FDA Nixes Over-the-Counter Chelation

fda logoThe FDA has ordered eight companies to stop marketing over-the-counter chelation products primarily intended to remove heavy metals such as lead and mercury from our bodies. The heavy metal chelation products included a range of substances, in particular calcium disodium EDTA, which the FDA still allows in prescription form. The Agency cited the companies for making inappropriate health claims. In some cases, this seems to have been happening. In at least one case, the only “inappropriate” health claim seems to have been factual statements about what heavy metals do to our bodies and links to peer-reviewed scientific articles. The Agency was not just concerned with inappropriate health claims. It also took the position that all non-prescription chelating products are unsafe. Charles Lee, the medical officer at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), noted that no adverse events have yet been reported for the products pulled. He then claimed they can cause side effects including dehydration, kidney failure, liver damage, and death. In a remarkable bit of double-speak, Lee said, “Just because we don’t have evidence of lots of adverse events doesn’t mean there’s no risk from these products.” Let’s look closely at what Lee said. “No risk”? Is that a reasonable standard? Taking almost anything in excess or in the wrong way can be dangerous. And we are not talking about there not being “lots of adverse events.” We are talking about there not even being one. The risks of allowing calcium disodium EDTA outside a doctor’s office can be debated. It is important to remember, however, that few doctors are interested in either heavy metal testing or chelation, much less knowledgeable and skilled at it. At least we are left with other ways to chelate heavy metals—foods like garlic and cilantro, and supplements like alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin C, selenium, and the amino acid N-acetylcysteine (NAC). We can use the latter supplements so long as the manufacturers keep completely silent about their chelating benefits. And there is no doubt that in today’s world we need heavy metal removal. Let’s not forget: the same government which is now protecting us from non-prescription heavy metal chelating agents also puts mercury in our flu shots—even flu shots for infants—as a preservative, even though this preservative is banned in Europe. For an important action alert on doctor-supervised prescription chelation for heart disease, please see our next story.

39 comments

  1. The FDA and AMA continue to abridge our freedoms under the guise of “public safety.”
    This is what people mean when they say we have to “take back our country.”

  2. OH YES…I HAVE A FIFTY YEAR MEDICAL COVER-UP OF SEVERE ALERIG REACTIONS TO THIMEROSAL AND OTHER VACCINE INJURY AS IN I CONTRACTED POLIO FROM THE LIVE VIRUS VACCINE…I ALSO GET THE FLU AFTER I HAVE HAD CLOSE CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO RECIEVED LIVE VIRUS FLU VACCINE. CONGRESS REFUSED TO CREATE A BILL TO SIGN INTO LAW ABOUT BAN ON THE USE OF THIMEROSAL IN VACCINES…EVEN THOUGH THEY KNOW AND KNEW ALL ABOUT THE TRUE ILL-EFFECTS THIMEROSAL HAS. INCLUDING DEATH.FDA AND CDC AND THE WHO AND WORLD LEADERS AND U.N HAS KNOWN ALL ALONG FOR ALONG TIME….SO INTENTIONAL GENOCIDE TO THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD.

    1. I recently underwent 24 chelation treatments. Following the third treatment, a 24 Hr urinalysis for heavy metals revealed very HIGH LEVELS OF BOTH LEAD AND CADMIUM. The adverse health consequences of these metals are many. These metals either/both interfere with proper utilization of, among other things, calcium, vitamin c, iron, etc. which lead to chronic anemia and cancer (bone cancer and leukemia), not to mention Alzheimers,. The 24 treatments were, of course, insufficient to completely eliminate the problem. I am continuing my treatment with supplements from Dr. Robert Marshall. Find him on the net at healthproductsUSA.com. All of his supplements are 100% natural and free from contaminants and added baggage.

  3. thanks for the info…please keep us informed…..there is so much that we do not know and are not going to know if left to the governmemnt to inform us….thanks again

  4. They should really butt out and worry about making money some other way beside siding with drug companies!!!they will never tell the truth about anything!!!!!!

  5. A product that helps rid heavy metals from the body is activated charcoal POWDER. You take it for a week and you should be done. Try it. Powder works faster than pills.

  6. I don’t know about you as for me I do think the FDA has been going outside the norm taking away the right of the person to make informed choices on EDTA oral or by doctors. I am also angered at FDA for always trying to take away my freedoms for Alternative treatments and natural therapies.

