Mercury contamination: is it from the Amalgam Fillings or the Fish?
Updated: Sep 5, 2020
You must read this before you spend thousands of dollars on getting your amalgam fillings removed.
Amalgam fillings which contain the very toxic element, mercury (Hg) are being phased out. Very few of these fillings are being put into mouths today. Thank goodness! Mercury is incredibly toxic and even the tiniest of amounts can have devastating and longterm adverse effects on just about every aspect of health you want to think of. The best mercury is no mercury.
Despite the growing awareness of the toxic effects of mercury and the near-elimination of mercury fillings, one of the most disturbing findings I have made is that tissue mercury levels are continuing to rise. There is not a single human being, in my opinion, who does not have traces of mercury in their bodies. Why is this happening?
The answer is very simple; as industrial processes continue to pour mercury into our oceans, this toxin is being increasingly concentrated in the food chain and guess who is at the very top of that chain? You are right, it is us! Along with whale and dolphins.
If we were to stop all dumping of mercury into the environment, mercury levels will presumably continue to rise and concentrate up the food chain for the next 50 years. This has to be of deep concern since creatures other than plants can not thrive in the presence of mercury. Fish consumption is becoming increasingly hazardous because of the increasingly high mercury levels in the flesh of most species of fish.
To highlight this, with their permission, I have reproduced the Hair Tissue Mineral Analyses (HTMA) of two families from different regions of New Zealand who fell ill with mystery ailments, mainly extreme fatigue. The only thing they had in common was what they ate - fish
The case of a young athlete who hit the wall and failed to recover
Here is the HTMA of a very athletic young man prior to his falling ill (this is a great example of the value of getting a health stock-take while you are healthy!). Please note the levels of Hg and other toxins which are present but within "normal".
His family has a launch and they are keen fishers. Fish is frequently on the dinner menu for the family.
Here is his HTMA one year later after eating some fish that was high in mercury.
He now has astronomically high levels of mercury. The next HTMA is for this young man a year later after ceasing the consumption of the suspect fish and undergoing nutritional therapy to gently chelate out the mercury.
This young man's mercury levels returned to "normal" or better expressed as being acceptable, although no mercury is the only truly acceptable level. His energy levels have improved markedly but there is still considerable improvement to be made.
We tested other members of his family. This was to confirm the suspected source (fish) and also due to concerns that the rest of the family were being affected, especially his younger sister who was not well (severe chronic fatigue).
Here is her HTMA which shows exceedingly high levels of mercury.
Here is her followup HTMA on year following stopping the consumption of the suspect fish and after gentle nutrition-based chelation of mercury. Her symptoms of extreme fatigue have alleviated and she is again engaged with school and sport.
We tested the children's mother. Again, we found worrying levels of mercury.
Here is the HTMA for the father. This is further confirmation that the family has been exposed to excessive amounts of mercury. Fish is the common factor and obvious when you consider their favourite pastime (fishing).
Another family with a similar history of chronic fatigue
We tested a 10-year-old boy who was suffering from vague health and behavioural problems. This is what we found with his HTMA. Again, what was wonderful is we had an earlier test to compare with (the lower numbers on the charts are from the test a year earlier). This second test shows either the recent exposure to or the release of large amounts of mercury within the body of this youngster. Where was the mercury coming from?
We had already tested his Grandmother in 2016 which had shown mildly elevated mercury.
We repeated the test for her (the 3rd time for her) and it confirmed the ongoing presence of excess mercury.
We tested her husband who is the grandfather of the child. His HTMA showed elevated mercury but also the presence of arsenic, cadmium, lead and aluminium. These patterns of elevated toxic elements are consistent with his occupation in horticulture.
It was concluded that the source of the mercury had to be from marlin steaks that had been given to them by a fisher friend and shared among the extended family. The timing was perfect.
I can report that this family is doing very well nowadays with the Grandparents still working hard long hours in their orchard but with enough spare energy between seasons to go exploring New Zealand on their bikes!
Discussion
Mercury contamination is widespread, and it is on the increase. It can be devastating to health and goes largely undiagnosed, or misdiagnosed as something else such as depression, or ADHD and treated as such, often with drugs that create their own problems.
Where mercury contamination is discovered it is essential to find the source. In New Zealand, the main source is fish and no longer amalgam fillings. Amalgam fillings should always be considered, or the source may be both (fish and fillings). It can be assumed that the older and larger the fish and the higher up the food chain it is, the more mercury it may contain. Hence why sardines are considered to be very safe to eat, whereas salmon, shark, swordfish and tuna are more likely to be contaminated with mercury, so best avoided. Whales and dolphins are probably the worst of marine life to consume with regards to mercury.
"Mercury has profound cellular, cardiovascular, haematological, pulmonary, renal, immunological, neurological, endocrine, reproductive, and embryonic toxicological effects."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988285/
The usual response to contamination with a toxin like mercury is to have chemical chelation therapy. In my experience, this is largely ineffective and risks depleting the body of the good nutritional elements and not just the toxic ones. It is better to seek therapy in the form of gentle nutrition-based chelation of toxins. This less drastic approach is effective as can be seen from some of the HTMA published in this article.
Urine Challenge tests for toxins are popular and are used to justify the need to spend thousands of dollars on the removal of amalgam fillings. Please read the article below about this test before embarking on what could become a very expensive journey that may not result in any significant improvements in health.
http://blog.garymoller.com/2015/11/dr-chris-shade-on-mercury-toxicity-and.html
Should you get your amalgam fillings removed? Yes, but when you can afford to do so and only where the evidence exists that they may be harming your health.
Here's the thing: if an HTMA test indicates low levels of mercury; or if it is determined that any mercury present is probably from fish consumption; and if the fillings are still in good condition then why not wait and get each filling removed when it is due to be replaced which may be in some years from now? Save your money.
A rule of thumb for fish consumption: if you have a serving of NZ-caught fish such as snapper, red cod or Hoki once a week, you can expect your mercury levels to remain within the "Reference Range" on the HTMA. Fish like tuna and shark may cause mercury to spike with even one serving per week, so restrict your consumption of these fish. Sardines are great!
Which fish and seafood are safe to eat? Please refer to the 2018 MPI Mercury Certification Report of the mercury levels of NZ fish. Eat mostly the seafood that is in the lowest (0.5 ppm or lower) category for typical mercury levels and limit your consumption of any fish that rank higher.
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/203/direct
Nutritional balancing(balancing the nutrients listed on the "Nutritional Elements Chart of the HTMA) plus eating a diet that is rich in vegetable carotenoids provides some protection from toxic elements such as mercury.
I feel very sad when warn people about eating fish. As children growing up in New Zealand fish were part of our staple diet. It was always considered to be the cleanest and healthiest of foods. Fish is no longer clean, nor is it as healthy as it once was. What are we doing to this planet? We are poisoning every living creature, including ourselves!
How to order the Interclinical Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis
If you live within New Zealand
https://www.garymoller.com/product-page/htma-comprehensive-test-nz-clients-only
If you live outside of New Zealand
Email me here and we can arrange a solution for you.
Further reading about mercury
https://www.newjerseyrealestatenetwork.com/home-mercury-safety/