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A ranch house, a zip lock bag and some ordinary flour Two
experiments: 1) Some ordinary wheat flour such as can be found in most homes
placed with some water in a zip-lock plastic bag. A magnet is passed over
the bag and an extraordinary thing happens - Iron particles start popping
out and attaching themselves to the side of the bag, forming clusters of
what looked like iron filings. 2) The next experiment involves placing a
well-known brand of cereal into a bowl of water. The magnet is again passed
over the bowl this time and the flakes literally line up and follow the
magnet round the bowl. This is the first time I realised that there is so
much added iron in the food that we eat and the effect it can have on our
health. We’ve all been told that heart attacks and heart bypass surgery are
as a direct result of clogging or furring of our arteries by ‘bad
cholesterol’. The arteries become so narrowed as to make the blood flow
through the arteries very difficult thus placing enormous strains on the
cardio-vascular system. Why do we need chelators? A few trace metals that we
absorb are toxic, these include iron and lead To make use of a metal, our
bodies must form chelates (key-lates) out of them, and to do this requires
chelating substances Chelating substances attach to desirable trace metals
and allow the body to properly utilize those metals they also attach to
undesirable trace metals and allow the body to remove them. Types of
Chelator Many chemicals can serve as chelators. Their effects will depend on
the precise nature and concentration of that chelator. They also vary in the
strength with which they bind metals. There are some weak chelators present
in common foods. Other chelators, such as substances used medicinally to rid
the body of excess toxic metals, form very strong bonds (chelates) with
metals. Why is there potential for Iron Overload? Iron overload is possible
because there is no normal mechanism for removing it from the body. The body
is iron-efficient, it retains its iron and recycles it over and over again.
The body's iron level is controlled almost entirely by absorption and iron
can build up progressively as dietary intake increases, especially in men
because they do not have a monthly blood loss. Over a period of months and
years this will result in the accumulation of several grams of iron. Iron
and Heart Disease Risk Iron can generate free radical pathology. There is
now good evidence that free radical pathology leads to changes in the blood
vessels which sets the stage for atheroscelerosis. Accumulation of excess
iron in the body may increase the risk for heart disease and the connection
doesn't end there.... Health statistics have revealed that women have a
lower risk of heart disease than men, until menopause, after which the risk
is the same. Why? Pre-menopausal women have a monthly blood loss that rids
the body of excess, potentially toxic iron, which may protect against heart
disease. Even pre-menopausal women with high blood cholesterol levels and
high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which are considered to be strong risk
factors for heart disease, have less heart disease than men. The Lead
connection Lead is a toxic element that has many undesirable health effects.
Evidence links excess lead with cardiovascular disease, cancer and other
disorders. Researchers have found that cancer rates are higher amongst
people living near heavily-traveled roads and it was suggested that this
increased risk is due to the higher levels of lead in the air. The findings
led the researchers to test the effect of a lead-removing substance - EDTA
(ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid),a man-made amino acid and chelating
agent - on cancer rates in people living near high-traffic roads. After 18
years those treated with EDTA had one-tenth of the cancer rate of those not
treated with EDTA.(1) Chelation Therapy This is the use of chelating agents,
orally or by injection, in order to bind and remove harmful metals from the
body. The man made chelating agent EDTA can remove most toxic metals.
Intravenous Chelation This therapy has been used by doctors as an effective
alternative to bypass surgery for atherosclerosis since the 1950s, giving
hope that having hardening of the arteries need not lead to coronary bypass
surgery, heart attack, stroke and numerous other related diseases. Doctors
noted reduced pain and blood cholesterol levels as well as other favorable
changes. EDTA chelation therapy has been reported to help in many conditions
now thought to be related to free radical pathology: Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and others. Another
effect of EDTA is that it changes the calcium/ magnesium ratio in the body.
EDTA removes calcium more efficiently than magnesium which reduces the
ratio. Lowering the ratio improves the flexibility of blood cells, reduces
the tendency of blood to clot and reduces blood cholesterol and blood
pressure. So the benefits of EDTA are not entirely due to the removal of
toxic metals but also the calcium/magnesium balance. In the case of
intravenous chelation, EDTA is used as the chelating agent. It is carried in
a glucose formulation together with synthetic B Vitamins. It takes several
hours and requires 80-100 treatments. Oral Chelation Oral EDTA therapy can
also be used. One or two oral doses of EDTA per day, over a period of months
can have a long-term preventative effect. There are many so-called oral
chelation supplements on the market containing few or no chelating
substances! For an oral chelation supplement that has been tested and
certified to lower bad cholesterol by The University of Illinois, Department
of Food Science and Human Nutrition: Go to http://GetaHealthyHeart.com
----------------------------------------------- References: 1. Blumer,W, et
al Environmental International 3: 1980, pages 465-471 Bibliography: New
Answers to Old Questions, The Free Radical Story by Harry W Hersey |
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