So, given that there is a certain level of mercury poisoning, what can we do to eliminate it? Detoxifying your body from mercury is a process that will take some time, most probably a few months. During this time you need to support your body and provide it with all the nutrients it needs so that it can restore its balance again. Detoxifying your body involves basically three major organs / systems: Digestive tract, Liver and Kidneys. General points to be careful of before and during your Detox are the following:
- Drink loads of water and green tea so that you flush mercury out of your body. Your urine needs to be clear.
- You need to pay a visit to the toilet daily otherwise you will reabsorb the mercury being excreted through your gut. If in doubt or difficulty do try magnesium citrate capsules (1-2 capsules, about 150 mg), milled flax seed (added in porridge, smoothies or soups)
- In order for your body to fully respond to your Detox diet and all the effort you are doing with this it is imperative to be sure that your digestive system is in a very good condition. You need to get the maximum absorbance in the powerful nutrients you will be eating as well as the vitamins and minerals. If you have any suspicions for food allergies / intolerances you need to check this out first, rebalance your gut and then proceed with the Detox process.
- Apparently the kidneys and liver will also do a big part of the detoxification as well so you need to make sure that these systems are healthy and fully functioning. By no means should you try to Detox if there are indications that there is a problem with these valuable organs.
DMSA or DMPS Challenge
DMSA and DMPS are substances that bind mercury and literally pull it out of the body through. This is not done in one go of course but over a series of sessions. Although there is some controversy about this method, experienced doctors practicing Functional Medicine have seen magnificent results with their patients. Most terrifying info on the internet about DMPS or DMSA is coming from practitioners who are not trained to do them or patients having experiences with such doctors. DMPS is not FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) approved (it is available in Europe) so people in the States will have to go for the DMSA instead. The difference is that DMPS can pull out a lot more mercury out of the body than DMSA. This challenge is also used as a test, to determine the levels of mercury in the body. The protocol is quite simple; you orally (DMSA) or intravenously (DMPS) take one of the two agents in the morning and then collect the urine for a certain amount of hours. The mercury bound is in the urine and this gives a very good measurement of the levels of the heavy metal in the body. DMSA removes more mercury so it gives a better indication. These tests are usually done after you have replaced your amalgam fillings with harmless ones.
DMSA: It must be taken at a dose of 30 mg/kg for this test. The protocol is as follows: One 100 to 250 mg pill of DMSA orally three times a day before meals, for 3 days. Then stop for 11 days. Do this for 6 months. You need to recheck your level of mercury through the challenge test after the 6 months period to monitor your progress.
DMPS: Take 500 mg of DMPS in one dose in the morning, after emptying your bladder, followed by a 6-hour urine collection.
Below you can find more info on these protocols.
http://www.medical-library.net/content/view/227/41/
http://www.neuraltherapy.com/DMPSChallenge.pdf
Your best chances on working properly with the above tests / protocols are to be done in conjunction with a doctor that is familiar or even better practices functional medicine. You can check this website to find a practitioner: http://www.functionalmedicine.org
Removal of amalgam fillings
One of the first things you can do is replace the mercury fillings with more neutral ones. For this you need to find a dentist trained to do it as it is not an ordinary procedure at all. If handled in the wrong way, the mercury in the fillings can literally poison you in much worst way than it would if you just let them be. You need to search for a biological dentist as they are the right people to do this. They will do a thorough evaluation of your fillings and proceed with a careful plan to replace them with harmless ones. You can find a certified practitioner in this website: http://www.iaomt.org/
Body detoxification
In order to promote and support your natural detoxification mechanisms that your body possesses you need to include as much as you can of the following foods / supplements in your diet.
Activated Charcoal: a potent substance that absorbs toxins is medicinal activated charcoal. This is a very fine powder that every hospital has it in the ER section. 1 gr can absorb enough toxins to fill the square footage of four tennis courts. If you are serious about detoxing your body of decades of daily exposure to heavy metals and poisons you need to follow this simple regime for 1-2 weeks.
- 20-30 grams of activated charcoal per day – prefer the loose powder, not capsules.
- Divide the above quantity in smaller doses
- Mix with water or other liquid (e.g. smoothies, juices etc)
- You can find medicinal activated charcoal in health food shops.
Vitamins: There are certain vitamins that you will need to supplement yourself with as they are really important here. These are B9, B12, B6, C and E. They all contribute to multiple detoxification pathways in the body. Ideally you will take a good multivitamin supplement which will provide you with the minerals (especially Selenium and Zinc) you need as well.
Glutathione: This is a tiny little protein that our body makes that is a super major player in every Detox process. You need to provide your body with plenty of protein to ensure that there are available all the raw materials for producing glutathione. Go for organic free range meat and wild fish, beans and free range eggs (if you can tolerate them). Also for functional glutathione you need the mineral selenium which can be found in ample quantities in Brazil nuts or you can take a supplement (55 -200 micrograms per day) if it is not covered by your multivitamin formula. Finally you need to eat as many of the following: kale, broccoli, collards, garlic and onions, as they contain sulfur which a key element in glutathione metabolism and functionality.
Herbs: very powerful that can support your Detox plan are the following: milk thistle, cilantro, chlorella and garlic. These little gems help your liver get rid of heavy metals and all sorts of toxins. Believe me you liver needs all the help it can get when you get into such an important phase.
| Chlorella | Chlorella is algae. C. Pyreneidosa is the form with the best metal absorbing properties. | Most people can tolerate high doses of it with great success. Take 1 gram with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can increase the dose to up to 3 grams 3 to 4 times a day. |
| Garlic | Use fresh, freeze-dried, or aged garlic for best results. It contains a bioactive form of selenium, which is a potent mercury detoxifier. | Start with one capsule or one clove and slowly increase to three capsules or cloves after each meal. |
| Cilantro | Cilantro is a kitchen herb and one of the best detoxifiers for your central nervous system. It mobilizes so much mercury; it can’t always carry it out of the body fast enough. So use it in combination with chlorella. | Eat organic cilantro, make a pesto, tea, or buy a tincture. Take 2 drops 2 times a day before meals or 30 minutes after taking chlorella. Increase to dose to up to 10 drops three times a day. |
Sauna: Many toxic poisons are excreted through sweating and this is true for mercury as well. You need to have as many as you can per week, ideally every day. Make sure you drink a lot of water and your multivitamin supplement will provide you with minerals lost while sweating.
