Linus Pauling is a name well known, especially among people interested in vitamins and nutritional supplements. He was one of the leading biochemists of the 20thcentury. He was also the man who, with his book Vitamin C and the Common Cold single handedly popularized vitamin C. But not only did he receive the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954, he also received another Nobel Prize, namely for his tireless petitioning in the scientific world for an end to the atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the world. He drafted his petition against it in 1957. By the time Pauling delivered it to the UN, he had collected the signatures of 11,021 scientists from all over the world. This campaign led to a Nobel Peace Prize for Pauling in 1962, and to the first Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Later in life he focused his energies entirely on his nutritional research and the concept of orthomolecular medicine. As the word ‘orthomolecular’ suggests, together with other leading edge scientists of the times he primarily researched for ‘the right molecules in the right concentration’ as the ideal nutritional supplementation, in order to prevent and treat disease.
Chelation is an integral part of the picture. Linus Pauling endorsed it, and here is what he had to say about it. Naturally, as a Nobel Prize winning biochemist from the days when science was still somewhat independent from corporate control, his words carry a lot more weight than the words of the detractors, maligning chelation. The following words were written in July 1988. Incidentally, Pauling who had been born in 1901 was therefore 93 years old when he died, in 1994. He was active and working into the last days of his life, which says a lot more about chelation therapy and correct nutritional supplementation than any scientifically unfounded negative comment.
“For more than twenty years I have devoted most of my time to research and education in the fields of nutrition and preventive medicine. I have written and lectured extensively about simple, safe and inexpensive measures to improve the length and quality of life. In my recent book, ‘How to Live Longer and Feel Better’, I covered that subject at length. EDTA chelation therapy fits in well with my views on health care.”
“EDTA is not normally present in the human body and is therefore, by definition, not an orthomolecular substance. Chelation, however, is far safer and much less expensive than surgical treatments for atherosclerosis. Physicians who adhere to the protocol for safe and effective administration of EDTA, as approved and promulgated by the American College of Advancement in Medicine, integrate the results of my own research into their chelation program… Improved nutrition and supplementation with vitamins and trace elements is an important part of the overall chelation program.”
“EDTA chelation therapy makes good sense to me as a chemist and medical researcher. It has a rational scientific basis, and the evidence for clinical benefit seems to be quite strong. Metallic ions play an important role in the formation of atherosclerotic plaque. EDTA removes those ions with relative safety and without surgery. Published research and extensive clinical experience show that EDTA helps reduce and prevent atherosclerotic plaques, thus improving blood flow to the heart and other organs. The scientific evidence indicates that a course of EDTA chelation therapy might eliminate the need for bypass surgery. Chelation has an equally valid rationale for use as a preventive treatment.”
“Harassment of chelating physicians by government agencies and conservative medical societies seems to stem largely from ignorance of the scientific literature and from professional bias.”