Intravenous Chelation Therapy: Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Intravenous chelation therapy sounds scary, but 1 million people in the United States undergo the procedure every year. Intravenous chelation therapy uses a chemical substance, EDTA, to bind minerals and metals together in order to remove them from the body. It is thought that intravenous chelation therapy was first used by the U.S. Navy in the 1940s to treat lead poisoning. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the procedure for the treatment of poisonings from toxic metals like arsenic, lead, iron, mercury and cadmium. Although our bodies need an intake of some of these metals daily, an excess of these same metals can cause harm.

EDTA, a man-made amino acid, is the chemical substance used to bind the toxic metals. This substance is injected into the patient’s vein via intravenous chelation therapy. This procedure can take up to three hours and patients generally need up to 30 sessions. These sessions are administered throughout several weeks. Although intravenous chelation therapy is mainly used to treat metal poisonings, some also use it to treat heart conditions like arteriosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries. There are several practitioners who believe that intravenous chelation therapy can be used to removed calcium deposits and plaques from the arteries in order to prevent heart attacks and strokes. There are 60,000 miles of veins and arteries in the body and it is difficult for nutrients and oxygen to reach vital organs if the arteries and veins are clogged with toxic wastes and debris.

Intravenous chelation therapy is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of heart conditions. However, the NIH National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is funding a study to answer questions about this controversial use of intravenous chelation therapy.