Long before my healing journey began I was right there with the “I’m not really worried about that” people when it came to thinking about heavy metals in my food or beauty/personal care products.

I knew, for example, that tuna was high in mercury yet it never stopped me from enjoying my weekly tuna lemon salad from ‘Wichcraft, or making frequent Italian tonno [tuna] sandwiches at home. “It’s fine”, I used to think, “It’s not that much and I don’t feel anything bad from it,” which is how I hear most people react to eating fish high-in-mercury, non-organic foods, drinking tap water, using standard beauty and personal care products, or who have a mouthful of mercury fillings.

Why they are dangerous

Heavy metals can take time to build up in the body and once they do, people can develop unpleasant and dangerous symptoms. Besides the kidneys, one of the biggest systems affected by mercury is the central nervous system, resulting in tremors, pins and needles, balance issues, brain fog, headaches, memory problems, etc. It can worsen autoimmune and gut disorders, hinder female reproduction, and can result in developmental delays and deficits in adolescence [which you may not see right away].

The thing is, even if you don’t have noticeable symptoms it doesn’t mean the mercury or other heavy metals (there are 23 in total that are most toxic to humans including aluminum, arsenic, and lead) aren’t causing issues under the surface. Important to note: heavy metals cross the blood-brain barrier. (Cancerous brain tumors have been analyzed to find multiple types of toxic heavy metals.)

Heavy metals “feed” cancers, viruses, and bacteria, they weaken the immune response, and can damage the brain, liver, and nervous system because they have the ability to actually invade the cell, interrupting normal cellular function and completely deregulating the mitochondria. They damage lipids, enzymes, proteins, and DNA leading to the possibility of Alzheimer’s, cancer, MS, and other dis-eases, as well as reactivating dormant viruses like EBV and can cause anxiety and panic disorders including depersonalization.

When I told myself “it’s fine” boy was I wrong. I ended up testing moderately high for multiple types of heavy metals in my body and needed to go through many rounds of IV chelation and supplements to detox my body from them all. This is a crucial step especially when you have active viruses, Lyme, and co-infections like I did.

Some of the symptoms associated with heavy metals overlap with symptoms of Lyme and co, mold, viruses, and more, so although I cannot directly pinpoint which symptoms were caused by heavy metals alone, there is one very specific type of anxiety variation (depersonalization) that I had since I was just 13-years-old which is directly linked to heavy metal toxicity. In terms of physical symptoms, remember that all these toxins from parasites to metals play a role in illness.

FYI: Most good functional/holistic doctors will do a heavy metal panel as one of the very first tests if a new patient presents with any of the above symptoms or dis-eases. If they do not then that is [for me] a red flag. Knowledge is power only if you take action, so demand to be tested for heavy metals if you are feeling any of these symptoms or are a tuna-eating, tap water, standard-beauty-product lover.

Mercury in fish (and other foods with heavy metals)

Whenever you eat fish high in mercury, your body absorbs over 95% of that mercury into your bloodstream, which in turn can penetrate cells and seep into your organs and tissues where it can be stored for years.

It also crosses the blood-brain and blood-placental barriers. Most people, women in particular, are unfazed by this except when they are pregnant, avoiding some beauty products and fish as to not harm the fetus…but then they go right back to eating as much high mercury fish as their little hearts desire post birth. I cannot tell you how many posts I see of women eating their favorite spicy-tuna rolls in the hospital beds hours after having a baby.

Something very important to know: Breastmilk is one of the ways mercury leaves the body along with stool and urine, so if a breastfeeding woman is back to eating high-mercury fish or has high amounts of mercury stored in the body prior to pregnancy, the baby could possibly still be exposed to mercury. (By the way, yes, avoiding raw fish while pregnant is in-part due to parasites and pathogens but also in-part due to mercury!)

How does mercury even get into fish you ask? One way is through industrial waste and fossil fuel which are washed in our oceans and rivers. The other is through plants and tiny animals that contain mercury which are eaten by small fish, which are eaten by medium fish, which are eaten by big fish like tuna, bass, tilefish, and swordfish where the mercury accumulates in their tissues. Humans who eat these types of bigger fish are just another species in the food chain and our tissues absorb the mercury just like a fish does.

So what about canned tuna? You may have seen canned fish, specifically tuna, labeled as either “safe-catch” or “low mercury”. Firstly, the label/logo “safe-catch”, which in and of itself has a lot of controversy behind it, is meant to represent the sustainability of the fish and nothing else unless advertised. Companies like Wild Planet, who advertise their canned tuna as lower/low mercury, are able to do so because they use younger and lighter tuna like albacore and skipjack which naturally have less mercury than other tuna varieties.

