In my many years of searching for the answers to difficult health problems and in treating and coaching patients to wellness, I discovered the underlying causes of most degenerative diseases. Cells full of toxic substances can't function properly because they are poisoned.

Most doctors have no clue about the poisoning of our bodies and know even less about how to diagnose chemical and heavy metal poisoning. Almost all medical tests either measure what's in the blood or look at anatomy (x-rays, MRI, etc.)

Your body is so smart that it quickly moves any toxin out of the blood to protect the organs that must keep you alive, like the heart, lungs, kidneys and others. So it stores toxins in the tissues. Eventually the toxin level gets so high that you feel terrible. Your doctor takes a blood test for heavy metals, finds none and tells you that your blood tests are normal, "there's nothing wrong with you" or "you just have to live with it."

I never believed those statements, so I kept searching for answers for my patients with difficult problems.

That's when I learned that they needed to "get the lead" out quite literally. But how do you prove they are toxic and then how do you treat them?

Turns out that a process called chelation therapy does both. Administer a chelating agent, then collect urine and bowel movements and send them to the lab to test for heavy metals. A lot of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, nickel, aluminum and mercury left people's bodies.

As you clean up the cells, the tissues and organs begin to function better and pretty soon you're feeling better.

What's the definition of chelation?

Chelate means "claw", to grab something and hold onto it. In chelation therapy doctors administer EDTA, an amino acid complex into the blood stream as an IV. As EDTA circulates through the body it grabs toxic metals like lead, cadmium, nickel, aluminum and even mercury, holds onto them tightly and flushes those toxins out through the kidneys.

Administering EDTA by the IV route makes sure that the EDTA reaches the tissues to relieve the toxic accumulation. If you swallow a pill containing EDTA, very little of it reaches your tissues because it is not absorbed well via the oral route.

In fact, if you pass EDTA through your digestive tract regularly, it may deplete you of the necessary minerals that keep your cells running efficiently since EDTA also binds to the minerals you need and flushes them out through the kidneys.

You've probably read all the hype about taking EDTA orally, but beware. I advise against taking EDTA by mouth. It has limited effectiveness and can potentially cause mineral deficits in your body leading to fatigue and other symptoms.

Here's the good news.

You can now chelate at home with a form of EDTA administration that's well absorbed and may even be more effective than administering EDTA intravenously. And it's a lot cheaper than IV chelation, which costs well over $100 per treatment for 30 or more treatments. The at-home chelation is safer, more convenient, more effective and more affordable.

There's so much more to share with you about chelation therapy. Here's how to jump start your learning process: Take a look at the new chelation therapy for you .