Lead Poisoning Mercury Dementia

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    LEAD POISONINGwww.drhyman.com

    6 Tips to Help You Get the Lead Out

    Luckily there are steps you can take to help you heal from lead poisoning if you have been exposed. Try the followi

    1. Find out if you are lead-toxic. The easiest test is a simple blood lead test. Be sure the lab can measure VERlow levels of lead accurately. Anything higher than 2 micrograms/deciliter is toxic and should be treated.

    Unfortunately, the blood test only checks for current or ongoing exposures, so you must also take a heavymetal challenge test with DMSA, EDTA, or DMPS, which can be administered by a doctor trained in heavymetal detoxification. (Seewww.functionalmedicine.org orwww.acam.org to find a qualified doctor.) Considundergoing chelation therapy if your lead levels are high.

    2. Reduce your exposures by having a no shoes in the house policy. A great deal of lead can be tracked inyour house in the dust on the soles of shoes. Leaving your shoes at the door helps reduce the amount ofcontamination in your home.

    3. Test your water for heavy metals. There are a number of home test kits available online. If you prefer to ha professional test your water, call your city water provider or look for labs in your area that will perform thkind of test.

    4. Buy a carbon or reverse osmosis water filter for your drinking water. These filters remove lead and oth

    toxic substances like PCBs. They are my favorite kind of filter and the type I use in my home.5. Take 1,000 milligrams of buffered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) a day. This helps remove lead from the bod6. Take 2,000 to 4,000 IU ofvitamin D3a day to prevent your bones from releasing lead into your bloodstrea

    Even though many of us have toxic levels of lead in our bodies, there is a lot we can do to prevent it and treat it. Doso is an essential step to healing your body and achieving lifelong vibrant health.

    9 Steps to Reversing Dementia

    Start by looking hard for correctable causes of memory loss. They include:

    Pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome Low thyroid function Depression Deficiencies in B vitamins, especially vitamin B12 Omega-3 fat deficiencies Mercury or other heavy metal toxicity Vitamin D deficiency High cholesterol Unique genes that predispose you to nutritional or detoxification problems

    Doctors who practice Functional Medicine and follow the principles I talk about in UltraWellness can help you findthese problems.

    Once you identify the underlying causes of the imbalance, here are a few things that can help your mind get a tune-

    1. Balance your blood sugar with a whole foods, low glycemic diet2. Exercise daily even a 30-minute walk can help3. Deeply relax daily with yoga, meditation, biofeedback, or just deep breathing4. Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement5. Take an omega-3 fat supplement

    6. Take extra vitamin B6, B12, and folate

    http://www.drhyman.com/http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/ultrawellness-key-5http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/ultrawellness-key-5http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/ultrawellness-key-5http://www.functionalmedicine.org/http://www.functionalmedicine.org/http://www.acamnet.org/site/c.ltJWJ4MPIwE/b.5420171/k.76F0/Integrative_Medicine_From_ACAM__the_voice_of_integrative_medicine.htmhttp://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/not-getting-enough-vitamin-dhttp://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/not-getting-enough-vitamin-dhttp://newsletter.ultrawellness.com/eo/signup/1106http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/how-diabetes-and-obesity-are-ravaging-america-today/http://drhyman.com/a-7-step-plan-to-boost-your-low-thyroid-and-metabolis-776/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for-treating-depression/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/how-to-rid-your-body-of-mercury-and-other-heavy-metals-a-3-step-plan-to-recover-your-health/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/the-sunshine-vitamin-a-closer-look-at-vitamin-d/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/seven-tips-to-fix-your-cholesterol-without-medication/http://www.drhyman.com/http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/ultrawellness-key-5http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/ultrawellness-key-5http://www.functionalmedicine.org/http://www.acamnet.org/site/c.ltJWJ4MPIwE/b.5420171/k.76F0/Integrative_Medicine_From_ACAM__the_voice_of_integrative_medicine.htmhttp://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/not-getting-enough-vitamin-dhttp://newsletter.ultrawellness.com/eo/signup/1106http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/how-diabetes-and-obesity-are-ravaging-america-today/http://drhyman.com/a-7-step-plan-to-boost-your-low-thyroid-and-metabolis-776/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for-treating-depression/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/how-to-rid-your-body-of-mercury-and-other-heavy-metals-a-3-step-plan-to-recover-your-health/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/the-sunshine-vitamin-a-closer-look-at-vitamin-d/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/seven-tips-to-fix-your-cholesterol-without-medication/
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    7. Take vitamin D8. Treat thyroid or low sex hormones9. Get rid of mercury through a medical detoxification program

    This is just a start, but it can go a long way to giving your brain the chance to heal and recover if you have memoryproblems. Even if you arent suffering from cognitive decline, you should take these steps because they can help yoprevent the aging of your brain and obtain lifelong health.

    have always been interested in vitamin C and its many possible uses.

