There is a growing consensus of medical opinion that even moderate doses of mercury can damage the human brain, especially during the infant and fetal stages. "The fetal brain is so sensitive that even low level exposures can have an effect," says Joseph Jacobson, Ph.D., co-author of the National Academy of Science’s mercury hazards report published in July 2000. More recently, in 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that high mercury levels pose serious risks for fetal, infant, and young children’s neurological development.
Mercury exposure also has a damaging effect on the heart. Children exposed to mercury may develop increased heart rates, abnormal heart rhythms, and elevated blood pressure. Recent studies of adult males in Europe, Finland, and Israel identified the higher their mercury level (in blood, toenail, hair, or heart muscle samples), the more likely they were to have heart attacks and congestive heart failure (CHF). Because CHF has increased dramatically worldwide, it is important to rule out mercury toxicity as a cause.
There are many sources of mercury exposure. Some are difficult to avoid. Run-off pollution of rivers, lakes, and oceans from incinerators, power plants, and other industries can cause mercury to build up in certain fish. In January 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took the unprecedented step of issuing nationwide guidelines to caution pregnant/nursing women and young children to limit intake of certain fish (such as tuna) and to avoid some fish entirely (especially king mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish).
Other common mercury exposures include broken mercury thermometers, dental amalgams ("silver" fillings), work-related inhalation of mercury vapors, eating foods contaminated with methyl mercury used to kill grain seed fungi, and thimerosal (methyl mercury) added to many products. Common sources of thimerosal include contact lens solutions, eye drops, nasal sprays, and even childhood and flu vaccines.
Thimerosal is an organic mercury compound. It has been present since the 1930s as a preservative in many vaccines and pharmaceutical products to prevent bacterial and fungal infections. Scientific concerns regarding mercury toxicity pressured the FDA in 2003 to lower its safe mercury level for humans to meet the EPA’s stricter standards. But even with this move, if immunizations for infants are given according to schedule, the cumulative doses of thimerosal they receive in their vaccines will still far exceed Federal Safety Guidelines.
When mercury is injected rather than ingested, there is a significant increase in neurodevelopmental disorders (such as autism, behavior disorders, and serious speech delays). The severity of symptoms is based on how much was administered ...the higher the dose, the more acute the symptoms. Some mercury experts feel that injected mercury can be 50 times more toxic than ingested mercury.
Autism is a prime example of a serious neurodevelopmental disorder. The United States is now witnessing an autism epidemic. The prevalence of autism has risen from about one in 2,500 children in the mid-1980s to about one in 300 children in 1996. In California alone, the number of autistic children has doubled in the last four years! The number of children affected by attention deficit hyperactive disorder and speech delays has also skyrocketed in the last 10 years. Mercury toxicity from vaccines is suspected as a major cause.
In September 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association issued a joint statement calling for the removal of thimerosal from vaccines. The FDA’s weak response was to recommend phase-outs of thimerosal to vaccine manufacturers. To date, many vaccines available in physician’s offices and health clinics still contain thimerosal.
The public should become proactive in avoidance of mercury. It is essential to see all package inserts of vaccines before each vaccine is administered. If the insert lists thimerosal or any form of mercury as an ingredient, the vaccine should be refused until such time as the physician or clinic can provide it in a mercury-free form.
Other measures to protect against mercury toxicity include avoiding food sources of mercury whenever possible, choosing composite or resin tooth-colored fillings instead of amalgams, using digital or flexible forehead thermometers instead of mercury-filled thermometers, and avoiding all thimerosal-containing contact lens solutions, eye drops, and nasal sprays.
It is unconscionable that the FDA is increasing public warnings against eating mercury-laden fish, while continuing to ignore the fact that drug companies are still selling their stock of mercury-laden vaccines. Hopefully, a public outcry will force the FDA to stop this mercury madness!
Disclaimer: This column is for information only. No part of its contents should be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendation, or endorsement by Ms. Minsky.
Bonnie Minsky is a Licensed and Certified Nutrition Specialist, Public Health Educator and Certified menopause Educator with a private practice in Northbrook, IL. She can be reached at nutritionalconcepts.com.