Mercury. The only elemental metal currently known that is liquid at room temperature. And, as becoming more and more evident, a much bigger health risk than anyone originally could have guessed. David Hammond takes on the hazards of this substance symptoms, side-effects, and potential treatments / avoidance in his book Mercury Poisoning: The Undiagnosed Epidemic.
I appreciated Mr. Hammond's care in not demanding the reader take a certain stand when either option contains a health risk. For example, while vaccines may contain thimerosal, which contains mercury, and while mercury appears to a factor in the increase of autism, there is no alternate prevention of certain diseases. As such, the author presents his case, and allows the reader to make their own choice. On the other hand, Mr. Hammond makes a clear case that dental amalgams are also a problematic source of mercury, despite the American Dental Association's claims to the contrary. Here, there IS an acceptable alternative to use for fillings, and he encourages the reader to pursue it.
Mr. Hammond successfully walks a fine line between case histories and scientific studies. Case histories are certainly more interesting to read and contain factual information, but could be one-offs tied to an individuals environment, genetic make-up, or other factors. On the other hand, scientific studies are designed to minimize, eliminate, and/or explain other influences but are usually quite dry and downright boring to the casual reader. He does fall into the trap of pointing out flaws he sees in studies that disagree with his conclusions, but swears by the studies that DO conform to his beliefs. On the other hand, Mr. Hammond IS willing to reference those studies, whereas other authors may take the easy way out and simply avoid mentioning them.
This book was definitely worth the read, While I'm not prepared to blindly accept everything that the author claims, it certainly gave me a lot to think about and will inspire more research on my part. In my opinion, this outcome should count as a win for any non-fiction author.
RATING: 4 stars.
DISCLOSURE: I was given this book by the author in return for a prompt and honest review.
I appreciated Mr. Hammond's care in not demanding the reader take a certain stand when either option contains a health risk. For example, while vaccines may contain thimerosal, which contains mercury, and while mercury appears to a factor in the increase of autism, there is no alternate prevention of certain diseases. As such, the author presents his case, and allows the reader to make their own choice. On the other hand, Mr. Hammond makes a clear case that dental amalgams are also a problematic source of mercury, despite the American Dental Association's claims to the contrary. Here, there IS an acceptable alternative to use for fillings, and he encourages the reader to pursue it.
Mr. Hammond successfully walks a fine line between case histories and scientific studies. Case histories are certainly more interesting to read and contain factual information, but could be one-offs tied to an individuals environment, genetic make-up, or other factors. On the other hand, scientific studies are designed to minimize, eliminate, and/or explain other influences but are usually quite dry and downright boring to the casual reader. He does fall into the trap of pointing out flaws he sees in studies that disagree with his conclusions, but swears by the studies that DO conform to his beliefs. On the other hand, Mr. Hammond IS willing to reference those studies, whereas other authors may take the easy way out and simply avoid mentioning them.
This book was definitely worth the read, While I'm not prepared to blindly accept everything that the author claims, it certainly gave me a lot to think about and will inspire more research on my part. In my opinion, this outcome should count as a win for any non-fiction author.
RATING: 4 stars.
DISCLOSURE: I was given this book by the author in return for a prompt and honest review.
