Surprisingly, mercury has been found in some ayurvedic medicines and supplements! Partly by design, partly due to contamination. Dr Greger's videos on this theme:
(2012) Some Ayurvedic Medicine Worse than Lead Paint Exposure
(3 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Triphala, a combination of three fruits — amla, bibhitaki, and haritaki — is the most commonly used herbal formulation in Ayurvedic medicine, and may have powerful anticancer properties. Unfortunately, one in five Ayurvedic herbal dietary supplements were found contaminated with lead, mercury, and/or arsenic.
(2012) Get the Lead Out
(2 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Toxic heavy metal contamination of Ayurvedic dietary supplements is, in most cases, intentional." Excerpts:
"How do toxic heavy metals get into Ayurvedic medicines in the first place? In most cases, high levels of metals in Ayurvedic traditional herbal preparations result from intentional incorporation of certain metallic preparations like lead oxide, mercury sulfide, arsenic trioxide. Not to worry, though. The heavy metals are claimed to be detoxified by, for example, heating and cooling the herbal mixtures in cow’s urine."
"In traditional Chinese herbal medicine, mercury is considered to have a tranquilizing and (if you can believe it) detoxifying effect."
(2012) Amla & Triphala Tested for Metals
(2 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Both U.S.-made and imported Ayurvedic dietary supplements have high contamination rates of toxic metals such as mercury — though only a small fraction of the levels found in canned tuna."
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