Extreme Health

Oral Chelation and Nutritional Replacement Therapy for

Heavy Metal Toxicity

By Maile Pouls, Ph.D. (Director of Research for Extreme Health)

(Part 1 of a 3 Part Series)

Part 1: Health effects of exposure to heavy metals.

Extreme Health has designed a formula to help people recover from heavy metal toxicity and to restore and maintain their cardiovascular health. The program is based on oral chelation and nutritional replenishment formulas, which are proving effective in clinical trials.

The Heavy Metal Hazard

Some metals are naturally found in the body and are essential to human health. Iron, for example, prevents anemia and zinc is a cofactor in over 100 enzyme reactions. They normally occur at low concentrations and are known as trace metals. In high doses, they may be toxic to the body or produce deficiencies in other trace metals; for example, high levels of zinc can result in a deficiency of copper, another metal required by the body.

Heavy or toxic metals are trace metals with a density at least five times that of water. As such, they are stable elements (meaning they cannot be metabolized by the body) that bio-accumulate (get passed up the food chain to humans). Heavy metals include mercury, nickel, lead, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum, platinum, and copper (the metallic form versus the ionic form required by the body).¹ These metals have no function in the body and can be highly toxic.

Heavy metals are present in our air, drinking water, food, and countless human-made chemicals and products. They are taken into the body via inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption.² If heavy metals enter and accumulate in body tissues faster than the body’s detoxification pathways can dispose of them, a gradual buildup of these toxins will occur.³ High-concentration exposure is not necessary to produce a state of toxicity in the body, as heavy metals accumulate in body tissues and, over time, can reach toxic concentration levels.

Heavy metal exposure is not an entirely modern phenomenon: historians have cited the contamination of wine and grape drinks by lead-lined jugs and cooking pots as a contributing factor in the "decline and fall" of the Roman Empire;⁴and the Mad Hatter character in Alice in Wonderland was likely modeled after nineteenth-century hat makers who used mercury to stiffen hat material and frequently became psychotic from mercury toxicity.

Human exposure to heavy metals has risen dramatically in the last 50 years as a result of an exponential increase in the use of heavy metals in industrial processes and products. Today, chronic exposure comes from mercury-amalgam dental fillings, lead-based paint, tap water, chemical residues in processed foods, and "personal care" products-- cosmetics, shampoo and other hair products, mouthwash, toothpaste and soap. In today’s industrial society, there is no escaping exposure to toxic chemicals and metals.

In addition to the hazards both at home and outdoors, many occupations involve daily heavy metal exposure. Over 50 professions entail exposure to mercury alone. These include physicians, pharmaceutical workers, any dental occupation, laboratory workers, hairdressers, painters, printers, welders, metalworkers, cosmetic workers, battery makers, engravers, photographers, visual artists, and potters.⁵

The Effects of Heavy Metal Toxicity

Breathing heavy metal particles, even at levels well below those considered nontoxic, can produce serious health effects. Virtually all aspects of animal and human immune system function are compromised by the inhalation of heavy metal particulates.⁷ In addition, toxic metals can increase allergic reactions, cause genetic mutation, compete with "good" trace metals for biochemical bond sites, and act as antibiotics, killing both harmful and beneficial bacteria.⁸

Much of the damage produced by toxic metals stems from the proliferation of oxidative free radicals that they cause. A free radical is an energetically unbalanced molecule, composed of an unpaired electron, that "steals" an electron from another molecule to restore its balance. Free radicals result naturally when cell molecules react with oxygen (oxidation), but with a heavy toxic load or existing antioxidant deficiencies, uncontrolled free-radical production occurs. Unchecked, free radicals can cause tissue damage throughout the body. Free radical damage underlies all degenerative diseases. Vitamins A, C, and E are some of the many antioxidants that can curtail free radical activity.

Heavy metals can also increase the acidity of the blood. When this occurs the body draws calcium from the bones in order to help restore the proper blood pH. Further, toxic metals set up conditions that lead to inflammation in arteries and tissues, causing more calcium to be drawn to the area as a buffer. This calcium coats the inflamed areas in the blood vessels like a bandage, patching up one problem but creating another, namely the hardening of the artery walls and progressive blockage of the arteries. Without replenishment of calcium, the constant removal of this important mineral from the bones will result in osteoporosis (loss of bone density leading to brittle bones).

Current studies indicate that even minute levels of toxic elements in the body can have negative health consequences, however, these vary from person to person. Nutritional status, metabolic rate, the integrity of detoxification pathways (ability to detoxify toxic substances), and the mode and degree of heavy metal exposure all affect how an individual responds to these toxins. Children and the elderly, whose immune systems are either underdeveloped or age-compromised, are more vulnerable to toxicity.⁹

Common Heavy Metals: Sources and Specific Effects

Aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and nickel are the most prevalent heavy metals. The specific sources of exposure, body tissues in which the metal tends to be deposited, and health effects of each metal are identified below.

Aluminum

Sources of exposure: Aluminum cookware, aluminum foil, antacids, antiperspirants, baking powder (aluminum containing), buffered aspirin, canned acidic foods, food additives, lipstick, medications and drugs (anti-diarrheal agents, hemorrhoid medications, vaginal douches), processed cheese, "softened" water, and tap water.

