Chelation Therapy: Clean and Unclog Your Arteries

Chelation therapy cleans the arteries by using intravenous chelating agents in conjunction with dietary supplements and lifestyle changes, focusing on diet, exercise and stress reduction. Chelation means "combining with metal." The major chelator used is ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA), a synthetic amino acid, which removes toxic heavy metals from the body by binding to them and eliminating them through the kidneys. EDTA is non-toxic when used properly and according to the guidelines of the American Board of Chelation Therapy. Toxic metals most commonly found in the body are mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and aluminum. EDTA also binds to calcium which builds up as plaques on the walls of the arteries. By removing this calcium, the plaques are reduced and circulation is improved.

Chelation therapy is a world-recognized treatment for heavy-metal toxicity, snake venom poisoning, radiation toxicity, digitalis intoxication (from heart drugs) and heart arrythmias.

History

EDTA was originally developed in the 1930s in Germany to remove calcium from hard water. Chelation was introduced to the United States in 1948. Dr. Martin Rubin, who studied under American EDTA pioneer researcher Frederick Bersworth, conducted the first experiments on EDTA for humans. In the 1950s, chelation therapy was first used with excellent results to treat lead poisoning.

Since then, EDTA has been researched and used by thousands of doctors. The American Board of Chelation Therapy has set standards for qualification in and practice of chelation therapy. Chelation therapy's benefits are proven through many controlled and uncontrolled studies. The successful treatment of hundreds of thousands of seriously ill patients who have made remarkable recovery in their health and quality of life with chelation therapy are also an example of chelation's effectiveness.

Due to chelation's powerful healing action, it is now a popular treatment.

How Can It Help Me?

Chelation can treat and reverse degenerative illnesses. Chelation therapy has restored many seriously ill people to their normally functioning selves. It has prevented the need for dangerous surgery and chronic use of toxic drugs. It can restore natural body function, stop deterioration, and increase both mental and physical well-being.

Chelation is mainly and optimally used to treat heavy-metal toxicity and cardiovascular disorders like hardening of the arteries and high blood pressure. It also helps improve such conditions as arthritis, diabetes, cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, gangrene and senility.

How Does It Work?

When heavy metals remain in the body and come in contact with oxygen, showers of tissue-damaging free radicals are produced. A free radical particle of energy is very unstable, lacking one electron which it must receive in order to be balanced and stable. Free radicals will travel around the body damaging the cells in the lining of the artery plus other tissues in the search for the missing electron. Also, heavy metals in the body suppress the normal healthy enzyme reactions which fuel the metabolism. When EDTA is introduced into the bloodstream, it binds the heavy metal to itself and the EDTA metal complex is then carried through the bloodstream to the kidneys where it is dumped out in the urine.

Removal of the heavy metals stops contact with oxygen, greatly reducing free-radical production and the damaging effect on the artery walls and other tissues. The removal of the heavy metals also frees up the suppression effect that these metals have on the normal enzyme systems in the body which promote healthy metabolism. In addition, EDTA binds to the calcium deposits on the walls of the arteries and pulls it into the bloodstream where it is carried to the kidneys and eliminated. The removal of this calcium usually results in improved blood flow to the heart and the brain and other important organs.

A recent publication in the Journal For Advancement In Medicine found an eighty-six percent rate of improvement in patients with cardiovascular, carotid and peripheral vascular symptoms with chelation therapy. Over twenty thousand patients were included in the study.

How Is It Done?

A complete medical and lifestyle history is taken with an emphasis on circulatory and respiratory functions. Tests including blood, urine, and hair analysis (detects heavy-metal and mineral concentrations) are also performed.

Treatment

Chelation therapy involves intravenous injection of EDTA into the blood in sessions that last three to four hours. A series of chelation treatments usually include twenty to thirty treatments.

Patients are advised to eat before a treatment to control blood sugar levels. Snacking during treatment will also aid this. Infusions of any type can cause blood sugar to drop. The patient sits or lies down (usually in a group setting) while the solution of EDTA and various vitamins and minerals is dripped into the blood into a vein in the arm or hand. The solution content is tailored to the needs of the patient. Patients may do light activity such as reading, writing, watching television or napping.

Because the kidneys bear most of the strain of excretion of the chelated minerals, their function is monitored every fifth treatment.

After treatment, the patient may feel tired, light-headed, muscle cramping or a headache, which usually resolve by the next day. Others immediately feel energized and clear-headed. It takes up to ninety days after a course of therapy for the full beneficial effects of chelation to be felt.

An essential adjunct to this therapy is lifestyle change that includes a nutritious diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, anti-stress techniques, exercise and no smoking.

Oral chelators such as vitamins A, C, E and reduced l-glutathione may be given before treatments are started or as maintenance supplements to neutralize free radicals and prevent their damaging effects upon the artery walls and other body tissues. For cases of cardiovascular or degenerative diseases, oral chelates are not a substitute for chelation therapy.

Where Do I Go Next?

Make sure you find a practitioner qualified by the American Board of Chelation Therapy. Contact the American College in the Advancement of Medicine in California.

Did You Know?

Injections of EDTA are three to four times safer than aspirin.