Toxic metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, have
become part of our modern environment. Most of us regularly breathe
them in from polluted air, eat them in fish, or even put them on our
skin with cosmetic products.
Is there any way to get rid of them? Research is showing that
chelation therapy may in fact be one of the best ways to detoxify
heavy metals from your body.
How does chelation therapy work?
Chelation (pronounced key-LAY-shun) therapy usually involves
intravenous injections of what’s called a chelating agent directly
into your blood stream. Chelating agents contain molecules that can
bind to metal atoms being held in your blood and body tissues. This
allows the metal atoms to become mobile and be excreted through your
urine.
There are different chelating agents used to remove different heavy
metals. Ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) is a common agent.
It’s a synthetic amino acid that binds well to lead and cadmium, and
to a lesser degree mercury.
Chelation And Heavy Metal Detoxification
Dimercaptopropane sulfonate (DMPS) is another intravenous agent
often used to remove arsenic or mercury. Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA
or Succimer) is an oral chelating agent also used for mercury, lead
and other toxic metals.
A typical chelation therapy session would be done in a professional
clinic. An intravenous line is inserted into your arm and you sit
for about three hours while the chelating agent solution slowly
drips into your blood stream.
Is it effective for detoxifying toxic heavy metals?
Studies show that chelation therapy can remove metals such as
aluminum, cadmium, calcium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium,
manganese, mercury and zinc from the body.
Chelation therapy is recognized as an effective treatment for acute
and higher exposure poisoning.
For example, DMSA chelation therapy was able to increase lead
excretion by 12 times in a study group of lead-poisoned adults.
Within the first 2 days of chelation treatment, over half the
participants had a reduction of symptoms such as headache, lethargy
and constipation.
The use of chelation in patients with lower levels of toxic metal
accumulation is not as widely studied and is still somewhat
controversial.
Preliminary studies have suggested that chelation therapy may help
with conditions such as autism and heart disease. However, more
research is needed to determine if chelation therapy is an effective
treatment for specific health conditions.
Is chelation therapy safe?
It’s important to note that chelation therapy does not only remove
toxic metals. It can also remove metals we need to stay healthy,
such as calcium and magnesium. Chelation therapy often includes
supplementation of these minerals to ensure you maintain healthy
levels.
Removing Heavy Metals
Also, chelating agents are excreted fairly quickly, over a few hours
or days. This means an agent will flush out the most readily
available metals first. Whereas, toxic metals may have accumulated
in your body over long periods of time and are stored in different
tissues and locations. This initial chelation “flush” may miss some
of the more difficult to access toxins.
Over time, your body will naturally redistribute any stored toxins
to regain equilibrium. In fact, levels of heavy metals have been
shown to rebound in your blood after chelation therapy is stopped.
This is because your body releases deeply stored toxins into more
easily accessible areas, such as the blood, creating a potential
risk of dangerous levels of toxic metals circulating throughout your
body.
This also shows why chelation therapy is most effective as a
long-term treatment. It’s recommended to start with small doses
administered on a regular basis in order to allow your body time to
safely clear the toxins. Chelation therapy is often administered
over a course of months or even years.
Is chelation therapy for you?
If you’re concerned about your own toxic metal load and wonder if
chelation therapy may help, speak to your doctor to discuss if it
might be right for you. It’s recommended to start with a personal
assessment that includes lifestyle, work history, diet, toxic
chemical levels and an individual analysis of body chemistry.
Be aware that chelation therapy can have side effects, such as
diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, poor appetite and skin rash. Rare
side effects include heart failure, permanent kidney damage and
abnormally low levels of calcium in the blood.
Source
Chelation therapy should only be administered by a trained health
professional. Never try to apply chelation therapy to yourself.