Here are the fresh fish mercury content levels according to my research on multiple websites:

(Continue scrolling after this infographic for the rest of the article.)

The recommendations out there vary on how often it is ok to consume fish like tuna. It’s a completely different ballgame when it comes to toddlers and children with most organizations actually advising against feeding it to children entirely.

In regards to heavy metals found in other food and beverages, I would like to briefly remind everyone of:

The concerning amounts of toxic heavy metals found in several leading baby food maker products from rice puffs to infant cereals after an investigation in 2021.
That nonorganic arsenic is found in a variety of rice is higher in certain brands. ”White basmati rice from California, India, and Pakistan, and sushi rice from the U.S. on average has half of the inorganic-arsenic amount of most other types of rice.” (consumerreports.org)
Tap water is flooded (no pun) with heavy metals from arsenic to lead.
Pesticides and herbicide, which are sprayed on non-organic grains and produce, contains heavy metals such as cadmium and arsenic.

Knowing your brands, products, and ingredients is so important.

Personal choice: I completely avoid fish high in mercury. For anything with low-moderate levels, I will only eat one of those fish once every several months, if that. Whenever I eat those fish I always take spirulina and/or chlorella to help carry any excess mercury out of my body immediately.

Heavy metals in beauty products

Aluminum compounds are found in most deodorants that are not non-toxic. It’s used to prevent sweat from excreting from the sweat ducts which is great for those pit stains but not so great for your overall health.

Not only has there been controversy around the correlation between aluminum and Alzheimer’s, but a 2005 study found that aluminum (chloride and chlorhydrate) can actually mimic estrogen in the body leading to hormone imbalance and an increase in breast cancer.

Lead is another heavy metal that can be found in makeup, particularly lipstick and eyeliner. In 2012, 400 popular lipsticks contained trace amounts of lead with the top culprits being Maybelline, L’Oréal, NARS and Covergirl. Though the FDA suggests that exposure to under 10ppm is “safe”, there has been much research stating that as low as 1ppm and other low levels of lead can be a health risk.

The legal limit of mercury in a beauty product is 1ppm [part per million]. It is most often found in skin-lightening and anti-aging products and acts as a skin-lightener and/or preservative which you may see listed as: Hg, mercuric iodide, mercurous chloride, ammoniated mercury, amide chloride of mercury, quicksilver, cinnabaris (mercury sulfide), hydrargyri oxydum rubrum (mercury oxide), or mercury iodide [ewg.org]

Many beauty products with high levels of mercury [e.g. 30,000ppm, which yes, is 30,0000x the legal limit] might be found on Amazon and eBay coming from international sellers. Though in 2018 the EWG and 50 other environmental and public health groups called on Amazon and eBay to remove these products, and despite the restricted items policies both retailers updated, some slip through the cracks. Be incredibly careful with what you buy and from whom you are buying it on sites like Amazon and EBay.

Mercury in dentistry

Biological/holistic doctors and dentists and conventional doctors and dentists are on complete opposite sides of the spectrum on this topic. I believe this is due to the complete lack of follow-up testing in the conventional world of medicine and the fact that the FDA actually promotes amalgam fillings as “safe” with absolutely no evidence to support this claim [trust me, I’ve looked]. I’ve spoken to both sides and I’ve done a ton of digging for research. Here’s what I found:

The World Health Organization safety standard for daily exposure to Mercury released from a dental amalgam is 45 mcg/day. Mayo Clinic did a study showing that a small amount of mercury [2-20 mcg/day] is released from a dental amalgam when chewing. [If you are a gum chewer however, above normal amounts of mercury will be released.] They went on to state that if someone had no other source of [mercury] exposure, the amount of mercury released from a dental amalgam in standard chewing is not significant and ended things there.

This got my wheels spinning. What if someone has multiple amalgam fillings? Wouldn’t the amount of released mercury be higher than 2-20 mcg/day putting them in the danger zone, not to mention if those people are frequent gum chewers [teeth grinding and tooth brushing has also been associated with the release of mercury from amalgam fillings]? And, since the truth is that mercury is being released, shouldn’t there be testing for long-term affects of low-moderate level exposure over ten, twenty, thirty + years? I dug deeper on this theory and found studies that support it.

According to a paper released by The University of Calgary and University of Georgia, studies show that blood mercury levels display a positive correlation with not only the number of amalgam fillings but the total surface area of these fillings as well. The mercury vapor [Hgº] from these fillings is also continuously being released in the mouth. For the average person who has multiple amalgam fillings, that is a lot of mercury being released and then absorbed into the body.

