Health and Exercise

When we talk about chelation therapy we are referring to a practice that clears toxic heavy metals from our bodies, either by oral chelation or Intravenous (IV) chelation therapy. IV chelation is used primarily for reducing arterial plaque to improve blood flow around the body and can only be administered by a health professional. IV chelation therapy works because a fair percentage of arterial plaque is made up of toxic metals combining with calcium.

Oral chelation differs to IV chelation because we can treat ourselves without the need for a medical setting. Oral chelation is also effective for reducing plaque build up in our arteries but is also commonly used for general detoxification of toxic metals. There are many oral chelation products that we can buy for this purpose.

One very popular oral chelation agent is Chinese parsley (cilantro). In one study, scientists noticed that patients displayed an increased amount of mercury in their urine when they ate a soup that contained a lot of Chinese parsley. With further study scientists found that Chinese parsley in a liquid supplement form is extremely effective at mercury detoxification and is one of the best known methods for this purpose.

Consequently, liquid Chinese parsley has become a popular oral chelation supplement for people with amalgam fillings. Amalgam fillings contain mercury that leaches out into the body. Amalgam filling are actually banned in some countries but are still legal in the USA and some European countries.

Another very popular oral chelation agent is EDTA, which is also the main component of IV chelation therapy. EDTA is a kind of amino acid, derived from vinegar, that was first synthesized in the 1930′s to treat soldiers suffering from severe heavy metal toxicity from exposure as a result of chemical warfare. EDTA is often used in heavy metal detox programs because it targets all five of the main toxic heavy metals – aluminum, cadmium, mercury, lead and arsenic.

Along with EDTA and Chinese parsley, a form of blue-green algae named chlorella is a great oral chelation supplement. The high percentage of fiber in chlorella binds with toxic metals in the colon so that we can safely poop them out. This is an important part of a heavy metal detox because these toxic metal will be reabsorbed into the blood if they are not cleared from the colon.

However, the detoxification benefits of chlorella don’t end there! It is loaded with the powerful antioxidant and plant chemical that is chlorophyll. Not just a potent antioxidant, chlorophyll is also a chelation agent that cleans the blood of toxic heavy metals.

Removing toxic heavy metals from our bodies is an important factor for our health. All of us have toxic metals in our cells to some degree or another because they are found in the air and our water systems. Non-organic farming, PVC plastic products, some paints and piping and many other products/processes contribute to toxic heavy metal pollution.

If you would like to learn more about chelation and how toxic metals damage our health then take a look at oral chelation.