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Volume 24 - June / July 2008
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Welcome to the June /July newsletter. After reading a past issue of What Doctors Don’t Tell You (WDDTY), I am going to share this particular article with you on mercury fillings and the havoc they can cause on your health. Many dentists don’t recognize what mercury does to the body. Nor are they aware that it must be removed with careful procedures so that you don’t ingest so much mercury during removal of your fillings that you could end up crippled several weeks down the line.
If you are thinking of getting your mercury filings removed ensure that your dentist is aware of the dangers, uses a plastic dam, and that you are taking supplements and homeopathic remedies to detox from mercury before, during and after removal of your fillings. If you search on the Internetfor mercury-free dentists, or holistic dentists, you will find dentists with an awareness of the dangers. I can personally recommend Dr David Cowan who works from his surgery in Kingsbury, north London (Jubilee Line) phone 020 8204 4309.
The missing link: It is generally accepted that when a disease such as influenza reaches 400 per 100,000, or 0.4 per cent of the population, it is considered to be of epidemic proportions. In January 1997, the British Dental Association (BDA) issued a fact file on mercury, stating: “About 3 per cent of the population are estimated to suffer from mercury sensitivity.”
Three per cent of the UK population alone would represent some 1.75 million people, of whom about one million would have mercury amalgam fillings.
Despite these potentially huge casualties, no action is taken on mercury toxicity and, unlike BSE and AIDS, it has attracted relatively little media attention. No public money has been allocated for research.
Nevertheless, current research suggests that mercury vapour from filling may be one of the predominant underlying causes of a broad spectrum of conditions, ranging from gum disease, migraine, headaches, poor memory, depression, anxiety, mental lethargy, chronic fatigue, growth, allergies such as eczema and asthma, and sensitivity reactions to food and inhalants, to rheumatism, arthritis, backache, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders.
Some research has focused on particular problems among women exposed to mercury. One study showed that such women experienced disturbances in the menstrual cycle such as excessive blood flow, irregular periods, premenstrual tension (PMS) and painful menstruation (PediatrAkushGinekol, 1971; 33: 56-8). Another showed a higher that expected incidence of spontaneous abortion and premature labour (Gordon A, “Pregnancy in Female Dentists – A Mercury Hazard”, presented at the International Conference of Mercury Hazards in Dental Practice, Glasgow, 1981) in women exposed to mercury compared with controls. their rate of failure of ovulation was also nearly double that of the controls (AkushGinekol, 1974; 13-20).
Tests were carried out at the University of Heidelberg on women who had hormonal irregularities and amalgam fillings and who had difficulty in conceiving. At the same time, blood samples were investigated for levels of pesticide contamination. The women tested showed higher levels of urine mercury when given a test that measures the amount of mercury excreted through a chelating agent.
The most common problem by far was mercury contamination, which correlated with the number of amalgam fillings. After removing the fillings, nutritional support and treatment of other environmental contamination burdens, 70 per cent of the women became pregnant without the aid of hormonal therapy (Gynakologie, 1992; 14:593-602).
Further test carried out at the University of Heidelberg involved 132 women with amalgam fillings who had abnormal hair growth or hair loss. Nearly half –49 per cent – of these women showed significantly elevated mercury levels. After removal of their fillings, the symptoms disappeared in 68 per cent of case (KlinLabor, 1992; 38: 469-76).
But is it not women who suffer infertility problems caused by mercury. It has been estimated that about 50 per cent of infertility problems are associated with defective male sperm motility (PharmacolToxicol, 1988; 69:440-4): Research has directly pointed to mercury.
Workers who are occupationally exposed to mercury vapour have been found to have a significant reduction in fertility rate (Am J Industr Med, 1985; 7: 171-86).
Mercury and the heart
Heart attacks were practically unknown in the nineteenth century – a time when the general diet was high in fat and diary products.
There is no full explanation for the substantial increase in heart disease, but the suspect factors are mainly diet, stress, smoking and general lifestyle. Increasing evidence points to amalgam fillings as one major contributory factor.
A series of studies carried out at Washington University (Proc Soc ExperBiol Med, 1965; 120: 805-8; Proc Soc ExperBiol Med, 1967; 124: 485-90; Am J Physiol, 1970; 219: 755-61; Am J Physiol, 1971; 220: 808-11) demonstrated that mercury cause hypertension by contracting smooth muscle in arterial walls. Inorganic mercury caused blood vessel constriction and subsequent hypertension within minutes of exposure – organic mercury did not. The work was subsequently confirmed by researchers at Havard Medical School (AM J Physiol, 1975; 229: 8-12)
In 1974, the National Institute of Health, part of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, published a 333-page account of research in the Soviet Union on the effects of chronic exposure to mercury and its compounds (Cardiotoxic Effects of Mercury, DHEW (NIH) Publication No 74-473, 1974, pp 109-34, 199-210). They reported that mercury affected the function of the heart in a variety of ways, including the ability of heart muscle to contract, and its electrical conductivity and regulation of cardiac activity.
