Another Mercury Source

I'd have to say people shouldn't worry nearly as much about the shots their babies are getting - they need to worry about Corn Syrup. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

This report sent to me by Kevin M.

The following is merely excerpts of the entire article, as it is incredibly dry reading. However, it's an area that has never been looked at by the US.

Mercury - in various forms, is used to make HFCS last longer - longer shelf life, lower spoilage rate. There are 8 plants in the US that use mercury to produce the chemicals that are used to make HFCS - it's not just a matter of squeezing sweet corn and letting it dry. It's a very complex process.

The US does try to keep track of the mercury itself, but when shortages - of TONS - are reported, nothing is done to track where it may have gone. Anything that has a corn product, food grade or otherwise, most likely has the mercury in it. This just happens to be what an arm of the FDA tested thus far - and have been banned from doing anymore.

The paper was written and submitted June of '08. Was published Jan of '09.
For the whole thing:
http://www.ehjournal.net/content/pdf/1476-069x-8-2.pdf

In 2004, several member states of the European Union reported finding mercury concentrations in beverages, cereals and bakery ware, and sweeteners [14] – all of which may contain HFCS. FDA does not currently have a mercury surveillance program for food ingredients such as added sugars or preservatives manufactured with mercury grade chlor-alkali products.

With the reported average daily consumption of 49.8 g HFCS per person, however, and our finding of mercury in the range of 0.00 to 0.570 μg mercury/g HFCS, we can estimate that the potential average daily total mercury exposure from HFCS could range from zero to 28.4 μg mercury. This range can be compared to the range of total mercury exposure from dental amalgam in children reported by Health Canada [20]. In the report issued by Canada, daily estimates of total mercury exposure from dental amalgam in children ages 3-19 ranged on average from 0.79 to 1.91 μg mercury.

Current international food processing standards allow 1.0 μg mercury/g caustic soda [21, 22] and there is no standard for mercury in food grade hydrochloric acid. Both of these chemicals may be used to make HFCS. The FDA has approved HFCS for use as an added sugar in food products but a review of food product labels reveals that it is often added to a product in addition to sugar presumably to enhance product shelf life.

Regardless of its intended use, it is imperative that public health officials evaluate this potential source of mercury exposure, as HFCS is presently ubiquitous in processed foods and therefore significantly consumed by people all over the world.

Mercury in any form – either as water-soluble inorganic salt, a lipid-soluble organic mercury compound, or as metallic mercury- is an extremely potent neurological toxin [23]. Mercury contamination of food products as a result of the use of mercury contaminated HFCS seems like a very real possibility.

With daily per capita consumption of HFCS in the US averaging about 50 grams and daily mercury intakes from HFCS ranging up to 28 μg, this potential source of mercury may exceed other major sources of mercury especially in high-end consumers of beverages sweetened with HFCS.

Food products that contain a significant amount of HFCS should be tested for mercury contamination in the end product and the public should be informed of any detections. Clearly, more research is needed to determine the extent of mercury exposure in children from mercury contaminated HFCS in food products.

Testing Yourself

The first two can be used with body fluids or clear liquids (can have color to it, just not cloudy in nature)
http://www.vivagen.net/tests_distillers.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220349844606&category=67589&refid=store

The third is to check surfaces
http://www.leadcheck.com/MercuryCheckSwab.shtml

This final is to send in a sample of your hair
http://www.sierraclub.org/mercury/get_tested/

(From my herbal studies)

Getting the Mercury Out

If you are concerned that you might have a high level of mercury in your body, there are things you can do at home to assist in getting the mercury out. All 3 herbs are completely safe, have no side effects, even in massive doses, and 2 are probably in your cupboard right now.

If you can't find the mullein, use the other 2 anyway.

2 oz mullein leaves
2 oz fennel seed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (per tea pot)

Mix first 2 herbs together. Keep in glass container. Take 1 heaping teaspoon of mixture, put in tea pot (If only fennel, half a teaspoon). Pour 1 cup of boiling water over mixture - steep for 15 minutes. Add the 1/4 teaspoon cayenne to the liquid. Strain before drinking. Drink 1/3 of this 3 times a day, between meals. Reduce by half for children (It's a volume thing for kids, they aren't going to want to drink it and don't need the entire volume to work, so why make them?)

Use 3X daily for 1 week, 1X daily for 1 week, retest - if you feel the need. For maintenance - once a week should be good. But won't hurt you at all if you choose to do it more often.

Autism Theory That Doesn't Include Vaccinations

Many people are blaming the countless childhood vaccinations for autism. While I have no doubt there is a connection for some cases, I am not convinced it is the root of this evil. I'm more inclined to blame Modern Autism on the chemical warefare being waged against our bodies in the name of convenience and safety.

Chemicals And Fat
http://www.autismfries.com/
The human brain is composed primarily of fat, specifically Omega-3 fatty acids which are commonly referred to as "good fat".

Many chemicals in our daily lives are found to be fat soluble. This means they are stored in our body's fat throughout our lives and even transferred to the baby as it develops in the womb. More is transferred through breast feeding, skin contact, and inhalation. This is a recipe for disaster.

