Chelation Therapy: Promising for Diabetic Patients?

Diabetes is serious metabolic disease where your body loses its ability to produce enough (or any) insulin, causing the glucose levels in your body to rise.

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, The National Diabetes Statistics Report for 2014 concluded there are 29.1 million people -- 9.3 percent of the population -- who have diabetes.

There are two types of diabetes: type I and type II. Type I diabetes is typically diagnosed in childhood or young adulthood and happens when your body doesn't produce insulin. Type I diabetes treatment consists of insulin injections, a specific diabetes diet and exercise.

Type II diabetes happens when your body is able to produce insulin, but does so improperly. Type II diabetes is usually treated through weight reduction, a specific diabetic diet and exercise.

However, there might be a new option to help if you or your loved one is suffering from diabetes. Are you aware of chelation therapy?

Chelation therapy is a treatment that uses ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) injections to bind the metal toxins within your bloodstream. Once the toxins are gathered, they are released through your kidneys as waste.

How is this treatment different if you have diabetes?

Chairman of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical, Dr. Gervasio Lamas, MD, has been a part of a 10-year clinical trial to assess chelation therapy (TACT). The study showed that chelation therapy, thought of as an alternative medicine, coupled with high-dose oral vitamins, can reduce the risk of repeat heart episodes by 50% in patients with diabetes.

The results of this study have caused the doctor to reevaluate his own biases as a conventional, Harvard-trained cardiologist toward alternative treatments.

Can you expect to see more chelation therapy treatments in the near future?

Dr. Lamas shares what chelation therapy is, how it can help if you're suffering from type I or type II diabetes, and what studies are saying about this up-and-coming form of treatment.