    A few years back, a farmer from New Zealand was in an extended coma and doctors wanted to take him off life support. Quitestory unfolded, but the long and short if it is this:

    His three adult sons insisted that he be given intra venous vitamin C. He came out of the coma, went back in when the vitaminwas withdrawn, and came out again when it was given again. Eventually he got off the vitamin C and got out of bed. He is nowback home farming. The farmer was hositalised due to a case of swine flu. He also had leukemia, which had somehowdisappeared throughout his hospital stay.I have heard other stories about vitamin C being very helpful with blood cancers.

    ntravenous vitamin C delivers far higher doses to the blood stream than we can achieve from oral consumption of tablets, butvery few doctors in Australia, NZ or US are willing to give this treatment. Many people can build up their tolerance for oral vitamC to around 12,000mg, or 12 grams, daily, whereas IV treatments use as much as 50 - 100 grams daily with slow delivery.However, a new development might help overcome this. A unique bonding with liposomes (a type of fat) apparently enables th

    vitamin C to be absorbed much faster into the blood stream, without causing intestinal distress.

    This is called Lyposomal Vitamin C. Some serious infections have responded well with 5 sachets per day, costing around $daily. The NZ farmer ended up using this form of vitamin C when he was not allowed access to the IV form. Others make theiown home version using and ultrasonic jewelery cleaner, lecithin, vitamin C powder and pure water. There is some debate as he effectiveness, but price is better.

    Have you been told that vitamin C has not been "proven"? If one cares to look, there are huge amounts of vitamin C researchpublished in journals. One doctor who uses vitamin C says that asprin is the only other thing around with more research tosupport its use!

    f you want to follow this further, take a look at the Vitamin C Foundation.

    Diagnosing and Treating Mercury Toxicity

    The first thing to understand is that identifying mercury problems and detoxifying from them (or any other kind ofheavy metal poisoning) has to be done VERY carefully and under the supervision of a physician trained in thetechniques of metal detoxification, but it can be done safely and effectively with an educated doctors assistance.

    What follows is a three-step plan to find out if you are suffering from mercury poisoning and detoxifying from it.Understand that this approach has to be done carefully and systematically to make sure you get your body ready forremoving the metals.

    Step 1: Getting Ready for Detoxification

    This process can take a few months, and I cant stress enough how important this preparation step is. It isaccomplished by optimizing your nutritional status and detoxifying ability. Once this is done you will beginmobilizing and binding the metals in your body and excreting them through your urine, bile, stool, and sweat.

    Here is what I recommend to my patients.

    1. Optimize your gut function. Eliminate the common food allergens(dairy, gluten, corn, eggs, etc.), takingprobiotics and enzymes for one to two months before detoxifying.

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    2. Optimize your nutritional status for detoxification. Use healthy fats (omega-3 fats, olive oil, and flax oil)amino acids (which boost all your livers detoxification capacity), and minerals, particularly zinc and seleniu(which help your body detoxify metals).

    3. Enhance your livers detoxification pathways. Take folate and vitamins B12 and B6 and eating sulfur-containing foods such as broccoli, collards, kale, daikon radish, garlic, onions, and omega-3 eggs.

    4. Start sauna therapy. Make sure you take adequate electrolyte and mineral replacements to preventdehydration and mineral loss from the sweat.

    5. Optimize elimination routes for metals including your urine, stool, and sweat. Use fluids, fiber, andsaunas.

    Step 2: Integrate Additional Steps to Support Detoxification

    At this stage you can integrate the following to support your liver detoxification pathways even more:

    Alginate from seaweed (this binds to metal in the gut)

    Selenium, zinc, n-acetylcysteine, lipoic acid, milk thistle, and garlic

    Step 3: The Metal Detoxification Period

    Find abiological dentistto evaluate the extent of your mercury fillings and options for replacing them.

    This can be done slowly over time, but must be done VERY carefully and only under a trained biological dentistssupervision to avoid burdening yourself with more mercury during the removal process.

