Your body is a self-regulating organism. It’s constantly working to maintain the condition of health – so it can go on going on. When you encounter harmful substances – a virus, say, or environmental toxins – mechanisms for fighting or clearing them kick into high gear. The human body is brilliantly designed to protect and sustain itself.
But it’s not is invincible.
Illness and dysfunction arise when the body’s innate defenses become overwhelmed. They may be weakened because of things like poor nutrition, lack of exercise, chronic stress and chronic sleep loss. They may be burdened by environmental toxins – from synthetic chemicals to heavy metals. They may be energetically imbalanced due to excess exposure to an ever-widening variety of radiation sources.
All these and more interfere with your body’s ability to do what it does best: go on going on.
They’re also one reason why most of us can benefit greatly from chelation therapy.
Chelation is a kind of detox, using synthetic amino acids: EDTA or DMSA for lead, arsenic, cadmium and other metals, or DMPS for removal of mercury.
These metals – heavy metals – are known to cause or contribute to inflammation and direct damage to tissues in the body. They are associated with brain function damage and neurodegeneration, and are known to actually cause infertility, cancer, high blood pressure and heart disease – including risks for heart attacks and stroke!
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 EDTA, DMSA or DMPS, 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.
It’s like when you’re given a broad-spectrum antibiotic – one that will go after all kinds of bacteria, not just pathogens (“bad bugs”). You may be advised to take probiotics or eat more cultured and fermented foods for as long as you’re taking the drug. This helps replenish the good bacteria in your gut, keeping the overall microbial environment of your gut in balance – something that science tells us is critical to good overall physical and mental health.
Similarly, a good multivitamin-mineral supplement helps your body maintain nutritional balance while the EDTA, DMSA or DMPS does its detoxifying work. These supplements become even more important over time because they continue to add 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 multivit-mineral.
And according to chelation pioneer Dr. Gary Gordon, detox is just a part of the benefit. For instance, there is evidence that EDTA 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.
But again, including the vitamin therapy is critical, as subsequent analysis of the TACT study data and additional research have shown. We’ve discussed TACT before – a large, ground-breaking study which showed chelation’s safety and its ability to improve heart health, especially among diabetics. More recent research has shown that while chelation confers some benefit to heart patients in comparison to placebo, chelation plus multivitamins confers even more.
Every day in our office, we see patients benefit from chelation– whether specifically to improve heart health, to remove toxic metals, or to support their overall well-being. It’s safe, effective and, compared with the costs of heart surgery and other invasive treatments, inexpensive.
But most of all, as our patients will tell you, it works.
Images via Musklemom’s Blog
& by nathanmac87, via Flickr