Chelation Therapy
Chele is a Greek word which means "claw," and from that we get the word chelation (pronounced key-LAY-shun), a method of removing toxic chemicals and heavy metals from the body, using chemical agents that act like claws, latching onto the unwanted particles and chemically binding with them. The chemicals are called chelation agents. During World War II chelation was discovered and used to clear the body of poisonous metals. Researchers found they could make a ring of molecules that would sequester the unwanted mineral molecules and removed them from the body by the usual elimination. Chelation also happens normally in a body, such as hemoglobin combining with iron to deliver oxygen to cells. As a generally recognized way of ridding the body of heavy metals and poisons, chelation agents are usually administered intravenously. Chelation agents or chelates locate toxins and form a bond with them. Thus the toxin is pulled off the cell it was attached to and washed out of the body. The drawback here is that the toxin is not neutralized in this method and has a chance to attach itself to other cells in some other part of the body. Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS), or ethylene diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) are names of chelates currently used. A very effective chelate is EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetra-Acetic Acid), which is a synthetic amino acid. It is used for chelating heavy metals. It is believed to be non-toxic and has almost no side effects. Fifty years ago EDTA was first discovered and used for chelating lead from the body and now it is FDA-approved to be used in therapy for handling poisoning by lead, mercury, aluminum and cadmium. It also assists in eliminating calcium and arterial plaque which stops up blood vessels. However, it must be administered with supplements of vitamins and minerals, because it may also chelate much needed minerals and other substances from the body. Although chelation is the only way to treat lead poisoning, it’s beneficial results on the bloodstream can be used to treat other medical conditions. In addition to being the only way to treat lead poisoning, it removes unwanted metals, mineral deposits, calcium-based plaques and chemical poisons. Because of this, people with atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries by plaque deposits) and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries and diabetes may also benefit. EDTA Chelation Therapy, by Cranton, is a textbook of clinical studies of chelation. Obviously the difficulties of doing double-blind studies to prove or disprove the clinical results of bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty are insurmountable, but the studies in this book show that EDTA chelation treatment obtains better results than either of those drastic measures. A complete program of chelation therapy involves dietary changes, away from highly refined and processed foods. The use of nonprescription nutritional supplements is emphasized, more than expensive and highly profitable drugs patented and marketed by the pharmaceutical industry. Chelation therapy is performed in doctors’ offices, without the need for hospitals, surgeons, cardiologists and the large team of health professionals who profit greatly in dollars and reputation from the $6 billion per year bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty. It is a well-proven therapy and has been performed on more people than have received bypass surgery. The most frequent criticism leveled by critics of non-traditional and alternative medical therapies is that new treatments are "unproven" because randomized, double-blind, controlled studies have not yet been done to prove effectiveness. Those criticisms ignore the fact that most medical procedures routinely performed in the practice of medicine are also unproven using those same criteria. In fact, the United States has the most advanced high technology hospital and surgical care in its history, yet 800,000 people die each year from arteriosclerosis and complications thereof. It is absurd to deny patients the option of undergoing EDTA chelation as a less expensive and at least just as effective alternative to surgery and angioplasty. The reduction in cost would be a great savings to medical insurance companies and hopefully result in lowered insurance premiums. How about the improvement in quality of life? Chelation patients have a tremendous increase in their expected life, although the chelation doctors are reluctant to admit it. It turns out that intravenous chelation therapy greatly reduces the risk of cancer as well as further heart disease. The chelation treatment deals with basic sources of all illness — the tiny particles of metal, which accumulate over time and which greatly, increase the production of free radicals in the body. As the interior source of free radical production is reduced, by more than one million times, the acceleration of aging stops and people generally feel much younger. When the toxic metals are removed from the body by intravenous chelation therapy, billions and billions of free radicals are prevented from being created because the metals are now gone. When they exist in the body, they encourage a huge production of free radicals. So, immediately all that poison being produced in the body STOPS. The two major killing diseases in this day and age – heart disease and cancer – can be reversed and prevented. It is amazing what chelation can do in reversing damage already done by free radicals. The benefit is great. This article provides information for the education of the individual, and is not supposed to be taken as medical recommendations for the reader. Only a qualified health practitioner can give medical advice.