  7. I do EDTA/DMPS IV chelations….they saved my life. I would not be on this earth without these. MS people need these to be ok and diabetic/clogged artery people/heavy metal filled people. Oral chelation did not help me….I used MSM, Vit C, chorella, brown seaweed to detox… I had to do it every 4 hours and I was getting worse daily as heavy metals sank deeper into my tissues…blocking my thyroid. It was the worse hell anyone could go through. I got precancer, sugar digestion blocked, thyroid blocked and other chemical reactions in my body. I was lucky to be able to eat any food. Oral EDTA is water soluble so it didn’t help me…rinsed out of me. Most people have heavy metals due to teeth fillings/pesticides/water/soil/chemicals/smoking/tuna/vaccinations and more….people have no clue what is hurting them.
    The FDA is pro Conventional medicine only…which is big business. Pray Alternative medicine will be protected…it is the only thing that saved my life.

  8. I’m beginning to think that the more educated you are these days, the stupider you are. Lee says that just because there is no evidence of risk doesn’t mean there isn’t any risk. Well, Mr. Lee, there is a LOT of evidence of adverse effects on most of the big pharma drugs and yet you haven’t pulled them. Do you even listen to yourself talk? The illogical thinking of people in power is laughable.

    1. You will never convict the people in power of illogical thinking when there is no evidence that they have done any thinking !

  9. Chelation Therapy has saved my life. Cardiac Surgery has incapacitated two friends and killed on, angioplasty has about the same record and stent insertion has incapacitated another. I personally know of no one suffering from the effects of and or killed by chelation therapy. I suggest that it is time to pull the veil off the FDA, examine decisions, and take them to task on decisions rendered. It’s not enough to write (we all get the same form letters anyway) congressional representatives, senators or even cabinet members. We need to include FDA career officers and give them reason to reconsider some of their decisions. If necessary we should hold everyone’s feet to the fire at the same time. Who in congress oversees the FDA? We should be grilling Representatives and Regulators all at the same time. Maybe someone will get the idea that occasionally some decisions can be questionable career choices.

  10. If there is any conceivable way you see to take effective administrative action on this latest FDA outrage, please let me know! OTC detox kits are one of the only effective ways that those without medical insurance can deal with the effects of toxic vaccines and environmental exposures, such as the BP oil spill/dispersants spraying and chemtrails!
    I am the one who filed the comprehensive constitutional federal case against forced H1N1 flu vaccinations/medical martial law a year ago, and am now working with the Barefoot Doctors and other activists seeking to stop the genocide facing the people of the Gulf Region by distributing herbal detox kits to the thousands of people being poisoned by BP and the US government with petroleum exudates and DNA-destroying Corexit dispersant!
    Allopathic physicians in the region are now not even offering conventional blood tests; their lives and those of their families having been threatened if they do. Medical care for most down there is nonexistent to the poor, and little of this is being reported due to the massive corporate/
    government media blackout.
    Do you know of any natural healthcare practitioners/organizations who/which would be willing to help with this effort — including publizing what is really hapening — before many more fall sick and/or die?

    1. Thank you for your comments. We are honored to have such a strong defender of the right to refuse vaccination among our readership. Our current strategy is gathering letters opposing this action to the FDA head, Margaret Hamburg, via our Action Alert above. We believe that the FDA as it currently exists is corrupted and broken, and in need of a complete reform and overhaul, and until this happens we fear that we will continue to see outrageous actions like this being taken.
      There are several professional organizations of natural health practitioners that you might reach out to for support, including the American College for Advancement of Medicine (ACAM) , the International College of Integrative Medicine (ICIM) < www.icimed.org>, and the American Holistic Medical Association, and the American Association of Environmental Medicine.

  11. Just like our good old government to “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.” Disgusting–and alarming!
    Mercury in flu shots?!!! I KNEW there was a good reason not to get a flu shot!
    And this article of necessity does not mention the many other toxic pollutants that our “benevolent” government allow to be spewed into the air and leached into our water supply. Truly, as a nation we are fouling our own nest–and we will pay the price. America will fall!

    1. Try Vitamin D3 instead. I take Vit D whenever I begin to feel a bug coming on and never get sick. I and my children haven’t taken antibiotics in 17 years. For more information on Vitamin D3 as an alternative to flu vaccine, read Dr. Donald Miller’s article on D3 and flu; he practices in Seattle. Easy to find if you google him.

