How to Detoxify Mercury From Your Body
Mercury, once used heavily in thermometers, light bulbs, vaccines, antiseptics, and dental fillings, has become phased out and regulated heavily as its toxicity became better understood. Unfortunately, its presence in many bodies of water, along with high mercury concentrations in many species of fish and shellfish, can put you at risk for mercury poisoning. If you suspect that you have mercury poisoning, you should consult a physician, but here are some of the steps that you can take to detoxify mercury from your body:
1. Remove the contamination.
You can’t detoxify if you’re still being exposed to mercury. Whether this means having mercury amalgam dental fillings removed, moving away from a contaminated body of water or polluted area, or limiting your consumption of seafood, find the source of your exposure and remove it.
The seafood most commonly linked to high levels of mercury include shrimp, scallops, lobster, albacore tuna, orange roughy, bluefish, grouper, marlin, sea bass, shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel. If you still want to eat seafood, here are some examples that have low mercury levels: anchovies, catfish, Atlantic cod, domestic crab, flounder, haddock, hake, mullet, perch, salmon, Pacific sole, tilapia, freshwater trout, whitefish, and North Atlantic mackerel.
2. Undergo medical chelation therapy.
Chelation therapy is a long-term medical process during which substances are introduced to your body that will bind with the harmful toxins in your deep tissue and pull them into the bloodstream. It’s a proven method for heavy-metal detoxification, but with potentially dangerous side effects, especially to your kidneys, it requires close supervision by a medical professional.
3. Facilitate medical chelation with natural chelators and vitamins.
Natural chelators occur in food like garlic and cilantro. For effective organic chelation, you should consume them raw in the largest quantities that you can. Consume two to three cloves of garlic daily, chopped and crushed immediately before eating. Cilantro can be used in raw juices, green drinks, salads, and pesto dishes. In addition, taking regular vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium, sodium, and zinc, assists with the chelation process.
4. Consume enough protein.
Chlorella, a single-celled species of blue-green algae with a high concentration of protein when dried, should be consumed in high quantities. The amino acids in protein can facilitate detoxification more effectively, and chlorella can also provide other health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.
5. Have regular bowel movements.
Ninety percent of the mercury that’s removed through chelation will pass through the stool. It’s essential to have regular bowel movements in order for chelation to be truly effective, using natural laxatives like psyllium if necessary.