What is Chelation Therapy?
Chelation therapy is the removal of toxic metals from your blood. This is meant for people who have metal poisoning, such as lead, mercury, arsenic, or iron poisoning. This treatment is worth it for patients who have metal poisoning because without trying, the metal poisoning itself can be fatal. In this procedure, chelation drugs are administered to you via IV, which then the drugs bind to the metals to help them efficiently leave the body.
What Are the Benefits?
While there is no research to support these claims, some doctors believe it has some benefits aside from removing metal for someone who is experiencing metal poisoning.
Some believe that chelation therapy can:
- Reduce fatigue
- Lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke
- Reduce pain and swelling
- May limit symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Treat Autism
- Treat Parkinson’s Disease
- Treat Alzheimer’s Disease
- Slows the aging process
What are the Risks of Chelation Therapy?
Chelation Therapy comes with a LOT of risks, which makes you wonder why so many people are willing to do this treatment.
Possible side effects are:
- Burning sensation when injected into the vein
- Fever & Chills
- Headache
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Seizures
- Drop in blood pressure
- Respiratory failure
- Low blood calcium
- Irregular heartbeat
- Allergic reaction
- Anaphylactic shock or death
- Depression of the bone marrow
- Kidney damage
- Liver damage
- Brain damage
- Loss of vitamins and nutrients
Debunked: Proving Chelation Therapy Not to Be a Good Option
In 2005, during a study on chelation therapy for Autism, a five-year-old boy passed away due to treatment. Researchers were trying to prove that chelation therapy could be used as an alternative treatment for Autism. The boy was brought over with his family all the way from England for this test.
In 2003, Sandy Boyle was told by her naturopathic physician that she had high levels of mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel in her body. Boyle was so scared and automatically believed that the high levels of metals were causing her aches and pains. Chelation therapy not only takes out the bad metals, it can take out the metals we need to survive as well. After being administered her IV, Boyle blacked out and passed away later at the hospital. The coroner reported that she died of cardiac arrhythmia due to low calcium resulting from the chelation therapy.
In another case in Texas, a 2-year-old girl passed away because of doctors using two different chelation therapy drugs on her, which caused her calcium levels to drop, which caused her death.
References:
What is Chelation Therapy? WebMD.
Soloway, R. 2011. Chelation: Therapy or “Therapy”?
Weil, A. Chelation Therapy.
Robbins, J. 2017. 4 Benefits of Chelation Therapy. Robbins Natural Health.
Abassi, L. 2017. Chelation Therapy – Fad Treatment with Real Risks. American Council on Science and Health.
2017. My EDTA Chelation Story. Health Research Laboratories.
Mandal, A. Chelation Therapy Side Effects. News Medical Life Sciences.
Wong, C. 2018. Chelation Therapy: A Natural Solution for Heart Disease? Very Well Health.
Cafasso, J. 2018. What Does Chelation Therapy Treat? Health Line.
Hoffman, R. 2014. The Facts and Fictions of Chelation Therapy. Intelligent Medicine.
2005. Boy with Autism Dies During “Chelation Therapy”. Behavior News.
Srikameswaran, A. 2006. CDC Says 2 Deaths Caused by Chelation Drug Errors. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.