Mercury is, by far, the most toxic metal on the planet AND the most powerful neurotoxin, as well. It is second only to plutonium in its reactivity and toxicity.

Unlike other heavy metals, mercury binds tenaciously to the fat-soluble neurological tissue. That’s why it loves to bind to brain neurons – because the brain is over 60% fat. Mercury is always the last metal to be eliminated as it “hides behind” the other metals and lies in the deeper strata of the tissue.

There are predominantly two major sources of mercury toxicity: Dental amalgam fillings and the eating of fish.

Mercury amalgam fillings are made up, primarily, of 50% mercury, 25% silver and 25% tin. Initially, this was the brilliant idea of a couple of entrepreneurial brothers from France. The United States “swallowed it up” so to speak in order to offer a fairly strong and inexpensive material. The non-scientific “science” of the time proclaimed that, because it was an amalgam, it would not leech toxic mercury into the body. This nonsense was vehemently espoused by dentists and the American Dental Association for the next 120 years or so.

Due to efforts of independent scientists and particularly to Hal Hubbard, a dentist from Colorado, it was shown that methyl-mercury, the vaporous, most toxic form of mercury, leeched from the amalgam every time you brushed your teeth, drank a hot beverage or chewed your food.

The vapor could then go up the olfactory canal where it bound itself to the fatty brain neurons. This is why mercury has been linked to ALS, MS, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. Because mercury attaches to the fat-soluble tissue it loves the neurological tissue and buries itself deeply within.

Heavy metals like mercury that bio-accumulate in the tissue and organs compete for the same receptor sites as essential minerals and many nutrients like
B vitamins and glutathione. Mercury also creates a deficiency of enzymes that are responsible for over 300 vital functions in the body.

This is why mercury toxicity affects the endocrine system (particularly the thyroid), the immune function (increasing auto-antibody or IL-4 and IL-6 release), the digestive system (creating a hospitable terrain where bad bacteria, parasites, yeast and fungus can thrive), the brain (compromising neurological pathways) and overtaxing the organs of elimination, burdening them even further.

A chelator is any agent that grabs onto these metals, unbinds them from the tissue, surrounds them in an M&M-like shell and escorts them out of the body through the kidney and the stool. When mercury is involved, usually the chelating agent that is used is DMSA or DMPS. This can be delivered as an IV, orally, or as a suppository or transdermal cream. All of these ways work in and through the bloodstream.

How can a hair analysis help one achieve better health? If we consider that diet is what we consume and nutrition is what we retain, then we can see that discovering what the body needs when it needs it is a valuable tool in creating health.

A hair analysis can determine which essential minerals the body is needing more of and which toxic elements it needs to eliminate. It also provides valuable insight into the body's metaoblism and what dietary changes would be most helpful for recovery.

The Most Common Sources of Metal and Chemical Toxicity
The heavy metals that most commonly cause poisoning are iron, lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, aluminum, antimony, chromium, cobalt, copper, manganese, selenium, tin, thallium, and uranium. Toxic chemicals include formaldehyde, benzene, hexane toluene. 
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Mercury Poisoning
Read this informative report by Dr. Thomas Nissen, an environmental toxicologist, on the effects of mercury poisoning in the body.
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Signs and Symptoms of Metal
and Chemical Toxicity
The two major symptoms of chemical & heavy metal toxicity are the breakdown of the immune system and diseases of the organs and central nervous system. 
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