There is a lot of confusion and controversy over mercury in our bodies. It can cause neurological problems. Although it is inside each one of us, most people have small enough amounts of it that it's not posing a health risk.
Mercury poisoning is rare. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take precautions to prevent it. On the other hand, we shouldn't have an unreasonable fear of mercury in very small amounts.
Most of our attention regarding mercury should be focused on the very young, specifically ages seven and under, including unborn babies. This is because as a poison, mercury is dose-sensitive, meaning it has a greater impact, the smaller the body. Therefore, special precautions should be taken to protect young ones. The primary focus tends to be on fish.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued warnings about fish to women who are pregnant, may become pregnant and also to children under age seven. The reason the warning is for women who aren't even pregnant is because mercury lingers in the body, so if a women ingests too much mercury before she becomes pregnant, the mercury may still be in her body when she does get pregnant, which could be hazardous to her unborn child.
The fact that mercury lingers in the body helps explain why the warnings are based on the size of the fish. The higher a fish is in the food chain, the more mercury it contains, because it accumulates from all the little fish it's eaten. Therefore, young children and pregnant women as well as women who may become pregnant, should avoid big fish altogether. This includes species like shark, swordfish, tilefish and king mackerel.
Furthermore, the same group of young kids, pregnant or soon-to-be pregnant women should limit their intake of smaller fish to two 6-ounce servings a week. This includes most fish and shellfish, like shrimp, pollack and salmon.
Lots of parents give their little children canned tuna. The "light" canned tuna, which is the darker, cheaper variety, is from a smaller tuna, so it can be eaten twice a week. But the "white" tuna, also the albacore or sushi tuna are bigger and should be eaten only once a week.
Fish is an outstanding and important part of a healthy diet and we should make every effort to make it a regular part of our weekly diet, but just not too much. Most doctors say those outside the high risk group mentioned above should eat about three servings a week of fish. I eat more than that, usually, and many other people do, too, without experiencing any negative repercussions.
Aside from fish, mercury is in our silver dental fillings. They are also called amalgam fillings. Personally I have a whole mouth full of them. I am ashamed to admit there was a time in my life when I didn't see the value of brushing my teeth at night and therefore suffered the consequences. But I'm proud to say I've corrected my bad dental habits and now not only brush at night, but floss, too. The flossing reduces inflammation, which is a terrible health hazards, but that's a blog for another day.
Silver, or amalgam fillings contain about 50-percent mercury. This fact has caused some serious concern among consumers. However the American Dental Association as well as the Food and Drug Administration has concluded that amalgam fillings are generally safe. But there are some dentists who disagree, so much so, that they advise their patients to remove all their mercury fillings and replace them with composite fillings.
This recommendation has been chided by not only the ADA, but by other dentists as well, who claim it is a dangerous scam intended to bilk patients out of their hard-earned money. Some consumers also believe mercury fillings are dangerous and doubt the validity of the government's and the ADA's position on the matter.
Mercury is also in some vaccines, although it has largely been taken out of them. There was a time when mercury was a common preservative in childhood vaccines. However, many parents believe the mercury in vaccines caused autism in children.
here has been a intensive study into this claim, and overall there is no scientific evidence that mercury in vaccines causes autism. However, as a precaution, mercury has largely been removed from vaccines.