    1. No. The government probably doesn’t want us healthy. How much of the GDP is spent on health care????? Where would America be without poor health????? Just think how many jobs would be lost if Americans actually had good health. The financial health of corporations comes before the actual health of Americans in the USA.
      On a different note, I know this is horrible, but I used to think that overweight people were that way because they didn’t take care of themselves. Now I’m learning that it’s the food additives allowed by the FDA which compromise the health of Americans. For instance, it has been known for over 30 years that oils such as canola & soy fatten livestock, and farmers feed these oils to their livestock just before sale to fatten them up, yet the FDA allows manufacturers of these oils to claim that they are healthy and then allows sale of them for human consumption . People are unhealthy because they eat processed food which they believe to be fine and healthy, simply because it has been approved by the FDA.

      1. There’s more: the food additives our government allows Food Manufactures to add to our food so their products have longer shelf life have many effects: some additives shut down the hormone that your stomach sends to the brain that you have had enough to eat… so you eat more … as much as 30% more/meal!
        Some additives Alter your brain chemistries to stimulate hunger and specifically trigger cravings for simple carbohydrates… that you probably may otherwise near eat.
        The goal is to get your body addicted to their products, eat more of them and insure long shelf life limiting spoilage…all this is to maximize their profits!
        The result is epidemic obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and more.
        Our healthcare crisis is based in the fact that our government is not protecting out food supply and it’s impact on our health for now and in the future.
        From Lobbyist corrupting Congress from their responsibility to us and then via the FDA is violating and corrupting our food supply to maximize Food Manufacturing profits [the very same thing that is happening with Pharmaceutical Companies].
        I like the idea of ‘We The People” suing the FDA for cronyism, unequal application of the law, and dereliction of their mandated duties!
        They allow poorly tested Rx’s but shut down our freedoms to seek health through natural means!

  12. The government had funded a study of IV Chelation but I have not heard the outcome and findings of that study. This is of great interest to me because I am familiar with one center where the study was being done and that center disgraced all that is scientific. The doctor running the center was not ACAM-certified and was not very familiar with the process. He had “amateurs” administering the drug and the placebo and let it be known that for the small fee that he was being paid, he could not afford to have a well qualified full time staff.
    In my estimation this whole program was set up to “prove” that chelation was not effective so that all IV chelation centers will be forced to close.

  13. A class-action lawsuit should be started against the FDA for making arbitrary rulings which are discriminatory against health food and supplement companies. (this would be a really fun lawsuit, because it would be so easy to prove that the FDA is arbitrary and favors commercial companies (favors maybe even the commercial companies that its directors used to work for???)

  14. Sickening, isn’t it? The FDA is as corrupt as an agency can get. They obviously do not do their research except for pharmaceutical research. And we Americans and citizens of the rest of the world know how reliable pharmaceutical research is. Just like their inflated prices that make the same medicines 800% higher for Americans than for Canadians and Europeans. First they allow wholeheartedly adding mercury to our inoculations, then they refuse to let us rid ourselves of it in our own way.
    I can’t imagine ever trusting the FDA. They have ruined any reason for existence in this country. I am so sorry for us Americans to have to live with them ruining our lives. And for what cause? For the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries to get even wealthier? What other reasons could there be? It’s all about money and unconscionable greed in my country. What can we citizens do about it?

  15. I am so angry about this. I had very high levels of mercury and lead in my system and did IV chelations for about 4 months but it was so hard on me to do that and hold my job that I had to switch to the orals. I’ve found that these are very effective and much easier on my wallet. I am positive that my poisoning was a result of amalgams. The FDA allowed the poison in, but won’t let you get it out? They’re a bunch of dangerous baboons. It’s obvious who they work for and it ISN’T US!!!!

  16. These companies do not have to take this. The FDA can be successfully fought and won against. But you have to know common law and how to fight using the Constitution. Too many companies quake in fear of the FDA and roll over without a fight. I know one man personally who had a five year battle with the FDA, but because of the knowledge of how to fight them, was able to do what others could not.

    1. Rachel, I would like to have that man’s name. I have received a visit from the FDA recently and I do not manufacture any products. I am simply a drop-shipper.
      When they came they asked me if I would consider shutting down my website. I said no. They then left me some literature and asked me to contact a “Compliance Officer” which I have no intention of doing.
      I can not afford a lawyer so I would like to talk with someone who has been on the front line with them because I believe that I may be there soon.
      Thanks, I appreciate any help you can give me.
      Lynne Gordon
      The Oxygen Therapy Program

  17. You might want to consider a shot of unfiltered organic cider vinegar a day if you can’t get the EDTA. It’s a very old practice and not as unpleasant as one might think. EDTA is Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid. (sp?). Some of the compounds in the vinegar look a lot like it (or so my chemist friends tell me).
    I have written to my elected representatives suggesting that putting the brakes on FDA actions of this nature could well be a key issue in the 2012 elections and am doing my best to push this with my fellow retirees.
    FWIW I used oral EDTA for years and my bp is 10 points higher than it was when I left the army, 40 years ago.