The Soviet researchers also found that mercury produced functional changes in cardiac activity and in heart muscle, and that it accumulated in heart muscle and valves. The damage was evident from ECG changes and through histological studies. They found that heart function was influenced by the effect of mercury on hormones from the pituitary gland.
In 1983, work carried out at the medical school at Lodz in Poland (Thromb Res, 1983; 30: 579-85) found that various mercury compounds in low concentrations accelerated blood clotting.
In 1990, Siblerud (SRI Total Environ, 1990; 99: 23-35) compared subjects with and without amalgam. They found that those with amalgam had significantly higher blood pressure, lower heart rate and lower haemogloblin counts. They also had a greater incidence of chest pains, tachycardia, anaemia and fatigue, and became tired easily and awoke feeling tired. The researchers concluded that: “The data suggest that inorganic mercury poisoning from dental amalgam does affect the cardiovascular system”.
Mercury and the immune system
In 1984, David Eggleston, Associate Professor at the Department of Restorative Dentistry, published a preliminary report, which demonstrated the ability of amalgam and nickel to affect the total percentages of T cells (J Prost Dent, 1984; 51: 617-23) – those cells which help killer cells to recognise foreign invaders. Two cases involving dental amalgams, and one involving nickel, were presented. The results were similar in all cases. In one of Eggleston’s 21-year old patients who had six amalgam fillings, 47 per cent of lymphocytes were T lymphocytes with amalgam fillings. After removal of these filling, 73 per cent of lymphocytes were T lymphocytes – an increase of 55.3 per cent.
When four amalgam fillings were again placed in the patient, the T lymphocyte count dropped to 55 per cent – a decrease of 24.7 per cent. When the patient’s amalgam fillings were replaced with gold, the T lymphocyte count rose from 72 per cent – an increase of 30.9 per cent.
The most recent research (Int J Occup Med Tox, 1995; 4) involving 34 patients with CNS disorders indicated intoxication from dental amalgam. Tests showed pathological findings in 88 per cent of these patients, of whom 60 per cent showed an immune reaction to mercuric chloride. These findings support the view that chronic low-level exposure to mercury can compromise or weaken the immune system and adversely affect the defence mechanisms of the body.
ME and chronic fatigue
Mercury may contribute to chronic fatigue conditions and, in some cases, play a predominant role. Chronic fatigue is one of the main presenting symptoms of mercury toxicity, and practitioners expect the condition to improve when filling are removed. Patients who are severely ill, and often bedridden and test positive to mercury and find that symptoms improve to a varying degree when amalgam fillings are removed, but are not cured unless mercury is the predominant factor.
In one instance, a 42-year old GP had been housebound for four years with severe chronic fatigue syndrome (ME). She could only leave home for short journeys using a wheelchair, and had great difficulty in climbing stairs. She had 13 amalgam fillings and tested positive to mercury on a lymphocyte response test. Beside ME symptoms, she also complained of other symptoms such as burning mouth, blurred vision, nausea, constant low-grade diarrhoea, muscle pain, depression, tension, irritability, poor memory, low blood pressure, asthma, sinus pain, aching joints and allergies to a range of chemicals.
The patient had all her amalgam fillings removed and, three months later, reported that her physical and mental energy had improved and that her nausea was completely cleared. She was also enjoying her food for the first time in years. The day after her final fillings were removed, her husband gave her some soup. She was amazed that it was the same soup her husband had given her the day before, which she had found tasteless. She also reported that her muddle-headedness and lack of concentration had improved, and that she felt much more relaxed. Two years later, the patient confirmed that her improvement had continued.
Whether mercury was the initial cause o her chronic fatigue is a matter of conjecture. What this case illustrates is that even though, in some cases, mercury may not be the predominant causative factor, it can exacerbate an existing condition.
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics
A survey of 356 patients who had not recently been exposed to antibiotics showed a high prevalence of mercury-resistant bacteria. They were also significantly more likely to concurrently have resistance to two or more antibiotics (Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1988; 32: 1801-6).
These findings prompted a three-university collaborative investigation in primates (Anitmicrob Agents Chemother, 1993; 37: 825-34). This showed that a large proportion of common oral and intestinal bacteria became resistant to mercury in two weeks after receiving amalgam fillings. Nearly all the mercury-resistant bacteria were resistant to one or more antibiotics such as tetracycline, ampicillin, streptomycin and erythromycin. As in the human study, the monkeys ha not had recent exposure to antibiotics; demonstrating that the bacteria had become antibiotic-resistant due to exposure to exposure to mercury form dental amalgam.
