Chelated vitamins and minerals are often recommended over less expensive nonchelated supplements. In the chelation process, an inorganic mineral is bound to an amino acid, which allows it to be easily absorbed by your digestive system. Proponents of chelated products claim that you get more nutritional benefit from these products. Before taking any dietary supplement, you should consult your doctor or health care practitioner for guidance, especially if you are taking any medications.
Chelates
Chelates are compounds that contain two or more elements, and include a mineral. The structure of the chelate is in the form of a claw-shaped molecule. The mineral is held in the center and is surrounded by organic elements. Chelated vitamin and mineral supplements contain minerals that are already chemically bonded to organic molecules, so your digestive system may need to do less work to convert the mineral into a usable form. However, some experts believe that since minerals are separated from the chelating amino acids during digestion, chelation may actually cause your digestive system to work harder.
Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds that are necessary for health. They aren't sources of food and don't contain any calories. Vitamins act like chemical catalysts and allow your body to use the carbohydrates, fats and proteins that you eat. Vitamins are chemical compounds that are made up of two or more elements. According to the University of California-Berkeley, vitamins cannot be chelated like minerals, even when they are part of a daily supplement that includes chelated minerals.
Minerals
Minerals are also elements, such as iron or copper. Your body needs macrominerals, like calcium and sodium, as well as microminerals such as iodine and zinc. The prefixes "macro" and "micro" refer to the dietary amounts of minerals that you need for good health. Minerals are inorganic substances because they don't originate from a biological organism. That means that your body can't use them directly and needs to convert them into organic forms. Your body's digestive system bonds inorganic minerals to organic molecules in a process called chelation.
Comparing Products
Whether chelated vitamin and mineral supplements are easier for your body to absorb is still not fully decided, so spending extra money on chelated products may be a waste of money. Many factors influence how well your body's digestive system can absorb vitamins and minerals, including your current state of health and what kinds of foods you take the vitamins with. Combining vitamins can help with their absorption. For instance, vitamin C helps your body absorb iron, while other food and vitamin combinations can work against each other. Don't buy products that claim to contain chelated vitamins, since vitamins can't be chelated.
Chelation Therapy
Chelating agents have many commercial uses, from softening water to acting as food preservatives. Because chelates latch onto minerals, they are used to help remove heavy metals from your body. Chelation therapy is used by medical practitioners to treat patients who have been poisoned, have ingested toxic metals or have even inhaled radioactive particles. The Food and Drug Administration has recently cracked down on unapproved over-the-counter chelation products because the danger of side effects is not considered to be an acceptable risk. Chelation therapy is not the same thing as taking chelated vitamins and minerals.
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