How Can I Tell If I Have Mercury in My Body?
The problem with mercury is that many everyday products contain it, even certain foods. Therefore, you should cut back on your use and consumption of them to prevent poisoning.
Mercury poisons your body — especially your brain, kidney, and lungs. There are many things in your environment that contain this harmful heavy metal.
Continue reading to find out what the most common symptoms of mercury poisoning are and what you can do to both prevent and get it out of your body.
How can I tell if I have mercury in my body?
The type and severity of the symptoms that mercury produces in people depends on the amount and kind of exposure they experience.
Symptoms include:
- Sensory disabilities: vision, hearing, and speaking
- Lack of coordination
- Altered sensation
- Skin discoloration on the fingers and toes, pink cheeks
- Inflamed, scaly skin
- Excessive sweating
- Racing heart
- Increased salivation
- Hypertension
- Kidney dysfunction
- Memory problems
- Insomnia
The following diseases and health conditions associated with high mercury levels are:
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Acrodynia
- Hunter-Russell syndrome
- Minamata disease
Want to know more? See: Exercises to Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
How can I prevent it?
Careful with cold-water fish
Eating large Goldwater fish on a regular basis is one of the most common causes of mercury poisoning. Therefore, you should avoid consuming the following fish in large quantities:
- Salmon
- Tuna
- King mackerel
- Swordfish
In fact, the AECOSAN recommended pregnant women and children under 3 not to consume this type of fish. Instead, try eating sardines, anchovies, and mackerel. Salmon is fine as long as it’s wild or farmed. Whitefish is also a good heavy metal-free fish.
Natural, organic food and less pollution
Sadly, mercury is found in the soil, water, and atmosphere. Therefore, it’s hard to keep some level of mercury from entering the body.
However, something you can do is eating natural, organic foods, both meat, and vegetables. If you live in the city, try to escape from the pollution in order to breathe clean air.
See also: 7 Organic Skin Care Products
Other sources of mercury
Keep in mind that there are other common sources of mercury poisoning, such as:
Mercury thermometers
Digital ones are more popular now, but the old mercury thermometers are still around, carrying the risk of breaking and putting you in contact with the heavy metal.
Energy-saving light bulbs
Even though mercury is now being taken out of everyday objects, energy-saving light bulbs are an exception. If one breaks and you inhale it, it could be dangerous.
Dental fillings
Years ago, and even now in certain countries, silver fillings were used. They contain mercury, and since they’re in your mouth, you gradually ingest the mercury. Acidic food and very hot food breaks them down even more.
If you decide to remove them, make sure you have it done by a dentist who is trained in this kind of extraction. Otherwise, your risk of poisoning is greater.
Vaccines
Some immunizations contain mercury as a preservative.
How can I remove mercury from my body?
The issue with mercury is that it accumulates in your body, and removing it is slow and difficult. Natural treatment should be done under the supervision of a doctor. It also requires patience, since results will take months to show.
Ingredients commonly used are:
- Chlorella (Chlorella pyrenoidosa): This is an alga with powerful detoxifying abilities. It should be organic in order to not put yourself at even higher risk.
- Cilantro
- Turmeric
- Garlic
- Glutathione
Certain minerals can also help remove this substance from your body:
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Copper
- Molybdenum
- Zinc (helps protect your kidneys from heavy metals during treatment)
- Selenium (increases glutathione levels)
Finally, there are doctors who specialize in removing heavy metals via IV. While treatment takes a long time and is not very pleasant, it gives positive results.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
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Bose-O’Reilly, S., McCarty, K. M., Steckling, N., & Lettmeier, B. (2010). Mercury exposure and children’s health. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2010.07.002
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