Target tissues: Bones, brain, kidneys, and stomach.

Signs and Symptoms: Colic, dementia, esophagitis, gastroenteritis, kidney damage, liver dysfunction, loss of appetite, loss of balance, muscle pain, psychosis, shortness of breath, and weakness.

Among the patients I see in my practice, the highest aluminum exposure is most frequently due to the chronic consumption of aluminum-containing antacid products. Research shows that aluminum builds up in the body over time; thus, the health hazard to older people is greater.

D.R. McLaughlin, M.D., F.R.C.P. (C), professor of physiology and medicine and director of the Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases at the University of Toronto, states, "Concentrations of aluminum that are toxic to many biochemical processes are found in at least ten human neurological conditions."¹⁰ Recent studies suggest that aluminum contributes to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, senile and presenile dementia, clumsiness of movements, staggering when walking, and inability to pronounce words properly; behavioral difficulties among schoolchildren have also been correlated with elevated levels of aluminum.¹¹

Arsenic

Sources of exposure: Air pollution, antibiotics given to commercial livestock, certain marine plants, chemical processing, coal-fired power plants, defoliants, drinking water, drying agents for cotton, herbicides, insecticides, meats (from commercially raised poultry and cattle), metal ore smelting, pesticides, seafood (fish, mussels, oysters), specialty glass, and wood preservatives.

Target tissues: Most organs of the body, especially the gastrointestinal system, lungs, and skin.

Signs and Symptoms: Abdominal pain, burning of the mouth and throat, cancer (especially lung and skin), coma, diarrhea, nausea, neuritis, peripheral vascular problems, skin lesions, and vascular collapse.

The greatest dangers from chronic arsenic exposure are lung and skin cancers and gradual poisoning, most frequently from living near metal smelting plants or arsenic factories.

Cadmium

Sources of exposure: Air pollution, art supplies, bone meal, cigarette smoke, food (coffee, fruits, grains, vegetables grown in cadmium-laden soil, meats [kidneys, liver, poultry], seafood [freshwater fish, crab, flounder, mussels, oysters, and scallops] and refined foods), fungicides, highway dusts, incinerators, mining, nickel-cadmium batteries, oxide dusts, paints, phosphate fertilizers, power plants, sewage sludge, "softened" water, smelting plants, and welding fumes.

Target tissues: Appetite and pain centers (in brain), brain, heart and blood vessels, kidneys, and lungs.

Signs and Symptoms: Anemia, dry and scaly skin, emphysema, fatigue, hair loss, heart disease, depressed immune system response, hypertension, joint pain, kidney stones and/or damage, liver dysfunction and/or damage, loss of appetite, loss of sense of smell, lung cancer, pain in the back and legs, and yellow teeth.

Current studies are attempting to determine if cadmium-induced bone and kidney damage can be prevented (or made less likely) by adequate calcium, protein , amino acid, vitamin D, and zinc in the diet.¹²

Lead:

Sources of exposure: Air pollution, ammunition (shot and bullets), bathtubs (cast iron, porcelain, steel), batteries, canned foods, ceramics, chemical fertilizers, cosmetics, dolomite, dust, foods grown around industrial areas, gasoline, hair dyes and rinses, leaded glass, newsprint and colored advertisements, paints, pesticides, pewter, pottery, rubber toys, soft coal, soil, solder, tap water, tobacco smoke, and vinyl ‘mini-blinds’.

Target tissues: Bones, brain, heart, kidneys, liver, nervous system, and pancreas.

Signs and Symptoms: Abdominal pain, anemia, anorexia, anxiety, bone pain, brain damage, confusion, constipation, convulsions, dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, headaches, hypertension, inability to concentrate, indigestion, irritability, loss of appetite, loss of muscle coordination, memory difficulties, miscarriage, muscle pain, pallor, tremors, vomiting, and weakness.

The toxicity of lead is widely acknowledged. The greatest risk of lead poisoning, even with only minute or short-term exposure, is to infants, young children, and pregnant women. A federal study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) in 1984 estimated that three to four million American children have an unacceptably high level of lead in their blood. Dr. Suzanne Binder, a CDCP official, stated, "Many people believed that when lead paint was banned from housing [in 1978], and lead was cut from gasoline [in the late 1970s], lead-poisoning problems disappeared, but they’re wrong. We know that throughout the country children of all races, and ethnicities and income levels are being affected by lead [already in the environment]."¹³ In their book, ‘Toxic Metal Syndrome’, Dr.’s R. Casdorph and M. Walker report that over 4 million tons of lead is mined each year, and existing environmental lead levels are at least 500 times greater than pre-historic levels.

In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that more than one million elementary schools, high schools, and colleges are still using lead-lined water storage tanks or lead-containing components in their drinking fountains.¹⁴ The EPA estimates that drinking water accounts for approximately 20% of young children’s lead exposure.¹⁵ Other common sources are lead-based paint residue in older buildings (as in inner cities) and living in proximity to industrial areas or other sources of toxic chemical exposure, such as commercial agricultural land. All children born in the U.S. today have measurable traces of pesticides, a source of heavy metals and chlorine-based chemicals, in their tissues.¹⁶

Lead is a known neurotoxin (kills brain cells), and excessive blood lead levels in children have been linked to learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder (ADD), hyperactivity syndromes, and reduced intelligence and school achievement scores.¹⁷

Mercury

Sources of exposure: Air pollution, batteries, cosmetics, dental amalgams, diuretics (mercurial), electrical devices and relays, explosives, foods (grains), fungicides, fluorescent lights, freshwater fish (especially large bass, pike, and trout), insecticides, mining, paints, pesticides, petroleum products, saltwater fish (especially large halibut, shrimp, snapper, and swordfish), shellfish, and tap water.

