Heavy Metals and Chelation Therapy

Normal physiological function requires various minerals, including trace amounts of heavy metals such as zinc, copper and iron, as essential elements to maintain the metabolism. Heavy metals enter the body via food, drinking water, and even breathing air, but excessive levels can induce disorders and diseases. The past hundred years of industrialization and technological advances have brought enormous benefits and enhanced living standards, but have also increased environmental pollution and its adverse effects of which heavy metal pollution is among the most hazardous. The situation is even more severe in some developing countries where the economy has been prioritized over environmental effects. For example, it was not until 2015 that the rapidly developing and heavily polluted country China began to place pollution control ahead of economic growth.