Oral Chelation Therapy and Heart Health

Oral chelation works to "cleanse" the blood of metallic pollutants in the bloodstream, thus preventing their concentration in the arteries. This alternative approach to heart and circulatory health includes ethylenediamine-tetra-acetic acid (EDTA)—a stabilizer used in the food industry for years to maintain food color and flavor—as a premiere oral chelation agent. It appears to be completely safe, nontoxic, and actually works, according to studies.

It was in the 1950s when doctors using EDTA chelation to treat patients with lead poisoning noticed the simultaneous disappearance of cardiovascular symptoms. Dr. Norman Clarke noted that after several chelation treatments, one patient experienced complete relief of angina pectoris pain. Between the years of 1956 and 1960, Dr. Clarke’s patients showed an impressive 87 percent improvement in symptoms of coronary artery disease following a series of chelation treatments.

How does chelation therapy work? A recent study indicated that EDTA treatment of lead poisoning reduced lead blood levels. It was later theorized that EDTA removes other unwanted toxic metals, such as calcium from arterial plaque. This might be so. But there is another explanation of how EDTA helps support heart and circulatory health. The very removal of lead and other heavy metals certainly aids blood flow and reduces blood pressure. It is important to realize that some essential nutrients necessary to heart health can be displaced or bodily absorption impaired by toxic metals. Chelation using EDTA has shown the unique ability to bind to many of the minerals involved in free radical pathology, and free radical pathology causes damage to the lining of the arteries. What we do know is that respected physicians throughout the United States use chelation therapy, both orally and intravenously, and enough patients love the results to make this a thriving area of complementary medicine.

In the early 1980s, 2,870 patients at the Clinica Tuffik Mattar in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were treated with EDTA chelation. The results were impressive, with 89 percent of all treated patients showing marked or good improvement in atherosclerosis symptoms. Also in the early 1980s, Dr. Richard Casdorph, then Chief of Medicine at Long Beach Community Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at University of California, Irvine, observed similar results in patients with arteriosclerotic heart disease and reduced cerebral blood flow. All of the patients in his studies showed significant clinical improvement as well as enhanced blood flow.

Advantages of Oral EDTA

Studies suggest oral EDTA is an effective chelator for removing toxic heavy metals and minerals from the body, and that it also works to promote heart and circulatory health. According to some doctors, the absorption and effectiveness of one month's consumption of an oral chelation product produces effects similar to one three-hour intravenous chelation session.

"Take a man who is 80. His aorta has 140 times more calcium than when he was a child of 10," says one medical expert. "This means that over time, his arteries are turning to stone. In fact, we could live to 120 years or our full life span if we could avoid such hardening of the arteries, the skin and other collagen-based tissues."

This further accumulation of calcium and other toxic metals in the arteries leading to their hardening is thought to be reversible with oral chelation. Many of the toxins drawn out by EDTA also stimulate excessive free radical damage to the body's tissues. (Free radicals are unstable molecules, missing an electron, that zip about the body’s tissues, seeking a matching electron. They end up damaging cell membranes and DNA. Because EDTA removes these free radical-causing toxins, your body’s arteries, cell membranes, DNA, enzyme systems, and cholesterol all benefit.)

"I, too, have seen and heard of dramatic clinical improvements in very debilitated patients who had used only oral chelation as a treatment," says longevity expert Ward Dean, M.D. "I doubt whether such reversals of what were considered irreversible conditions (atherosclerosis, dementia, diabetes, hypertension) would be due only to EDTA's anticoagulant effect. I believe oral EDTA also positively influences mineral metabolism (similar to the effect of intravenous chelation), and it may have other effects as well. I'm not sure whether we really know exactly what all of the mechanisms (and/or benefits for that matter) of EDTA chelation are."

But there are many more benefits to oral chelation, adds Robert J. Rowen, M.D., of Second Opinion newsletter. "There's scientific evidence that long-term exposure to low levels of lead may contribute to chronic renal disease, and that chelation therapy may slow or reverse the progression of kidney impairment," he says. "Of course, low-level lead is also associated with brain dysfunction, cancer development, dementia, bone marrow disease, organ dysfunction, and more. The bones are the greatest reservoir of lead in the body. You can be exposed to a very toxic load of lead today, easily measurable in the blood for just a few days. It then disappears from measurement, as it's taken up and stored in bone (actually the body's short-term means of reducing toxicity), only to be slowly released over the years, as the bones remodel or thin. (Hence, a static single blood or urine measurement is a very poor way to assess total body burden of lead). If you have osteoporosis, oral chelation is something you need to seriously consider. A 2002 article from Harvard researchers indicated osteoporosis patients are exposed to a significant release of the lead, which was released from their failing bones. I've observed significant improvement in the mental well-being of my chelation patients. A recent report in a psychiatric journal confirms improvement in a wide variety of such symptoms. Neurasthenic (mental) and nonspecific multi-organ symptoms improve significantly following oral EDTA chelation therapy, resulting in a marked improvement in the overall quality of life."

