mercury in fish detoxes mercury from body

[svrn]

this is what aajonus said in one of his books. Is there any more information on this?

[raw-al]

This topic has been beat to death in the past however, mercury has an interesting past. It has been used as a medicinal as it is like an antibiotic, it has been used as a tooth repair device when mixed with other things, which makes it simple to repair but has long term deleterious effects, and it has been linked to a number of different diseases, some of the links being very controversial but the evidence is fairly strong.

[CitrusHigh]

Unfortunately not much Troll. I too wanted to know more about it when I was first exposed but he doesn't elaborate much except that it is specifically mercury in raw fish that removes environmental mercury from your system. Unfortunately since he does not explain the mechanism there's no way to know whether or not that is true except for observing people who consume loads of raw fish like Cherimoya. Unfortunately I don't know if that is a 'for' or 'against' because even though Cheri has loads of knowledge I don't agree with the way his mind seems to work as we're always butting heads. IF cheri is physically and mentally healthy, considering his diet, I would say that is pretty strong evidence for Aajonus' theory since Cheri does eat tons of fish as far as I can tell. Of course there are plenty of other factors that may negate Aaj's idea but that's all I can say about it for now. Would love if he would elaborate though!

[TylerDurden]

As I've stated 1000s of times before, with multiple scientific evidence, the claims about mercury in fish being toxic are a load of nonsense. As regards Aajonus, he claims that the raw fat in raw fish somehow "binds" with the mercury, making it supposedly nontoxic. That also sounds like nonsense since the raw-fish-eating Japanese at Minamata Bay were not helped by that when huge numbers of tons of mercury were dumped into the bay over decades.

[Dorothy]

I don't mean to be a pain Tyler, but Brian has brought up the issue of mercury in all the raw fish we are eating and I'd love to send him some of your links as just saying I believe you have demonstrated that we don't have to worry about it isn't enough for him. Were there particular threads in which you posted those links that I might be able to access and send to Brian to look at? He likes to examine scientific logic and findings for himself - which I respect.
Thanks.

[cherimoya_kid]

If mercury in fish were some big problem, then all the heavy fish-eating populations like Pacific Islanders, Japanese, Eskimos, etc.. would all be getting mercury poisoning.

They're not.

[TylerDurden]

Yes, CK's common-sense approach is all that's needed, really. However, some need solid scientific data as well so here are a few links:-

http://www.fishscam.com/mercuryMyths.cfm

http://www.fishscam.com/fearmongers.cfm

http://www.fishscam.com/activists.cfm

The clincher is the Seychelles study which focused on children who were eating 10 times as much seafood annually than the average American. No negative effect was detected:-

http://www.rochester.edu/pr/releases/med/mercury.htm

[DopeDivinity]

I read a theory that the high Selenium content in seafood "combats" any possible negative effects of the mercury. This theory says that if the mercury content is higher than the selenium content, you dont want to eat that fish. I think it gave Swordfish as an example of a specimen that has too high Mercury too little Selenium.

Whatever the theory, I dig the idea of not worrying about it! Fish is too damn good to worry whether or not they got dat ThermometerStuff in 'em

[TylerDurden]

The selenium theory is bogus, anyway, given the above data.

[Dorothy]

Thanks much Tyler. I copied your post with the links above and emailed it to Brian.

[reyyzl]

These may be for cooked and processed food preparations:

http://chriskresser.com/is-eating-fish-safe-a-lot-safer-than-not-eating-fish
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-high-in-selenium.php

In Aajonus' study he used raw swordfish vs. cooked swordfish (or perhaps frozen?)

[Chris]

These may be for cooked and processed food preparations:

http://chriskresser.com/is-eating-fish-safe-a-lot-safer-than-not-eating-fish
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/foods-high-in-selenium.php

In Aajonus' study he used raw swordfish vs. cooked swordfish (or perhaps frozen?)

There's some great information in these articles. I hope everybody gets a chance to read them. The selenium connection is good to know. Thanks for sharing that information. Good Stuff!

[24isours]

I read a theory that the high Selenium content in seafood "combats" any possible negative effects of the mercury. This theory says that if the mercury content is higher than the selenium content, you dont want to eat that fish. I think it gave Swordfish as an example of a specimen that has too high Mercury too little Selenium.

Whatever the theory, I dig the idea of not worrying about it! Fish is too damn good to worry whether or not they got dat ThermometerStuff in 'em

Also, Iodine is rich in seafood. Iodine has been proven to rid the body of mercury. Dr. Brownstein and Dr. Abraham have proven this.

[raw-al]

This is not strictly on topic but I just happened to be listening to a audiobook called The Blood Sugar Solution and the author said that HFCS contains toxic levels to mercury because of core alkaline products used in it's manufacturing.

Lots of people wolf down this crap daily.

[PaleoPhil]

More evidence and explanation supporting Tyler's debunking of mercury hysteria:

RHR: The Truth About Toxic Mercury in Fish
http://chriskresser.com/the-truth-about-toxic-mercury-in-fish
Interview of Dr. Nicholas Ralston, one of the world's leading researchers on mercury.

Is it safe to eat fish?  A lot safer than not eating fish!
http://chriskresser.com/is-eating-fish-safe-a-lot-safer-than-not-eating-fish

It turns out that not only selenium, but also sulfur, glutathione, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B12 (all antioxidants) have been found to protect against oxidative damage from mercury, and these antioxidant nutrients are rich in varying degrees in certain raw Paleo "superfoods" like raw liver, raw egg yolks, raw shellfish, raw berries, Brazil nuts, raw sauerkraut and others. I eat all of those foods and I eat plenty of fish without worrying about it. Wild and heritage herbs are also known to have chelation therapy effects on mercury, iron and other metals (http://www.livestrong.com/article/308624-herbal-chelation-therapy/).

