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Mercury is an extremely toxic heavy metal to which many of us are exposed every day and never even realize it. How can this be, you may wonder? Well let’s look at some of the ways that you can be exposed to this “mind altering” substance and see. First of all mercury is found in many things that we have discussed previously such as fillings in your teeth (see “News from the FDA”, and Swine Flu IV), and don’t forget HFCS (the infamous High Fructose Corn Syrup) that I warned you Silver Inner Health Circletm members about back in May (see "Be Unsweetened" May 2009 Health Hints).
So what is the big deal and how does this substance affect us anyway? Well, understand that the affects of mercury on our bodies have been studied for well over 100 years. In the 19th century these affects became blatantly apparent when “Mad Hatter’s Disease” was first observed. This condition occurred to those poor individuals who made their living constructing and working on hats. You see in that period hats were worn by virtually everyone. The hatter’s job was to make and care for hats. In the process a substance was used to shape or “block” the hats. This substance contained mercury, which the hatters not only absorbed through their skin, but also inhaled. Mercury is a very potent “Neurotoxin” (a substance which damages the nerves in the body including the brain). The individuals who were unfortunate to become involved in this very lucrative profession often ended up in insane asylums, due to the “neurotoxic” affects of the Mercury! Today we have many other disorders which have been hypothesized by some to be due to mercury toxicity. Let’s just look at one which has been publicized recently by Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carry. That being AUTISM. The incidence of Autism has risen exponentially over the last 20 years. In the early 2000’s it was suggested by numerous public health officials that the incidence of “Autism Spectrum Disorders” was occurring in 1 in 166 children. In 2009 one published study estimated the incidences at closer to 1 in every 91 children suffer the effects of this condition. There have been constant claims that this disorder may be linked to the higher exposure that children experience today. So, what are the sources of this mercury load that children experience? Well let’s look at mercury exposure from dental amalgams. As I noted in the earlier link to my previous article the ADA has only recently admitted that Mercury Amalgam fillings should be avoided by certain “select” patients due to health concerns. In reality while this is a concern and a source of mercury contamination, in my opinion, this load is only calculated to be between 0.79 and 1.91 micrograms. Not an excessively high amount but certainly a contributing factor. In Canada and many other countries it has been recommended that the use of Mercury Amalgam dental fillings be avoided. Many vaccines, as I have previously noted, use mercury as a preservative and stabilizing agent. Since children now receive significantly more vaccines than they did 30 years this must be considered as another potential source in the overall bio-load that is received by our children today. However the mother lode of mercury today in my opinion, is coming from the foods that we eat. Specifically from the “PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS” that are taken in by everyone, but perhaps even more so by our children.
The consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is perhaps one of the potentially largest sources of mercury that exists today. Although mercury is also used in the production of other food products such as citric acid and sodium benzoate, both used as food preservatives, HFCS is consumed the most by the public. This consumption begins with the “PRODUCT” marketed to new parents as “safe” for their children to consume, that being “infant formula”; even the name connotes something that is “created” in a lab, which essentially this “Product” is. Even “ORGANIC HFCS” uses mercury on its manufacturing process. This is why I warn all of you to be cautious about the marketing practices of the food industry, even the organic producers. Just because an “organic food product” is labeled “Organic” doesn’t mean that it is as pure as the driven snow. It is PROCESSED and that means that it didn’t just come out of the ground or off of the tree, bush, or vine. HFCS is used as a sweetener by food manufacturers. In one published study which was performed and published in 2009 the authors show that “clearly and reliably” it has been “demonstrated” that “significant levels of mercury were present in 45% of the HFCS samples analyzed.” Unfortunately “the FDA does not currently have a mercury surveillance program for food ingredients such as added sugars or preservatives manufactured with mercury grade chlor-alkali products.” Another startling fact revealed in this article is that “…dietary fructose consumption among US children and adults indicates that fructose consumption by Americans represents ten percent (10%) of calories consumed in a 24 hour period.” That is a lot of sugar. This statistic goes a long way to help us to understand the prevalence of Type II Diabetes today as well.
What I want all of our Silver Inner Health Circle members to do is to begin (if you haven’t learned this one from me already) to read the labels of everything that you eat! “Product labels listing HFCS as a first or second ingredient may contain detectable levels of mercury if the HFCS was manufactured with mercury grade chlor-alkali chemicals.” The authors of this article estimate the potential average daily intake of mercury from HFCS may be in the range of 28.4 micrograms. This is a very high daily average.
Certain forms of mercury will easily be transported to the brain and ultimately create nerve damage. Other forms of mercury will react with our DNA and cause damage to our chromosomes. Newborn infants are extremely sensitive to neurotoxins such as mercury since they really do not have a way to excrete this substance. “The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that minimizing any form of mercury exposure is essential for optimal child health and nervous system development.”
What I want all of our Silver Inner Health Circle members to understand is this: “With the daily per capita consumption of HFCS in the US averaging about 50 grams and the daily mercury intakes from HFCS ranging up to 28 micrograms, this potential source of mercury may exceed other major sources of mercury, especially in high-end consumers of beverages sweetened with HFCS.” (SODAS, JUICES, etc.) For these reasons I will emphatically state once again for those of you who haven’t heard me loud and clear on every occasion that I have stated it previously: “You MUST EAT RIGHT, THINK RIGHT, MOVE RIGHT, AND SLEEP RIGHT in order for you to live a LONG and HEALTHY LIFE”!!!!!
Yours in Health,
Dr. Pfeiffer
Please forward this important information to friends and family! Thank you.
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