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.

Essential reading: "Removing dental work could save your life" by Hal Huggins, D.D.S., M.S.

Removing dental work could save your life by Hal Huggins, D.D.S., M.S.

Did you realise that your dentist can have as much of an impact on your overall health as your doctor? Chances are, your answer to this is no. But it's the truth. A truth that, unfortunately, is not being heard. Mainstream physicians and dentists refuse to open their eyes to the connection between dentistry and medicine. While I've managed to help hundreds of patients eliminate their sickening symptoms and disease, the establishment continues to ignore the fact that what goes on in your mouth can have a great impact on what goes on in the rest of your body. And that their standard dental procedures are making people sick and putting your health at risk.

Full article here
http://www.wholisticresearch.com/info/artshow.php3?artid=10

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!

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!

Vaccines containing mercury preservatives may be good for children's brains

" CBS K-EYE Medical Watch with Seema Mathur describes how two studies in the Journal of Pediatrics suggest that vaccines containing mercury preservatives "may actually be associated with improved behavior and mental performance." Following is microscopic footage from the University of Calgary depicting How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration."

Gary:
Research claims that mercury which is found in childhood vaccines actually improves behaviour and mental performance beggars belief!    The fact is that mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that is not safe at any level.   It is the last thing that anybody, especially an infant or child needs.

Research like this makes a mockery of science

Please take a few minutes to view the video below which shows exactly the damage that the tiniest amount of mercury wreaks on the nerves:

_______________________________________

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.

My supplements are making me feel sick - not better

"The supplements are not really working for "X" at this stage- he feels they are making him sick.

Since commencing the program he is feeling worse, tired and lethargic. He said he felt way better before taking them. Is this possible?

I suggested he just take half of them. I’m sure if he is telling himself he hates the pills, then his body will reject them!
Any thoughts?"
_______________
Gary responds:
How "X" is feeling is not unexpected.

The profile for "X" indicates he is dirt rock bottom in many nutrients, as well as having a number of significant imbalances that cause symptoms such as lack of energy, poor digestion, insomnia, muscle weakness and generally not feeling well. In his case I would expect these symptoms to be quite severe at times and this pattern will continue for as long these imbalances and general state of depeletion persists.

He also has quite high levels of mercury, lead and aluminium. While they are within the "reference range", we have to take account that he is running close to empty on most of the "healthy" minerals. Toxic metals pair off in the body with minerals like iron, zinc and selenium. Along with sulphur and various vitamins such as vitamin E, these minerals help neutralise toxic metals and assist the liver with excreting them by rendering them partially soluble. Incidentally; low levels of sulphur, zinc etc may help explain why he has had an accumulation of these heavy metals in the first place. The other factor, of course, is exposure to these metals through work and food (tuna, for example).

Now that he is taking all those dietary supplements with the right balance of trace nutrients, including vitamins, and changing his diet as per the report guidelines, it is quite likely that these heavy metals which are sequestered in tissue like fat and bone are now being pulled out into solution. As his Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis report warns, there may be a temporary flare-up of symptoms while these toxins are mobilised and removed. It may be weeks, if not months, before he begins the upward climb.

The process of restoring and maintaining health and fitness can be regarded as being similar to the sharemarket (refer chart). There will always be ups and downs, some sharp and some deep. It pays to focus on the overall trend as the months and years tick by and not be distracted or too despondent each time there is a dip in progress. Of course, attention to lifestyle and nutrition will reduce the number of dips and level out the troughs while accentuating the ups.

In answer to your query about halving the dosages: The answer is a resounding "YES!" Drop the dosages by half while sticking to the diet plan, once symptoms abate sufficently, increase the dose back to the recommended levels. Give the programme three months of steady attention with regualr reports to me. At about three months we will sit abck and review progress and take it from there!

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The Treatment was a Success; However the Patient Died!

Well, not quite; but if the treatment continues its current course, death may well be the outcome.

Here are the results of a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) of a woman in her 60's who suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago. (Click on an image to enlarge). After successful emergency care she was placed on the usual dugs combination of a statin, beta blocker and diuretics. Lifestyle advice was next to nothing and nothing has been done to date to identify the dietary and lifestyle factors that may be the underlying causes of her ill health.

This woman is now showing signs of cognitive decline, persistent joint and muscle pain, fatigue and vulnerability to infection. All of these symptoms can be the result of the damage being caused by her heart medication. But is there more going on? The HTMA results are revealing:

Nutritional Elements
This chart shows that her diet is lacking sufficient concentrations of most essential nutrients. This profile is typical of modern diets that tend to be high in a few nutrients like sodium (Na) and little of anything else. There is little truth in the advice one gets that one can get all the nutrients need by having a "balanced diet". Modern processed foods and even our vegetables are high in flavour and calories while lacking in jsut about everything else. When one scrutinises the end results of people on modern "healthy balanced diets" the results can be disturbing.

Is the Hospital slowly Poisoning their Workers?
This woman appears to be suffering boron poisoning. She works as a cleaner at the public hospital where harsh borax-based cleaners are used. Despite all the protective gear, it appears that she is accumulating far too much boron. While I have taken the matter up with the Cleaners' Union, they have shown no real interest and have failed to act in any way to clean things up. Deeply disappointing if you ask me.