Target tissues: Appetite and pain centers in the brain, cell membranes, kidneys, and nervous system (central and peripheral).

Signs and Symptoms: Abnormal nervous and physical development (fetal and childhood), anemia, anorexia, anxiety, blood changes, blindness, blue line on gums, colitis, depression, dermatitis, difficulty chewing and swallowing, dizziness, drowsiness, emotional instability, fatigue, fever, hallucinations, headache, hearing loss, hypertension, inflamed gums, insomnia, kidney damage or failure, loss of appetite and sense of smell, loss of muscle coordination, memory loss, metallic taste in mouth, nerve damage, numbness, psychosis, salivation, stomatitis, tremors, vision impairment, vomiting, weakness, and weight loss.

The primary source of exposure to mercury is "silver" amalgam dental fillings (composed of approximately 50% mercury when placed). Over 225 million Americans have these potentially harmful fillings in their teeth.¹⁸ Mercury fillings release microscopic particles and vapors of mercury every time a person chews. Vapors are inhaled while particles are absorbed by tooth roots, mucous membranes in the mouth and gums, and stomach lining.

In people with mercury amalgam fillings, measurements of the mercury level in the mouth ranges between 20 and 400 mcg/m3. Keep in mind that this is continuous exposure. The National Institute of Occupation Safety and Health places the safe limit of environmental exposure to mercury at 20 mcg/m3, but that is assuming a weekly exposure of 40 hours (the work week) and the mercury involved is outside the body.¹⁹ The Environmental Protection Agency’s allowable limit for continuous mercury exposure is 1 mcg/m3 but, again, that is based on mercury sources outside the body.²⁰ Neither figure addresses 24-hour-a-day exposure from mercury in one’s mouth.

Hal Huggins, D.D.S., a specialist in the effect of mercury amalgams on health, reports that 90% of the 7,000 patients he tested showed immune system reactivity from exposure to low levels of mercury. In 1984, the American Dental Association (ADA), without providing scientific evidence, claimed that only 5% of the U.S. population is reactive to mercury exposure, and that this figure is insignificant. Meanwhile, the ADA mandates that dentists alert all dental personnel to the potential hazards of inhaling mercury vapors.²¹ The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) goes further, instructing dentists to treat mercury amalgam as a toxic material while handling before insertion, and as toxic waste after removal.²²

Mark S. Hulet, DDS conducts research on amalgam fillings. He wrote a pamphlet for his patients, in which he cites five categories of pathological reaction to mercury fillings, as identified by dentists, doctors, and toxicologists. The categories are:

• Neurological: emotional manifestations (depression, suicidal impulses, irritability, inability to cope) and motor symptoms (muscle spasms, facial tics, seizures, multiple sclerosis)

• Cardiovascular problems: nonspecific chest pain, accelerated heart beat

• Collagen diseases: arthritis, bursitis, scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosis

• Immune system diseases: compromised immunity

• Allergies: Airborne allergies, food allergies, and "universal" reactors.

One of the keys to mercury’s effects on health may be its ability to block the functioning of manganese, a key mineral required for physiological reactions in all five categories, notes Dr. Hulet.²³

Nickel

Sources of exposure: Appliances, buttons, ceramics, cocoa, cold-wave hair permanent, cooking utensils, cosmetics, coins, dental materials, food (chocolate, hydrogenated oils, nuts, food grown near industrial areas), hair spray, industrial waste, jewelry, medical implants, metal refineries, metal tools, nickel-cadmium batteries, orthodontic appliances, shampoo, solid-waste incinerators, stainless steel kitchen utensils, tap water, tobacco and tobacco smoke, water faucets and pipes, and zippers.

Target tissues: Areas of skin exposure, larynx (voice box), lungs, and nasal passages.

Signs and Symptoms: Apathy, blue-colored lips, cancer (especially lung, nasal, and larynx), contact dermatitis, diarrhea, fever, headaches, dizziness, gingivitis, insomnia, nausea, rapid heart rate, skin rashes (redness, itching, blisters), shortness of breath, stomatitis, and vomiting.

The greatest danger from chronic nickel exposure is lung, nasal, and larynx cancers, and gradual poisoning resulting from accidental or chronic low-level exposure, the risk of which is greatest for those living near metal smelting plants, solid waste incinerators, or old nickel refineries.²⁴

How Can We Protect Ourselves from Heavy Metals?

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, 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 waste distributors, manufacturers, transportation companies, and waste management companies.²⁵ Such practices have not ceased. The 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, and 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. Intravenous and 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.

Oral Chelation and Age-Less nutritional formulas can be purchased at 800 . . -800 . . -1285. Professional and quantity discounts are available. Extreme Health’s preliminary clinical studies are now available for review. Please call Ms. Michele Payne at 800 . . -800 . . -1285.

