Getting rid of what's poisoning us is an attractive idea. Some substances do in fact bind to dangerous ones in a way that better enables the body to excrete them. So chelation is popular — but it's a complex, dangerous process, with a history of all too many "backfires" that made people much worse.

• Some practitioners use EDTA Chelation for substances it does not actually remove well — like mercury. (See Mechanism of Action on the site of Elmer M. Cranton, MD, authority on EDTA chelation.)
• DMSA and DMPS do move mercury but they have problems; see
  • The Truth about DMPS
  • Chemical Chelators
• Many foods, herbs and supplements have chelation properties — for example
  • Sweet potatoes [still researching this one]
  • Lipoic Acid

My Experience: I haven't gotten to the point where I'd want to risk any chelation. For one thing, I still have a big black mark on my gums under my lower front teeth, which is probably an "amalgam tatoo." I don't want to risk moving that amalgam into a place where it will bother me worse (a common problem with chelation). I'm looking for a dentist to remove it first.