As we know, mercury builds up over time so 10-30 years after someone has a few mercury fillings put in, they will have been exposed to what seems to be quite a substantial amount of mercury. The paper mentioned above cites that “…human autopsy studies revealed higher concentrations [levels of mercury] in the brain and kidneys of subjects with aged amalgam fillings than in subjects with no amalgam tooth restorations.”

Unfortunately, conventional dentists do not do any type of blood/urine/hair analysis for mercury levels following amalgam fillings nor do they work with outside medical doctors on this matter. This is where a functional/holistic doctor comes in [and/or a biological dentist who can recommend one]. Most of them will immediately test for mercury exposure if a patient comes in with amalgam fillings or large fish-filled diets, and the results can be jarring.

Consensus: There is endless evidence that supports the body’s absorption and storage of mercury from amalgam fillings. If you have these types of fillings first and foremost go directly to a functional/holistic doctor who will run a heavy metals test for you. Then, seek out a biological dentist [yes, they are real D.M.D.s too] as they are much more researched and familiar with this testing and with the safety protocols and up-to-date procedures of amalgam removal should that be needed. FYI: I have met many people who had mild-severe symptoms from mercury toxicity. Amalgam filling removal was a big piece of their healing puzzle.

As with any big diagnosis or procedure, do your own research so you can advocate for yourself if and when the time comes.

Testing for heavy metals

I have found that a hair analysis for heavy metals to be the best vs blood or urine. No test is 100% accurate, so it could be beneficial to do multiples tests. I have also used muscle testing and BAH for testing and/or cross-testing.

Detoxing from mercury

First of all, I cannot stress enough the importance of working with your practitioner on this. It is critical you prepare your body for detox by optimizing and opening up detox pathways, making sure the gut is in check as much as it can be (metals impact gut health), and increasing certain nutrients which help detox metals.

Once you do this you can use oral detox or IV chelation [whichever your doctor feels is best for your body- sometimes both are used] to push out the metals. It’s important to take binders to help carry the metals out, drink plenty of fluids, and support the body’s elimination pathways by detoxing with sauna sessions, coffee enemas, regular bowl movements, etc.

In addition, eating a clean diet with an abundance of heavy-metal removing foods like cilantro, turmeric, wild blueberries, barley grass, coriander and more.

Other sources of exposure from heavy metals:

Conventional poultry and eggs

Some cookware

Some teas and coffees

Cigarettes

Construction materials

Vaccines (specifically Thimerosal, Formaldehyde, and Aluminum, etc.)

Some pharmaceutical medications

Non high quality supplements

Some makeup, skincare, and personal care

ETC.

Citations

I provide several links to this evidence below including some interesting reads, and encourage you to do some of your own research as well. If you conduct a Google search on mercury exposure from fillings for example, the entire first page will be linked to government website and tooth-health companies like Colgate [who use these same government websites as their source]. Go beyond page 1 (and 2 and 3 and 4), and when you come across an article look for citations and follow those links for even more info.

You can try and trust the FDA all you want, but the reality is that at the end of the day, it is they who allow these toxic metals to contaminate our foods and products

BTW: I am a firm believer in reading all sides on any topic [even if I think one side might seem ridiculous, I always go in with an open mind]. I then dig even deeper into certain claims and statements found in these articles so I can make a truly educated decision and compose a well researched post based on all the information in front of me.

Although I will not endorse or promote in what I do not believe in, be aware that I read just as many articles from the places like the FDA, non-profits, and other organizations who do not believe fish or fillings or personal care or beauty products contain high levels of mercury and other metals.

Fish and foods

https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/how-does-toxic-mercury-get-into-fish/ - Mercury via fossil fuel and industrial waste in water

https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/a20429219/mercury-free-tuna-from-safe-catch/ - How mercury is measured in low-mercury canned tuna

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/10/can-eating-the-wrong-fish-put-you-at-higher-risk-for-mercury-exposure/index.htm

https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/jnp.2008.20.4.iv - Shows brain scans

https://draxe.com/health/mercury-poisoning/

https://www.verywellfit.com/the-best-types-of-fish-for-health-2223830

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/mercury-guide - Addresses child and adult consumption

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17931423/- Study finds mercury in toenails, brain, blood, and muscles.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/01/how-much-arsenic-is-in-your-rice/index.htm

Fillings

https://www.mayocliniclabs.com/test-catalog/Clinical+and+Interpretive/8618