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Aluminum increases the propensity of bacteria to gather and replicate in the
gut. Mercury, lead, and especially aluminum, also inhibit DHPR, a key enzyme
that helps to recycle BH2 back into BH4. That’s important because inadequate
levels of BH4 can result in a deficiency of the neurotransmitters dopamine and
serotonin, impacting mood, behavior, focus, and speech.
Arsenic is an extremely toxic poison that can heighten the risk of developing
cancer, heart disease, and neurological ailments. Unfortunately, it’s now added to
the feed of some commercially raised chickens. Cadmium, another known carcinogen,
leaches into the environment through batteries and landfills. Cadmium
is now being recognized as a contributor to osteoporosis and hypertension.
We’ll look at the effects of these metals on the bodily processes in greater detail
later.
Some people doubt the negative effects of heavy metals on our health. On the
one hand, certain studies fail to find a correlation between toxic metal exposure
and certain health conditions. On the other, there is inconsistency even among
various governmental agencies and experts about what constitutes safe vs. excessive
toxic metal levels. Maybe you have encountered this dichotomy in dentistry,
where there are some dentists who advocate careful removal of mercury amalgam
fillings, while others ridicule this practice and assure you that amalgams are perfectly
safe. Even though the health risks of rising exposure have not been widely
studied, I—like many doctors who have looked into the medical literature—
find ample evidence that toxic metals are a prime contributor to the epidemic of
degenerative conditions we confront today. In fact, lead, arsenic, mercury, and
cadmium have been known since ancient times to have serious effects on human
health. In our own era, the toxic effects of heavy metals have been well characterized.
Maile Pouls, Ph.D., in a paper presented at the University of Michigan,
writes:
Human exposure to heavy metals has risen dramatically in the last
fifty years…Today, chronic exposure comes from mercury-amalgam
dental fillings, lead-based paint, tap water, chemical residues
in processed foods, and personal care products—cosmetics, shampoo
and other hair products, mouthwash, toothpaste and soap. In
today’s industrial society, there is no escaping exposure to toxic
chemicals and metals. Although we can’t see, smell, or taste them,
heavy metals are present in our air, drinking water, food [along
with] countless human-made chemicals and products.
To repeat, these metals are absorbed into the body by our skin, by our lungs
breathing in metal-laden air, and through food, water, and drugs taken both
orally and injected. Although most people—and indeed some physicians—fail
to draw the connection between environmental exposures and human health,
58 Autism: Pathways to Recovery