Chelating Foods in Chronic Disease: Treatment and Prevention

Abstract

As increasing numbers of patients present with chronic illnesses each year, healthcare has remained unable to resolve many of these issues' root causes, resorting to symptom management instead. For example, it is becoming increasingly clear that heavy metal toxicity is highly correlated with these conditions. Still, clinical care has focused more on pharmaceutical and surgical interventions than on trying to understand these underlying connections better. Because heavy metals are ubiquitous in modern life, exposure risk is high for nearly everyone. While chelation therapy has a long history and remains an effective method of removing heavy metals from the body, various foods have also been shown to possess powerful chelating properties. In light of these realities, not only is it incumbent upon physicians to make a heavy metal testing standard protocol for certain conditions, but incorporating a diet emphasizing chelating foods can provide powerful support to existing treatment and act as a preventative measure against bioaccumulation and its associated diseases.