In both studies, the proportion of mercury and antibiotic-resistant bacteria declined markedly during the tow months after amalgam removal.
These studies confirm earlier work carried out in Japan )Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 1997; 11: 999-1003; Apple Environ Microbiol, 1977; 33: 975-6; Nature, 1977; 266: 165-7) which showed that the bacterial resistance to antibiotics and mercury can be transferred to other bacteria by strands of DNA. The mercury-resistant bacteria, constantly recirculate the mercury as vapour – exacerbating the increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Thus, the situation cannot improve until the source of the mercury is removed.
In a recent paper ( SciProg, 1997; 80: 103-6), a team from the Eastman Dental Institute pointed out: “It must be remembered that oral streptococci are a major cause of infective endocarditis with a high mortality”. The general systemic consequences of the inability of antibiotics to contain or eliminate these resistant bacteria, commonly called ‘superbugs’, is an escalating and serious problem. The role of mercury in their growth should not be ignored.
Research has shown that mercury from dental amalgam fillings:
- Increases mercury-resistant bacteria, resulting in a constant recycling of mercury in the body;
- Increases antibiotic resistance in bacteria -the superbugs- with obviously more serious consequences;
- That bacteria are capable, via DNA strands, of transferring their resistance to other neighbouring bacteria; and
- Mercury in the body and antibiotic-resistant bacteria markedly decline after removal of mercury amalgam fillings.
Dr Jack Levenson
Dr Levenson is author of Menace in the Mouth, published by and available from WDDTY (£9.99 + P&P).
Mercury and Sweaty Palms
The pituitary is the master gland of the body and exerts an influence on other glands such as the thyroid, adrenals and gonads.
Tissue, which normally contains only a small fraction of the total mercury found in the human body, may contain higher concentrations of mercury than the largest organs – the kidneys and brain. This was shown in the pituitary and thyroid glands of mercury miners who had retired some years before their death. Their glands contained very high concentrations of mercury-greater than the levels found in kidneys, lungs and brains (Nature, 1975; 25: 238-9).
The reason for these high concentrations is not difficult to understand as there is a direct lymphatic pathway form the gingival of the lower jaw to the thyroid, while the pituitary and thyroid are both highly vascularised and have no protective barriers against oxidised mercury.
From my own experience symptoms which keep cropping up in relation to mercury’s effect on the thyroid and other endocrine disturbances are reaction to cold, particularly in the hands- such a common feature, it is almost diagnostic- resulting in cold, clammy hands (noticeable on a handshake) and excessive sweat.
This very symptom happened to me. I had played tennis to university standard in the 1960s and 1970s but, by 1981, my increasingly sweaty hands became so bad in warm weather that I was unable to hold a racquet and was compelled to abandon the game.
In 1976, once I was alerted to the mercury problem, I had all my amalgam fillings removed and y excessive sweating disappeared. I was able to play tennis again and continue, to this day on a regular basis.
Mercury and Kidney function
The kidney, the repository of wasted in the body, is a target organ for mercury. To test the effect of mercury on kidney function, 12 amalgam fillings were placed in the occlusal surface of six adult female sheep. In addition, 12 glass ionomer fillings were placed in two other sheep as controls (Am J Physiol, 1990; 258: 939-45).
Kidney function, determined by glomerular filtration rate (insulin clearance), was reduced by 50 per cent with 30 days. Urine potassium levels increased a little while sodium levels showed a greater increase. There was a reduction in albumin – a water-soluble protein found in blood – excreted in the urine. Controls were unaffected.
Low sodium levels in the blood stimulate the kidneys to release rennin, and enzyme that causes increased blood pressure. When sodium and potassium are not present in their correct ratios, muscle weakness, fatigue and heart irregularities are among the symptoms observed.
Albumin is important for maintaining plasma volume. Changes in albumin ratio adversely affect nutrient distribution to cells. Human studies (Am JPhysiol, 1990; 261: 1010-4) have demonstrated an increase in urinary albumin 12 months after patients with amalgam fillings had them removed – suggesting that the kidneys are able to recover from the effects of mercury amalgam.
Data from the UK National Federation of Kidney Patients Association show that kidney disease is on the increase. Some 8000 kidney transplants are made per annum with a waiting list of up to 5000, and 8000 patients are on dialysis. Clearly, mercury poisoning should be suspected as a cause.
