Although a nutrient-dense diet for acid reflux is an important step in healing and developing optimal health, removing amalgam fillings (silver fillings) is extremely important as they are a major source of metal toxicity. heavy.
What most people don’t realize is that most of the metal used for fillings is mercury – at least 54% mercury! Mercury is mixed with other metals (copper, silver, tin, and zinc) which actually increases its toxicity through galvanization, an electrical current produced from two or more dissimilar metals, increasing the corrosion rate of mercury! mercury 10 to 20 times! So while teeth are protected from further decay, the resulting heavy metal toxicity can be devastating to health and be a serious obstacle to overcoming acid reflux.
Mercury is extremely toxic in very small amounts and has been linked to many neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. Heavy metals migrate to fatty tissues such as brain tissue and the myelin sheath that protects nerve cells. Mercury in small amounts can cause brain damage, as it can alter the cell membrane structure of developing brain neurons, causing their rapid degeneration.
It is interesting to note that while dental office staff are carefully instructed in the careful handling of amalgam material, as it is classified as “hazardous” by OSHA, once it is placed in the mouth, does it become safe? In 1992, the World Health Organization declared that mercury is so poisonous that no amount of mercury absorbed is safe. In fact, there is a constant mercury vapor being released from amalgam fillings even after 50 years.
Mercury is a “cytotoxin.” It is poisonous to all living cells and can bind to any molecule called a “sulfhydryl,” which is found in most proteins, the building blocks of all tissues. As a result, mercury can interfere with virtually any process or organ in the body.
Hal Huggins, DDS, MS, a leading biologic dentist who has been a pioneer in educating the public about mercury toxicity, writes in his book, It’s All in Your Head, the link between mercury amalgam fillings and the diseases that “mercury it kills cells by interfering with their ability to exchange oxygen, nutrients, and waste products across the cell membrane.Inside the cell, mercury destroys our genetic code, DNA, leaving us without the ability to reproduce that cell ever again. Immunologically, mercury embeds itself in a cell membrane, giving the cell the appearance of being “non-self”, which is the trigger for the immune system to destroy that specific cell.With mercury in cell membranes, the immune system will begin to destroy their own tissues, hence the term autoimmune disease. Examples of these are diabetes, multiple sclerosis, scleroderma, and lupus.”
Dr. Michael Ziff, DDS, who with his father, Sam Ziff, took a series of critical studies and reports examining the adverse effects of mercury and combined them into a single list of symptoms that looked at 1,569 patients who had their amalgams removed mercury-containing teeth. (see the book, The Mercury in Your Mouth–The Truth about “Silver” Dental Fillings, Quicksilver Press, p. 8-9), stated that, “You wouldn’t pick up a leaky thermometer, put it in your mouth, and leave it there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, that is exactly what happens when an amalgam filling is placed in the mouth.”
Alfred Zamm, MD, FACP eloquently describes a summary of how mercury interferes with basic metabolic processes in this statement from his research: Mercury poisoning is impaired oxidation. It is like having an invisible cord around your neck that is strangling you, but you cannot feel that the cord is there. [The strangulation] it’s biochemical, but the principle is the same: mercury reduces the amount of oxygen you receive. The body keeps adjusting, but with each adjustment it gets sicker and sicker. And you will finally die for this.
Most people don’t know that as mercury toxicity deprives the body of oxygen, the body in turn initiates a supportive Candida overgrowth as a protective mechanism. So, even with an excellent nutrient-dense anti-Candida dietary protocol, if a person has a mouthful of silver fillings or mercury amalgam fillings, they may not recover from acid reflux!
Dr. Louisa Williams’ important book called Radical Medicine points to research done by Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt in the 1990s showing how mercury amalgams initiate Candida overgrowth.
He states that: “Mercury stifles the intracellular respiratory mechanism and can cause cell death. The immune system then makes a deal: it cultivates fungi and bacteria that can bind large amounts of toxic metals. The payoff: cells can breathe. The cost : the system has to provide nutrition to microorganisms and has to deal with their metabolic products.”
In the book Mercury in the Mouth: The Truth About “Silver” Dental Fillings, the fact that indigestion and weak stomach acid are associated with mercury toxicity is discussed. The gastrointestinal tract will absorb the higher levels of mercury because the fillings are constantly in contact with saliva. When the immune system is compromised by mercury, fungi multiply rapidly.
Although the safe removal of dental amalgams is a very complicated process that requires an extremely specific protocol and a biologic dentist must thoroughly assess the patient’s health before recommending removal, this is a prudent step in long-term health.
Removal of mercury amalgam fillings along with a nutrient-dense acid reflux diet can help significantly alleviate widespread health problems associated with Candida overgrowth and dysbiosis.