Mercury—it is a common neurological toxin! Discover how to remove it from your system.

Outline:

• How does mercury get into our body?
• Who is at risk for mercury toxicity?
• What are the signs of mercury toxicity?
• How do you measure your mercury levels?
• How do you treat yourself if your mercury levels are high?

Mercury is a common element on the planet. As the planet burns coal (7 billion tons in 2007 and rising), we release thousands of tons of mercury into the atmosphere. As a result, mercury levels are increasing worldwide in our planet’s marine environment.

How does mercury get into our body, and who is at risk for mercury toxicity?

Algae (seaweed) absorbs mercury in a form called methyl mercury, which is toxic to human brains. As small fish and shrimp eat algae, they accumulate methyl mercury in their tissues. As larger and larger fish move up the food chain, methyl mercury levels increase substantially. The larger the mouth of a fish, the higher these fish eat on the food chain, and usually the higher their tissue level of mercury. Shark, tilefish, blue fin tuna, and swordfish are at the top of the food chain and have very high mercury levels. Grouper, snapper, bass, and albacore tuna have modest methyl mercury levels. Salmon, trout, sole, cod, and shellfish have low methyl mercury levels. People can eliminate some of the mercury they eat. People who eliminate mercury normally, can eat seafood such as salmon or shrimp 2-3 times per week, and grouper or snapper twice per month without accumulating mercury in their tissues. Higher levels of seafood consumption or eating food high in mercury such as swordfish and blue fin (ahi) tuna often cause high levels of mercury.

Another source of mercury is dental fillings that contain amalgam. While substantial controversy exists regarding the toxicity and safety of dental amalgam fillings, they have been shown to release some level of mercury into the blood stream.

As noted, methyl mercury is toxic to the human brain and nervous tissue. While sudden toxic exposures have caused substantial injury and disability, the biggest concern today is continuous low level consumption from seafood.

Studies have shown that modest intake from canned tuna will increase methyl mercury levels substantially, and that this moderate rise in methyl mercury levels will cause abnormalities in neurobehavioral testing with a reduction in brain speed, reaction time, and other abnormalities in neurological testing. Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological diseases are strongly associated with elevated mercury levels. Genetic factors impact how well individuals eliminate methyl mercury from their bodies and how their tissue responds to various mercury levels.

People at greatest risk for mercury toxicity are pregnant women and young children with growing brains (newborn to 4 years of age). Women planning to become pregnant should limit their big mouth fish intake and consider measuring their mercury levels if they have a history of regular big mouth fish intake (especially from tuna).

What are signs of mercury toxicity?

As mercury is a neurological toxin, the first signs of neuro toxicity relate to these tissues. Mercury toxicity signs include:

• Decreased brain function (our published research has shown significant decreases in information processing speed when mercury levels are >15 ppm)
• Memory loss
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Hearing loss
• Anesthesia (tingling or burning in the feet or toes from neuropathy)

How to Measure Mercury Levels?

A blood sample is a good indicator of methyl mercury levels. Red blood cells are formed in the bone marrow and last about 120 days. Sampling red blood cells for methyl mercury levels provides an excellent means to assess continuous low level mercury consumption and accumulation levels. A physician simply orders a laboratory test for mercury from whole blood or from red blood cells. Some medical providers prefer hair or toe nail mercury levels, but I find these less reliable.

Testing mercury levels is not a routine part of usual health care. Yet, if you aim to ensure optimal mental performance into your 90s, assessing your risk for mercury toxicity makes sense. If you consume seafood regularly, retesting yearly would be a wise precaution in the effort to prevent neurodegenerative disease.

A normal mercury level used to be < 5 ppm. In 2010, many labs increased their normal level to 11 because too many people had high levels. I’m not confident this was a wise move, though our own published research from the Masley Optimal Health Center (Integrative Medicine, A Clinician’s Journal 2011) failed to show a decrease in brain function until mercury levels are greater than 15.

