With success, despite the fact that organized medicine is fighting it.
People are taking their health into their own hands, because the history of
organized medicine sucks. As James P Carter has pointed out.
http://www.genesishealth.com/micromedex/altmedgen/amm0030.aspx
Chelation Therapy
What is it?
Chelation comes from the Greek word chele meaning claw. Chelation therapy uses
a substance known as EDTA to grab on to metals in the body and carry them to
the kidneys where they can be removed.
Chelation therapy began in the 1940s when the U.S. Navy used EDTA to treat lead
poisoning of sailors exposed to lead paint. In the early 1950s, Dr. Norman
Clark found that patients treated with EDTA for lead poisoning also had less
heart pain. Patients also reported improved memory, sight, hearing, and smell
and many reported an increase in energy.
There are over 1000 doctors providing chelation treatments, and over 500,000
U.S. patients have been treated using chelation with EDTA. Despite its wide
use, EDTA is still not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for
the treatment of heart conditions.
Heart disease occurs when calcium-containing materials become lodged in the
arteries that supply the heart with blood. This process is known as
atherosclerosis. EDTA pulls the calcium out of the clogged arteries allowing
the sludge to dissolve. Now the artery can carry more blood to the heart
because the blood vessel is no longer blocked.
EDTA also removes excess metals from the body. These metals are toxic and can
lead to damaged arteries or body tissues by a process known as oxidation. By
removing the excess metals in the body, the tissue damage is stopped and the
body can repair the damage to the arteries or tissues.
Conventional doctors are critical of chelation therapy and usually do not
suggest it to their patients. The standard treatment for serious heart disease
is bypass surgery or angioplasty.
Chelation therapy has not been proven in studies acceptable to the American
Medical Association (AMA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), or the Food
and Drug Administration. Currently, there are FDA-approved studies to study the
safety and effectiveness of chelation for the treatment of heart disease and
related health problems.
Chelation treatments are usually performed in the doctor's office and take
about three and a half hours per treatment. The EDTA is given to the patient
intravenously (IV) by inserting a needle into a vein in the patient's arm. For
the best results, doctors recommend between one to three treatments per week
for a total of 20 to 50 treatments.
Doctors using chelation therapy have found EDTA to be safe and effective for
the treatment and prevention of diseases related to atherosclerosis such as
heart attacks, heart pain, strokes, and blockages of blood vessels anywhere
else in the body. In recent studies, chelation has shown other benefits such as
correcting abnormal heart beats, improving blood supply to the brain, improving
memory, improving vision, reducing cancer risks, protecting against iron
storage disease, and removing the poison from snake and spider bites.
In addition to IV chelation, some doctors use medicines that can be taken by
mouth. Penicillamine, EDTA, and nutritional medicines such as garlic, vitamin
C, cysteine, and methionine have been effective to remove metals and help
prevent heart attacks and strokes. Doctors recommend oral chelation for the
prevention of heart disease and IV chelation for patients who need stronger and
quicker results to prevent a heart attack or stroke in patients with blocked
arteries.
Patients interested in chelation therapy should choose a doctor who has been
trained by the American College of Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) or the
American Board of Chelation Therapy.
For more information:
American College of Advancement in Medicine (714) 583-7666.
American Board of Chelation (312) 266-7246.
References:
1. Burton Goldberg Group: Alternative medicine: the definitive guide. Future
Medicine Publishing, Inc. Puyalllup, WA; 1994.
2. Cassileth BR: The Alternative Medicine Handbook, 1st ed. WW Norton &
Company, NY, NY; 1998.
3. Kastner MA: Alternative healing: the complete A to Z guide to over 160
different alternative therapies. Halcyon Publishing, La Mesa, CA; 1993.
4. Sifton DW: The PDR family guide to natural medicines and healing therapies.
Three Rivers Press, NY, NY; 1999.