How to get rid of mercury poisoning
If you have a health condition, have undergone conventional medical investigation to exclude life –threatening and other diseases, and have not responded to treatment, you should have an experienced practitioner:
- Take a full medical and dental history
- Check you dental status (fillings, crowns, implants, dentures – even amalgam tattoos or posts and pins)
- Carry out a test to measure each metallic filling for electrical activity, which will indicate the amount of mercury vapour released from fillings and the possible system effects of having a ‘battery’ in your mouth
- Consider a provocation urine test. This uses the known mercury chelator 2.3 dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) to leech mercury out of your system to be excreted in the urine. Urine is taken before and after swallowing the chelator, and compared for mercury content. This test is an indicator of mercury body burden and requires careful interpretation by an experience practitioner
- Have a blood test – the metal-specific memory T-cell test (MSMT) developed at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London (020 8746 8000) – which determines your immunological reactions to dental and associated metals, and measures lymphocyte response to other heavy metals
- Other laboratory tests include hair analysis and sweat test for dental metals (available at Biolab in London – 020 7638 5959)
- Other tests to give you an indication of amalgam toxicity include electroacupunture evaluation (where an EAV practitioner assesses problems in the meridians which run across individual teeth), kinesiology, faeces measurement, a complete blood count and various body biochemistry tests.
Before you have your fillings removed
- Get advice on an individualised programme of vitamin/mineral supplementation and detoxification programme, and start it two months before your amalgams are removed
- Consume a fresh, organic wholefood diet. Avoid foods which are salty, sour or eaten at a high temperature, and snacks between meals – all of which increase mercury vapour
- Take antioxidants and free-radical scavengers to help bind and excrete mercury, including a good multivitamin supplement and extra selenium (50-200 micrograms), vitamin C powder, seaweed and homeopathic dental amalgam, a tried-and-tested way to remove mercury from the system
- Constipation, if present, must be treated, as mercury may be retained in the faeces and recirculated
- Take charcoal or chlorella half an hour prior to treatment to mop up any mercury vapour which has evaded other precautionary procedures and been swallowed
- Get tested for your reaction to composite (white) filling by sucking a sample of the proposed restorative material for two hours, repeating the procedure two days later, then monitoring and reporting reactions
- Find a dentist experienced in removing amalgam fillings and discuss the protocol beforehand. He/she should be familiar with removing them in predetermined sequence depending on ammeter or voltmeter measurement.
After treatment
- Embark on an extensive detox programme for a number of months with supplements, detox measures such as saunas and stem, an lymphatic drainage
- Consider taking a chelator such as DMSA to flush mercury out of your system
What Doctors Don’t Tell you April 2000 Volume 11 no. 1
My personal advice is to see a kinesiologist and be tested for what liver support is best for you. I tend to use a combination of Vitamin C, Selenium, Zinc, chlorella, marine oils, and homeopathic remedies such as MercViv, combined with NuxVomica in low potencies to aid detoxifiation, Phosphorus 30C (for the anaesthetic), Arnica 30C/200C (to avoid an aching jaw) and other liver support as required such as CarduusMarianus, Chelidonium etc.
Recommendations
- Books: Your Healthy Child with Homeopathy by Tricia Allen, Metro Publishing (available from Amazon.co.uk). This book will enable you to treat the whole family for most common ailments and injuries.
- Helios Remedy Kits: Available from Helios Homeopathic Suppliers, 8 New Row, London, WC2N 4LJ . Phone 7379 7434, or from Neal’s Yard Remedies, or www.helios.co.uk.
- Study Homeopathy at the College of Practical Homeopathy? The College of Practical Homeopathy (UK) Ltd, located in North London, is the leading Vocational Homeopathic Training College for people who wish to become professional homeopaths. Cph provide full time and part time courses, post graduate courses in Homeopathy, Iridology, Supervisors Training and graduate seminars. To speak to Pauline about their courses Phone 020 8445 6123, email pauline or visit the Cph web site.
Alex Christie
Barnsbury Clinic and Neal's Yard Remedies Clinic. Times and locations are listed below.
• Neal's Yard Remedies Clinic
112 Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 4SA
Consultation Times: Tuesdays 10.15 am - 7.30 pm
(Tel: 020 7935 0656)
E-mail: marylebone@nealsyardremedies.com
Click her for directions and maps to the above locations.
Not local but think I can help?
Feel free to email me for an online consultation instead.
• Barnsbury Clinic
5 Belitha Villas, Islington, N1 1PE
Consultation Times: Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.00 am - 7.00 pm
(Tel: 020 7609 1352)
E-mail: For a consultation
ADDITIONAL HEALTH RELATED INFORMATION
• Visit my web site for more information
• Find out more about Homeopathy
• Find out more about Homeopathic consultation and treatments
• Not sure if I can help? View some of my case histories
BROCHURES YOU CAN DOWNLOAD
• Download my Allergy Brochure
• Download my Candida Brochure
• Download my Homeopathy Brochure
• Download my Brochure on Stress & Emotion Management
Yours in health,
Alex Christie
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