    Get a test to assess your total body load of mercury. This is called a challenge or provocation test. This is do

    with a doctors prescription and under a doctors supervision. The easiest and safest way to do this is to take500 mg of DMPS in one dose first thing in the morning after emptying your bladder, followed by a six-hoururine collection. DMPS is a prescription drug and is not FDA-approved in the US, although it has beenapproved and used for decades in Europe.

    The other option is to use DMSA, which is FDA-approved. It pulls out a lot less mercury and needs to be tak

    at a dose of 30 mg/kg for the challenge test. I find this is not as effective to get a true reading on what is in th

    body. Use binding agents to pull the mercury out of your body. There is a lot of controversy about the best way to

    this. But after helping people detox from heavy metals for 10 years, Ive found the safest and most effectivetreatment is oral DMSA. It is taken as follows: One 100 to 250 mg capsule of DMSA orally three times a dabefore meals. Take it for three days. Then take 11 days off. Do this for six months. Then recheck your level mercury through the challenge test.

    Do saunas daily especially on those days when doing DMSA.

    Consider getting intravenous vitamins and antioxidants for three months while undergoing this process this

    administer glutathione, phospholipids, vitamin C, and B vitamins to boost detoxification. This is harder to gebut can help the process work better and help you feel better throughout the process.

    Drink enough filtered water and fluids to make urine clear.

    Make sure you have bowel movements twice a day. This is very important or you will reabsorb mercury frothe gut. You can add ground flax seeds to shakes or foods, or take one to two 150-mg magnesium citratecapsules twice a day if you are not going regularly. You can also try even stronger laxatives if you have to sas senna or cascara.

    Consider whey protein to boost glutathione if you are not allergic to dairy.

    Understand that I am simply sharing my experience and knowledge with you here. I recognize this is a controversiaarea. Unfortunately, there are no large controlled studies looking at this problem. I am working on getting studies onthis and other areas of systems medicine and functional medicine funded so we can have better answers. For now, whave to go with what we know and the experience and knowledge of many physicians over many years of doing thi

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    Realize that we DO know how to help you detoxify effectively and deal with the effects of low level mercury toxiciWhile it may be difficult you MUST find a doctor skilled at dealing with heavy metal toxicity to undergo the protocabove safely.

    What I have outlined in this blog are only my guidelines. They may be the same or similar to what you find others ausing. What is essential is that you get assistance. I DO NOT recommend you detoxify from mercury without adoctors supervision!

    How to Rid Your Body of Heavy Metals: A 3-Step Detoxification Plan

    Continued from the above article

    AFTER MY PREVIOUS BLOG ON MERCURY, Im sure many of you are depressed and discouraged about mercand its toxic effects. The bad news is today I am going to review more of mercurys toxic effects and expand on whearned at the medical conference on mercury I mentioned in my last article on mercury

    But the good news is I will provide you with a clear, three-step plan to help your body detoxify from mercury andother heavy metals and recover your health. I have used this same plan successfully and safely with hundreds andhundreds of patients over the last 10 years and its the same process I used myself to overcome mercury toxicity

    But first, lets look at the data presented at The Impact of Mercury on Human Health and the Environmentconference.

    Mercury and Autism: Part One

    In my last article on mercury toxicity, I talked a little bit about the link between mercury fillings and autism. Now Iike to discuss mercurys effects on this condition in greater detail.

    Boyd Haley, Ph.D., from the University of Kentucky Medical Center, is a vociferous opponent of dental amalgams.The toxicology literature and decades of his own research fuel his fervor.

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded his research for 25 years until he began to seriously call into questiothe safety of dental amalgams, the use of thimerosol (another form of mercury) in vaccines, and their correlation wiautism.

    His work is now funded by the private Wallace Foundation, run by the son of President Trumans vice-president,Henry Wallace, who died of ALS and who had been frequently exposed to mercury-containing fungicide on grain.

    Dr. Haley believes that fish is not as big a contributor to mercury toxicity in humans as amalgams becausemethylmercury is generally excreted quickly while mercury vapor from amalgams is not.

    At the conference he reported on the dramatic rise in autism rates. The numbers were stunning over 900 percent ess than a generation in California and 714 percent nationwide. The dramatic increase in autism rates in California

    was due in part to the introduction of the hepatitis B vaccine in 1990 and an increase in the overall vaccinationschedule.

