Chelation
Therapy:
A Way to Remove Harmful Metals From Your System
Chelation therapy has
been used for years to remove toxic heavy metals from the body.
Known as an alternative medicine, chelation therapy is the use of
a chemical substance to bind heavy metals and minerals in the body
in order to remove them via urination. According to proponents of
this method, chelation therapy has successfully removed toxic metals
like lead, iron, mercury and aluminum. Chelation therapy commonly
uses EDTA, a man-made amino acid, to remove minerals and metals
from the body’s blood supply.
When EDTA is used in chelation therapy, it is usually to treat arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis is a hardening of the arteries, and some physicians
use chelation therapy to help improve the patient’s circulation
by removing calcium deposits and plaques from the arteries. The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved chelation
therapy for the treatment of arteriosclerosis, but it has approved
it as a treatment for lead and heavy metal poisoning.
Still, aside from arteriosclerosis, chelation therapy has been used
to treat conditions like circulatory disorders such as coronary
heart disease and gangrene, as well as removing heavy metals from
the body. Chelation therapy typically involves inserting a needle
into the patient’s vein and injecting EDTA. The procedure
usually lasts about three hours and a patient normally undergoes
up to 30 chelation therapy sessions over a period of a few weeks.
Chelation therapy can have a few side effects, and patients normally
feel a burning sensation where the vein is injected. On a rare occasion,
some patients have complained of fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting
and hypocalcemia. There is controversy surrounding chelation therapy
and whether it is safe for patients. However, studies being conducted
on the effectiveness of chelation therapy should be completed by
2010.
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