References
Uhl, H.S.M., et al. "Effect of ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDT) on cholesterol metabolism in man. Preliminary report of effect of parenteral and oral administration of disodium and calcium salts." Am J Clin Pathol, 1953; 23:1226-1233.

Heart Health Complements

MRM, who has a reputation for quality and innovation and value, supplies two other healthy-heart supplements you might want to consider using along with Cardio-Chelate. ChoLESStat is an all-natural supplement that promotes normal, healthy cholesterol levels with no negative side effects by combining nutrients and phytochemicals.

"One of the most important aspects of products like ChoLESStat is the inclusion of nutraceutical science in supporting healthy levels of cholesterol," says Mark Olson, MRM president and chief executive officer. "We include ingredients like policosanol, which some doctors believe to represent a nutraceutical breakthrough in that it actually outperforms conventional drugs in a number of head-to-head clinical studies." Of course, these studies are all preliminary. But nutraceutical science is clearly detailing effective, safe approaches to support normal cholesterol.

Nutrients in this formula include policosanol, guggulipid, inositol hexaniacinate, beta-sitosterol and Flaphenol™ (an olive leaf/citrus flavonoid-rich extract). Flaphenol is a bio-enhanced mixture of highly absorbable flavonoids and polyphenols, enabling the body to synthesize cholesterol more effectively. Its materials include Spanish olea and other citrus plants to help support cardiovascular health.

Like policosanol, early but preliminary evidence suggests Flaphenol supports normal cholesterol levels as well as some medications—but without any side effects. Again, while the head-to-head contests require more detailed investigation, it is a supportive ingredient in its own right—and fits with the guidelines of natural health and cholesterol. Nutraceutical science is being moved ahead by companies throughout the world, especially in the area of healthy cholesterol.

ChoLESStat also includes beta-sitosterol, a component found in soybeans and rice that has the ability to decrease the absorption of cholesterol into the digestive system. Obtaining optimal amounts of beta-sitosterol through both foods and dietary supplements can help promote a healthy heart and blood circulation.

Vitamin E is a known promoter of health. This fat-soluble vitamin exists in eight different forms, four tocopherols and four tocotrienols, each metabolized into other important compounds. Each form has a specific measure of potency or functional use in the body, and all can be found in Complete E. This is arguably the best vitamin E product today.

Gamma-tocopherol, locked inside of Complete E, has strong anti-inflammatory properties and works to increase the superoxide dismutase, or SOD, a super antioxidant. Meanwhile, gamma-tocotrienol helps inhibit a liver enzyme involved in cholesterol production. These types of tocotrienol-rich supplements work to significantly reduce total cholesterol levels as well as low-density lipoproteins and even triglycerides. Some clinical studies have even shown that tocotrienols might help prevent and even to reverse narrowing of the arteries. Complete E is a full-spectrum vitamin E supplement that also includes the powerful potato-derived antioxidant alpha lipoic acid, and vitamin C. It functions like a super antioxidant, protecting cells from the potentially damaging free radicals (or metabolic byproducts), which can cause the type of cellular damage that contributes to cardiovascular disease and even cancer.

Recommended EDTA-based Formula
Editor's Note: Cardio-Chelate™ from Metabolic Response Modifiers (MRM) was created to meet the needs of those interested in the "alternative" approach to heart and circulatory health. Besides EDTA, the formula also supplies methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), N-acetyl-cysteine and vitamin C.

While EDTA stands alone in its ability to remove toxic metals and abnormally metabolized minerals from the body, its effects can be enhanced by including vitamin C, MSM and N-acetyl-cysteine. These nutrients are vital for supporting the liver during the detoxification process. MSM and NAC are precursors to glutathione, a powerful free radical scavenger involved in the liver’s detoxifying enzyme system. Vitamin C is a proven antioxidant and has been shown to prevent free radical damage to cells in the arteries.

It is important to note that EDTA is sold as a nutritional supplement. It is not a medical drug and it is not intended to cure disease. (It is a preventive in all ways that helps the body maintain healthy function.) Anybody using medical drugs or with any other condition should consult a qualified medical or health expert before undertaking any change in their health program.

Availability
Cardio-Chelate and other MRM products are available nationwide at health food stores and natural product supermarkets, and from health professionals. To find a natural health center in your community carrying them, contact MRM toll-free at (800) 948-6296 or visit their website at www.mrm-usa.com.