Obbzervations on Chelation
Rather than going to Princess Sunshine, I wanted to see what the National Institutes of Health had to say about aluminum poisoning. Here's an abstract on the topic:
Desferrioxamine in the treatment of aluminum overload.
Ackrill P, Day JP.
Aluminum removal is essential in treating patients with aluminum accumulation. Currently the most effective method is chelation of aluminum with desferrioxamine (DFO). DFO administration has been shown to improve dialysis encephalopathy and dialysis bone disease. The optimum dose of DFO and the mode of administration have yet to be determined. Commonly between 40 and 80 mg/kg is given parenterally once weekly. The very high serum aluminum concentrations which develop do not appear to be toxic. The administration of small doses of DFO with each dialysis may also be advocated. Monitoring of serum aluminum levels and of iron status is advisable during DFO treatment. DFO may also play a role in evaluating tissue aluminum accumulation.
OK, so what's this danged chelation stuff? And who rubs the sesame oil on the patient's body afterwards?
Chelation therapy involves the use of chemical compounds injected into the blood stream , muscle or taken by mouth to bind metals that are present in toxic concentrations so they can be excreted (usually in urine) from the body....
Chelation therapy is medically indicated when toxic levels of heavy metals such as iron, arsenic, lead, and mercury are present. While iron is a vital metal the other metals (arsenic, lead, and mercury) are not required by the body.
Lead toxicity most commonly occurs with young children exposed to old houses with lead paint dust or chips. Occupational exposure (soldering, welders, smelters, battery reclamation) is also a risk. Lead screening for children has now become a standard part of a doctor's visit for children in may states.
Mercury toxicity almost always occurs with high risk occupational exposures including dental workers, manufacturers of batteries/ thermometers, tannery work/taxidermy, and contaminated seafood.
Arsenic poisoning usually occurs from exposure to insecticides, herbicides, rodent poisons, veterinary parasitic medications, or intentional poisoning.
Other heavy metals, mentioned only in passing because toxic exposure is extremely uncommon, include: cadmium, manganese, aluminum, cobalt, zinc, nickel, copper and magnesium.
Heavy metal toxicity can cause a wide range of problems including severe injury to the body organs and the brain.
Common chelating agents include:
Desfuroxamine Mesylate: used for iron toxicity, intravenous preferred route of administration.
Dimercaprol (BAL): lead, preferred agent for arsenic & mercury toxicity, given intramuscularly
DMSA: an analogue of Dimercaprol that can be given orally for lead and arsenic poisoning
D-penicillamine: an oral chelating agent used for lead, arsenic, or mercury poisoning. Much less expensive but not as effective as DMSA.
Calcium Disodium Versante (CaNa2-EDTA): can be used in conjunction with BAL in lead toxicity. Never used alone in treating lead toxicity because chelates only extracellular, not intracellular lead.
Diagnosis of heavy metal toxicity is serious and must be made by a physician based on clinical symptoms in conjunction with laboratory testing. Chelating agents are potentially toxic and should not be used unless absolutely indicated....
All chelating agents have both minor and potentially life threatening side effects. They must be used under the supervision of a physician in a hospital setting.
But that sounds like too much work, so let's just take some herbs:
But no matter how hard we try to diminish our exposure to toxins, life in our industrialized world means that exposure to such substances is inevitable. Fortunately, the really good news is that there are often simple and inexpensive things you can do to help your body defend itself againstsuch threats.
Eating the herb cilantro, for example, is an excellent way to increase the urinary excretion of heavy metals from your body. Accumulations of mercury, aluminum,and other metals in your nervous system and body tissues have been linked to cancer, arthritic conditions, muscle pain and weakness, and memory problems.
Eating cilantro and doing ozonated steams are natural alternatives to chelation therapy. Chelation therapy uses chemicals like EDTA to help flush out heavy metals and can be costly. Researchers have found that cilantro was able to remove mercury from patients in two to three weeks, without the help of any chelation agents. Ozonated steams literally oxidize them out of the tissues of the body.
This bit of information came from the Angel Healing Center. Since they treat a lot of celebrities, they have to be legitimate. Although frankly, these people sound more like personalities.
It turns out that Tishara Cousino has a history with alternative medicine:
Before Playboy stepped into the picture, Cousino was about to begin studies with an Ohio-based school of naturopathy called Trinity. The first semester was to be spent as an apprentice with a local doctor. That has been put on hold, she says.
Cousino first became interested in naturopathy, or the use of nontraditional medicine such as herbs, after a good friend was diagnosed with uterine cancer about 3 1/2 years ago. She sat in health food stores for hours and read books, trying to find a natural cure for her friend. In the meantime, she also discovered an entirely new world.
"I finally found something that I could truly stay interested in and could really keep my attention," Cousino says. "I would tell (my friend) about different herbs, exercising and how important it is to blend the emotional with the physical."
Her friend, she says, has had a full recovery. In the end, she ended up blending both conventional and naturopathic treatments, she says. And to this day, Cousino still eats well-balanced meals, takes vitamins, works out five times a week and fasts three times a year. Her home is stacked with books on health, yoga and meditation, she adds. Even if she does not get the chance to become a naturopathic practitioner, she will always use what she has learned during the past three years about health.
I could say something about sesame oil, but I won't....
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