    In 1999, thimerosol was removed from these vaccines as parents gained increased awareness of the danger it poses.You see, thimerosol is quickly converted to ethyl mercury in the body, where it moves rapidly from your blood to ybrain. In the first three quarters of 2004 five years after thimerosol was removed from vaccines the data showa decline in the incidence of autism in California for the first time.

    Recently the vaccine court, a special branch of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims established to handle claims of injufrom vaccines ruled that there was no connection between vaccines and autism. We must remember that judicial

    opinion is not scientific proof. Statistics and data can be manipulated and construed in differing ways depending on

    http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/mercury-get-this-poison-out-of-your-body/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/mercury-get-this-poison-out-of-your-body/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/why-current-thinking-about-autism-is-completely-wrong/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/mercury-get-this-poison-out-of-your-body/http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/why-current-thinking-about-autism-is-completely-wrong/
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    who does the analysis. Often what is hidden or between the lines obscures the real data, we have seen this over andover in scientific research. Studies funded by drug companies or food product companies on balance show positiveoutcomes compared to independently funded studies on the same products whether it is analyzing the benefits ofchemotherapy, anti-depressants, blood pressure medication and even the health benefits of dairy or soft drinks.Following the money is a good rule in assessing the objectivity of scientific data.

    Mostly doctors and scientists have ignored the fact that up to 95 percent of autistic children have intestinal problemespecially big swollen bellies. How can their belly problems destroy their brains, interrupt their language, and lockthem in their own private world?

    For example, one of the main studies quoted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) used to disprove the connectibetween vaccines and autism is the Danish study showing an increase in autism rates after thimerosol was removedfrom vaccines. However what was NOT reported in the study was that at the same time as the mercury was removefor vaccines, the Danish government mandated reporting of autism and offered free clinics and increased services fothose with autism. And, suspiciously, the lead author on that study who has worked closely with the CDC recentlyabsconded with $2 million in research grants. The Danish police are searching for him.

    How theLancetand The New York Times Got it Wrong on Dr. Wakefields Research

    The recent retraction of the Dr. Andrew Wakefields publication in theLancetshowing intestinal inflammation and

    vaccine strains of measles virus (proven by DNA analysis) in the intestinal tracts of autistic children seemed moreabout inquisition and less honest scientific inquiry. He never claimed that autism was caused by vaccines, but simplmade a scientific observation. That should be the impetus for further open scientific inquiry and investigation, notexcommunication from the church of science. Science should not be about beliefs, but about questions. And becausof the economic and public health implications of questioning the safety of vaccines we have chosen to close the doto open scientific debate, rather than inquire about increasing the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, one of the momportant public health advances in medical history.

    Lets look at little more closely at the work of Dr. Wakefield and the questions it raises and direction it provides.

    Mostly doctors and scientists have ignored the fact that up to 95 percent of autistic children have intestinal problem

    especially big swollen bellies. How can their belly problems destroy their brains, interrupt their language, and lockthem in their own private world?

    Dr. Wakefield asked why. He happened to notice inflammation (or lymphoid nodular hyperplasia), in the bowels ofsome children with autism. Could this observation be brushed off as coincidence? Dr. Wakefield dug deeper anddiscovered this is common in autistic children.

    In a study of 148 children with autism compared to 30 normal controls (children without autism), 90 percent of autichildren showed inflamed bowels on biopsy compared to only 30 percent of controls (which makes me wonder ifmany non-autistic children have bowel inflammation from poor diet and allergies as well).(i)

    He also noticed the inflammation was much more severe in autistic children. Food allergens, bacteria, viruses, andtoxins (such as mercury), could all be the cause. These same things are the common causes of all disease and creatembalance in every key system of the body toxins, infections, allergens, poor diet, and stress.

    Making Sense of Measles Vaccine Controversy

    Other studies have linked the live measles virus from vaccinations to the inflamed gut. Living measles viruses havebeen identified in people with inflamed guts. How does this happen? And how does it relate to autism?

    Normally when you get a vaccine, even with an inactivated live virus, it just stimulates the bodys own immunesystem to create antibodies which will defend you in the event of a real infection. But sometimes, as in the case of

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    autistic children, their weakened immune systems cant handle this inactivated live virus, and cant fight it off. Sothe live virus hangs around in the body creating inflammation on a low-grade level both in the gut and the brain.

