Mercury is a heavy metal that can be toxic to our health even in small amounts. When someone has an autoimmune condition like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, having moderate to high levels of mercury can exacerbate the condition. In fact, mercury can even potentially trigger an autoimmune response, leading to a condition like Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

This is one of the main reasons why I recommend a hair mineral analysis to each of my patients. Although I also use this test to look at the minerals (selenium, manganese, phosphorus, chromium, etc.) to see if there is an imbalance, I also want my patients to have this test to see if they have any heavy metal toxicities.

Everyone has some heavy metals in their tissues.

Now, to tell the truth, everyone will have traces of the heavy metals. So when I look at the hair mineral analysis report, I expect to see small amounts of all the heavy metals. This includes aluminum (which is typically high in people due to widespread exposure from pots and pans, canned foods, and deodorants), along with arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. After aluminum, the next mineral that I commonly see high in people is mercury. This does not mean that in some people cadmium, arsenic and/or lead can be high while mercury levels are low. But it’s more common to see high levels of mercury than these others.

When you consider that two of the most common sources of mercury exposure are eating fish and dental fillings that contain mercury, then it’s not hard to understand why so many people have high levels of mercury. To be fair, I’ve had patients with silver fillings whose mercury levels didn’t look too bad on their hair mineral analysis. So I’m not suggesting that everyone who eats fish and/or has silver fillings will have extremely high levels of mercury. But another thing to consider is that safe levels of mercury have not really been determined. In other words, even small amounts of mercury can cause problems, which is why you want to minimize your fish intake (especially larger fish, which are more likely to have higher mercury levels), and finally consider eliminating fish fillings. silver. .

But why is mercury considered toxic? Mercury has the potential to bind to any molecule that contains sulfur. When mercury does this, it will prevent certain enzymes from doing their job. For example, mercury can bind to cells in the thyroid gland. When this happens, it can lead to hypothyroidism by interfering with some of the minerals that are required to make thyroid hormone. It can also affect the conversion from T4 to T3. And while most cases of hypothyroidism are probably not caused by mercury toxicity, this should be considered by anyone trying to restore their thyroid health naturally. In addition to the thyroid gland, mercury can affect other glands and organs in the body.

Should you be aggressive when it comes to removing mercury?

Based on the information I’ve just given, it probably makes sense that anyone who has silver fillings would want to have them removed immediately. However, care must be taken when trying to remove mercury from the body. This is especially true with autoimmune conditions, along with other conditions, such as cancer. Even when mercury-containing dental amalgams are removed by a competent biologic dentist, some of the mercury will evaporate and be absorbed, which can exacerbate the autoimmune component of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. So if one of my patients is looking to follow a natural treatment protocol, it would be best to wait until the autoimmune response is suppressed before removing dental amalgams.

But what if someone with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis has very high levels of mercury? In this case, would it be a good idea to remove the silver fillings immediately? Obviously, everyone needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and there might be some people who would benefit from removing silver fillings before beginning a natural treatment protocol. Of course, due to the cost of visiting a biological dentist to have their fillings removed, some people choose not to have their fillings removed, even after their health is restored to normal. When someone is feeling much better and is able to reduce their dose of thyroid medication, or come off it altogether, they often forget about the potential risks of having mercury in their fillings.

Can the removal of silver fillings lead to a relapse?

If mercury can potentially trigger an autoimmune response, then one concern about removing fillings after someone’s health is restored to normal is that it can lead to relapse. From this point of view, it makes all the sense in the world to remove the fillings before starting a natural treatment protocol. It is definitely possible for someone to follow a natural treatment protocol, restore their health to normal, and then suffer a relapse while having their silver fillings removed. Honestly, I haven’t seen this happen so far in my practice, but that doesn’t mean the risk doesn’t exist.

But that is why they must all be evaluated individually. If someone who has Hashimoto’s thyroiditis sees me and feels horrible from a symptomatic perspective, then the last thing I want to do is potentially make her symptoms worse. And I have seen this, as I have had some patients who had their fillings removed while the autoimmune response was still on, and they felt even worse for weeks after the procedure. Of course, I have also had patients who had their fillings removed before or during a natural treatment protocol and had no problem. Ultimately it is up to the patient, as after seeing they have high mercury levels, some want to have it removed immediately, and if so, I will support them.

Should chelation therapy be considered?

Even if someone removes their silver fillings and limits their fish intake, they still need to get rid of most of the existing mercury in the body. There are numerous methods to achieve this, and I am not going to go into detail about each of them in this article. What I will say is that I usually start with a conservative approach, such as balancing the other minerals, which will help displace the mercury. He or she might also recommend certain supplements or herbs to help chelate mercury from the body. Chelation therapy is definitely an option, but in my opinion it is an extreme procedure that has some potential side effects and should generally be a last resort when trying to remove mercury from the body. I will usually recommend sauna therapy before chelation therapy, but this is just my personal preference.

In summary, mercury toxicity is common in people who have autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. And while it is necessary to minimize fish consumption and eventually eliminate silver fillings, one must also be very cautious when trying to eliminate mercury. When it comes to mercury removal methods, I tend to take a more conservative approach with my patients, but will consider more aggressive procedures, such as sauna therapy or chelation therapy, when really needed.