What Is Chelation Therapy?

Heavy metals may come from deep within the earth’s crust, but thanks to their many industrial, technological, agricultural, and medical applications, most people come in contact with them on a regular basis. 

While limited exposure to trace amounts of heavy metals probably won’t affect your health in a perceptible way, recurrent exposure to the same heavy metals can cause them to accumulate in your tissues and wreak havoc throughout your body. 

If a simple blood test reveals that you have toxic levels of mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, or any other common heavy metal in your body, we can help. Here’s what you should know about the dangers of heavy metal poisoning, and how chelation therapy tackles the problem head-on.

Abundant heavy metals

Heavy metals are practically everywhere, from the air you breathe and the water that flows from your kitchen tap to the foods you eat and the personal care products you use on your body. 

You may have mercury in your body from eating contaminated fish or shellfish, for example, or from a silver amalgam dental filling that’s slowly breaking down in your mouth. You may have arsenic in your body from drinking contaminated tap water or eating a lot of rice, which contains higher concentrations of arsenic than most foods.  

You may have lead in your body if you drink unfiltered tap water, eat from improperly sealed ceramic dishes, or spend time in an environment that exposes you to lead-based paint and its fine, breathable dust particles. 

Heavy metals can also be found in:

• Garden soil
• Cosmetics and personal care products
• Batteries
• Cigarette smoke  

They’re even found in the pesticides used on crops, such as grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Heavy metal toxicity 101

While your body’s normal detoxification processes are powerful, they can’t excrete heavy metals with enough speed and efficiency to prevent accumulation, especially if you’re routinely exposed to them through your diet, home environment, occupation, or lifestyle. 

Heavy metal toxicity, or poisoning, occurs when the heavy metal concentrations in your blood, arteries, bones, fat tissues, and organs reach a level that interferes with virtually every bodily system and affects your health.   

Besides giving rise to a variety of nonspecific symptoms ranging from persistent anemia and chronic fatigue to abdominal pain and memory problems, heavy metal buildup can also cause the kind of micro-inflammation and free-radical damage that weakens your blood vessels and eventually leads to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and cardiovascular disease.

Heavy metal toxicity has also been linked to liver damage, kidney disease, thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal issues, nervous system conditions, circulatory problems, and even cancer.

Chelation therapy power

If a blood test reveals that you have toxically high concentrations of lead, mercury, arsenic, or any other heavy metal in your body, an individualized protocol of chelation therapy can help detoxify your tissues and restore optimal function throughout all your body systems. 

This FDA-approved intravenous (IV) therapy works by sending a highly targeted medicine known as a chelating agent (chelator) into your bloodstream, where it actively binds to heavy metals and carries them out of your body through your urine. 

Here at HealthFirst, we perform chelation therapy with calcium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), one of the safest and most effective chelating agents available. 

Dr. Singer is very careful to prescribe just the right amount of EDTA, which is the amount that delivers maximal benefit with minimal risk of losing essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc in the process. He also provides complementary vitamin and antioxidant IV therapy to help ensure your body systems are as supported as possible from start to finish.   

To find out how chelation therapy can help you detoxify your body and restore optimal health, call HealthFirst. Lead by holistic medicine physician, Jonathan W. Singer, HealthFirst has locations in Greenwood Village, Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming. You can also request an appointment via the online booking tool.