Last week I mentioned the problem of eating fish contaminated with mercury. In Greek mythology, Mercury is the messenger of the gods. He ruled over wealth, good fortune, commerce and fertility. However, as a physical substance, mercury disrupts cellular function at all levels and robs the body of health and vitality.

Mercury belongs to a group of metals described as heavy metals. Mercury is a powerful poison that, even in small amounts, is more toxic than other heavy metals like lead, cadmium and even arsenic.

MERCURY POISONING

Exposure to mercury can cause damage to the nervous system, the brain, the kidneys, the liver and the immune system. Children and foetuses are particularly vulnerable. Some of the most common signs and symptoms of mercury exposure include irritability, fits of anger, lack of energy, low self-esteem, drowsiness, decline of intellect, low self-control, nervousness, memory loss, depression, anxiety, shyness/timidity and insomnia. Recent research indicates that mercury also impairs heart and circulatory function.

Most poisons that enter the body are processed by the liver or kidneys and broken down into smaller components, then excreted in a less toxic form. Heavy metals are different. They cannot be broken down, so unless they are eliminated immediately, these absolutely indestructible elements accumulate and remain as a source of potential damage.

Mercury is an unusual metal because it is a liquid, rather than a solid, and slowly evaporates at room temperature. Another name for elemental or metallic mercury is 'quicksilver.' This is the kind of mercury used in thermometers. Mercury, however, can combine with other chemicals to form organic mercury compounds such as might be found in contaminated fish.

MERCURY IN YOUR MOUTH

The largest exposure to mercury among adults comes from a source that is completely avoidable - dental amalgam fillings that produce vapour of metallic mercury. Metallic mercury in the fillings forms a gas that is highly volatile and readily inhaled. Every time you chew food or brush your teeth, mercury vapour escapes from these dental fillings into your mouth and lungs.

Today, there is no need for your dentist to put this poison in your mouth where it can so easily get to your brain. Ask for safer alternatives and consider having pre-existent mercury amalgam fillings removed. Sadly, the official line still taken by the dental profession is that mercury amalgam fillings are safe. I disagree.

MERCURY IN YOUR WORKPLACE

Mercury is still commonly used in dentistry for the preparation of fillings; in laboratories and hospitals, as a reagent and fixative; and in medical instruments, electrical equipment, thermometers, barometers, pharmaceuticals, and some fluorescent light bulbs. It is also used in the manufacture of glassware and jewellery, and in the recovery of gold and silver.

MERCURY IN YOUR HOME

Mercury thermometers: A report issued by the American Academy of Paediatrics addresses the hazards of mercury and suggested that paediatricians and parents should stop using mercury-containing thermometers. If the thermometer breaks, the mercury vaporises and can be inhaled, causing toxicity.

MERCURY IN BREAST MILK

Mercury is passed from mother to child in breast milk. Studies have found a correlation between the mercury concentrations in the kidneys of newborn babies and the number of mercury amalgam fillings of the mother. These studies found that the mercury concentration in the urine of pregnant and lactating women positively correlated with the number of amalgam fillings and with frequency of fish consumption.

As a result, the German Federal Institute of Medicine has officially advised against the use of amalgam as a filling material during pregnancy and breast feeding.

MERCURY IN YOUR MEDICINES

In spite of well-established health risks, organic mercurials are still added to prescription and non-prescription drugs, such as some medicines for haemorrhoids and skin infections.

Until recently, nearly all contact lens solutions contained ethyl mercury, otherwise called thimerosal or merthiolate, an organic mercurial used as an antibacterial agent. The ban on thimerosal in contact lens solutions did little to eliminate its use in other products such as eardrops and nose drops. Thimerosal con- tinues to be used today in a variety of health-related products as a preservative for vaccines and other injections, cosmetics and some drugs.

It is the thimerosal used in childhood vaccines that gives the greatest cause for concern. Investigators evaluating doses of mercury in the form of thimerosal used as a preservative in childhood immunisations found that they greatly exceeded United States federal safety guidelines. The analysis showed increased risks for neurodevelopment disorders, autism and heart disease with increasing exposure to thimerosal in vaccines.

The epidemiological evidence is compelling and statistically conclusive. The prevalence of speech disorders, autism and heart disease was a function of the mercury dose that the children received. A fully vaccinated child in the U.S. receives a whopping dose of over 230 micrograms of mercury from the vaccines. Could this be the cause of the modern epidemic of autism?

In today's world, mercury is no longer the messenger of the gods, but rather, a man-made angel of death.

Email Dr. Tony Vendryes at vendryes@mac.com, visit the website www.anounceofprevention.org, or listen to 'An Ounce of Prevention' on Power 106FM on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.