This chemical deluge could also account for the almost exponential increases in ADD/ADHD as well as modern autism (is there a link between the two syndromes?). Our culture relies almost entirely on chemicals over natural substances for convenience and through the brainwashing of companies stating they are for our safety and well-being. If this chemical/ADD/ADHD/Modern Autism link is real, it is safe to assume there is a cumulative affect (through the fat soluble/stored chemicals). This is why the fat soluble transfer is the most troublesome.

Fire Retardents
www.thegreenguide.com/doc/26/home A century and a half since Thoreau built his little cabin on Walden Pond, our poet's ethic of simplicity and harmony with nature has been displaced by the typical American dream house: a multi-thousand-square-foot suburban palace with a three-car garage. If we took Thoreau on a tour, he'd be surprised to learn that today's building products and furnishings emit gaseous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as the known carcinogens formaldehyde and benzene, and trigger respiratory, allergic and neurological reactions. He'd see bulldozers mow down trees to make room for a house--built with scarce hardwoods from far-flung places--and construction crews filling dumpsters with enough scrap wood to build another Walden cottage.

Moving on, many chemicals that are used in the US are banned in most of the world - primarily fire retardents used on furniture and carpeting. The use of these chemicals is questionable anyway, since studies through fire safety organizations prove they do not inhibit the spread of fire, particularly when compared to untreated natural fibers (cotton, wool, silk, wood) - CNN ran a story in fall of 2007 regarding this. I'm still searching for it.

Many of these fire retardents are also used in the manufacture of childrens clothing.

Pthalates and BPA
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/viewpoints/mvoice/070502voices.html
BPA was originally used as a synthetic hormone. Today it is mostly used to make polycarbonate plastic, which is used in hard plastic products, including baby bottles and some of popular water bottles. Remarkably, BPA is also used to make coatings that line food cans.

More info - http://kermitsteam.blogspot.com/2007/08/chemical-bpa.html

There is mounting evidence of phthalates, found in baby hygiene products, causing hormonal disruption. Also, BPA is found in the plastics of baby bottles, water bottles, canned goods and hard plastic toys babies so love to teeth has questions being raised regarding hormonal disruption and brain development.

Disposable Diapers
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/diaper-asthma.html
Harsh perfumes and chemical emissions have long been known to induce asthma-like symptoms in children and adults. Now, researchers have found that disposable diapers might be a trigger for asthma. A study published in the October, 1999 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health found that laboratory mice exposed to various brands of disposable diapers suffered increased eye, nose, and throat irritation, including bronchoconstriction similar to that of an asthma attack. Six leading cotton and disposable diaper brands were tested; cloth diapers were not found to cause respiratory problems among the lab mice.

http://diapersafari.com/diaperinfo/whyclothdiapers/
BABIES POORLY DEVELOPED OUTER SKIN LAYER ABSORBS ABOUT 48 CHEMICALS if you use disposable diapers & wipes and standard baby products. This can be greatly reduced by using cloth diapers and natural baby products.
Very few people discuss the use of disposable diapers when it comes to the developmental safety of infants and toddlers. Considering your baby will wear between 5000 and 6500 diapers 24/7/365, it's worth taking a look.

A Child's Brain
http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/yf/famsci/fs609w.htm
By the time a child is 3 years old, a baby's brain has formed about 1,000 trillion connections — about twice as many as adults have. A baby's brain is superdense and will stay that way throughout the first decade of life. Beginning at about age 11, a child's brain gets rid of extra connections in a process calling "pruning," gradually making order out of a thick tangle of "wires."

http://www.autismfries.com/
From birth to 24 months is the time period when most of the neural connections in the brain are made. This is when the brain is wired. Anything that interferes with the wiring of the brain will cause a "developmental disorder". Autism basically means that a brain which would otherwise be normal failed at some point AFTER childbirth in developing all the normal neural connections.

How can a child's brain not be affected by this deluge?

What Can You Do?
Dress your baby in only natural fibers - unbleached cotton is obviously the best choice, but that can be boring. You make the decision on how "natural" to be.
Make your baby's clothes. It's time consuming, but they won't have the fire retardents soaked into every thread.

Use cloth diapers. You can buy a bolt of good cotton flannel to make your own, or use a diaper service. The choice is yours.

Use glass feeding bottles when not breast feeding. If you breast feed, consider converting to a plastic-free environment during your pregnancy and time you are breast feeding your baby. Cover your funiture with cotton sheets, dress in only natural fibers, use no perfumes, use unscented everything to reduce your chemical exposure.

Air new furniture in a hot location for a few days to accelerate the out-gasing process. If you live in a new home - take a day or tow away and super heat the interior - with the furnace for 24-48 hours. Then air and clean every surface to remove the chemicals that were super out-gased.

Only let your baby lie on cotton blankets or quilts. This will avoid contact with chemical laden upholstery fabrics, regardless of your home or out socializing.

When bathing your baby, use natural soaps. Castille soap - made with olive oil, is a great choice. But again, you choose. The soap will work just fine for shampoo for at least the first year. There is no need for perfumed soaps/detergents or shampoos on your baby.

If you use a moisturizer on your baby, consider a natural oil like cocoa butter, olive oil, etc. I personally don't advocate soy oil due to the genetic engineering and phyto-estrogens natural occuring in the beans.

Wash all clothes/diapers/bedding with the mildest unscented detergent available. Double rinse to assure all residue is gone.