Review

Candida -- Silver (Mercury) Fillings and the Immune System

Edited by Betsy Russell-Manning

There I sat with my Voll meter probing the Voll points to discern which homeopathic remedy would be the best for my patient. "Now this point is the liver," I said as I looked at the lady sitting across from me. "My liver?" She got a funny look on her face and I realized that I had taken for granted that she, like just about everyone else, must not realize that the liver was in the foot, the thyroid was on the hand, and the adrenals were on the finger. Of course, once you explain the nature of the acupuncture points some of the incongruities diminish considerably.

This is also quite true of chiropractic. Most people come to us the first time because they have a pain in the low back or a "crick" in the neck. It's hard for them to realize that by mobilizing aberrant spinal fixations you can possibly influence organic function -- until you educate them on anatomy and physiology.

And it's especially difficult for a patient to realize that such things as the fillings in their teeth might have a profound effect upon their health -- until you ask them if it makes sense to have poison sitting in their mouth without it having an adverse effect upon their well-being.

Betsy Russell-Manning has edited a compendium of material on the effects of fillings on the immune system and how its weakening can allow the spread of Candida. Candida is a yeast infection which can seriously compromise the health of every individual. It's good to remember that we're all swimming, if you will, in a sea of vermin. In varying degrees, we all have cancerous cells within us. We all have the tubercle bacillus in us and all manner of exogenous poisons. When we demonstrate the symptoms of illness its usually because the immune system is weakened.

Whenever someone is ill, you must always ask "Why?" Why does one person suffer the ravages of cancer and not everyone around them? Why does someone have hay fever and the individual's brother or sister doesn't?

In the case of Candida the reasons can be many. One of the most common is the use of broad spectrum antibiotics which kill the friendly as well as unfriendly bacteria. This allows the rhizomes of the Candida to spread in the intestines to the degree that it overwhelms the immune system with toxins.

Another prominent cause for the genesis and exacerbation of the symptoms of Candida are the poisons elicited from silver and mercury fillings in your teeth. As with Russell-Manning's previous efforts, this isn't a "once upon a time" type of book. It's really a collection of articles and contributions from various authors on the many dimensions of this pathological process, guided by the dedicated hand of the editor.

Why should chiropractors be interested? Because we are primary physicians and portals of entry into the health field. And -- because we can influence the immune system through proper nutrition, homeopathy and specific adjustive procedures. And -- because chiropractic is prominently featured as a major therapeutic procedure.

The text is a wonderful reference work, which may not read like a novel but has the happy ending for the patient if the doctor is wise enough to read and learn from it.