Laura Lundegard
Are you feeling tired? Does your
stomach hurt or your joints? Do you have tingly hands or feet? Do you have
headaches and difficulty remembering things? Is your blood pressure higher than
normal?
If any of these seem familiar, you
could have lead poisoning. Lead poisoning and other heavy metal poisoning is
identified through a hair test or a blood test. Lead poisoning occurs over a
long period of time. Lead is a heavy metal that bioaccumulates in the body, and
is stored in the bones. Even small amount of lead can have a serious impact.
Lead poisoning is caused by an exposure to lead, such as living in an old home
with lead paint, or working with lead in an industrial factory setting. Lead
cannot be excreted naturally, which is why a chelator is applied to remove the
heavy metals from the body as waste.
Chelation Therapy is a procedure
that removes heavy metals from the body, such as lead. The word chelate is
defined as, to combine reversibly, usually with high affinity, with a metal ion
such as iron, calcium, or magnesium. Chelation was first used to remove calcium
from hard water in Germany and then in the US. NTA was the first compound to be
used as a chelator, then EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, a more commonly
known chelator agent. In 1941, EDTA was used as a chelator for the removal of
lead in the body. At Georgetown University, an EDTA study was conducted to
check for any beneficial results, there were no conclusive results found. In
the early 1950s EDTA was used as a lead poisoning treatment in humans with
dramatically effective results. The FDA approved EDTA for lead poisoning
treatment, soon after it was proven to be an effective treatment option.
Chelation therapy can be extremely
dangerous if not performed correctly or under the right care. Chelation should
only be used for the purpose of removal of heavy metals, many try to use
“natural” methods of chelation to relieve symptoms of chronic illnesses,
everything from autism to Parkinson’s. While heavy metals may have a link to
some symptoms of these chronic illnesses, if a high concentration of heavy
metals is not present, chelation should not be used. So how does chelation
therapy work? Chelation allows lead to be removed through the urine. Chelators
bind to the heavy metal to pull them out of the body through the blood stream,
which is then cycled through the kidneys and excreted through the urea. If the
heavy metal is not removed at the half-life of the chelator the blood levels of
the chelator drop. This means chelators degrade quickly and need to be
consistently replaced. If not the chelator could drop the toxin. Then the toxin
is redistributed mostly to the brain. Hence why the process can be so
dangerous, and some cases can result in permanent brain damage and death.
There are multiple types of drugs
used for chelation and a variety of methods, there is EDTA or ethylenediamine
tetraacetic acid, DMSA or dimercaptosuccinic acid, DMPS or dimercaptopropane
sulfonic acid, and ALA or alpha lipoic acid. There are also natural methods of
chelation within the holistic medicine community, such as chlorella or
cilantro/coriander but none of them are proven to be as effective or safe. The
chlorella and coriander can do sometimes more harm than good; they are able to
move around the heavy metal, but they are not able to pull it out. Chelators
need to have two dithiol groups in order to be effective, this is what allows
the heavy metal to be pulled from the body. DSMA is a chelator that
specifically removes lead from the body. Each drug can be taken intravenously (IV)
or in capsule form. Some of the drugs like DMSA are only available through
capsule form. During chelation therapy, patients can switch between any of the
chelating agents, it is common to used DMSA and DMPS chelation agents together.
EDTA is normally distributed intravenously, and is thought to be the most
effective and dangerous, but fastest chelator agent. The reason EDTA is the
most dangerous is because it crosses the Blood Brain Barrier. ALA also crosses
the blood brain barrier but is not used a frequently. This is the barrier in
the brain that prevents harmful substances from entering the brain. DMSA and
DMPS both do not cross the blood brain barrier of the brain. However DMSA must
be taken every 3-4 hours in cycles because the half-life of the chelator is so
short, the chelator needs to be constantly reintroduced in the body in order to
effectively pull out the heavy metals. DMPS must be administered every 8 hours,
and ALA is taken every 3 hours for 3 days. The full process of chelation
therapy takes between 100 to 300 rounds; it is an extremely long process that
on average takes about two to three years to effectively remove all the heavy
metals from the body.
There are a variety of ways to
chelate, with various chelators and different dosages. The Andy Cutler method
is one of the safest ways to chelate. Dr. Cutler has a PhD in biochemistry and
is a well-known authority on heavy metal toxicity. His method consists of
administering low doses of chelators frequently over an average of three days
to help the body safely excrete heavy metals. Every 4 hours DMSA, every 3 hours
ALA and every 8 hours DMPS is administered. This cycle continues for three
days, followed by three days of rest, to allow the body to recover from the
strong substances. One chelation round is 3 days on and 3 days off. The process
starts slowly and then builds up over time. His protocol allows blood levels of
a chelator to maintain a low and stable level, which allows for movement of metals
out of the body. In the protocol Dr. Cutler stresses the importance of having
all mercury amalgams removed before starting chelation, this means have any
metal dental fillings removed prior to chelation. This is because when the
chelator will not be effective with chronic heavy metal exposure. You cannot
chelate heavy metals out when you are still exposed to heavy metals. Once all
the fillings are removed, the DSMA round is started at least four days after
the last filling is removed, after 3 months ALA is added, and DMPS can be used
immediately. The reason ALA must be used later is because it crosses the blood
brain barrier, and it is necessary to make sure all of mercury is gone so that
it will not cross the blood brain barrier with the ALA.
Chelation is a risky process in any
form, it is important to follow the protocol closely and start slowly. The
chelation process encourages yeast, which can trigger a candida infection in
some. The candid infection is a fungual yeast infection, caused by yeasts that
belong to the candida genus. The chelation still needs to continue if the
infection occurs, but the infection still needs to be treated. Cutler
recommends taking supplements such as, Vitamin A, B, C, E, magnesium, zinc,
fish oil, flax oil, borage oil during the process.
It is comforting to know that there
is a treatment option for lead poisoning and other heavy metals. Today there
are at least four million households with high levels of lead, and the numbers
who use chelation therapy as treatment continue to grow as more doctors become
informed on the chelation therapy protocols.
Works Cited
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