Detox with Chelation Therapy
What Is Chelation?
Each of us is exposed to countless toxins every day. They’re in the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil in which our food grows. A wide range of consumer goods continually emits low levels of synthetic chemical fumes, creating quite the toxic cocktail. We’re constantly surrounded by ever increasing amount of radiation from electrosmog.
Even if you do all the right things – eat healthy, stay active, and all the rest – it may not be enough to clear the body of all the heavy metals and chemicals introduced to it each day through the simple act of living.
This is why regular detox matters. Without it, our bodies can become overburdened. Over time, this can start to impair all manner of basic metabolic functions, paving the way to disease and dysfunction.
Your body is a self-regulating organism, after all, constantly working to maintain the conditions of health. You want it to keep doing what it does naturally. That requires both giving your body what it needs and protecting it from things it doesn’t.
There are all sorts of detox protocols – from fasts to IV therapies – but one that most everyone can benefit greatly from is chelation. It’s one of several we provide in our integrative medical clinic here in West Los Angeles.
Chelation uses synthetic amino acids to remove harmful metals from the body. EDTA and DMSA are used to remove lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other metals. DMPS is used to remove mercury.
These heavy metals are known to cause or contribute to inflammation and direct damage of bodily tissues. They’re can impair brain function and contribute to neurodegeneration. They are also known to cause infertility, cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease, and raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.
All three of the major chelators – EDTA, DMSA and DMPS – are powerful antioxidants that attract heavy metals and excess minerals such as the calcium in arterial plaque – the stuff that clogs arteries. Since they get bound up with the chelating agent, they are removed from the body right along with it.
Chelation can be administered through IV, orally or even through rectal suppository, depending on the situation.
Because chelation removes metals and minerals, it’s important to replace essential minerals which are removed by taking a highly absorbable, quality multivitamin- multimineral supplement. This should be done at the same time as chelation – along with additional supplementation as needed.
These nutrients also provide further protection against excess inflammation and the leftover damage from heavy metals. Supplements such as garlic, cilantro and chlorella are just a few of those which could be taken along with the multivitamin-mineral.
Beyond Detox
While detox is the main purpose of chelation, scientific research suggests other benefits, as well.
For instance, the large, ground-breaking study known as TACT – Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy – found that EDTA chelation was both safe and incredibly effective in improving heart health, especially among diabetics.
- Overall improvement in heart health 18%
- Death reduced 7%
- Heart attacks reduced 23%
- Hospitalizations reduced 28%
- Diabetic heart complications reduced: 39%
- Heart surgeries reduced 19%
- Strokes reduced 23%
Those are the overall figures. Among diabetics, researchers found a 41% overall reduction of risk for any cardiovascular event, a 40% reduction in the risk of death from heart disease, stroke, or heart attack, a 42% reduction of death from any cause, and a 52% reduction of recurrent heart attacks.
Other research has suggested that ETDA enhances brain function and stimulates mitochondrial activity. Mitochondria are structures within each cell of your body that are basically little power plants: They take in nutrients and produce energy, while protecting the cell from oxidative stress. EDTA has also been shown to optimize nitric acid production – a critical component in keeping arteries wide and clear, enhancing oxygen delivery to the tissues of the body.
Chelation Works
Every day in our West Los Angeles office, we see patients benefit from chelation– whether specifically to improve heart health, to remove toxic metals, or to support their overall well-being.
Not only is it safe and effective; it’s relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of heart surgery and other invasive conventional treatments.
But most of all, as our patients will tell you, it works.
Everything you need to know about Chelation Therapy
frequently asked questions
What is chelation therapy and is it dangerous?
Chelation therapy is used in conventional medicine and in my clinic is the removal of toxic metals from the body using specific substances to bind to them. It is also used in cardiovascular disease This is done using specific binding agents given into the vein with the bound metals excreted in the urine and bowel.
While every medical procedure can carry risk, chelation therapy is very safely done in my clinic with strict guidelines and a tailored, moderate approach to removing these toxins.
What are the side effects of chelation therapy?
Reported rare and serious side effects include heart failure; drop in blood pressure; kidney damage; bone marrow depression, diarrhea, convulsions or seizures, breathlessness or tightness in the chest, respiratory failure and low blood calcium [60]. There are rare reports of death using chelation therapy.
HOWEVER, I would also note these are the same serious side effects reported for many commonly used conventional medications such as antibiotics, blood pressure medications, aspirin, Advil, Motrin and chemotherapy medications which occur much more frequently than in the use of chelation therapy by an experienced practitioner.
What does chelation do for the body?
Reported rare and serious side effects include heart failure; drop in blood pressure; kidney damage; bone marrow depression, diarrhea, convulsions or seizures, breathlessness or tightness in the chest, respiratory failure and low blood calcium [60]. There are rare reports of death using chelation therapy.
HOWEVER, I would also note these are the same serious side effects reported for many commonly used conventional medications such as antibiotics, blood pressure medications, aspirin, Advil, Motrin and chemotherapy medications which occur much more frequently than in the use of chelation therapy by an experienced practitioner.
What is chelation therapy good for?
The second important use of chelation therapy is in the prevention and care of cardiovascular disease patients. While the published evidence of this is preliminary, chelation therapy has been used successfully in trained medical offices for over 60 years safely and effectively.
Vitamins and minerals are also prescribed for all patients receiving chelation therapy.