Among supplements with the ability to “detox” unwanted agents out of the body, EDTA is useful even if not particularly well known. This is a compound with a unique ability to bind to heavy toxic metals and expel them from your body. Let’s look at the chemistry and forms of EDTA, and the practical purposes for taking an oral, over-the-counter EDTA supplement.
What Is EDTA?
EDTA is short for Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, a compound classified and utilized as a chelation agent for the removal of toxic heavy metals. Memorizing how it’s spelled might also help you win a spelling bee someday. Also known as “calcium disodium EDTA,” this supplement was first chemically synthesized in the 1930s. Today, it is a common additive for foods, and it serves a few different established pharmacologic purposes. As a chelation agent, it binds to or “grabs” metal ions, and it then carries them out of the body via urination.
As a food additive, EDTA is quite common, as well as in cosmetic products. Most of the time, it is utilized for neutralizing or removing metal ions that could otherwise enter and remain in the body. EDTA is often recommended for the treatment of lead poisoning. The predominant form of EDTA administration is intravenous, because it is much more readily absorbed than oral forms of EDTA. However, it is costly, uncomfortable, and drawn-out in its course of treatment.
While oral administration of EDTA presents only a portion of the available chelating power, it is easier and far less costly than intravenous treatment. Oral EDTA can be taken daily to protect against the presence of heavy metals in the body in the long term. This is recommended only after you have consulted your healthcare provider. Oral EDTA is reasonably preferred and utilized (usually separately from IV treatment) for a few specific purposes.
When Could Oral EDTA Be Useful?
There are a few different presenting contexts within which oral supplementation with EDTA is regarded as appropriate. It is always important to consider your diet, entire medicinal regime, and your medical needs with the input of your healthcare provider before taking EDTA.
Within the context of IV EDTA treatment, oral EDTA capsules could be useful for detoxification in the periods between IV treatment sessions. Low-dosage administration with attention to the body’s receptiveness to EDTA is the proper method. This could potentially apply to the removal of mercury and other heavy metals.
Reducing the risk of coronary artery disease: There are scientific reports that EDTA can be useful for reducing the risk of coronary artery disease. This is because the removal of heavy metals from the body specifically results in a reduced presence of heavy metals in the cardiovascular system. Research is ongoing on the comparable effectiveness of oral EDTA to IV treatment when it comes to the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Lead poisoning in children: There is at least one study to suggest that oral usage of EDTA is specifically effective in the treatment of children who have experienced lead poisoning. More research is needed for this specific type of medical scenario and the effectiveness of oral EDTA.
The bodily benefits of oral EDTA primarily come down to the removal of heavy metals and for the prevention of coronary artery disease. The strategic usage of oral EDTA could be helpful in these contexts. It is suggested you talk to your healthcare provider about the suitability of using a calcium disodium EDTA supplement before trying it.