Chelation Therapy for Heavy Metal Poisoning and Cardiovascular Disease

Chelation therapy is generally used as a treatment for heavy metal poisoning, such as lead, iron, zinc, or plutonium. The treatment was introduced during World War I originally as an antidote to the arsenic based poison gas, Lewisite. In World War II, chelation was then used as it is commonly used today to fight heavy metal poisoning. In addition to heavy metal poisoning, some doctors and alternative medicine practitioner use chelation therapy as a method of treating cardiovascular disease.

The basic premise of chelation therapy is that when the amino acid ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) comes in contact with positively charged metals and some other substances; it latches on and removes them from the body. Several other amino acids can be used for chelation therapy, including diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA). Chelation therapy is used to remove unwanted ionic materials from the body through infusion or oral methods. Once the amino acid binds with the metal, or poison, it can be eliminated from the body through urine.

Chelation in Nature

It is easy to think of the human digestive system as a simple example of how chelation works. The digestion of food involves the chelation of certain substances within the food, such as amino acids, with minerals. For example, when a person eats meat, once the iron has been released from the food, the iron is chelated with amino acids so that it can be brought into the bloodstream.

Alternative Uses of Chelation Therapy

In recent years, scientists and medical professionals have begun to examine chelation therapy as a way of treating cardiovascular disease as well as other ailments of the body, though not enough study has been completed though several trials are in progress and projected to commence in 2010. Those patients in current studies claim to have reduced muscular pain and reduced angina pain that suffered significantly before chelation therapy.

It is argued that chelation therapy is effective for removing metallic crystals from the body that cause excessive free radical proliferation. It is believed that chelation therapy can stop the negative effects and proliferate the body's healing processes and even reverse damage caused by free radicals. One way that the healing process is thought to be encouraged by chelation therapy is that the therapy will remove calcium and copper deposits from the bloodstream that cause arterial walls to become porous and brittle. As long as arterial walls remain smooth, blood flow is able to continue without blockage.

While chelation therapy is a viable treatment for heavy metal poisoning and may be a possible effective therapy for coronary disease, it does have some mild and serious side effects. The most common side effect is a headache. Usually low blood sugar levels cause such a headache since chelation therapy does reduce the amount of sugars in the blood. Many doctors recommend that patients eat a banana or other piece of fruit during the first hour of infusion.

Other side effects include local skin irritation, nausea, diarrhea, feelings of faintness, fatigue, fever, cramps, and joint pain. If you are currently undergoing chelation therapy, it is best to speak to your doctor immediately if you experience any side effects in excess.

Sources:

Chelation Therapy, Wikipedia
Saul Green, PhD, Chelation Therapy: Unproven Claims and Unsound Theories, QuackWatch
Chelation Therapy, American Heart Association