Although mercury is a naturally occurring substance, this heavy metal is seriously toxic to our health and can result in a combination of symptoms often missed by conventional medicine which include: 

Chronic fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, depression, memory loss, insomnia, tremors, neuropathy, nerve damage, slurred speech, loss of balance and vision problems – to name a few!

Pictured below are the most common exposures to mercury, with silver amalgam dental fillings and large fish being the two primary sources.

There is no consensus on the safe exposure limit of mercury because it depends on the person, their genetics, their unique detoxification ability and what else they are being exposed to, but the combined effect of different toxic exposures can be exponential, and sudden.

Once the toxic load exceeds what our body can cope with, a flood-gate of symptoms can occur through various mechanisms:

1. Mercury interferes with enzyme function and detoxification by binding or “sticking” to sulfur groups; one of the body’s primary detoxification agents making them less available to process other toxins.

2. Aluminum often goes hand in hand with mercury toxicity because aluminum impairs the production of glutathione, our body’s most potent antioxidant needed to detoxify mercury!

3. Mercury also binds to methyl groups, which prevents nutrients like vitamin B12 from entering into cells, leading to less energy and neuropathy (i.e. tingling and numbness).

4. Mercury generates highly toxic free radicals, which are like wild fire sparks that can damage DNA and poison the nervous system.

5. Mercury toxicity may suppress bone marrow function (WBC < 4500u/L), but also trigger the immune system with studies suggesting a link between mercury and autoimmunity and allergies.

The good news is that heavy metal testing is available (i.e. Great Plains Laboratory, Genova Diagnostics) and it is possible to detoxify mercury which you can read more about here.

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