    In fact, a study of children with developmental delay found that 75 of 91 patients with autism and inflamed bowels hive measles virus detected in samples of their intestinal tissues. Only 7 of the 70 normal patients (or controls) were

    found to have the measles virus in their gut.(ii)

    In another study DNA analysis was performed on the measles strains found in autistic children and compared them non-autistic children with inflamed bowels. The shocking finding was that the DNA of the measles virus in autistic

    children came from vaccine strains of measles (the ones made specially for vaccines), not wild types (the type ofmeasles virus that comes from a community acquired infection).(iii)

    This doesnt mean that ALL children who get vaccinated have problems, but for some reason autistic children areunable to handle the live measles viruses used in immunizations, and it triggers an inflammatory response in the gutand the brain. These children cant handle the vaccine (maybe because mercury suppresses their immune system) anthen the normally benign live measles virus in the vaccine takes root in the body and sends these kids into an evendeeper spiral of brain dysfunction.

    What is even more alarming is that vaccine strains of measles virus seem to migrate into the brains of children withautism. That means it may not be only gut related inflammation that is causing the problems, but the measles virus

    may take root in the brain itself. How this all happens is not clear, but the trail from vaccine to the gut to the brain ismoking hot. Vaccine measles strains have been isolated from the spinal fluid of autistic children.(iv)

    Large-scale population studies show no connection between MMR or measles vaccine and autism.(v) Thats becausn such large populations, the effect on children susceptible to MMR is washed out. If you study large groups of

    people, you wont pick up small effects on genetically or biochemically unique individuals. Looking at the problemusing this kind of statistical analysis is unhelpful for treating individual patients.

    Oddly, in the major study disproving this connection, the authors noted an increase in the diagnosis in the sixmonths after the MMR vaccine but dismissed it as unimportant because this appeared to be an artifact related to tdifficulty of defining precisely the onset of symptoms in this disorder. If your child had autism or autistic behaviors

    you would you know it and/or when it started! This is yet another example of conventional science seeing what itbelieves, instead of believing what it sees.

    Potential sources of early exposure in fetuses or infants include maternal amalgams, fish consumption, eardrops, annasal drops. But vaccines may be more problematic than all of these.

    The vaccine probably only affects a few genetically susceptible children who are biochemical and immunological trwrecks because of toxic overload. The methods of these larger population studies are not designed to ferret out theuniqueness of individuals. If they looked at all the genetic subgroups in the population, then there could be meaningdata. If they did intestinal biopsies and spinal fluid examinations on affected and unaffected kids like Dr. Wakefieldthen we might get some meaningful information.

    But in the absence of that we are duped into a false sense of security by studies that are destined to fail because of hthey were designed. You only get the answers to the questions you ask. Dont ask the right questions and you wontget clear answers.

    Roger Williams, the author ofBiochemical Individuality said that, Nutrition [(and medicine]) is for real people.Statistical humans are of little interest. People are unique. We must treat people with respect to their biochemical

    uniqueness.

    The research shows that autism is a complex, heterogeneous disorder that has multiple causes. Vaccines and mercurwhen the data is examined objectively, raise enough of a question to bear further, independent and objective researc

    The book is not closed as many would want to have us think.

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    Now back to Dr. Haley.

    Dr. Haley has observed that the lowest level of mercury is found in the birth hair of the most severely affected autischildren (vi).

    Interestingly, the 4 to 1 ratio of autism in males to females may, in part, be due to the effects of testosterone onmercury excretion. Antibiotics also prevent excretion of mercury, and antibiotic use is higher among autistic childre

    Dr. Haley also reported on data showing a synergistic effect of heavy metals. For example, the dose of lead and

    mercury that would cause death in 1 out of 100 people is magnified when you are exposed to both lead and mercuryeading to a lethal dose 100 percent of the time when combined, even at low levels. You can find more information this at Dr. Haleys website.

    As compelling as Dr. Haleys presentation was, it is only the beginning of the story that connects mercury exposureautism

    Mercury and Autism, Part Two

    Jane El Dahr, M.D., is the Chief of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at Tulane University HealthSciences Center. She also discussed the possible link between thimerosol in vaccines and autism. (The data she

    presented is available at Safeminds.org). In California, rigorous standards for reporting autism have been put in placbecause social benefits are tied to accurate diagnosis so the increases there are very likely to be accurately record

    During the first 25 years this reporting was put in place, 6,527 cases of autism were reported. But then the ratesskyrocketed. It took only 3 years during the 1990s to add another 6,596 cases. From 1987 to 1998 there was a 273percent increase in autism cases in California!

