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Chelation - A
Natural, Constant
Process
You
are a living thing and
could not survive
without the constant
benefits of chelation
taking place, all the
time, throughout your
body.
Digestion and
assimilation of foods
involves, for example,
the ongoing process of
chelation in which your
body uses protein
substances (amino acids)
to chelate with minerals
for transportation to
their destinations, or
in which blood cells
latch on to, and need
iron.
-
Hemoglobin is a
chelate of iron (as
is the enzyme
catalane, which your
body uses to "switch
off" the free
radical activity of
hydrogen peroxide).
-
When you eat meat or
green vegetables
which contain iron,
after the digestive
process has released
the iron from the
food in which it is
bound it has to be
combined (chelated)
with amino acids
(protein fractions)
so that it can be
carried through the
intestinal mucous
membranes into the
bloodstream.
However, if you drink
tea at the same meal,
the tannin in the tea
will chelate with the
iron (forming insoluble
iron tan ate) before it
gets a chance to be
absorbed, thus depriving
your body of the iron.
Should you, though, take
some ascorbic acid
(vitamin C) or eat
vitamin C-rich food at
the same meal as an
iron-rich food, this
will chelate with the
iron and actually
enhance and speed its
absorption. The iron,
once in the bloodstream,
is released from the
proteins with which it
was chelated for
transportation, so that
it can recombine, in
another chelating
process, with blood
chemicals to form
transferring which is
then stored for later
use.
Literally tens of
thousands of body
processes, involving the
formation and function
of enzymes, hormones and
vitamins constantly
utilize similar
chelation mechanisms.
Similarly, countless
examples of natural
chelation are found in
relation to plant life;
for example, chlorophyll
is a chelate of
magnesium which has been
processed during
photosynthesis.
The word itself is
derived from the Greek
word (chela) which
describes the prehensile
claw of a scorpion or
crab. This graphically
evokes a picture of one
substance grabbing or
clutching and embracing
another, as the
chelation process takes
place.
Chelation therapy
is the extension of this
natural process to
enable the removal from
the body of undesirable
ionic material by the
infusion, or taking
orally, of an organic
compound which has
suitable chelating
properties. |
