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Chelation therapy is one process by which you can perform heavy metal detox. Many of you would have heard of mercury poisoning. Mercury poisoning was also popularly referred to as the mad hatter?s disease during the 19th century. Mercury is a heavy metal that if ingested can create poisoning and damage to your nervous system. It also results in wide swings in your mood and causes nervousness and dementia. In short, your mental faculties are lowered and if found in your children, their brain development can be stunted.

Mercury is easily absorbed into your body via the (polluted) water that you drink or even the dental braces that you wear. So you may have unwittingly allowed mercury into your body system. Many alternative health experts therefore suggest that you should consider heavy metal detox is an option to eliminate these harmful toxins from your body.

Dimercaprol or BAL (British Anti-Lewisite) is a common heavy metal detoxifier. It was first used in World War I as medicine for soldiers who got infected with arsenic gas or those who often paint hulls of navy vessels. During the chelation therapy, a chelating agent, a water-soluble compound that can penetrate the bloodstream, is introduced into their bodies. As soon as dimercaprol combines with arsenic and enters the bloodstream, the liver or the kidney can then successfully remove it. However, it was later found that dimercaprol, being an early effort of science for heavy metal detox, produce some reported side effects.

Next, researchers discovered EDTA (Ethylenediamine Tetraacetic Acid). This heavy metal detoxifier is a type of amino acid that is manufactured synthetically. Then came the DMSA (Dimercaptosuccinic acid), an improved variant of BAL, in the 1960s. DMSA is the leading heavy metal detox treatment for the US Standard of Care. With an increased awareness of the health risks of heavy metals, health experts diverted more energies into this area of research and discovered other chelating agents, such as Alpha lipoic acid (ALA) and Dimercapto-propane sulfonate (DMPS).

Because of possible side effects, chelation therapy is not your everyday therapy. If you suspect that you are being poisoned by mercury or other heavy metals, then you may wish to consider going for a qualified and experienced physician for chelation therapy.

Here is a list of possible medication that he may prescribe you:

* Alpha lipoic acid (ALA)
* Diethylene Triamine Pentaacetic Acid (Dtpa)
* Calcium disodium versante (CaNa2-EDTA)
* D-penicillamine
* Deferoxamine
* Dimercaprol (BAL)
* Defarasirox
* Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA)
* Dimercapto-propane sulfonate (DMPS)

For an effective chelation therapy for heavy metal detox, chelating agents used should bind well with the metallic icons of heavy metal compounds. The agents should set off a chemical bond that causes the loss of potency and reactivity of heavy metals. Chelating agents are best to be water-soluble so that they can bind easily with the heavy metals inside your body, thus allowing them to be absorbed by your bloodstream and for safe excretion from your body.