End Notes (Part 1):

¹Harte, J., et al. Toxics A To Z: A Guide To Everyday Pollution Hazards (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991), 103.

²Harte, J., et al. Toxics A To Z: A Guide To Everyday Pollution Hazards (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991), 34-6.

³Kellas, B., Ph.D., and Dworkin, A., N.D. Surviving the Toxic Crisis (Olivenhain, CA: Professional Preference Publishing, 1996), 186.

⁴Lewis, H. Technological Risk (New York: W.W. Norton, 1990), 125.

⁵Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., M.D. The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 149.

⁶Kellas, B., Ph.D., and Dworkin, A., N.D. Surviving the Toxic Crisis (Olivenhain, CA: Professional Preference Publishing, 1996), 187, 217, 230-34.Toxic Crisis (Olivenhain, CA: Professional Preference Publishing, 1996), 177.

⁷Weiner, M. The Way of the Skeptical Nutritionist (New York: Macmillan, 1981). Elemental Analysis (Asheville, SC: Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratories, 1999), 4.

⁸Kellas, B., Ph.D., and Dworkin, A., N.D. Surviving the vomiting.

⁹Weiner, M. The Way of the Skeptical Nutritionist (New York: Macmillan, 1981). Elemental Analysis (Asheville, SC: Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratories, 1999), 4.

¹⁰Casdorph, H., M.D., and Walker, M., D.P.M. Toxic Metal Syndrome (Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing, 1995), 120.

¹¹Crapper-McLachlan, D.R., and DeBoni, U. “Aluminum in human brain disease—an overview.” Neurotoxicology 1 (1980), 3-16. Crapper-McLachlan, D.R., and Van Berkum, M.F.A. “Aluminum: a role in degenerative brain disease associated with neurofibrillary degeneration” in Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 70, D.F. Swaab et al., Eds. (Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers, 1986), 399-409.

¹²Harte, J., et al. Toxics A To Z: A Guide To Everyday Pollution Hazards (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991), 246-47.

¹³“U.S. plans a system for tracking levels of lead in children’s blood.” New York Times (August 29, 1992), 10.

¹⁴“Schools Warned of Lead in Water Fountains.” Associated Press, Washington, D.C. (April 11, 1989).

¹⁵Winter, M.S. Poisons in Your Food (New York: Crown Publishers, 1991), 187.

¹⁶Zavon, M.R., et al. “Chlorinated hydrocarbons insecticide content of the neonate.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 160 (June, 23, 1969), 196-200.

¹⁷Harte, J., et al. Toxics A To Z: A Guide To Everyday Pollution Hazards (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991), 49.

¹⁸Kellas, B., Ph.D., and Dworkin, A., N.D. Surviving the Toxic Crisis (Olivenhain, CA: Professional Preference Publishing, 1996), 184.

¹⁹Kellas, B., Ph.D., and Dworkin, A., N.D. Surviving the Toxic Crisis (Olivenhain, CA: Professional Preference Publishing, 1996), 196.

²⁰Kellas, B., Ph.D., and Dworkin, A., N.D. Surviving the Toxic Crisis (Olivenhain, CA: Professional Preference Publishing, 1996), 196.

²¹Huggins, H., M.S., D.D.S. It’s All In Your Head: The Link Between Mercury Amalgams and Illness (Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing, 1993), 5-11, 36-37.

²²“Dental group agrees with FDA and EPA on issue of toxic mercury.” Townsend Letter for Doctors 88 (November 1990), 720.

²³Casdorph, H., M.D., and Walker, M., D.P.M. Toxic Metal Syndrome (Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing, 1995), 150.

²⁴Harte, J., et al. Toxics A To Z: A Guide To Everyday Pollution Hazards (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991), 103. Nutrient Mineral and Toxic Metal Chart (Boulder, CO: Trace Mineral International, 1999). Werbach, M., M.D. Nutritional Influence on Illness (Tarzana, CA: Third Line Press, 1993), 679-80. Toxic Elements (Asheville, SC: Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratories, 1998). Golan, R., M.D. Optimal Wellness (New York: Ballantine Books, 1995), 39.

²⁵Brown, P., and Mikkelsen, E. No Safe Place: Toxic Waste, Leukemia, and Community Action (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990), 182-183.

Oral Chelation and Nutritional Replacement Therapy for

Heavy Metal Toxicity

By Maile Pouls, Ph.D. (Director of Research for Extreme Health)

(Part 2 of a 3 Part Series)

Brief Review of Part 1:

Heavy metals- what are they?

Heavy or toxic metals, including mercury, nickel, lead, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum, platinum, and copper, are trace metals that are stable elements (meaning they cannot be metabolized by the body) that bio-accumulate (get passed up the food chain to humans). Heavy metals have no function in the body and can be highly toxic. Heavy metals are taken into the body via inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption. If heavy metals enter and accumulate in body tissues faster than the body’s detoxification pathways can dispose of them, a gradual buildup of these toxins will occur. High-concentration exposure is not necessary to produce a state of toxicity in the body, as heavy metals accumulate in body tissues and, over time, can reach toxic concentration levels.

Human health effects of exposure to heavy metals.

