Liza, Here's more about mercury etc Liza May wrote: > I look forward to whatever reading you have to recommend, or send. Like I > say, even though I had this done, I still have not found anything in my own > reading that showed any convincing correlation between health problems and > mercury (although I think I remember reading about chewing gum tests where it > was possible to measure fairly substantial amounts of mercury present in the > gum). I believe the mainstream medical community agrees with the premise that mercury causes health problems. Mercury has been known for a long time to be toxic, and as far as I know in the USA it therefore is banned in all food, supplement, drug or any to-be-ingested substances as a result; and significant amounts of mercury aren't allowed in the waste products that are disposed of by manufacturers without very special handling, so as not to contaminate the environment. I believe the current debate in scientific circles is whether or not amalgam is safe or toxic, not whether mercury is damaging to the body. According to the FDA: "Mercury poisoning can cause nervous system problems in humans that may damage vision and hearing and even be fatal." Excerpt from their page at http://www.fda.gov/fdac/departs/1997/497_irs.html The history of amalgam is tied into the economics of the dental industry in the USA. It goes something like this: Amalgam was introduced into the USA in 1830; the ADA (american dental association) was established to give credibility to good trained dentists vs untrained people who didn't have a good education, back in the days when dentistry was relatively new and there were plenty of untrained people who could injure you. Shortly after the invention of amalgam, back when mercury toxicity wasn't clearly established, the ADA obtained 2 patents on amalgam, meaning they held the rights and could make money from its use anywhere in this country. Dental schools which were subsequently accredited only by the ADA; those same schools were required to train all the dentists in proper use of amalgam. So now we have this picture: just to qualify to take the state board (so that one could pass it and become legally practicing dentist), a student must first graduate from a dental school; all dental schools teach amalgam placement; and the fact that mercury was later established to be a toxic substances didn't change that practice. The current controversy is whether or not mercury is stable in the tooth after placement, and whether its presence there is bad. My guess is that as filling age and there is microsopic wear, the release of mercury accelerates. I believe there is plenty of evidence of mercury's toxicity - your library should have plenty of information regarding this. Regarding the issue of mercury amalgam, there is a non-for profit organization that has lots of information regarding this issue which can supply you with access to current news: DAMS, Inc; 1701 Buffalo Dance Tr NE; Albuquerque NM 87112-4808 USA; (505)332-3252 voice phone; (505)332-3263 fax phone #; email [log in to unmask] is the contact for the editor Murlene Brake at the International DAMS Newsletter; phone 205-830-0662; fax 205-830-6847. They can provide information about dentists who use no metal in their practice. They can also provide a list of book titles which discuss this mercury amalgam issue in detail, and they offer: "The Hazards of Silver/Mercury Dental Fillings" by Ziff & Ziff for $5.25; "DAMS, Revealing the Mystery of 'Silver' Fillings"; and "Mercury Detoxificatoin" to name 3. I believe many of our chronic incurable diseases (lupus, MS) will eventually be linked to mercury and other poisons that we inadvertently or unknowingly expose ourselves to. This is frustrating. You can't win sometimes, because unless you have a nearby dentist who understands these issues, you're stuck with this toxic dental care unless you have the time, energy and money to travel and find the dentists that provide that non-toxic care you seek. And of course it's better to have the amalgam for a short period of time than no dental care and risk losing a tooth to a cavity. The good news is that there are dentists who can replace amalgam with gold or non-metallic, inert substances; and that there are more and more dentists who offer non-metallic fillings. >From my own personal experience: After removal of those toxic fillings, you can do things to help your body detoxify the liver, which can store poisons until they can be safely released. I think more fresh raw foods, more fresh juices, more sea vegetables (cooked and raw) can stimulate that and a healing process should ensue. But if the detoxification is too fast you'll not feel well, and one way of slowing that down is to have a little cooked food along with the raw foods for pacing or slowing the detox process. In TCM cooked brown rice and cooked mung bean can assist that. Mung bean can also be sprouted and then eaten raw. This is another example of how conventional care hasn't caught up to current scientific and medical knowledge. Didn't MDs use mercury to treat syphilis not too long ago? And now they don't; it is an outdated practice. Amalgam should be an outdated practice, but will become outdated only with increased consumer demand/education - consumers eventually change the marketplace and get what they insist on. regards roberta [log in to unmask]