Chelation Therapy and Detoxifying Heavy Metals: What Parents Need to Know

There has been a lot of negative press and fear surrounding chelation therapy with many parents not knowing whether this is a suitable method for getting rid of heavy metals.  However studies and experts are revealing that it is one of the most effective methods to detoxify heavy metals from the body and has been used successfully for decades. 

Several years ago the press created widespread panic about this therapy when a young boy died during ongoing chelation treatment.  It’s so typical of the popular press... grabbing hold of a headline, scaring parents away from a useful treatment option without reporting all the facts.  What they neglected to mention is that it was later found out that this young boy’s tragic death was due to a drug error... simply he was given the wrong drug and his death had nothing to do with chelation itself. 

For children with autism, chelation therapy can be an essential tool on the road to recovery.  It’s one of the many ways of removing heavy metals from the body and severe side effects are extremely rare.  Substantial research evidence has shown a link between mercury exposure and the symptoms of autism, as well as other heavy metal exposure. 

All children are exposed to heavy metals and toxins on a daily basis, but in children with autism they seem to build up and cannot be removed from the body.  This could be because many children with autism have lower amounts of glutathione, which is sometimes called the “master anti-oxidant” and is one of the body’s most important detoxification chemicals.  It is key for the removal of mercury and other toxic metals from the body and if there is not enough of it, toxic heavy metals can accumulate and cause many behavioural and physical problems, especially in the gut. 

How Does Chelation Therapy Work?

Chelators are substances which are put into the body to bind to heavy metals. The word chelation comes from the Greek work “chele” which means claw, which is the perfect way to describe how chelators grab hold of heavy metals and remove them from the body.  They are usually secreted in the urine via the kidneys, but sometimes pass through the digestive system and are excreted in the stools.  

There are many different chelation therapy drugs, including DMSA, DMPS and EDTA and they are basically synthetic amino acids which grab hold of the toxic heavy metals like magnets.  Together as units they circulate around the body until they are excreted. 

Chelation therapy drugs can be administered in many different ways and it depends on the child and their needs.  There are suppositories, capsules to take orally or in some cases drugs are given intra-venously.  However this is not always practical or necessary for many children. 

Unfortunately chelation therapy is still viewed with a great deal of suspicion by many mainstream medical doctors.  They refuse to recognise the importance of heavy metal removal and often scaremonger with potential side effects and a supposed lack of evidence for the therapy.  However parents are reporting the incredible benefits that chelation therapy has given to their children with much better results than mainstream medical protocol, which offers drugs merely to treat the symptoms of autism, such as antidepressants.  At least with chelation therapy you are actually treating one of the potential causes of the autism symptoms - heavy metal toxicity.