How to Treat High Mercury Levels and Mercury Toxicity?

There are three primary ways to treat mercury toxicity:

1. Stop ingesting foods high in mercury
2. Increase your ability to detoxify and remove mercury
3. Chelate it (chemically bind and remove it). WARNING! INTRAVENOUS CHELATION CAN SOMETIMES BE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH! Be cautious regarding who performs your treatment.
4. Plus, I always recommend you involve your medical provider who knows you with this plan.

1. Stop ingesting so much mercury

If your mercury levels are only mildly elevated and you do not have neurological symptoms, stop eating big mouth fish (grouper, tuna, bass, snapper, swordfish, shark, king fish) for at least 3-4 months, then recheck your level. Your level should drop several points.

If you have multiple amalgam (mercury) fillings, then likely you swallow some mercury as your fillings wear over time. Talk to a dentist specializing in mercury removal about “properly” replacing your fillings with safer materials. If not done properly, in the short term mercury levels will increase, so doing this a few fillings at a time, and using proper technique with a  dam and appropriate exhaust suction are important.

2. Increase your ability to detoxify and remove mercury

Several supplements will double your body’s ability to detoxify and remove heavy metals including mercury from your body. My favorite is MetalloClear from Metagenics. Taken as directed over 2-3 months, without any large mouth fish intake, my clinical experience is that on average mercury levels drop 5-10 points.

Usually I recheck mercury levels after a detox treatment in 3-4 months and again after one year to confirm they stay normal. If your levels remain more than 15, repeat step 2 or go to step 3.

3. Chelate mercury (chemically bind and remove it)

Chelation has risks and benefits and I only recommend this under proper medical supervision from an experienced professional who knows your detailed medical history. Typically, I discuss this in great detail with my patients and only suggest chelation therapy if mercury levels are very high, >20-30 ppm, and/or they have neurological symptoms from mercury toxicity.

Simply stated, when you swallow or have a chelating agent (such as DMSA or EDTA) injected into you, it binds to all minerals and heavy metals, circulates them around your body, and then some of them pass out of you with the chelating agent in your urine, lowering your levels. As heavy metals circulate, they are also deposited in your brain and other tissues, plus you also remove healthy minerals like magnesium. If you cannot handle and detoxify the extra toxic metal circulation, this can cause more harm (risk) than benefit.

Generally, oral chelation treatments are more gentle than Intravenous protocols, and I prefer them most of the time.

Prior to starting any form of chelation, one should be on an ultra-healthy diet and supplement regimen to ensure they can detoxify the heavy metal load that will be generated with chelation. With my patients, typically I wait 1-2 months to ensure they are in top health prior to starting chelation.

When I feel this is clinically indicated at the Masley Optimal Health Center, we have a couple treatment options. Chelex from Xymogen contains a low dosage of DMSA (a chelating agent) 4 pills daily contains 100 mg of DMSA and is given for 3-5 days, then 3-5 days of extra minerals (Mineral Rx), and cycle back and forth between the chelating agent and extra minerals for 2-3 months. Typically this lowers mercury levels by 10-15 points.

Another excellent chelating product with more chelating power is Captomer-250 from Thorne Research. It contains 250 mg of DMSA in each capsule. A treatment option with Captomer-250 could include 1 pill daily for five days, then alternate with two capsules of Heavy Metal Support for five days providing both mineral support and detoxification support between chelation cycles. Clarify with your medical provider how long you should follow this type of regimen, which typically could continue for 4-8 weeks alternating between five days of Captomer-250 and five days of Heavy Metal Support, varying with your other medical issues, medical history, and medication/supplement use.

Usually, I recheck mercury levels 3 months after therapy and again after one year to confirm they stay normal. Sometimes it takes 1-3 treatment cycles to bring everything to normal, which may include a combination of treatments.

For more difficult cases, pharmaceutical doses of DMSA and /or EDTA may be appropriate as prescribed through your medical provider.