Posts Tagged ‘San Francisco’

I can’t tell you how upset I was to find out my dentist had been putting a known toxin in to my mouth. What?!?! Since I was 4 years old, my poor little body had been intentionally exposed to neuro-toxin. How could he? And all those vaccines I got. How could my pediatrician have done such a thing? What happened to the Hippocratic oath of “Do no harm?”

I first learned about the dangers of mercury and how we can be exposed to it my first year of college. I was grateful that I had already given up eating seafood, so that wasn’t a concern.

Finding all of this out, I got to thinking, “How much mercury HAVE I been exposed to?” I thought I was living a pretty healthy life- organic vegetarian, using green beauty products. (And cheap beer can be vegetarian. Right?) But maybe I was wrong.

I didn’t have any symptoms of mercury poisoning, but I still had my blood tested in grad school for mercury. The levels were high. I immediately had all my silver fillings taken out and still refuse any vaccines. I did a series of liver cleanses to flush out the mercury and any other heavy metals in my system. I now have a clean bill of health. I do a liver cleanse at least once a year to keep healthy.

Luckily, our bodies have the ability to remove this heavy metal through nutritional and herbal support. I already had a diet high in antioxidants, which improves the liver’s function to rid the body of all toxins, including heavy metals. I added a few more healing modalities that support the detoxification process: acupuncture, massage, saunas, a juice fast, and fiber supplements.

Side Effects Of Mercury Poisoning

The presence of mercury is considered toxic at any level, but children are most vulnerable due to their fast growth rates and low body mass.

High concentrations of mercury can result in:

*Depression, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, irritability, lack of concentration, memory lapses, and nervousness
*Mental retardation, Cerebral palsy, autism, deafness, & blindness
*Trembling hands, numbness in the hands and feet, & loss of muscle coordination

Sources

Unfortunately, there are very high rates of mercury poisoning in several industries, especially among munitions workers, laboratory technicians, farm workers, and coal burning plant workers.
Apart from exposure to industrial waste and pollution, you might be at risk for mercury poisoning through your amalgam (silver) fillings, eating seafood, and getting vaccines.

Silver Fillings
Dentists all over the world now refuse to use amalgam fillings, because of the direct link to their use and mercury poisoning. Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Norway have all banned mercury fillings. The World Health Organization has found that the average individual could absorb as much as 120 micrograms of mercury per day from their amalgam fillings, which is considered a toxic dose. Mother’s pass on the mercury in their fillings to the children through their breast milk.

Fish
Almost all fish are contaminated as the result of our oceans and streams being polluted by industrial waste. Fish with the highest levels of contamination include: tuna, swordfish, sea bass, oysters, marlin, halibut, pike, walleye, white croaker, largemouth bass, and shark. Pregnant women have been advised for years to avoid canned tuna due to the mercury content and the potential effects on the fetus. Now it’s best to avoid all seafood.

Vaccines
Mercury is also found in any vaccines containing thimerosal, which is a preservative found in many vaccines. It is possible to request vaccines that don’t contain this extremely toxic preservative.

What Next?

Hopefully, this has you thinking about changing some of your habits. Get your blood tested. Take out those silver fillings. Don’t eat fish. Do a liver cleanse or two.

Once you’ve done a cleanse and flushed out mercury and other heavy metals from your system, it is important to limit exposure from your diet and environment. Try to avoid the following items that can contain mercury: pesticides and fungicides, certain cosmetics, medications, and hair dyes, fluorescent lights, and some solvents.

Live Natural. Live Well.

Heather

If you’ve been reading my blog or Tweets for a while, you know   I’m not a fan of plastic. Well David de Rothschild, founder of Adventure Ecology, has found a way to make plastic work.   After being inspired almost four years ago by a United Nations Environment Programme report, de Rothschild had an idea to build the world’s first boat made completely of recycled plastic bottles. David and his crew, heading from San Francisco to   Sydney, set sail on “The Plastiki” last week.

The Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran, is named after the Kon-Tiki –   the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer,     Thor Heyerdahl,  in his 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands.

The Plastiki is made of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles.  She will travel 11,000 nautical miles across the Pacific to both raise awareness about the condition of our  oceans as well as to see first hand the impact we people having on the environment.

The Great Eastern Garbage Patch is one of the destinations prior to completing the journey three months later in Sydney. I was lucky enough to be invited to the press’ unveiling a few weeks ago. I met the Plastiki team and was even able to go on    board and check her out myself. David de Rothschild’s passion for this project and the environment is obvious. For the past  several years his life has been dedicated to saving our planet –  even at great risk of his own.

Jo Royle, The Plastiki’s award-winning skipper (hear my interview with her), was super-sweet and very enthusiastic about spreading the message about plastic and  other pollutants in our oceans. Jo shared something that really made such an impact on me — and makes no sense to her: The boating industry is responsible for producing incredibly toxic waste, even though their own captains and crews see the effects first hand. Isn’t time to change?

Another super-interesting person (and crew member) I met was Olav Heyerdahl — Thor Heyerdahl’s (Norwegian explorer, writer and Captain of the Kon-Tiki mentioned above) grandson. Olav shared some of his own experiences sailing the world, comparing his journeys to those of his grandfather’s, via diaries and logs meticulously kept by the elder Heyerdahl. Since his grandfather’s travels, the condition of our oceans has changed drastically.  Where sharks made it nearly impossible for his grandfather to swim, Olav said he has seen only a few. Where his grandfather was able to eat tuna daily, Olav only had one such, because there just wasn’t any tuna to be caught. Olav, unfortunately, has seen an abundance of trash, especially plastic; his grandfather, however,  saw none. In fact, his grandfather never recorded seeing any man-made debris.

The Plastiki

Not that I’m an expert on boat building, but my first impression   was how sleek she is. Nothing I saw made me think she was built from recycled materials. Actual bottles make up the body of the boat and provide nearly 70% of her buoyancy. The glue, made especially for The Plastiki, is a special mix of cashews and sugar   (ok, yum!). The sails are one of the first to be made from recycled plastic and the masts are constructed from aluminum  irrigation piping.

Matthew Grey, the expedition coordinator,demonstrated one of   the most unique and interesting features of the boat – the on-board bicycle. The bike has a dual purpose: 1) to help prevent loss of muscle mass, and 2) to generate power.

One of my most favorite features was the vegetable garden. As a nutritionist and vegetarian, I thought this was such a great idea. Having on-board access to fresh, organic greens will no doubt help keep everyone healthy.

It took immense effort to make The Plastiki as sustainable as possible and if it’s possible for a boat, it’s no doubt possible for any building or structure. The homes we live in, the cars we drive, the offices we work in can all be made less toxic! The technology is out there. It takes commitment, but as David de Rothschild, his crew and the developing team have proven, it’s possible.

I commend them all on their dedication. David said that one of his goals was to show that it could be done. The Plastiki will definitely inspire other industries to head in the same direction.

Now I ask you, dear readers, how can you raise awareness and  have an impact?

Live natural. Live well.

Heather