Mercury, Madness and Paranoia - Why Mercury is Turning You into a Basketcase

...Mad as a hatter.

When big fish eat little fish contaminated with mercury, the mercury accumulates in their fatty tissues.

Mercury is a natural liquid element found in small amounts in rocks. It often contaminates air and water when emitted from factories as part of industrial waste. While fish might come to mind first when you think of mercury contamination, other foods besides fish can contain mercury. Mercury, particularly methylmercury, the form found in contaminated fish, has toxic effects on humans, especially babies and children. Brain damage or neurological damage can occur because of high mercury exposure.
Fish

Because mercury contaminates waterways, it often ends up in fish. Small fish consume mercury and then larger fish eat smaller fish. The bigger the fish, the more little fish it eats, which is why big fish often have higher mercury concentrations than smaller fish. Older, larger fish have more time to accumulate mercury in their fatty tissues. In the United States, tuna is the largest source of mercury contamination, not because tuna necessarily contains more mercury than other fish, but because Americans eat more of it than any other fish, the National Resources Defense Council explains.
High-Fructose Corn Syrup

High-fructose syrup, often called simply HFCS, is one of the most frequently used sweeteners in processed foods, including soda. The average American consumes 50 grams of the sweetener per day. Two studies have tested the amounts of mercury in HFCS; the first, published in the 2009 "Environmental Health" found mercury in nine out of 20 HFCS samples tested. While amounts found were small, researchers expressed concern that they might pose a risk for children and other individuals at increased risk for mercury poisoning, such as pregnant women. The second study, conducted by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, discussed mercury contamination in HFCS produced in facilities using chlor-alkali, an outdated technology still used in some manufacturing plants. As many as 33 percent of food samples obtained from major food manufacturers listing HFCS as the first or second ingredient had measurable levels of mercury. Eliminating chlor-alkali facilities would eliminate this risk.

Rice

Rice, a staple food in China and throughout Asia, has been contaminated by mercury in areas close to industries that produce large amounts of mercury as waste. A report published in the September 2010 issue of "Environmental Health Perspectives" found that 7 percent of adults living in Wanshan province had blood levels of methylmercury that exceeded the tolerable weekly limit. Bacteria in rice paddies convert mercury that falls in industrial waste into the more dangerous methylmercury. Researchers also questioned whether methylmercury levels set for safe consumption in fish might be too low for food such as rice. Fish naturally contains substances that have neuroprotective benefits, such as omega-3 fatty acid, which rice and other foods lack.


[link to healthyeating.sfgate.com]