Notice that glutathione, "the master antioxidant," once again shines brightly (Mercury toxicity and antioxidants: Part 1: role of glutathione and alpha-lipoic acid in the treatment of mercury toxicity, http://www.thorne.com/altmedrev/.fulltext/7/6/456.pdf; Glutathione modulation influences methyl mercury induced neurotoxicity in primary cell cultures of neurons and astrocytes, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161813X06000155). So it makes sense to eat a good balance of the foods that are rich in the precursors of glutathione--the amino acids L-cysteine (which is synthesized into  iron-sulfur clusters in the body that are beneficial for our super-important mitochondria*), L-glutamic acid, and glycine.

* > The Rieske Iron-Sulfur Protein: Import and Assembly into the Cytochrome Complex of Yeast Mitochondria, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bca/2011/363941/
> Rieske Protein, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rieske_protein

[Wattlebird]

hi, likewise seaweeds, carrier of trace quantities of mercury, yet the algin within, carries mercury out the body. beautiful yin yang relationship.

[PaleoPhil]

Fascinating, thanks, and the sodium alginate in seaweed chelates iron (Inhibition of the intestinal absorption of iron by sodium alginate and guar gum in rats. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7409351). I wonder if it has a significant enough chelating effect to be an effective aid in avoiding iron overload, a common concern among people eating lots of red meat in Paleo circles lately?

[Wattlebird]

Hi Phil
I have no scientific study to back this up but I feel that ingesting dark seaweeds (kelps) with the strongest tastes do reduce iron absorption.
Ironically, I am a large eater of seaweeds - and I have a history of low iron levels - so I tend to find I need to eat more of the green chlorophyll rich weeds, by proportion to the iodine heavier kelps.
In addition - and you are probably aware of this anyway - but bitter tastes in the skin of fruit, such as plums, blackberries, kiwi fruit skin, pomegranate, red grape skins, and quite a number of others, are high in tannic acid, which also reduces iron absorption. (Also bitter taste in walnuts.)
Individuals with blood sugar issues can eat the skin and leave the fleshy inner part of the fruit.
With a keen taste, the bitter skin is quite easily differentiated from the sweeter inner.
Kind wishes, J

[PaleoPhil]

Yes, yes, it's fascinating how the longer I eat mostly-raw Paleo, the more that bitter, tart and so-called "rotten" foods taste and smell better to me, whereas super-sweet (ie sacharine-sweet; sweeter than raw fermented honey, which is one of the best-tasting foods I've tried), highly salty, and heavily-cooked or processed foods taste worse. I don't wish to seem critical. I am curious about why do you eat lots of seaweeds with low iron levels if you believe they chelate iron?

[Wattlebird]

Hi Phil,
as mentioned, noticed the greener weeds do not seem to have the same iron absorption inhibiting qualities, consequently I eat these regularly.
They taste bloody good to me as well. I also live on a beautiful, unpolluted stretch of the coast and I forage and catch a large amount of my food.
Providing I eat iron rich kangaroo, and some liver every so often, things are perfectly fine.
In addition, seafood in general - shellfish, fish, seaweeds - are most appealing, most of the time. So I eat them.
Iron levels have been no problem for some time now.
Heavier meats - which I nevertheless eat as the attraction occurs, but not to the same degree as seafood - are not on the whole so appealing.
The balance works well.
Kind wishes, J

[PaleoPhil]

Wow, you are blessed! What does "heavier meats" mean?

[Wattlebird]

Wow, you are blessed! What does "heavier meats" mean?

I find fish and shellfish have a much lighter texture (and quality) than most red meats which I find 'heavier' both in texture and digestion.
Kangaroo is very blood red and 'heavier' than seafood, but generally other readily available red meats around here, such as beef and lamb (grass raised), I do not find regularly appealing, except once in a blue moon.
Different strokes, different folks.
Kind wishes, J

[AlphaCog]

A healthy gut flora lessens mercury absorption.

Effects of diet on mercury metabolism and excretion in mice given methylmercury: role of gut flora.
Abstract

Mice fed either (1) a pelleted rodent diet, (2) evaporated milk, or (3) a synthetic diet (high protein, low fat) exhibited different rates of whole body mercury elimination and fecal mercury excretion after exposure (per os) to methylmercuric chloride. The percentage of the total mercury body burden present as mercuric mercury was highest (35.3%) in mice fed the synthetic diet (which had the highest rate of mercury elimination) and lowest (6.6%) in the animals having the lowest mercury elimination rate (milk-fed mice). Mice fed the synthetic diet had lower mercury concentrations and had a higher proportion of mercuric mercury in their tissues than the mice from the other dietary groups. Treatment of the mice with antibiotics throughout the experimental period to suppress the gut flora reduced fecal mercury excretion and the dietary differences in whole body retention of mercury. Tissue mercury concentrations and proportion of organic mercury in feces, cecal contents, liver, and kidneys were increased by antibiotic treatment of mice fed the pelleted or synthetic diets. These results are consistent with the theory that demethylation of methylmercury by intestinal microflora is a major factor determining the excretion rate of mercury.

GAPS Diet
Two groups of rats were given organic mercury. One group were given a powerful antibiotic, the other group were not. The mercury got into the bloodstream of only about 1% of those without the antibiotic, and 90% of those with the antibiotic. Keep gut flora healthy and strong and it will protect you. (When antibiotics are taken they wipe out bad bacteria AND beneficial bacteria.)