Logic dictates that, once the potential harm from heavy metals is understood, their production and use should be phased out and toxic storage heavily regulated. As is obvious from the list of exposure sources above, logic is not the guiding principle here, except in the case of lead, the use of which has been curtailed.

Even if all heavy metal production were to stop today, however, enough heavy metals have been released into our environment to cause chronic poisoning and numerous neurological diseases for generations to come. There are presently 600,000 toxic waste contamination sites in the United States alone, according to the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Of these, less than 900 have been proposed by the EPA for Superfund cleanup and approximately 19,000 others are under review. While some of these toxic messes were likely caused by accidents or ignorance, the majority came from illegal dumping by hazardous product or waste distributors, manufacturers, transportation companies, or waste management companies. Such practices have not ceased, as focus on profit continues to override concerns about health, the environment, and a more promising future for all of our children.

With the government doing little or moving very slowly to protect the public from the hazards of heavy metals, it is up to individuals to take measures to protect themselves. According to conventional medicine, there is nothing a person can do to address aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, or nickel exposure, aside from avoiding known sources. Given the prevalence of these toxins in our lives, this is impossible.

Fortunately, there is a way to get these harmful substances out of the body. Oral chelation, detoxification protocols, and specific nutritional therapies can remove heavy metals and chemical toxins and reduce the toxic load our bodies endure on a daily basis.

Chelating (pronounced key-layting) agents are substances which can chemically bond with, or chelate (from the Greek chele, claw), metals, minerals, or chemical toxins from the body. The chelating agent actually encircles a mineral or metal ion and carries it from the body via the urine and feces. Many organic acids found in the body or in foods can act as chelating agents, including acetic acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), citric acid, and lactic acid. Natural chelation processes in the body are responsible for such things as the digestion, assimilation, and transport of food nutrients, the formation of enzymes and hormones, and detoxification of toxic chemicals and metals.

Chelation delivered orally involves ingesting nutritional food supplements which contain chelating agents including; vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and herbs.

Taken on a daily basis, oral chelation will gradually accomplish what its intervenous counterpart does in a few administrations. According to Dr. Garry Gordon, oral chelation is useful in reducing heavy metal toxicity and calcification, lowering blood cholesterol, lessening lipid peroxidation (free-radical oxidation of metabolized fats), thinning the blood, and preventing the formation of blood clots (a cause of heart attack).

In some areas, oral chelation may actually outperform IV EDTA (only) chelation. In addition, the correct oral chelation formula has the ability to chemically bond with and cause the elimination of mercury from the body (as evidenced by mercury levels in urine samples before and after chelation). EDTA does not chelate mercury.

The addition of nutrients known to support liver function and detoxification also increases an oral chelation formula's effectiveness. A companion formula of antioxidants and other nutrients enhances the chelation process by replacing beneficial minerals removed during chelation, promoting the healing of tissues, and preventing free-radical oxidative damage. As with chelating agents, different antioxidants work on different free radicals.

Antioxidant activity may play a particularly important role in amplifying the benefits of chelation. Elmer Cranton, M.D., author ofBypassing Bypass, believes that the prevention of free-radical damage is the main action behind chelation's positive effects.

In addition to heart patients, I particularly recommend oral chelation for anyone with a family history of heart disease, longstanding poor dietary practices, or a history of exposure to heavy metals or toxic chemicals. More generally, oral chelation is useful to anyone who wants to prevent cardiovascular disease and clear their body of the metals and toxins that we all accumulate and which can cause a variety of health problems.

As such, oral chelation can serve as a convenient, non-invasive, long-term health maintenance and preventative program. The gradual dosage delivery significantly reduces the risk of side effects; oral chelation is safe for children and adults.

Research during the past three decades suggests the relationship between hair, blood, and urine element concentrations and human health is an important and complex process. Variables of key clinical relevance include exposure sources, absorption dynamics, and tissue distribution of the various essential and toxic elements. As our understanding of the sophisticated relationships among nutrient and toxic elements increases, so will the utility of tissue Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis for diagnosis and treatment applications.

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