Dr Chris Shade on Mercury Toxicity and the mercury challenge test

In this audio, Chris Kresser talks with Dr. Chris Shade, an expert in the environmental and analytical chemistry of mercury, about how we get exposed to mercury, the affect it can have on our bodies, what determines sensitivity to mercury, and the right (and wrong) way to test for mercury toxicity.

While they do get a bit over the top, technically, for many listeners I urge you to listen in.  In particular I want you to take note of Dr Shade's views on the mercury challenge test.  This test is still popular with many doctors and naturopaths.  It is true that close to 100% of those people who undergo the mercury challenge test will prove to be positive for mercury toxicity.  As Dr Shade and Chris Kresser agree; a test that is positive with just about everyone must be taken with great skepticism.  Gosh - many people have then gone and spent thousands of dollars on removing amalgam fillings and chemical chelation!  In some cases this was unnecessary.  A more gentle and less costly approach usually suffices.

J Med Toxicol. 2013 Dec;9(4):318-25. doi: 10.1007/s13181-013-0350-7.

Recommendations for provoked challenge urine testing.

Ruha AM1.

Author information

Abstract

"Urine mobilization test," "challenge test," and "provoked urine test" are all terms used to describe the administration of a chelating agent to a person prior to collection of their urine to test for metals. There is no standard, validated challenge test. Despite recommendations by professional and government organizations against the use of provoked urine testing, the tests are still commonly used and recommended by some practitioners. Challenge testing utilizes a variety of chelating agents, including dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), dimercaptopropanesulfonate (DMPS), and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). The agents are given by a variety of routes of administration, doses used are inconsistent, and urine collection procedures vary. Additional problems with challenge tests include comparison of results to inappropriate reference ranges and creatinine correction of urine obtained within hours of chelator administration. Human volunteer studies demonstrate that mercury is detected in the urine of most people even in the absence of known exposure or chelator administration, and that urinary mercury excretion rises after administration of a chelator, regardless of exposure history and in an unpredictable fashion. Studies also demonstrate that challenge testing fails to reveal a "body burden" of mercury due to remote exposure. Chelating agents have been associated with adverse reactions. Current evidence does not support the use of DMPS, DMSA, or other chelation challenge tests for the diagnosis of metal toxicity. Since there are no established reference ranges for provoked urine samples in healthy subjects, no reliable evidence to support a diagnostic value for the tests, and potential harm, these tests should not be utilized.

PMID:

 

24113861

 

[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 

PMCID:

 

PMC3846974

 

A more accurate test that I am very familiar with, and have thousands of comparative test results as guidance, is the ICL Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis.  This test is very accurate, using the same technology as used by the Mars River, Curiosity, to measure mars soil and rock minerals.  If mistakes are made it is not the test that's the problem; but the person interpreting it that is going wrong.

If you have been told you have mercury in your system (Hey - we all do - but it varies how much!), my recommendation is the ICL Hair tissue minerals analysis, followed by gentle chelation, if warranted, using special nutrients such as Algotene, while avoiding any form of chemical chelation which may do more harm that good.

Listen on!

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Is there a link between fish consumption and mercury levels in human beings?

Hair tissue analysis showing presence of mercury,
lead and aluminium: But are these actual levels, or
indications of more lurking deep in the body?

I have done thousands of hair tissue mineral analyses and the most consistent pattern for elevated mercury levels is fish consumption, regardless of location in the world.  More consistent than dental amalgam.  It is particularly distressing to see elevated levels in New Zealand (NZ), associated with fish consumption, because we are just about as far away from the industrialised North as can be!

By the way, shark is seldom served as fish and chips nowadays in NZ.  It would appear that meercury contamination of the oceans is now ubiquitous.  The best fish to eat are those that inhabit inshore fisheries and lower in the food chain (sardines), while avoiding the larger pelagic species, like tuna and salmon.

Selenium, zinc and various antioxidant substances are protective against the toxic effects of mercury. NZ'ers are consistently low in selenium which is easily corrected with supplementation.  While there may be selenium in fish I don't see evidence from my testing that it is nearly enough - not for NZ anyway because our soils are generally very low.  We are even more deficient in zinc.

A word of caution when interpreting a hair tissue test for elements like mercury: Elevated levels on the test may indicate toxicity, or can indicate that the body is efficiently excreting the toxin (therefore high in the hair sample).  Low levels in the hair may indicate that one is accumulating rather than excreting!  It is very easy to get the interpretation of the report completely around the wrong way!  So, if you are using this test to measure toxins, please consult a practitioner who is thoroughly trained and experienced in the application of this test, including matching test results with history, signs and symptoms.

With regards to blood tests for mercury and other toxins: A blood test will only show what is circulating in the blood at that moment.   The body will do all it can to whisk that toxin out of the body.  If it can't, due to too much toxin or, say weak liver function, then it will be sequestered in "safe" places like the fat and bone, later to be mobilised and excreted. 

This is why polluting industries and their apologists love the blood test while doing all they can to discredit the hair tissue mineral analysis which will accurately show historic contamination.  If, for example, there has been a spill of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury into a municipal reservoir, the polluters and authourities can avoid an expensive outcry by keeping the spill quiet for as long as it takes for the water (and blood of those drinking the stuff to clear), then make an announcement while offering free blood tests while avoiding the hair tissue test!  Good tactic - and it works!  Here is an example from Tasmania:

"In the town of Ringarooma, residents say they weren't told about the lead in the bore water until three months after it appeared at high levels. The bore water had been turned off six weeks after high lead levels were found in late-August, but at the time no one was told why."

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2013-03-31/4594752

The combination of hair and blood tests are the most useful for a clinician when it comes to determining toxic exposures.  But don't expect your doctor, employer or health authority to recommend the test!

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Candida and Fungal Infections? Gary Moller recommends you explore this programme: Click Here!

Our environment is increasingly becoming contaminated with toxic elements such as uranium, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and aluminium

Our environment is increasingly becoming contaminated with toxic elements such as uranium, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead and aluminium.  Even "clean, green New Zealand" is really a dirty place when you look closely enough. Please have a listen to the interview that follows:

  

HTMA from a man who works the land - Arsenic from treated
timber posts, aluminium from fertiliser.  The high Fe, Mn and Cr
may be mostly due to the use of welding and cutting torches.
The elevated Na and K are due to stress responses - hardly
surprising!

While I may not agree with everything the interviewer and interviewee are saying, they are spot-on with regards to their concerns about the ever-increasing contamination of our environment with toxins like mercury and aluminium and the potential threats to mammals, including Human Beings. I do share their concerns about the use of aluminium deodorants, especially about the armpits and breasts by women.  Its just not a good idea.

While it does make sense to get rid of your aluminium cookware and to switch to non-toxic deodorants, I urge you not to panic.  Unless you work in a toxic environment such as an engineering workshop, or on the farm, the chances are you are okay.  We all react differently to exposure to toxins.  Some of us accumulate them while others excrete them as fast as they are being absorbed.  It comes down to our nutritional status (or lack of!) and the health of our eliminative organs (liver, kidneys) as to how efficiently our bodies can handle toxins and excrete them.

The Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is the best test available for determining if you are apt to accumulate toxins such as mercury - and to determine if there is a build-up of anything undesirable and what to do about - other than to blindly panic!

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About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.