Studies confirm that heavy metals can directly influence behavior by impairing mental and neurological function, influencing neurotransmitter production and utilization, and altering numerous metabolic body processes. Toxic metal elements can induce impairment and dysfunction in the blood, circulatory system, detoxification pathways (colon, liver, kidneys, skin), endocrine (hormonal) system, energy production pathways, enzymatic pathways, gastrointestinal tract, immune system, nervous (central and peripheral) system, reproductive system, and urinary pathways. In addition, toxic metals can increase allergic reactions, cause genetic mutation, compete with "good" trace metals for biochemical bond sites, and act as antibiotics- killing both harmful and beneficial bacteria. Much of the damage produced by toxic metals stems from the proliferation of oxidative free radicals they cause. (End- Review Part 1)

Part 2: The Chelation Solution

Chelating (pronounced key-layting) agents are substances which can chemically bond with, or chelate (from the Greek chele, claw), metals, minerals, or chemical toxins that are within the body. The chelating agent actually encircles a mineral or metal ion and carries it from the body via the urine and feces.^26b Many organic acids found in the body and in various 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 the detoxification of toxic chemicals and metals.²⁷

Intravenous (IV) chelation therapy involves injecting the chelating agent EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) into the bloodstream for the purpose of eliminating undesirable substances like heavy metals, chemical toxins, mineral deposits, and fatty plaque (as in the arteries; the agent binds to the calcium in the plaque). EDTA is an effective and widely studied chelating agent. It cannot chelate mercury; however, DMSA, an FDA approved compound, and DMPS work intravenously to effectively chelate mercury. DMPS is not an FDA approved compound for the treatment of mercury toxicity.

EDTA is a synthetic amino acid (amino acids are the building blocks of protein) and is approximately one third as toxic to the body as aspirin.²⁸ Chelation therapy with EDTA was first introduced into medicine in the United States in 1948 as a treatment for lead poisoning. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy advocated chelation for sailors who had absorbed lead while painting government ships and facilities. The FDA has approved IV EDTA chelation as a treatment for lead poisoning. Physicians administering IV chelation for lead toxicity observed that patients who also had atherosclerosis (fatty-plaque buildup on arterial walls) or arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) experienced reductions in both conditions after chelation.²⁹ Since 1952, IV EDTA chelation has been used to treat cardiovascular disease.³⁰

Over 1,800 . . scientific journal articles have been published on the use of EDTA as an IV chelation agent. In the past 30 years, hundreds of thousands of patients have received this therapy, and over 1,000 physicians have delivered approximately 3,300,000 IV infusions. EDTA’s success rate in increasing blood circulation is 82%, provided the patients received sufficient chelation.³¹

How Chelation Aids Cardiovascular Health

Chelation reduces calcium plaque on arterial walls. This atherosclerotic plaque is not limited to arteries nearest the heart. On the contrary, it is widespread and can affect blood flow (oxygen delivery) to every cell, tissue, gland, organ, and system being served by the over 75,000 miles of blood vessels in your body. Chelation reaches every blood vessel in the body, from the largest artery to the tiniest capillary, many of which are far too small or too deep within the brain and body to be safely reached through surgery.

Other scientifically documented benefits of intravenous EDTA chelation therapy for the cardiovascular system include:

• Stabilization of arterial intracellular membranes ³²

• Maintaining the electrical charge of platelets in the blood, reducing blood clumping (aggregation) and preventing blood clots.³³

• Marked improvement in nearly 100% of 2,870 studied patients with peripheral vascular disease.³⁴

• Normalization of half of treated cardiac arrhythmias.³⁵

• Reductions of cerebrovascular occlusion ³⁶

• Improved cognitive function in people with memory and concentration deficits and improved visual acuity (when problems are caused by arterial blockage).³⁷

• Improved myocarditis due to lead poisoning.³⁸

• Reduction of blood fat levels and improved capillary blood flow.³⁹

• Increased peripheral blood flow to the extremities.⁴⁰

• Improved compliance of vascular tissues; decalcification of elastic tissues resulting in improved elasticity and resilience.⁴¹

• Improved red blood cell membrane flexibility and permeability to potassium.⁴²

• Decreased blood pressure levels, as a result of excretion of cadmium from renal tissues, diminished peripheral resistance, improved blood vessel resiliency and pliability, decreased vascular spasm, and improved magnesium uptake.⁴³

The human and financial cost of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. is astronomical. Every year approximately 1.5 million Americans have a heart attack, 300,000 of whom die before receiving medical attention. The treatment of cardiovascular disease rings up a total of $100 billion dollars annually—$200,000 spent every minute.⁴⁴ Coronary artery bypass surgery (bypassing the blocked heart artery with grafted leg artery, average cost $44,000) is the most frequently prescribed surgical procedure for heart disease. This procedure costs Americans approximately $10 billion per year.⁴⁵ Numerous leading medical doctors and authorities have stated that coronary bypass surgery is over-prescribed and often unnecessary.⁴⁶ Nearly 20,000 people die every year as a result of bypass surgery or angioplasty (ballooning of the occluded artery, average cost $21,000).⁴⁷

Intravenous chelation is safer, much less expensive, and less invasive than surgical procedures. Proven effective in circulatory disorders, its benefits for cardiovascular patients are clear. IV chelation does pose some risks, however. Although nontoxic, EDTA produces side effects in some people. These include the presence of bumps, redness and swelling at the injection site, fever, hypotension (low blood pressure), joint pain, skin outbreaks or rashes, upset stomach, and irritation of the kidneys and liver.⁴⁸

