What Really Works: The Insider’s Guide to Complementary Health. Susan Clark

      Health problems which holistic practitioners believe may be linked with mercury toxicity include chronic fatigue, headaches, allergies and sinusitis, sore or bleeding gums, lack of concentration, memory lapses, irritability and depression – all conditions which could, of course, be linked with other causes.

      It is also notoriously difficult to test mercury levels in the body because as it seeps from the fillings it oxidises into a form which then tightly binds with protein residues in the tissues, making levels difficult to gauge.

      The Mercury Challenge test overcomes this problem through chelation. You swallow a chelating solution which will bind with the mercury before it can latch on to the protein. Your urine is sampled before drinking this solution and then again, three hours later, when it will be flushing out of your system.

      I had my own mercury fillings taken out after reading that scientists at the University of Kentucky found the brains of those who had died from Alzheimer’s Disease contained roughly twice as much mercury as the brains of those who had died at the same age from other conditions. They concluded these levels were far too high to have come solely from diet, and suggested that the mercury in their fillings was a more plausible explanation. Despite the fact I was paying for this, my then dentist grumbled his way through the procedure and, to my knowledge, did not follow the strict protocol which the British Society for Mercury-free dentistry recommends for the removal of amalgams, so be warned.

      Holistic dentists say you can do more harm than good if you remove mercury fillings without proper protective procedures – which include using a rubber ‘dam’ to prevent the patient from swallowing any debris, including mercury, during the extraction, a nose piece with rubber hosing so the patient is breathing in air away from the mercury vapour that is being released, and damp gauze pads to protect the eyes.

      A reported 95% of patients who do have their amalgam fillings out tell health practitioners they feel better. Of course, this is a self-selecting group, many of whom have suffered chronic complaints for years and who, sceptics will argue, are now blaming mercury toxicity as their latest fad.

      I like the analogy one mercury-free dentist gave me: ‘You could think of it like a battery effect sitting at the base of the brain, and when all the metal is out the brain is no longer bombarded by all those signals. It’s a bit like switching the stereo off so you can hear yourself think clearly.’

      Dentists and their assistants should also protect themselves – according to a report in the British Journal of Industrial Medicine, dentists have higher concentrations of mercury in the body and twice the number of brain tumours. Female dentists and assistants are three-and-a-half times more likely to suffer sterility, stillbirth and miscarriage.

      If you do have your fillings removed you should also take nutritional advice, says Dr Jack Levenson, founder of the British Society for Mercury-free Dentistry. Charcoal tablets, for example, will help ‘mop up’ any mercury that does find it’s way into your stomach. If you plan to have your amalgam fillings out, start taking 2–5g of charcoal tablets for two days before the procedure and for a week afterwards. You also need extra vitamin C to boost your immune system, and selenium (a potent antioxidant) which works to detoxify mercury.

      The Canadian researchers who first began to investigate the health hazards of mercury in the mouth started their trials by looking at what happened to the mercury from fillings in the mouths of sheep. They found that, within 30 days, mercury had accumulated to such an extent in the kidneys that their function was reduced by 50%. (The same test using a white plastic filling had no effect on kidney function.)

      Critics ridiculed these studies, pointing out that sheep have different chewing patterns from humans. The Canadian researchers did the same experiments with monkeys and found, again, that mercury did accumulate in the body, but this time in higher doses in the jaw, the colon and the large intestine. The monkeys also had smaller (but still enormous) amounts of mercury in their kidneys than the sheep.

      Dental amalgams remain the most controversial of all dental issues, but a growing number of practitioners admit they find it increasingly hard to argue with the opening statement of a book called The Mercury in Your Mouth which claims: ‘Chronic mercury toxicity from “silver” mercury amalgam dental fillings is the most important, unrecognised health problem of our time.’

       Antibiotics – Alternatives: Colloidal Silver

      While most antibiotics disinfect only about half a dozen germs, silver has been reported to disinfect well over 600 different strains. Even better, infections which can become resistant to antiobiotics cannot develop the same defence against silver, making it an excellent alternative to antibiotics.

      A colloid is a substance that consists of ultra-fine particles suspended in a different medium; in the case of colloidal silver, this medium is water. The particles are so small – 0.001 to 0.0001 of a micron in diameter – that colloidal silver is completely safe to use both internally and externally. I was first prescribed it for a persistent Candida infection after a long hospitalisation, and there is no question that it worked.

      Before the advent of antibiotics, colloidal silver was given in just about every way modern drugs are administered, but it fell out of fashion when practitioners started to prescribe hundreds of times the correct dosage – which led, in some cases, to a grey skin discolouration. Slowly, it has been finding it’s way back, and although nobody knows exactly how it works, the most accepted theory is that it targets and then disables the enzymes which many forms of bacteria, fungi and viruses need for their own metabolism and survival.

      In recent laboratory tests, scientists found that colloidal silver was effective against many of the more insidious organisms including Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi and Candida globata. Jane Waters, holistic skin specialist, co-founder of The Alternative Centre (see Resources) and a researcher into complementary health, points out that in India, where people understand that silver acts as a natural antibiotic, it is still traditional to keep water in silver jugs.

      Colloidal silver, she says, is excellent for treating skin problems such as athlete’s foot, ringworm, impetigo and boils, but the purity of the product you use is important. Find one that has no binding agents, stabilisers or added proteins.

      If you’re not sure, ask before you buy. A quality manufacturer will have nothing to hide, and a good retailer should be able to source the purest colloidal silver available.

       Arthritis

      Almost half the population over the age of 65 will suffer some form of arthritis – an umbrella term for some 200 different debilitating joint and muscular problems. The two most common forms are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Both are on the increase, and both are increasingly recognised as the result of chemical lifestyles coupled with poor nutritional choices.

      Since the 1940s, for example, the use of chemicals in the production of food has increased 10-fold, yet only about 1% of the produce in the supermarkets will have been tested for contaminants, including pesticide residue. When such chemicals do get into the body, they break down or combine with other molecules to form damaging metabolites. These, and other waste products, are carried in the bloodstream but dumped in the muscles and joints where they can crystallise, causing inflammation and the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. (See Dietary Cleansing on page 135 for a nutritional solution that works. It is strict but it gets results.)

      Osteoarthritis is caused by the wear and tear of connective tissue, particularly cartilage, around the joints. This tissue normally retains water to act as a shock absorber, but once damaged it can no longer do this and instead, leaves the bones exposed, resulting in pain, stiffness and swellings. Early signs of arthritis include muscular aches and pains, stiffness in the joints and swelling.

      There is no single cure for any of the different types of arthritis. What works for one person may do nothing for another but avoiding chemicals in your food by switching to an organic diet can help, as will managing the symptoms with a programme of moderate exercise, anti-inflammatory herbs and foods and collagen-building supplements. Lots of people take fish oils (which provide omega-3 fatty acids) to help