    1. It is a great suggestion to have the regulation or disbandment of FDA be a key issue of 2010 elections. The FDA is not serving the American public; it is serving corporations. I’ll be glad to help with political efforts to regulate the FDA.

  18. I suggest reading “Bypassing Bypass”. I forget who wrote it. Chelation treatments have a side effect of dissolving the glue holding blockages in the arteries together. The book has been out since the 1989’s.

  19. Just have a look
    the FDA and Monsanto worked against public for decades but today they become so cheeky because they have gain more than enough power, they have bought all your government members and all those criminals in the government and other big carts investing their money directly into FDA and Monsanto all these chain work and live in their own rules. And all us in their eyes and tongues are pigs and slaves. Yes we are we eat what in the supermarket without questioning or protesting, we accept drugs and vaccines willingly but animals would not. We are sitting in comfort of the own desk and writing when they hire the most brainy people all over the world pay them good money and they do in polite way under the cover protecting your health such damage to the environment and your Obama and Clinton cow pretend they want to make Afganistan and irag democratic country. Hey Americans where is democracy when you have no freedom to look after yourself? Ask who are the FDA OR MONSANTO they are the same as federal reserve private companies. What do you awaiting from them? justice, care or honesty? Today already is tooooo late to act but tomorrow you will be in the prison like quantamo for every positive word you said.

  20. I agree with others comments that the FDA has many times too many stepped way over their the intended use for such an agency. I agree they should be done away with. The FDA has become a powerful destructive agency. Many good hormones and medications have gone the wayside due to the FDA. Enough is enough.

  21. Actually, folks, these chelating agents are really dangerous. They have to be used carefully and with knowledge or you can really hurt yourself. Please read Dr. Andrew Cutler’s book,” Amalgam Illness, Diagnosis and Treatment.” Here you will learn how to use these chemicals safely and effictively to remove heavy metals from your body.
    Never chelate with amalgams in your mouth.
    You have to take the chemicals according to their half life. DMSA is every four hours day and night for three days with a four day rest period. Most people start at 12.5 mg and work up slowly according to their symptoms.
    Alphas Lipoic Acid removes mercury from the brain. It is taken every three hours day and night on the same schedule. Large doses of ALA can really harm a metal toxic person. This is largely misunderstood by the alternative medical community.
    Do not use DMSA challenge tests. The DMSA dosage for these is dangerously high.
    Intravenous DMPS is dangerous.
    The book in question only costs 35 dollars. Educate yourself before embarking on heavy metal chelation!

  22. What about the thousands of ‘adverse events’ that take place everyday when mercury fillings are put into uninformed patients’ mouths? How many more infants will suffer brain damage, seizures, ischemia, grand mal seizures, autism and neurological dysfunction after their insane vaccine protocols?
    Where is the FDA’s surveillance and protection from the genocidal, greed mongering/disease promoting industry? Answer: Nowhere to be found.
    They are more concerned about protecting industry interests and impeding upon your health freedom. Your right to choose how to eliminate the poisons that were put into your body is being taken away by the same faceless government agency that allowed these poisons to be put into your body. How’s that for protection?
    BLEEP the FDA.

  23. Chelation works and prescrition drugs fails. Yes there may be a few that do some good but the vast majority of them just cover symptons up and cure nothing.
    13@1/2 yaars ago I was diagnosed with idopathic cardiomyopathy and atrial fibrilation. Totley diabled for the rest of my life. and given 2 years to lie; (as stated to my ex by my doctors). For 10 years or so I was in and out of hospital and my defiberlator went off twice. Went off of all prescription drugs over 2 years ago and I feel great. Take natural vitimins and minerals try to eat healthy and stay busy. Today I can work all day (strenious labour if I chose ) and outdance girls half my age all evening.
    My comeback is: Had all mercury dental fillings replaced with composites—-Had my one root canal remived (which I received when I had fillings removed and later informed that all root canals are toxic) HAD OVER 100 HUNDRED CHELATIONS TREATMENTS AND BUYING ANOTHER 6 PACK TOMORROW.—–PLUS what I mentioned above and staying active working and having fun.

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