What Are The Health Benefits Of Calcium Edta?

Calcium EDTA serves as an important chelating therapeutic agent, a chemical solution used to treat heavy-metal poisoning. It contains two important components: calcium and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, a man-made amino acid that latches to heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium and lead to form stable EDTA complexes easily eliminated through the urine.

Heavy-Metal Poisoning

Medical practitioners usually use calcium EDTA as a chelating agent for the treatment of acute and chronic heavy-metal poisoning. Once injected, heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, cobalt, zinc, tin, manganese and cadmium, displace calcium to form EDTA complexes. These EDTA-heavy metal complexes are then eliminated through the kidneys. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer's disease, irritable bowel syndrome and autism are some of the most common health conditions associated with heavy-metal poisoning.

Digitalis Toxicity

Calcium EDTA may serve as an alternative treatment for toxicity arising from the use of digitalis, a common medication used in the treatment of heartbeat irregularities. The University of Maryland Medical Center explains that though calcium EDTA is an established treatment for digitalis toxicity, most medical practitioners prefer other forms of treatment instead of this medication.

Atherosclerosis

Many people claim to have experienced drastic improvements in their atherosclerosis disease through the use of calcium EDTA injection, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. But most health-care professionals consider calcium EDTA an ineffective and potentially dangerous treatment for atherosclerosis. In fact, the American Heart Association advises against this use of calcium EDTA.

Protecting the Brain

A study conducted at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, and published in the November 2004 issue of "The Journal of Neuroscience" concluded that calcium EDTA is a potentially effective rescuer for stroke-induced brain ischemia, the restriction of the blood supply in some parts of the brain resulting in brain tissue damage and dysfunction. In this study, the researchers demonstrated the ability of calcium EDTA to preserve the integrity of the function of the brain mitochondria, the producer of energy within the brain cells. But further clinical trials are necessary.