By Elmer M. Cranton, M.D.

1.  The unabsorbed 95 percent passes on through the intestines, binding tightly to and blocking absorption of essential dietary nutrients in food.  That prevents utilization and can cause frank deficiencies.  

2.   When EDTA is absorbed, either by mouth or intravenously, it removes 10 to 20 times more of the necessary trace elements, such as zinc and manganese, than it does lead and the undesirable elements that speed ageing and cause atherosclerosis.  Given intravenously, with 100% absorption, a therapeutic dose of EDTA can be administered in 20 to 30 days.  Replenishment of essential elements from diet and supplements can then take place during the remaining 330 days of the year, when EDTA is not present to interfere. Because such a small amount is absorbed by mouth, oral EDTA must be given every day to accumulate a potentially effective dose, with no break to replenish the essential nutrients that are continuously being blocked and depleted.

        EDTA by mouth can therefore cause progressive deficiencies of zinc, manganese and other necessary trace nutrients.  The body’s antioxidant defenses are dependent on proper amounts of those nutrients.  For example, superoxide dismutase, a very important intracellular antioxidant, cannot function without zinc and manganese.  By inactivating antioxidant enzymes, daily EDTA by mouth can actually worsen the very problems supposedly being treated.  

        EDTA remains outside of cells.  Oral EDTA produces only a low concentration at cell surfaces throughout the body, while intravenous infusions result in much higher levels, which are maintained for several hours. Intravenous EDTA can thus draw unwanted metals out through cell walls by diffusion.  It’s doubtful that this can occur with EDTA by mouth.

        EDTA by mouth doesn’t produce the pulsitile release of parathormone that’s associated with intravenous chelation therapy.  If that mechanism of action is important to achieve benefit, it will not occur without intravenous infusions.  

        Oral chelation has been deceptively marketed for many years.  High potency nutritional supplements containing vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids and chelated minerals are sometimes advertised and marketed as  “oral chelation.”  Although people do feel better taking high-potency supplements, as evidenced by testimonials from people selling those products, it’s not chelation therapy.

        Some nutrients are chelators in a laboratory test-tube, including vitamin C, citric acid, methionine, and cysteine.  But when absorbed into the body, instead of being chelators, they enter into the metabolism where they’re consumed by cells and not excreted.  They don’t chelate unwanted substances from the body.  Those nutrients can be purchased much less expensively without the “oral chelation” label.

        DMSA (dimercaptosuccinic acid) is one effective oral chelating agent and it is well absorbed.  But it works best for mercury and lead.  It doesn’t reverse coronary heart disease and doesn’t treat arterial blockage from atherosclerosis.  DMSA doesn’t remove metallic catalysts that act as precursors of damaging free radical pathology and accelerated aging.  Its primary use is as an oral chelator of mercury and lead.

        I recently examined a new patient with very severe heart disease, extensive coronary calcification, and an enlarged heart. For several years he’d been taking a nutritional supplement containing 200 milligrams of EDTA daily.   He was in excellent health prior to starting his “oral chelation” program and he had no other risk factors for heart disease.  He thought this would prevent heart disease.  Instead he became deficient in many nutritional trace elements and developed serious atherosclerosis, which was very advanced for his age.

        Chelated minerals are sometimes marketed deceptively as “oral chelation.”  Minerals in nutritional supplements are often chelated (bound) with amino acids to improve uptake.  Such chelated minerals are more like minerals found naturally in food. The label on those products may therefore contain the word  “chelated.”   That’s not chelation therapy.  Many products marketed as “oral chelation” are nothing more than multiple vitamin, mineral supplements with excessively high prices.  Those that contain significant amounts of EDTA are potentially dangerous.  

Marketers of oral EDTA products state that the FDA approves it as safe.  Because EDTA binds tightly to trace metals, depriving bacteria of essential nutrients they need to grow, small amounts are routinely used as a preservative in food products such as mayonnaise.  EDTA also prevents lipid oxidation (rancidity) by binding metallic catalysts of free radical production.  The amount of EDTA in foods is much less than the amounts in so-called “oral chelation” products.  Very few people would eat enough of foods containing EDTA on a daily basis to ingest any significant quantity.  

        There’s been a recent upsurge of aggressive marketing and advertising for oral products containing relatively large doses of EDTA.  These may be in the form of garlic tablets or vitamin supplements.  Marketers of oral EDTA products point to studies showing that urinary lead excretion increases greatly after giving EDTA by mouth.  It does, but they neglect to point out that urinary losses of zinc, manganese and other essential nutritional elements also increase after oral EDTA, and that the losses of essential nutrients are 10 to 15 times greater than lead.  If EDTA is given daily it will eventually cause deficiencies.

        EDTA by mouth has never been studied in a large group of people over a long enough time to determine exactly how much it contributes to trace element deficiencies.  It’s therefore not possible to say that oral EDTA in doses currently being marketed is safe.  We need reliable scientific data to determine how much and how often EDTA by mouth can safely be taken.  I don’t believe such data exists.

        In my opinion, the promotion of oral EDTA chelation as a treatment or preventive for heart disease, vascular disease, atherosclerosis and other age-related diseases is deceptive and potentially dangerous.