Mercury Detoxification

Since 1988, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has required dentists to treat amalgam fillings that are removed as hazardous waste material. However, the various regulatory agencies as well as American Dental Association insist that putting "hazardous waste" in the mouth is safe. There is a great controversy over the dangers of mercury in your mouth. This page will give you some information about it and some ideas of what you can do for mercury detoxification and to reduce the effects of your exposure.

Germany, Sweden, Austria and Denmark are moving to ban or phase out the use of amalgam. The Vancouver Sun, August 22, 1996

No government or professional agency has ever shown that mercury in dental amalgam is safe. Conversely, over 100 published scientific papers point to mercury released from amalgam fillings as a factor in chronic illnesses. Dr Zoltan Rona, MD, Health Naturally, Oct./Nov., 1995.

Mercury can damage DNA; the electricity produced from alloys can disrupt communication between cells. Mercury can induce free radical tissue damage, inhibit the activity of white blood cells, impair kidney function, and induce autoimmune diseases (MS, lupus, chronic fatigue) Dr. Zoltan Rona, MD, Health Naturally, Oct./Nov., 1995.

Symptoms of mercury vapour exposure can include: abdominal cramps, chronic constipation or diarrhea, gastrointestinal problems, irregular heart beat, pain or pressure in chest, chronic headaches, dizziness, tremors in hands, feet, lips, eyelids or tongue, ringing in ears, persistent cough, allergies, asthma, sinusitis, subnormal body temperature, anemia, joint pain and muscle weakness. Toxic Teeth, A Guide to Mercury Exposure From "Silver" Fillings by Dr Murray J. Vimy

Dentists are the third largest users of mercury on the planet and have three times the suicide rate of all professional groups. Twenty percent of dentists are on long-term disability due to mental or nervous reasons. Dental assistants and wives of dentists have offspring with higher birth defects and higher spontaneous abortion rates than any other group in the population. Murray Vimy, DMD, from a speech at the Nutritional Medicine Today Conference, May 6th, Vancouver, BC.

The World Health Organization says that from air, water and food, the average person will absorb about 2.6 micrograms of mercury a day. The average person with amalgams absorbs 3 to 17 micrograms. Murray Vimy, DMD, from a speech at the Nutritional Medicine Today Conference, May 6th, Vancouver, BC.

Dr. Murray Vimy's and Dr Fritz Lorscheider's three landmark studies in Calgary showed that after amalgam fillings were placed into the teeth of sheep and monkeys, mercury was absorbed into the tissue of the mouth, the jaw bone, the lung and the intestine. The main sites of accumulation of this heavy metal were the kidney and the liver. Dental Silver Amalgam Research and its Medical Implications, University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine, Dec. 1990

See a video of the emission of mercury vapor from amalgam-filled teeth:

If you have amalgam fillings and are at all concerned about your health you should consider having them removed. Find a dentist that knows the proper protocol or you will be exposed to high levels of mercury vapor during the removal procedure. Dental work, of course, can be very expensive so if you can't get it done or can't in a reasonable time or even if you can there are things you can do for mercury detoxification.

Cilantro, also known as Chinese parsley is a herb that can help to remove mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum from body cells and the central nervous system. It is effective for mercury detoxification from within the cells of the body. The seed is well-known as the spice coriander but it is the leaves you want to use.

"Remarkably, without the help of any chelation agents, cilantro was able to remove the mercury in two to three weeks." (Acupunct Electrother Res 96;21 (2): 133-60.)

I have put together a page of info on how to use cilantro including some recipes

Charcoal is a wonderful natural substance that can remove many toxins from the body.

"Charcoal is the most valuable single agent currently available for treating poisonings." (Clinical Toxicology 3(1):1-4 March 1970)

Here is more information on charcoal. Charcoal would be an effective and inexpensive agent to use for mercury detoxification.

Clay has toxin-absorbing qualities somewhat like charcoal with the benefit that it can also supply the body with necessary minerals.

Liquid zeolite is a very effective detoxifying agent including for the detoxification of mercury and other heavy metals.

N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) is a strong chelator of mercury. It is an antioxidant often found in good antioxidant formulas.

So there is some info about amalgam fillings and the dangers of mercury. Personally, I am concerned about the problem, have some fillings left to deal with myself and more mercury detoxification to do. I have even learned to like the flavor of cilantro and grow it myself.