Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Newcomer introductions, personal anecdotes, caregiver issues, lab results, and n=1 experimentation.
circular
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 5565
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by circular »

alysson wrote:My result was .9 ug/g creatinine. The reference interval was <4, so I appear to be in good shape with respect to mercury toxicity. Of course, I have no idea how this translates into your method of testing. Also, my test didn't differentiate between organic and inorganic mercury.

FWIW, I don't eat as much fish or seafood as you and many others on the forum do.
alysson have you tested your omega 6:3 ratio and omega 3 status? I'm wondering if you've achieved good numbers there without eating much omega 3 fish. I've had great omega numbers, but maybe I overestimate how much fish I need to achieve that. I'll be experimenting, but just wonder what your experience has been.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
Matisse
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 59
Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 4:44 pm

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by Matisse »

circular wrote:
Matisse wrote:Circ, could you clarify what you said: "Fish oil it out again. It keeps increasing my pain by making my laxity worse." Does fish oil increase your laxity? Is it omega 3 fish oil? Thanks, Matisse
Hi Matisse, Yes, it seems that every time I try fish oil it makes me more lax. I'm already too hypermobile which causes many issues, so the last thing I need is that getting worse. Supplements advertised as helping stiff, aging people become more flexible are generally a problem for me. Glucosamine is another example. The more lax I am the harder my muscles have to work to keep me up, whether sitting, standing or whathaveyou, so they get more sore and tired. Your mileage may vary though, and last night I thought maybe I'd try taking it twice a week and see how that goes. Oh, yep, omega 3. I think at least the DHA, but I'm not sure if the EPA has this effect?

Hi Circ, That's very interesting. I too have joint hypermobility and I've noticed the same thing but never had anyone else say it. I also hurt more after eating walnuts, flaxseeds, etc. I do eat walnuts but only a small amount. I eat salmon 1-2X a week. I don't take fish oil supplements for that reason.
User avatar
TheBrain
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 1413
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:12 pm

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by TheBrain »

circular wrote:
alysson wrote:My result was .9 ug/g creatinine. The reference interval was <4, so I appear to be in good shape with respect to mercury toxicity. Of course, I have no idea how this translates into your method of testing. Also, my test didn't differentiate between organic and inorganic mercury.

FWIW, I don't eat as much fish or seafood as you and many others on the forum do.
alysson have you tested your omega 6:3 ratio and omega 3 status? I'm wondering if you've achieved good numbers there without eating much omega 3 fish. I've had great omega numbers, but maybe I overestimate how much fish I need to achieve that. I'll be experimenting, but just wonder what your experience has been.
I haven't had my omega 6:3 ratio and omega 3 status tested. Every 10 days or so, my husband grills two wild Pacific salmon fillets for me (with olive oil, ginger, parsley, and pink salt—yum!). I end up getting four meals out of them. And then there's the periodic steamed shrimp, grilled scallops, clams, local-caught fish, canned sardines, and canned salmon. And I take Life Extension's DHA Xtra every day. So hopefully I'm doing okay, but testing would probably be a good idea.

In 2006, an applied kinesiologist tested me for food sensitivities, and he found that I was sensitive to all shellfish. He added several supplements to my regimen and then retested me a few weeks later. A few food sensitivies dropped off, but most remained, including shellfish, gluten, dairy, soy, etc. He said that in his experience, those remaining food sensitivities stayed for life. That has been accurate, so far, with all the food sensitivities he uncovered, except I remain uncertain about shellfish. Over the years, I never noticed obvious symptoms from eating them, but lately I've been noticing some mild symptoms, like a little indigestion. I'll have to pay more attention to that.

However, fish is fine. I expected to eat more fish living by the ocean, but my husband hasn't been out fishing much yet, so we buy fish at a local fish market. And I always avoid the big predatory fish that tend to have higher concentrations of mercury.
ApoE 4/4 - When I was in 7th grade, my fellow students in history class called me "The Brain" because I had such a memory for detail. I excelled at memorization and aced tests. This childhood memory helps me cope!
circular
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 5565
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by circular »

Matisse that's interesting. I've never heard anyone else mention this problem with fish oil before either. I also can have problems taking too much progesterone, but I've never noticed any issues with nuts. I'm heterozygous on the gene that converts plant ALA to omega 3, so my conversion rate there is very low. I need to find ways of getting the omega 3 without problems. I'm thinking for the heck of it I could try marine/algea DHA, but I wouldn't get the EPA with it. EPA isn't discussed much, but I have an uneducated hunch it's importance to us may not yet be recognized since DHA stole the show. I can't see any reason to think that marine DHA would avoid the laxity issue, but ?
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
circular
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 5565
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by circular »

alysson I'm a little surprised, since you've worked with Muses and now Bredesen, why neither have tested your omega 3 level and 6:3 ratio? I would have thought that was a fundamental part of the protocol.

I'll be curious to have more people comparing the fish/seafood intake to mercury and omega levels. Since we're supposed to clear mercury less efficiently, I wonder if there is a step-wise increase in mercury in 44s ... not that posting online could provide a scientific picture of that. Maybe someone knows of a study ...
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
User avatar
TheBrain
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 1413
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 12:12 pm

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by TheBrain »

circular wrote:alysson I'm a little surprised, since you've worked with Muses and now Bredesen, why neither have tested your omega 3 level and 6:3 ratio? I would have thought that was a fundamental part of the protocol.
I don't know why I haven't been tested, but the DHA Xtra is part of my MEND protocol. I can ask my FM MD about it during my appointment tomorrow (he is a Muses Labs doctor, though I'm not seeing him in that context).
ApoE 4/4 - When I was in 7th grade, my fellow students in history class called me "The Brain" because I had such a memory for detail. I excelled at memorization and aced tests. This childhood memory helps me cope!
circular
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 5565
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:43 am

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by circular »

Here's an interesting Feb 2016 article about dietary mercury. The paper is behind a paywall, but it looks to me like they didn't correlate the postmortem brain data with the decedent's past clinical status wrt dementia (?). While it makes it look, based on postmortem brain pathology, like mercury may not be an issue, even for e4s, it only looked at amyloid and tau. Mercury could have been contributing to some other AD related pathology that's not the go-to manifestation, but if all roads lead to amyloid and tau this is rather interesting. I'd be interested in anyone's take ...

'Fish, Mercury and Alzheimer’s Risk'
Last edited by circular on Fri Jul 22, 2016 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
Tiramisu1984
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:46 pm

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by Tiramisu1984 »

This sucks. Received lab results. My inorganic mercury is .36 (90%+). Inorganic mercury is correlated to amalgam fillings. I had a feeling the results were going to be lousy. I've had these filling since I was about six and I just turned 50. I just googled the lifespan of amalgam fillings and I am way past the lifespan (ridiculously short 15 years). Not sure what to do.
User avatar
SusanJ
Senior Contributor
Senior Contributor
Posts: 3058
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2013 7:33 am
Location: Western Colorado

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by SusanJ »

Sorry, T. Many of us had amalgams for a long time. I had mine into my 40s.

Find a dentist who knows how to take them out safely. Try https://iaomt.org/ for more info.
Tiramisu1984
Contributor
Contributor
Posts: 168
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:46 pm

Re: Mercury Levels: What if any are acceptable?

Post by Tiramisu1984 »

Thanks Susan ! One of my best friends is a dentist. I have a call out to her already.
Post Reply