Bypassing the Bypass & Other Chelation Benefits

EDTA Chelation Without Needles

This report based on the clinical work of one of America’s leading physicians details how a man’s vision returned to near normalcy after oral chelation therapy and also shares the other health benefits of oral chelation therapy.

James Balch, M.D., a board-certified urologist-surgeon and co-author of the multi-million copy selling Prescription for Nutritional Healing has been a self-described huge fan of chelation therapy for more than 20 years.  Dr. Balch is a longtime friend of Healthy Living.  We recently came across a report he penned for his newsletter about oral chelation.

“Chelation,” says Dr. Balch, “is a marvelous means of restoring health in folks with heart and circulation problems.  And it really works!  I’ve personally witnessed hundreds of cases of men and women who have undergone chelation treatments and have seen their symptoms vastly improved.  Angina, for instance, often goes away! Intermittent claudication patients can walk without pain in their legs. And, people with circulation problems have more energy and clarity of thought and their aches and pains clear up rapidly.  Best of all, chelation is extremely safe.  I’ve never had anyone stop the therapy due to unpleasant side effects.”

How Chelation Works

In intravenous chelation therapy, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid or EDTA is intravenously injected into one of your veins.  The EDTA literally attaches to toxic metals and minerals, sequestering them from tissues and transports them in the bloodstream out of the body via the kidneys.  “In the process, it clears out your veins and arteries, allowing your blood to flow more freely and detoxifies your body!”

Chelation therapy was first used in the 1940s as a means of detoxifying the body from lead build-up.  But during the 1950s, doctors using IV chelation found that heart patients with angina stopped having attacks.  Eventually, an organization dedicated to IV chelation was formed.  It is called the American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM).  Thousands of doctors provide chelation therapy today in the United States.

Although chelation is not endorsed by the American Heart Association for heart and circulatory conditions, it is approved by medical organizations for heavy metal detoxification.  And, clearly, heavy metals have an important role in the onset of heart and circulatory disease.  Doctors like Balch have observed many health benefits in their patients who undergo chelation; these include:

§         Lowering cholesterol levels.

§         Diabetics use less insulin.

§         Lower blood pressure.

§         Normalization of irregular heartbeats.

§         Leg cramps vanish.

§         Allergies disappear.

§         Memory and concentration are restored.

§         Hearing has improved and the senses of taste and smell return.

§         Arthritic aches and pains are reduced.

§         Hands and feet are no longer cold.

§         Impotence is reversed (with no need for Viagra).

§         Energy is revived.

§         Hair loss slows—and, in some cases, reverses.

As Dr. Balch says, “Now ,I know this list sounds too good to be true, but I’ve witnessed things again and again. All of them were possible because these folks tried chelation.  The benefits of chelation are real…

Oral Chelation Also Benefits Patients

Time and money are the two major reasons why more patients don’t take advantage of IV chelation.  Chelation usually requires up to 40 treatments, each lasting two hours, with costs up to $125.00 per treatment (which is usually not covered by insurance).  Also, doctors generally recommend that treatments be separated by at least one day, so the whole program can take months.  Then again, a lot of people don’t like visiting doctors or needles. 

Dr. Balch’s experience with a patient on oral EDTA chelation, however, demonstrates what we’ve been telling our readers for some time—that oral chelation works quite well.  And we aren’t alone in extolling the detox virtues of oral chelation therapy.  According to Robert J. Rowen, M.D., “The medical literature around the world has repeatedly shown a dramatic kidney and fecal elimination of lead via oral EDTA chelation, some two-and-a-half to three times as much as without!  (This compares favorably to the five-fold excretion of lead induced by IV chelation.)  One study documented removal of 1,200 to 2,600 mg lead in just five days with oral chelation. Elimination far outstripped any possible increased intestinal absorption of lead pulled into the system by the EDTA.  A compilation of the literature over the past 50 years documents such an overwhelming consensus of the safety and efficacy of oral chelation that the [Food and Drug Administration] has approved it for the treatment of lead poisoning.

“Remember that modern humans have 1,000 times the lead in our bones as our 16th-century ancestors,” he continues.  “It does not take a nuclear physicist to realize we all could stand to lower these awesome poison levels, and this simple and inexpensive treatment can do just that!  Now, if there’s enough absorbed oral EDTA to reach for lead, it stands to reason that the other toxic metals (such as cadmium and free iron) will be picked up as well.”

“Believe it or not,” says Dr. Balch, “oral chelation offers the same benefits with no needles and it costs a lot less.  How can I be sure?  I’ve seen the benefits over and over again with people I know.”

Let Dr. Balch tell the rest of this amazing story:

Ralph had the most amazing results using oral chelation that I personally have ever heard of or witnessed.  When I met Ralph, he told me that for many years he had suffered with very cold hands and feet and with blockages in the arteries in his legs.  The painful leg cramps made his early morning walks on the beach very difficult.  But pain was not the reason he stopped walking. Ralph was blind.  He began to lose his sight in his sixties and he chalked his failing eyesight up to normal aging.  The lights finally went out for him at age 72 and his life was drastically changed.  No more walks on the beach. Driving and reading were now impossible.  He was forced to spend his days listening to books on tape and listening to the television.

