Mrs. Generic: Polly, how is your husband doing with his mercury removal? Any progress?
Polly: There is not much progress on that front. My husband had his fillings replaced 10 years ago. Just having the fillings out helped him significantly, but he never did any chelation. Only very recently did it dawn on us that his problems were probably due to the lack of chelation therapy. We finally woke up when he tried 300 mg of time-release lipoic acid each day for a few weeks. Towards the end of this trial, he would sometimes lose part of his vision. The vision problems promptly cleared when he stopped the lipoic acid.
My husband was given a protocol to remove the mercury from the tissue in his body, but he is not one for taking supplements. So he is still just contemplating doing this. To prepare his body to remove the mercury, he was told to take lots of vitamin C, sun himself, and go swimming in the ocean to improve his lymph drainage. (I assume a rebounder might be helpful to improve the lymph drainage too.) Also he was to start on a broad-spectrum mineral supplement, but the mineral supplement was not to include rare earth metals. He could use very small doses of lipoic acid each day for the two weeks starting at the full moon. The lymphatic type exercise was to be done within a few hours of taking the lipoic acid.
Mrs. Generic: What are rare earth metals?
Polly: Technically, the rare earth metals are the Lanthanons, which are the elements with Z= 58 to Z=71 on the periodic table in the second to last row. He also suggested avoiding the Actinons in the last row. All of these elements have weird names like cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium. The doctor also suggested that the metals found in group VIII of the periodic table should be avoided. The metals found in group VIII of the periodic table include platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium, osmium, cobalt, iron and nickel. I don’ t know exactly why he singled these metals out, but many of these are fairly high-density metals.
It should be pretty easy to avoid that list of metals. Except for the iron and cobalt, you won’t find these metals in the usual multi-mineral tablets that are in stores. (Vitamin B12 contains cobalt.) The only places that I’ve seen these weird sounding elements are in some of the colloidal mineral supplements or in a few ionic supplements.
Here is an article by Galen Daryl Knight that goes into why the place on the periodic table has a lot to do with the toxicity of metals. http://www.VitaleTherapeutics.org/vtlmntox.htm The article also suggests that non-crystalline food- grade diatomaceous earth could remove nickel and many other toxins fairly safely. The only source of this diatomaceous earth that the author currently recommends is from PermaGuard, based in Albuquerque (1-505-873- 3061). This brand is fairly low in toxic metals. Diatomeceous earth is 80% to 90% silica. The product does contain some aluminum. However, the silica should help the body remove the aluminum in the body. [3]
Shelley: Polly, can you say any more about the relationship of lipoic acid and lymph drainage (per your husband’s protocol)? I am wondering about lipoic acid and if and when I should start it. I do get a lymphatic massage every now and then. So I could add the lipoic acid to the regimen then. Just wondering if you understand more about the why’s and how’s (mostly the why’s!)
Polly: I just assume that the doctor suggested the lymphatic type exercise because some mercury may be hiding in the lymph system. Sorry, I didn’ t ask why. Please realize that the protocol suggested for my husband is not the same one that would be best for someone else. In my husband’s case, I also want him to use some alkylglycerols, especially when he is detoxing. The alkylglycerols help keep mercury from depositing in the heart. [4] For my husband, that is particularly important since he has electrical problems with his heart. See http://www.scandinaviannaturals.com or phone (800) 288-2844, or (215) 453-2505.
Marilyn in Seattle: My naturopath said that peat baths can really draw mercury out of the body once it is “dislodged” from storage sites by lymphatic massage. I asked her about lymphatic massage and when I could start them. She said they do a different kind of lymphatic massage at the clinic — they use a machine with “suction cups.” They have had some very good results with this — but again one has to do a peat bath or colonic afterward. It is very important to get the mercury out of the system so it doesn’ t recirculate. She is going to give me the peat stuff to take home so I can use it in a hot bath afterward.