Colon Chelation Therapy

Chelation therapy is a controversial detoxification technique in holistic medicine, which practitioners claim can treat and even cure anything vascular, from atherosclerosis (clogging and hardening of the arteries) to age-related dementia, by washing away dangerous substances in the bloodstream. There are two approaches: intravenous and oral. Both methods depend heavily on dietary and lifestyle changes in order to work. The mainstream medical establishment has its doubts about the efficacy of chelation therapy, and it raises the possibility that the process could work against the good health you're trying to achieve.

Oral Chelation

Oral chelation uses a combination of special diet, exercise and supplements to bind minerals to heavy metals and calcium in the bloodstream so the body can excrete these substances. Proponents of oral chelation recommend oat-based foods as a means of natural chelation, along with other fiber-rich foods such as soluble pectin in apples, guar in beans and grains. In addition, practitioners prescribe a diet abundant in basic nutrients such as vitamins B, C and E, lecithin, linoleic acid, potassium, selenium, chromium, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Once this stage of the chelation treatment is under way, the practitioner begins to administer ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) orally. The EDTA is supposed to bind to heavy metals and calcium plaque ion the bloodstream so the body can eliminate these substances naturally and gradually.

Intravenous Chelation

Intravenous chelation infuses EDTA, a synthetic amino acid, directly into the bloodstream, where it quickly binds to built-up heavy metals and calcium in order to excrete them in urine, feces and sweat. Practitioners who use this method also recommend a healthier diet, more exercise and elimination of tobacco products.

Skepticism and Criticism

The American Heart Association and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have spoken out not against chelation therapy itself, but against the unproven claims its proponents make for miracle health benefits from the procedure. The evidence in favor of chelation therapy, they say, is anecdotal, and no formal scientific studies have been done to compare the effects of chelation with placebo. Chelation therapy with EDTA takes several treatments over a one- to three-month period, and insurance doesn't cover the cost. AHA and FDA both maintain that any benefits patients derive from chelation therapy just as likely may be from concurrent diet and lifestyle changes or from the psychological placebo effect of having just spent thousands of dollars on an alternative therapy that was supposed to work better than what traditional medicine could provide. The AHA and FDA further assert that detrimental effects can result because patients may choose chelation therapy over other proven but time-sensitive treatments for their various ailments.