Toxic Elements
While these are all within the "Reference" range, one can see the risks that come with eating large fish like tuna nowadays and from cooking in aluminium cookware. Tests for toxic metals can be misleading if there is not an understanding of how elements like mercury and lead interact within the body with other elements. While there may be little risk of direct damage to the body by traces of a toxic element, harm may still be done if other essential elements are in short supply.

Toxic Ratios
Even the smallest traces of a toxic element can have catastrohic effects. What we can see here is that the mercury has effectively rendered unavailable what little iron, selenium, zinc and sulphur she has in her body. She is being rendered anaemic, open to infection and has lost protection from oxidative damage that one normally has from trace elements like selenium.

When Tendencies becomes Reality
Sure, we can medicate this woman to suppress the symptoms (Atherosclerosis (cardiovascular disease) is really a symptom, rather than a disease. But this approach is doomed to fail as one can easily gather from reading the HTMA results. To properly deal with her ill health we must burrow deeper to identify and then correct the underlying causes.

In this case, we can see the fultility of medicating longterm with heart drugs. We must eliminate her exposure to boron, get her on a nutrient dense diet, pump in some supplements (Such as Coenzyme Q-10, iron and B12). The statins must be stopped no matter what since they are destroying her muscles and brain and the other drugs can be easily replaced with natural substances that do the same job, such as natural vitamin E, garlic oil and vitamin C.

Note: A reliable Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis can be obtained through me. Just send me your name and address to 15 Heaton Terrace or email to gary@garymoller.com and I will send you a Hair Sample Kit which you then send for analysis. The fee is presently $225 (NZ$). This fee includes 30 minutes consultation with me to review your results. Your HTMA report usally takes 3-4 weeks to be completed.

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Do vaccines cause autism?

"Our child was developing normally until he received his vaccination shots"
This a statement that I have heard many times over the years from the parents of autistic children. I have been tempted many times to enter the vaccination debate; but have mostly refrained from doing so until now.

We have not vaccinated our children, preferring to concentrate on healthy diet and lifestyles and natural exposure to childhood diseases such as chicken pox and mumps.

When I do a hair tissue mineral analysis on people, not a single one has been free of mercury, a component of vaccines. These also contain the other powerful neurotoxin; aluminium. It just beggars good sense to pump toxic metals into sensitive developing brains.

Here is a news video about the vaccine controversy:

Here is the best article I have ever read by a health professional - "Autism, Vaccines, and Robert F Kennedy Jr."by Jeffrey Dach MD.

Here is a compelling video by a family that was affected by autism. This carries a message of hope.

Please pass this article onto others.

Here is an example of a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

Here are some charts of my hair tissue mineral analysis completed in August of 2007:

I am probably in the best health I have been in for probably 20 years, and this is generally reflected in the results which are pretty damn good overall. But all is not well.

What my mineral profile indicates is my metabolism is poor, possibly due to impaired adrenal function most likely related to chronic stress over many years (This would explain why my body responds so well to magnesium which is quite high due to my taking a supplement). It also explains why, in recent years, I suffer cold feet and am prone to chill blains. This was most interesting because I had to undergo treatment about 15 years ago for a case of adrenal insufficiency caused by chronic physical and emotional stress, including doing punishing multi sports events and marathons. This condition caused numerous unpleasant symptoms, including excessively low blood pressure, insomnia and the inability to get heart rate above 110 beats per minute. It is only recently that I feel I have got this problem properly sorted out (This report indicates there is still more to be achieved). The profile is also indicative of insomnia which is now my principal health concern. It is most interesting that these problems could be detected from rendering down a hair sample - amazing!

What is not good is the mercury in my system. The less there is the better. Among other things, mercury interferes with the metabolic functions of several trace minerals. Upon careful analysis I have decided that the most likely source of my mercury contamination is eating canned tuna and not other possibilities like amalgam fillings. While amalgum fillings may be a factor, the ones I have are in good condition and I have decided to take a progressive approach, eliminating one possible source of contamination, beginning with the easiest and seeing what happens. If signs of contamination are still there on the next hair test, then I will move onto dealing with amalgum as the possible contaminant. If I did both at once, I would not know which was the source and might end up unnecessarily permanently eliminating tuna from my diet.

The additional elements are pretty much spot on, although my levels of rubidium are high. At this time, the metabolic effects of this trace mineral are unknown. Sources of rubidium includes cereal and corn and foods grown in acidic soils. There might be a case for my eating less grains for a period and seeing what happens with future tests.
My significant ratios are pretty much spot on but you can see there will be some metabolic benefits from tinkering a little with my calcium, potassium and magnesium ratios. These may be the cause of my insomnia, variable blood pressure and aching muscles. Health is not just a case of how much nutrient one has in one's body; the ratios between minerals may be equally, if not more important.

My toxic ratios is interesting: It shows how even small amounts of a heavy metal contaminant like mercury can affect several key minerals (iron, selenium, zinc and sulphur). These trace minerals neutralise mercury; but are consequently rendered unavailable for other functions within the body. This is not at all healthy, so this mercury needs to be eliminated asap while eliminating the suspected source of contamination (tuna).

I am making some modifications to my diet and am taking a small number of supplements to try to get my adrenals revving once again, to balance my minerals and to chelate out the harmful mercury in my system. About three to five months from now I will repeat the hair tissue mineral analysis to see if my interventions are being effective.

If you would like to have a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, go here for information.