Some cardiologists who understand the benefits of intravenous EDTA chelation do not recommend its use with patients who are debilitated, emaciated, have weak or diseased kidneys, or advanced cardiovascular disease (end stage). They believe the sudden, massive infusion of EDTA puts too much stress on the kidneys, liver and detoxification pathways in these patients and could be harmful or even dangerous. Other doctors and medical researchers disagree, contending that "transient kidney malfunction" is a normal physiological adaptation occurring during the passage of toxic products (chelated metals and chemicals) through the kidneys, and that properly administered IV chelation will not cause kidney damage.⁴⁹

A common misconception about chelation is that it lowers the levels of calcium in the bones and teeth as the body draws calcium from them to replace the calcium drawn from the blood by the chelation process. On the contrary, the calcium to restore blood levels is drawn from places in the body where calcium has built up unnaturally, as in arterial plaques (which contribute to clogged arteries), calcified bursae (a source of bursitis), arthritic joints, and kidney stones.⁵⁰

One of the co-founders of the American College of Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), and a pioneer in chelation therapy, states "If calcium levels start to drop, the parathyroid glands kick in and start secreting parathormone which ‘steals’ back enough calcium from the EDTA (and other) chelates to keep the heart beating normally (serum calcium must stay at a constant level for normal heart function) and to activate cells called osteoblasts, which strengthen and rebuild bone. The more chelation we give people, the less osteoporosis they have and the less age-related calcium accumulation [arterial wall plaques] there is in the blood vessels."⁵¹

Intravenous chelation has two drawbacks, however. Although much safer and less expensive than coronary bypass surgery or angioplasty, it is still relatively expensive (hundreds of dollars per visit) and not widely available. There are comparatively few experienced medical doctors certified in IV chelation therapy. Fortunately, there is an even safer, inexpensive, and more easily obtained alternative: oral chelation.

Oral Chelation

Oral chelation involves ingesting nutritional food supplements, which contain chelating agents (EDTA & numerous natural chelators), that include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and herbs.

Oral EDTA chelation has all the benefits of IV chelation, but is much slower acting because only 4% to 18% of an oral EDTA dose is absorbed (compared with 100% of an IV dose).⁵² Taken on a daily basis, oral chelation will gradually accomplish what its IV counterpart does in a few administrations. According to many studies, 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).⁵³

In some areas, oral chelation may actually outperform IV EDTA (only) chelation. In addition, my 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 oral chelation).⁵⁴ As mentioned earlier, EDTA does not chelate mercury. In Extreme Health’s Oral Chelation formula, it is the other chelating agents—cilantro, chlorella, and lipoic acid—that effectively act on mercury.

The heightened benefits of oral chelation may result from the synergistic effect of combining EDTA with numerous natural chelating agents, such as activated clays, certain bioflavonoids, chlorella, cilantro, coenzyme Q10, garlic, L-cysteine, L-glutathione, lipoic acid, methionine, selenium, sodium alginate, and zinc gluconate. Each chelating agent has a predilection for different chemicals, minerals, and metal ions.

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 free radicals formed by a variety of oxidizing agents. For this reason, the formulas contain a wide range of antioxidants—there are 30 different antioxidants in the Age-Less formula.

Antioxidant activity may play a particularly important role in amplifying the benefits of chelation. Elmer Cranton, MD, author of Bypassing Bypass, believes that the prevention of free-radical damage (which EDTA does) is the main action behind chelation’s positive effects.⁵⁵

The effectiveness of oral chelation is a topic of debate, even amongst proponents of IV chelation. My clinical research, however, demonstrates oral chelation’s benefits for atherosclerosis and heavy metal poisoning.⁵⁶ Many health professionals believe that oral chelation is not a replacement for IV chelation. I agree with this view when the patient’s condition is too severe to wait for the slower-acting oral chelation to produce effects. When such patients have completed the recommended number of IV chelation treatments, however, oral chelation is of great benefit in maintaining their cardiovascular health.

In addition to heart patients, I particularly recommend oral chelation for anyone with a family history of heart disease, long-standing poor dietary practices, or a history of exposure to mercury or other heavy metals or toxic chemicals. More generally, oral chelation is useful to anyone who wants to prevent cardiovascular disease and clear their bodies of harmful metals and toxins that we are all exposed to.

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

Oral Chelation and Nutritional Replacement Protocol

Over 15 years of clinical nutritional experience and three years of researching nutritional supplement formulations enabled me to identify the optimal substances for detoxifying heavy metals from the body. In evaluating available oral chelation formulas, I found none that had all the ingredients necessary to comprehensively chelate heavy metals and mineral plaques, and assist the kidneys and liver in the detoxification process. As a result, Extreme Health, Inc., has developed two formulas: Oral Chelation Formula and Age-Less, a companion formula for total mineral and nutritional replacement.

The formulas exert beneficial effects on the entire cardiovascular system. By detoxifying your body and allowing your veins and arteries to open up, these formulas ensure that your tissues, glands, organs, and interrelated systems receive ample oxygen-rich blood, which in turn improves their efficiency.

