HI Alison, don't be afraid. Alpha lipoic acid is a natural substance already contained in food. It is simply a fat soluble powerful antioxidant that just happens to have a very high affinity for mercury and arsenic also.

However, trying to chelate mercury by eating foods containing alpha lipoic acid would be not overly effective, considering it would be insignificant compared to what is necessary to really start chelating mercury.

So this is why we get it in the potent complete form in supplements and are able to use it for mercury detox. DMSA and DMPS are optional, ALA is necessary.

So long as your blood levels have reduced enough to where there is not much free floating mercury or extra cellular mercury, you can start using ALA. DMPS and DMSA are simply used initially to reduce blood/urine and I think tissue mercury. Basically mercury that is on the outside of cells (extra cellular), the body will do this on its own over time, but using those drugs reduce it much faster and much more effectively. And they can be good to use initially to make sure mercury levels are definitely reduced in those areas.

So long as you are 3 months away from any recent mercury exposure (ie. amalgam removal or other mercury exposure) you are free to use ALA on it's own to cure yourself of mercury poisoning.

It is also good for the liver, being an antioxidant and increases the glutathione levels int he body naturally. So it has many other natural health benefits. But unfortunately it can increase copper in the body and zinc I think, so hence the necessity for breaks inbetween chelating and making sure you are not using supplements with high copper or zinc.

Alpha lipoic acid is extremely effective for mercury chelation. It will chelate brain, plus body mercury (organs). Just so long as you use it in the frequent dose regime and use it at low dose until you are ready to increase. A good starting dose for many is about 12 mg or so. and then increasing later as tolerated.

Another tip. If you have had a bad redistribution of mercury, say from taking a potent garlic supplement or something else that may have spun mercury widly all over the place, causing terrible effects in some people, it is not wise to use ALA until that has settled back down again, or you can increase the problem. DMSA can be a good one to use to reduce that for a while, or simply waiting it out and once the reaction has subsided, you can use ALA again.

HOpe this helps a bit. But remember, ALA is a healthy natural substance and many use it simply as a supplement for health, heart and antioxidant benefits and for the heatlh of their liver. But if you are mercury toxic? You can't simply use it as a supplement, as you might move that mercury into worse areas if it's not taken every 3-4 hours around the clock.

Hope that helps a little.