We are too heavy -- and I don’t mean overweight.

You see, we’re heavy with metals, not fat. Nearly 40 percent of us have toxic levels of lead in our bodies. And we don’t even know it.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have symptoms.

You may have headaches, insomnia, irritability, a low sex drive, or tremors.

You may have mood problems, nausea, depression, memory difficulties, trouble concentrating, poor coordination, or even constipation.

Yet most of us attribute these symptoms to other problems. We don’t recognize that they may be caused by lead poisoning.

I just returned from a medical conference on heavy metals and health. Although I have been treating toxicity from heavy metals for more than a decade (including in myself) I was surprised to hear about new research that has been completely ignored by the media.

A study published in 2006 in the conservative medical journal Circulation, for example, should have been on the front page of the New York Times.

Let me tell you about why the study was so important -- and why you probably won’t hear about it from your doctor.

Something extraordinary happened while I was flying back from Seattle to Philadelphia recently.

I was there teaching other doctors about Functional Medicine at The Institute for Functional Medicine (www.functionalmedicine.org). The course was called Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice -- a course that every doctor in America should attend. 

On that flight, I read a powerful book with the potential to alter the course of western medicine. 

It was Jenny McCarthy's new book about her autistic son called "Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism."

Her insightful words spoke to the biggest problem in medicine today. It is a secret that needs to be told, and Jenny McCarthy is determined to do just that.

What's the secret?

==> There IS a "biomedical" treatment for autism.

But what she DIDN'T say was that this biomedical treatment is actually the scientific principles and methods that form the basis of Functional Medicine and the 7 Keys to UltraWellness.

"Autism is caused by poor mothering."

That was the belief of the medical community until the late 1960s.

"Autism is a genetic brain disorder."

That is what most people -- and most of the medical community -- believe today.

I'm here to tell you that neither one of these statements is true.

Think about it.

Rates of autism have skyrocketed over the years, from an estimated 1 child in 3,000 to just 1 in 150 kids today.

Sure, wider criteria for diagnosis and better detection might explain some of it -- but not an increase of this magnitude.

So what's to blame?

Simply put, autism is a systemic body disorder that affects the brain. A toxic environment triggers certain genes in people susceptible to this condition.

And we've got proof.

After my last blog, I'm sure that many of you are depressed and discouraged about mercury and its toxic effects.

The bad news is, I am going to review more of these effects and the things I learned at the medical conference on mercury.

But the good news is, I will leave you with a clear plan on how to help your body detoxify from mercury and recover your health.

I have done this successfully and safely with hundreds and hundreds of patients over the last 10 years -- and with myself!

Now, let's get back to the presentations from the conference.

==>  Mercury and Autism, Part One

Last week, I talked a little bit about the link between mercury fillings and autism.

Now I'd like to discuss mercury's effects on this condition in greater detail.