In terms of ingredients, the formulas have two overall advantages:

1. They are plant-enzyme based. Enzymes, which are the catalysts for all metabolic actions, assist in the optimal assimilation and utilization of the food people consume (giving them the most nutrients for their money). Enzymes also assist in the assimilation and utilization of the other nutrients in my formulas; thereby ensuring you get the most out of each ingredient. Without enzymes, proper utilization of nutrients is not achieved. With enzyme supplementation, you can get up to ten times more assimilation of food and nutrients as without.

2. Aside from EDTA, the nutrients in the formulas are whole food/plant based which means you get the range of nutrients and co-factors found in that plant or food, rather than only isolated fractions (as in synthetic vitamin supplements). The healing actions are thus more powerful. In addition, since the formulas are plant based (concentrated food nutrients), there is no need to be concerned about drug interactions or side effects.

Dosage starts at one tablet of Age-Less at breakfast (increasing gradually to three tablets) and one capsule of the Oral Chelation Formula at bed time (increasing gradually to three). It is important to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of filtered water daily. If intake is far below that, it can be raised in increments.

In rare cases, people experience irritability, low-grade headache, or overall achiness. These symptoms arise from the heavy metals or chemical residues that have been pulled out of tissues and are circulating in the body prior to excretion. The symptoms do not indicate an adverse reaction to the formulas, but rather that the body has been storing significant amounts of toxins. Decreasing the dosage of the formulas and increasing water intake will eliminate these symptoms.

Diet and Nutrition

In keeping with a whole-body approach to health and medicine, I recommend that my patients implement healthy dietary and lifestyle practices along with the oral formula program. Abuse of alcohol, drugs (recreational or prescription), and tobacco products, chronic stress, and lack of exercise are obviously detrimental lifestyle factors.

Nutritional deficiencies can contribute to cardiovascular disease.⁵⁷Certain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients have been identified as vital for maintaining cardiovascular health. Degrees of deficiency of one or a combination of the following nutrients will result in corresponding symptoms of physical disease or inadequacy in the cardiovascular system:⁵⁸

• Vitamins: C, E, A (beta-carotene), D, B (1, 2, 3 [niacin and niacinamide], 5, 6, 12), folic acid, and biotin.

• Minerals: Calcium, chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, potassium, selenium, and zinc.

• Amino acids: L-carnitine, L-lysine, L-proline

• Coenzyme Q10.

All of these nutritional supplements and more are in the Oral Chelation and Age-Less formulas.

Nutritional deficiencies can contribute to the accumulation of heavy metals in the body. When sufficient levels of certain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients are maintained in the body, the continued absorption of specific heavy metals is greatly reduced.

Nutrients Known to be Protective Against Heavy Metal Toxicity:

Heavy Metal Protective Nutritional Supplement

End Notes (part 2):

²⁶Walker, M., D.P.M., and Shah, H., MD Everything You Should Know About Chelation Therapy (New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing), 37-38.

²⁷Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 114.

²⁸Foreman, H. “Toxic side effects of EDTA.” J Chron Dis 16 (1963), 319-323.

²⁹Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 74.

³⁰Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 14.

³¹Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 14.

³²Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 17-18.

³³Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 17-18.

³⁴Olszewer, E., and Carter, J. “EDTA chelation therapy: a retrospective study of 2,870 patients.” Journal of Advancement in Medicine Special Issue 2:1-2 (1989), 197-211.

³⁵Goldberg, B., and the Editors of Alternative Medicine Digest. Alternative Medicine Guide to Heart Disease (Tiburon, CA: Future Medicine Publishing, 1997), 82.

³⁶McDonagh, E., et al. “an oculocerebrovasculometric analysis of the improvement in arterial stenosis following EDTA chelation therapy.” Journal of Advancement in Medicine Special Issue 2:1-2 (1989), 155-166.

³⁷Casdorph, H., MD “EDTA Chelation therapy: efficacy in brain disorders.” Journal of Advancement in Medicine Special Issue 2:1-2 (1989), 131-153. Alsleben, H., MD, and Shute, W., MD How to Survive the New Health Catastrophes (Anaheim, CA: Survival Publications, 1973).

³⁸Freeman, R. “Reversible myocarditis due to chronic lead poisoning in childhood.” Arch Dis Child 40 (1965), 389-93.

³⁹Zelis, R., et al. “Effects of hyperlipoproteinanemias and their treatment on the peripheral circulation.” J Clin Invest 49 (1970), 1007.

⁴⁰Schroeder, H., and Perry, H., Jr. “Antihypertensive effects of binding agents.” J Lab Clin Med 46 (1955), 416.

⁴¹Shin, Y. “Cross-linking of elastin in human athersclerotic aortas.” Lab Invest 25 (1971), 121. Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 164.

⁴²Jacob, H. “Pathologic states of erythrocyte membrane.” University of Minnesota, Hospital Practice (December 1974), 47-9. Soffer, A., et al. “Myocardial response to chelation.” Br Heart J 23 (1961), 690-94.

⁴³Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994), 164-65.

⁴⁶CASS Principle Investigators and Associates. “Myocardial infarction and mortality in the coronary artery surgery study (CASS) randomized trial.” New England Journal of Medicine 310:12 (March 1984), 750-758.

