When metals like lead, mercury, iron, and arsenic build up in your body, they can be toxic. Chelation therapy is a treatment that uses medicine to remove these metals so they don't make you sick.

Some alternative health care providers also use it to treat heart disease, autism, and Alzheimer's disease. But there's very little evidence it works for those conditions. In fact, chelation therapy can cause serious side effects -- including death -- especially if it's used in the wrong way.

How Does It Work?

Chelation therapy uses special drugs that bind to metals in your blood. You get the chelating medicine through an intravenous (IV) tube in your arm. It’s also available in pill form. Once the drug has attached to the metal, your body removes them both through your pee.

Metals that can be removed with chelation therapy include lead, mercury, and arsenic. Before you get this treatment, your doctor will do a blood test to make sure you have metal poisoning.

What Other Conditions Does It Treat?

Some natural health care providers and supplement companies claim they use chelation therapy to reduce symptoms of autism, Alzheimer's disease, or heart disease. Yet this treatment is only approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat metal poisoning.

Regards

Jun Ray

Assistant Mnaging Editor

Environmental Toxicology and Studies Journal