    In response, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Autism released an AutismAlarm stating that 1 in 166 children in the US have autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Currently, one-sixth of allchildren under the age of 18 have a developmental disability. That means nearly 20 percent of the population maysuffer from this problem and may not be able to be productive members of society as a result.

    Much of this could be due to mercury toxicity.

    Thats not just a guess its based on the analysis of the actual doses of thimerosol received by children after thechange in the vaccination schedule mentioned above. In people with a genetic susceptibility, such as a defect in theenzymes responsible for detoxifying heavy metals, prenatal and early postnatal exposure to mercury leads toneurologic damage resulting in autistic symptoms (vii).

    Acrodynia, or pink baby syndrome, from exposure to calomel or mercury in teething powder has similar symptomto autism, providing us yet another link between mercury exposure and autism.

    Other potential sources of early exposure in fetuses or infants include maternal amalgams, fish consumption, eardroand nasal drops. But vaccines may be more problematic than all of these. They present a significant source of mercuexposure in Rho-gam, influenza vaccines during pregnancy, and childhood immunizations.

    It has been found that the maximum exposure from these vaccines in the first six months of life is 187.5 microgrammercury far exceeding limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA).

    Dr. Cave reported on the increased incidence of autism in the last 30 years up from one out of 10,000 children toone out of 150 children and one of just 30 males in the United States.

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    According to the EPA, the safe daily level of mercury exposure for a five kilogram, two-month-old infant is 0.5micrograms or 0.1 micrograms per kg. But these limits are set for methyl mercury primarily from fish, not for ethylmercury from vaccines. The typical two-month vaccination schedule for a baby includes DTP, Hib, and HepB.Combined, these vaccines contain 62.5 micrograms of mercury.

    Thats a whopping 125 times the EPA limits for a single day exposure!

    Like lead, there may be NO safe level and children are more susceptible to toxic effects than adults.

    Dr. El Dahr said that there appears to be correlation between immune system malfunctioning in both autism andmercury toxicity. These specific immune abnormalities have been found in 30 to 70 percent of autistic children.

    So what do we do about all of this mercury in our children and the resulting health problems?

    Mercury in Children: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment

    Stephanie Cave, M.D., is on the clinical faculty of Louisiana State University Medical School, and since 1996 hastreated over 2,300 children with autistic spectrum disorder. Her recent book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell YouAbout Childrens Vaccinations, outlines the data and debate in this highly charged field.

    Dr. Cave reported on the increased incidence of autism in the last 30 years up from one out of 10,000 children toone out of 150 children and one of just 30 males in the United States.

    The major toxicity from mercury that contributes to this epidemic, she said, is its ability to severely inhibit enzymefunction and structural integrity.

    At the conference, Dr. Cave critiqued a well-publicized study in theLancet, which concluded that there was no toxieffect from thimerosol. She pointed out numerous problems with this study, including the fact that it used variousamounts of thimerosol exposure and only involved 33 people.

    Another study published in theJournal of the American Medical Association also reported no increased risk of auti

    with thimerosol (viii). But the problem with this study was that the authors were affiliated with the state-run StatensSerum Institute. Eighty percent of the Institutes profits are from vaccines! The methodology was also called intoquestion because of inconsistencies in their reporting system (ix).

    Yet another study had even more ominous findings. A case control study of 221 children with autism and 18 controlfound that after a DMSA challenge test, vaccinated autistic children had THREE times the level of mercury in theirurine compared to controls (x).

    The question that remains is how these kids with ASD should be treated. Dr. Cave reviewed her approach

    Besides taking a developmental history, she does a thorough laboratory evaluation, testing for numerous things. Her

    treatment protocols include casein- (from dairy), gluten-, allergy- and seafood-free diets, removal of amalgam fillinand detoxification support.

    Key to the treatment is careful detoxification of heavy metals after repletion of cellular nutrients, repair of gutdysfunction, and enhancement of liver detoxification chemistry. Supplements and treatments may includemultivitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids, magnesium, digestive enzymes, Coenzyme Q10, and antioxidantsike selenium, zinc, and vitamins C, E, and A.

    She also suggests bowel ecology restoration which may include anti-fungal drugs, antibiotics, herbs, probiotics, andglutamine.