⁴⁷Goldberg, B., and the Editors of Alternative Medicine Digest. Alternative Medicine Guide to Heart Disease (Tiburon, CA: Future Medicine Publishing, 1997), 20-21. Strauts, Z., MD “Correspondence re: Berkeley Wellness Letter and chelation therapy.” Townsend Letter for Doctors 106 (May 1992), 382-83.

⁴⁸Oral Chelation: The Bright Hope For Heart Health (Old Lyme, CT: Alternative Medical Publishing), 33.

⁴⁹Walker, M., D.P.M., and Shah, H., MD Everything You Should Know About Chelation Therapy (New Canaan, CT: Keats Publishing), 96.

⁵⁰Walker, M., D.P.M. The Chelation Way (Garden City Park, NY: Avery Publishing Group, 1990), 36.

⁵¹Gordon, G., MD, D.O. , “Chelation Therapy”, Life Enhancement 32(April 1997), 9-10.

⁵²Halstead, B., MD “The scientific basis of EDTA chelation therapy.” Summarized in Life Enhancement (February 1998), 8.

⁵³Walker, M., D.P.M., and Gordon, G., MD The Chelation Answer (Atlanta, GA: Second Opinion Publishing, 1994). “Garlic-EDTA Chelator.” Web site article at www. life-enhancement.com/garlicEDTA.htm

⁵⁴Urinalysis studies conducted by Maile Pouls, Ph.D., and Greg Pouls, D.C., 1998.

⁵⁵Cranton, E., MD Bypassing Bypass (Trout Dale, VA: Medex Publishers, 1993).

⁵⁶Urinalysis studies conducted by Maile Pouls, Ph.D., and Greg Pouls, D.C., 1998 and currently. Thermology studies conducted by Maile Pouls, Ph.D., and Greg Pouls, D.C., 1998 and currently, with Philip Hoekstra III, Ph.D.

⁵⁷Cranton, E., MD Bypassing Bypass (Trout Dale, VA: Medex Publishers, 1993), 83.

Oral Chelation and Nutritional Replacement Therapy for

Mercury and Other Heavy Metal Toxicity

By Maile Pouls, Ph.D. (Director of Research for Extreme Health)

Brief Review of Part 2:

The Chelation Solution. What is intravenous and oral chelation? 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. Intravenous chelation therapy involves injecting the chelating agent EDTA into the bloodstream for the purpose of eliminating from the body undesirable substances such as heavy metals, chemical toxins, mineral deposits, and fatty plaques. Chelation delivered orally involves ingesting nutritional food supplements which contain chelating agents (EDTA & numerous natural chelators) including; vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and herbs.

Chelation and detoxification for metal poisoning & cardiovascular disease.

Chelation therapy with EDTA was first introduced into medicine in the United States in 1948 as a treatment for the lead poisoning of workers in a battery factory. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy advocated chelation for sailors who had absorbed lead while painting government ships and facilities. The FDA approved IV EDTA chelation as a treatment for lead poisoning. Physicians administering the chelation for lead toxicity observed that patients who also had atherosclerosis (fatty-plaque buildup on arterial walls) or arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) experienced reductions in both conditions after chelation. Since 1952, IV EDTA chelation has been used to treat cardiovascular disease.

Over 1,800 . . scientific journal articles have been published on the use of EDTA in intravenous (IV) chelation. In the past 30 years, hundreds of thousands of patients have received this therapy, as delivered by over 1,000 physicians in approximately 3,300,000 IV infusions. EDTA’s success rate in increasing blood circulation is 82%, provided the patients received sufficient chelation

Nutrients Known to be Protective Against Heavy Metal Toxicity:

Heavy Metal Protective Nutritional Supplement.

Part 3: Ingredients of the Oral Chelation Formula

1. Chelating agents: EDTA and nutrients that assist in the mobilization of metals and toxins; alginate, garlic (high allicin potential), activated attapulgite (clay), chlorella (freshwater algae; needed to bind up the liberated mercury and carry it out of the body via the feces), lipoic acid, methionine, and L-cysteine (heavy metal scavengers).

2. Antioxidants: Lipoic acid (extremely powerful, known as the "ideal antioxidant," vitamin C, catalase, methionine, and L-cysteine.

3. Lipotropics (improves fat metabolism): Trimethylglycine, carrageenan, and L-lysine (blood vessel "teflon," fatty plaque chelating agent, cellular fuel, reduces angina pectoris). L-lysine is an amino acid involved in the structural repair of damaged blood vessels. It has a beneficial effect on lead toxicity and high blood pressure.

4. Plant-based enzymes (bromelain, lipase, catalase): ensure optimal utilization of all of the above nutrients.

Ingredients of the Age-Less Replenishment and Antioxidant Formula

Chelating agents: Nutrients that assist in the mobilization of metals and toxins; Vitamin B1, vitamin E, bioflavonoids, cilantro, coenzyme Q10 (cellular fuel), L-glutathione, selenium, and zinc gluconate. Cilantro (Chinese parsley) has been shown in clinical trials and research to mobilize mercury, tin and other toxic metals stored in the brain and spinal cord and move them rapidly out of those tissues. This is a revolutionary discovery—cilantro is one of the only substances known to "mobilize" mercury from the central nervous system.⁶⁵

2. Minerals: Calcium, magnesium, manganese, chromium, copper gluconate, molybdenum, potassium, selenium, vanadium, and zinc gluconate.