and are thus more vulnerable to the harmful effects of mercury. Boost your levels of glutathione (GSH). This antioxidant is the most important natural mercury remover in the body. Present in every cell but especially abundant in the liver, this powerful amino acid binds aggressively with mercury, preventing damage to healthy cells. When mercury poisoning becomes an ongoing problem, the body's glutathione supplies eventually become depleted, leaving you more vulnerable to the toxic effects of mercury. Additional supplements to consider: Antioxidants, including vitamins C and E and selenium, not only prevent free radical damage, they also help repair damaged GSH and support the body's efforts to replenish its levels. Other supplements that may boost GSH are N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), L-cysteine and SAM-e. Talk to your physician about proper dosing for you. GSH is also found in health-food stores.Support your brain power. Brain and nervous system support is especially important because mercury is a neurotoxin, explains Dr. McGuire. He recommends that your physician consider the supplement alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). ALA is both water and fat-soluble and has the ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier to bind with and remove mercury in the central nervous system and prevent damage to healthy cells. ALA also assists the liver in flushing mercury and other toxins from the body. Although it's always best to determine specific doses with your doctor, a typical recommended dose of ALA may range from 10 mg to 100 mg or more daily. (Read more about this versatile antioxidant in Daily Health News, August 18, 2005.) Pay attention to intestinal health. It's not enough just to get rid of mercury, cautions Dr. McGuire. You also must prevent the intestine from inadvertently reintroducing it into the body as it is being expelled. Fiber is important in preventing mercury from being reabsorbed. Glucomannan is one of the best fibers at binding to mercury and escorting it out of your body. Watch your diet. After all, your body is engaged in a battle to banish a dangerous toxin, and the last thing your system needs to expend energy on is coping with an unhealthy diet loaded with sugar, saturated fat, sodium and chemical-laced processed foods. Give your immune system a boost and support your body's natural efforts to remove mercury by eating plenty of antioxidant-packed, fiber-rich fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes and lean protein sources. Dr. McGuire notes that foods such as cheese, yogurt, chicken, turkey, duck, wheat germ, whey, oats and granola are natural sources of the more bioavailable amino acid cysteine, which is essential to the body's ability to manufacture GSH. What About Chelation?No discussion of mercury detoxification would be complete without a mention of pharmaceutical chelation, a still controversial alternative that some despise and others swear by. These chelators are chemical solutions used to find, attach to and remove minerals such as mercury from the body. The most commonly used are DMSA and DMPS. Pharmaceutical chelation can be administered in oral, intramuscular or intravenous fashion. Dr. McGuire notes that chelation is not for everyone, and adds that there is no consensus on which pharmaceutical chelator is most effective. (For a discussion of the pros and cons of chelation, see Daily Health News, May 30, 2005.) The Long HaulWhen it comes to mercury poisoning, you're in it for the long haul. There are no quick and easy solutions... but there are solutions. The first step is to control exposure, which most commonly entails having toxic amalgam fillings safely removed and replaced. The second is to aggressively support your body's efforts to expel the stored mercury. With time and effort on your part to strengthen your body's defenses, you can send this powerful toxin packing. You can learn more about the challenges of mercury issues at Dr. McGuire's Web sites, www.dentalwellness4u.com and www.mercuryfreenow.com. SourcesTom McGuire, DDS, a leading authority on dental wellness, mercury amalgam fillings and mercury poisoning. Dr. McGuire is president of the Dental Wellness Institute (his creation), founder of the International Association of Mercury Free Dentists (IAMFD) and a member of the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT). He is author of Tooth Fitness: Your Guide to Healthy Teeth (Diane) and the upcoming book, Your Complete Guide to Mercury Detoxification: How to Safely Remove Mercury from Your Teeth and Body (Medicis). Visit his Web sites at www.dentalwellness4u.com and www.mercuryfreenow.com. www.bottomlinesecrets.com