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    Enhancement of liver detoxification is facilitated by Epsom salt baths, magnesium sulfate creams, and oral,ntravenous, or topical glutathione.

    Mercury and other heavy metal detoxification is achieved after a DMSA provocation challenge of 20mg/kg with a 1hour urine collection. DMSA is given at a dose of 10mg/kg every eight hours for three days, with 11 days off. Thecycle is repeated four times, followed by another provocation challenge test.

    The results of this protocol were impressive. Dr. Cave presented a number of cases where these treatments showedsignificant benefit and reductions in autistic symptoms!

    But autism isnt the only disease related to mercury toxicity. There are many others.

    Mercury and Adult Illness: From Alzheimers to Heart Failure

    Weve now seen the devastating effects that mercury toxicity can have on kids. The effects on adults are no lesssevere.

    Robert Nash, M.D., is a practicing neurologist and the Chairman of the American Board of Metal Toxicology. At thconference, he reviewed mercury-associated diseases, mechanisms, controversies, and therapeutic options.

    He suggests the toxic effects of mercury spread across a broad spectrum of diseases including autism, Alzheimersdisease, ALS, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, neurodevelopmental diseases, nephrotoxicity, and cancer.

    The mechanism of mercury toxicity in the adult brain may be related to proteins involved in mercury excretion,ncluding glutathione, glutathione transferase, metallothionine and ApoE. Mercury depletes glutathione and ascorba

    (vitamin C), and inhibits thiamine (B1) and pyridoxine (B6).

    Mercury can also affect the central nervous system by concentrating in the spinal fluid, and the kidneys by reducingconcentrating capacity. And it inhibits nerve growth, and passes easily through the placental barrier. The chemical calso reduce nerve function and communication, which can lead to the development of neurofibrillary tangles acommon feature of Alzheimers. In fact, recent findings suggest that the gene Apo E 4 may increase the risk for

    Alzheimers because it has an impaired ability to bind with mercury and transport it from the brain.

    Dr. Nash suggests that most, if not all, abnormal biochemistry in the Alzheimers brain can be mimicked by mercurHe further concludes that, biologically, the case of mercury as a cause of Alzheimers disease is more complete thanthat for thimerosol-related causation of autism.

    According to Dr. Nash mercury toxicity and retention is enhanced by factors found in the diet, antibiotics, othertoxicants such as cadmium and lead, and genetic susceptibilities. So no level of mercury exposure from amalgams cbe considered without risk!

    In addition to the compelling evidence linking Alzheimers to mercury toxicity, research shows it may also be linke

    to cardiovascular disease.

    Two studies have reported increased risk of heart attack while another has shown no risk. And the data presented onheart failure from unknown causes is very compelling as well. Biopsy samples found 22,000 times the level ofmercury in people with heart failure from unknown causes compared to controls whose heart failure was caused byvirus, heart attacks, or high blood pressure (xi).

    One of my patients had this exact problem. She had no reason for heart failure but at 62, she was facing a hearttransplant. When I discovered that she had mercury toxicity and treated her, she began to thrive again. Her cardiacfunction dramatically improved by 130 percent!

    Despite all this bad news about the effects of mercury, Dr. Nash concluded on an optimistic note

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    First, he suggested that there appears to be a subset of the population that cannot effectively excrete mercury and is greater risk than the general population. This susceptibility is likely due to genetic differences, diet, exposure to othtoxicants, antibiotic use, etc.

    Given that susceptibility, he argued that mercury is a risk factor in many diseases but can be safely measured. Anhe said that the body can be detoxified of mercury, mitigating some of its toxic effects. Of course, more studies shobe done to shed light on this important topic. But we are on our way to finding answers to this important healthconcern.

    I know some of what I have reviewed in these articles on mercury was pretty science heavy. But I wanted to take thtime to share this fascinating research with you because I believe its so important. I want people to know that justbecause this topic is mostly ignored by conventional medicine and dentistry, it isnt any less critical or relevant to ohealth or our childrens health.

    More importantly: It CAN be treated!

    In my practice, I have seen the benefits of detoxifying from mercury. My patients have recovered from dementia,chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Parkinsons disease, heart failure, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, depression,autoimmune diseases like colitis and rheumatoid arthritis, and many other problems. Of course, that doesnt mean thmercury is THE cause of these conditions, but simply one of the many causes that has to be considered.

    So now that you understand the powerful effect mercury can have on your health, lets review how you know if youhave mercury toxicity, and then how to treat it.