After going Primal about two-and-a-half years ago at the age of 66, my life changed for the better. My blood chemistries, weight, and blood pressure improved. Energy has been terrific; gut and bowel functions have been without incidents. At that point, I was not aware of any toxicity built up in my body over my lifetime. I wanted to investigate if any heavy metal toxicity was present from my exposure to mercury as a dentist and as a sashimi lover.
 
Here is my history:
 
As a child and young adult, I had several amalgam restorations placed in my teeth. Who knew? I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Then, while a dental student from the years of 1968 to 1972, I unfortunately handled pure mercury by touching it and unknowingly inhaling its vapors. I still had no idea about mercury toxicity. Regrettably, there was no formal instruction in dental school at that time about mercury hazards.
 
In retrospect, I believe my lifetime exposure began as a dental patient. Then, years of exposure in dental school and continued exposure from eating sashimi at least once a week for the last two decades added to the problem. The raw fish I ate included some of the species I now know to have potentially high levels of methyl mercury contamination.
 
Several years ago, I had the few amalgam fillings in my mouth replaced. Once I began my Primal quest and learned about ancestral nutrition and cellular health, I felt compelled to determine my personal levels of heavy metal toxicity. A few months ago I took a DMPS Provoked Urine Challenge test that was evaluated by Doctor’s Data Inc. Lab. The report from Doctor’s Data identified that I had extremely high levels of mercury, which actually went off the chart. I also had high levels of arsenic and lead. While I couldn’t link my mercury toxicity to any specific manifestation in my body, I knew that mercury could negatively affect my body in numerous ways that were not easily detectable.
 
Here is a detailed review published in March 2014 that documents the way mercury has profound cellular, cardiovascular, hematological, pulmonary, renal, immunological, neurological, endocrine, reproductive, and embryonic toxicological effects. This should open you eyes to the latent threat of this potentially destructive toxin.
 
With all this knowledge, I wanted to rid myself of these high levels of heavy metals. I began an oral detoxification program to chelate mercury, lead, and arsenic from my system using DMPS (dimercapto-propane-sulfonate) as well as various supplements to support the process. DMPS has been shown to be one of the most effective and simplest methods to remove mercury from the body.
 
My first three days of oral chelation resulted in some uncomfortable reactions and side effects. I developed joint aching as if I had the flu. Also, I felt very tired and had itching and rashes on various areas of my skin. Most likely I was mobilizing my storage of heavy metals too quickly. I stopped the oral capsules and allowed the symptoms to recede. Within a week I was back to normal. I then went back to the program with no further complications or side effects. I will complete my chelation program in another 30 days.
 
From this point on, it will be interesting to determine how my overall health continues to improve beyond the improvement I have experienced since my lifestyle changes from more than two years ago. I will report on my continued success.
 
To help my patients with their potential mercury, lead, or arsenic toxicity, I offer my patients the DMPS Provoked Urine Challenge and the DMPS Oral Chelation Program. If you would like information, email me with questions, and I will reply by return email. The company that provides the challenge test as well as the oral chelation program is MercOut, which is run by Bruce Dooley, MD.