When, at his next check-up, his doctor told him his inactivity could cause the clots in his legs to kill him, he came to me for help.  He did not want a bypass. And he did not want to die.  He had heard about chelation but he hated needles and could not stand the thought of having one in his arm for two hours.  He was hoping I could suggest an alternative to chelation to help him with his circulation problems.  I told him chelation was still his answer, but he’d never have to suffer a single needle stick.

I knew in my heart that oral chelation would be the perfect answer for Ralph’s bad circulation.  Oral chelation uses the same compounds as IV chelation, you just take them by mouth.  It does not work as fast as the IV approach, but make no mistake, it works just as well!

Ralph was thrilled to hear about this option, but the best was yet to come.  Before he got started, I checked Ralph's kidneys. Assessing a chelation candidate’s kidney health is important because the excretion of lead and mercury in the urine is stressful to unhealthy kidneys. I knew based on his blood work and urinalysis that his kidneys were in good shape, so I had Ralph take 5,000 mg of EDTA daily between meals. The dose was derived based on studies that show you should use 1,000 mg per 35 pounds of body weight. Ralph weighed 175 pounds.

I also had Ralph take a good trace mineral supplement. One caution with chelation therapy in general is that chelating agents are not as specific as we would like and are likely to remove essential trace minerals along with the toxic metals. So replacing the minerals is essential when doing any form of chelation.  Trace mineral supplements are also important because essential minerals compete with toxic metals for binding sites.  In other words, when you have optimal levels of minerals, your risk of toxicity of heavy metals is greatly reduced.  Along with the EDTA and the minerals, Ralph took N-acetyl cysteine and alpha-lipoic acid to protect his liver.  He also took nine grams a day of vitamin C to assist in the removal of toxic metals.

What happened after eight weeks was miraculous!     The first thing Ralph noticed was that his eyesight began to come back!  At first, he thought maybe he was imagining things.  But by 12 weeks, he could see the television and he could walk unassisted throughout his house and yard.  By four months, he was back on the beach every morning, feeling like a new man.  His leg cramps were gone, his blood pressure was back to normal, and he no longer had cold hands and feet.  Aging had not robbed Ralph of his eyesight.  But as his circulation improved, his vision came back.  Chelation therapy allowed a blind man to see again!  It was nothing short of a miracle for Ralph; it could be for you, too. 

How to Start on an Oral Chelation Program

If you wish to start on an oral chelation program, we have the following guidelines offered by Dr. Balch and other experts in the field.

§         Check your kidney health by measuring levels of creatinine (a metabolic waste product that builds up in the blood if the kidneys are not functioning properly), protein in your urine (which also builds-up if kidneys are malfunctioning) and with a blood pressure test (that can also indicate poor kidney function).  Paradoxically, recent research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrates that reducing lead levels is a key to improved kidney function among persons with serious kidney disease.  So do inform your doctor if you have kidney disease and make the right decision for you.

§        Be sure to include a well-designed multivitamin and mineral formula in your daily regimen.  Minerals are especially important to supplement since chelation can remove some minerals from the body.

§         Use a quality oral chelation formula (see our recommendation below).

Who is a Candidate for Oral Chelation?

People who should consider oral chelation supplements include those who:

§         Eat a lot of fish (especially tuna, shark and swordfish).

§         Have silver amalgam fillings in their teeth.

§         Drink tap water and live in the Northeast or Midwest.

§         Work in industrial occupations and manufacturing.

§         Live near a freeway or heavily trafficked road.

§         Suffer from poor circulation, angina or other heart or circulatory problems.

§         Experience mental fog.

§         We also know that environmental lead exposure is associated with high blood pressure, cancer, dementia and other organ dysfunction.

Recommended EDTA-based Formula

Cardio-Chelate™ from Metabolic Response Modifiers (also known as 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.  It is widely available to consumers via the nation’s health food stores.

While EDTA stands alone in its ability to remove toxic metals and abnormally metabolized minerals from the body, vitamin C, MSM and N-acetyl-cysteine can enhance its effects. 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.  Be sure to supplement with a quality multiple vitamin and mineral formula.  Beyond Basics, also from MRM, is designed to be used to complement their oral chelation formula and supplies essential vitamins and minerals.

Dosage—Dr. Balch and other experts recommend 1,000 mg EDTA per 35 pounds of body weight.

Availability—Cardio-Chelate is available nationwide at natural health centers and from health professionals.  To find a natural health center in your community carrying them, contact MRM toll-free at (800) 948-6296.

Resources

For more information on chelation and to find a chelation doctor, visit www.acam.org.

For more information on oral chelation, visit www.gordonreserch.com.