B 22 Volume 10 Issue 1 - Dr. Clarkdrclark.com/pictures/Bulletin_Orthomolecular.pdf · December 2007...

December 2007 Volume 10 – Issue 1

Bulletin

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Imprint

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Dr. Clark Research Association 8135 Engineer Road USA-San Diego, CA 92111 Tel. 1-800-220 3741 Fax 1-866-662 0086

Editor: David P. Amrein Bielstrasse 12 3053 Münchenbuchsee Switzerland Tel. +41-31-868 3131 Fax +41-31-868 3132

Orthomolecular Medicine

Dear Reader

Due to the importance of Ortho-molecular Medicine as an integral part of Dr. Clark’s pro-tocol, we dedicate this whole Bulle-tin to this fascinating field. You’ll be amazed about what you’ll be

reading and may ask yourself why, for heaven’s sake, if the results are so promising, is it not put into practice? Why does my doc-tor not know anything about it? By doing so you are definitely asking yourself the right questions.

But Orthomolecular Medicine is based on scientific studies. Nothing you can read here was invented by us. The whole knowledge is there, let us use it.

I’d like to encourage you to get an idea of your own of the possibilities of Orthomolecu-lar Medicine. Outwit the medical establish-ment: By knowing more you can become independent of lancet and poisonous cock-tails.

I wish you good health and stimulant read-ing.

Sincerely yours David P. Amrein

Contents

Editorial 1

Orthomolecular Medicine 2

Geriatric Medicine with Nutritional Substances 11

Happiness thanks to Nutritional Sub-stances 17

Many people ask for information about Dr. Clark's clinic in Mexico. For the latest information, please call the Mexican phone number 01152-6646-828215, fax number

01152-6646-834454.

David P. Amrein

Dr. Clark Research Association, 8135 Engineer Rd., San Diego, CA. 92111, Tel. 1-800-220 3741, Fax 1-858-565 0058 Dr. Clark Center, Bielstrasse 12, 3053 Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, Tel. +41-31-868 31 31, Fax +41-31-868 31 32 www.drclark.com – [email protected]

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Orthomolecular Medicine This text was written by David P. Amrein for the Clark Symposium in Munich, Germany. You will therefore fid some references to German authors or books, which were not changed to retain the integrity of the original speech.

INTRODUCTION – AND WHAT DR. CLARK HAS GOT TO DO WITH IT

Since I have organized this symposium myself and was free to choose the subject of my lecture, some of you might wonder why I have chosen to talk about Orthomolecular Medicine.

The first reason is that Orthomolecular Medicine means a lot to me on a personal level. The Clark protocol, like many other alternative protocols, is based on the experience of a practitioner, in this case the 42-year-old practice of Dr. Hulda Clark, now broadened by the knowledge of other practi-tioners, some of which you will get to know this weekend. This is the reason why I have organized this symposium: to enable an exchange of experi-ence.

As you may know, Socrates once said: “I know what I don’t know”, and it certainly helps us as members of the medical guild to know what we really know and can proclaim with certainty. We have learned that experience based medicine is far superior in many ways to orthodox medicine. Yet I find it refreshing that we have a field here which is exclusively based on scientific knowl-edge and for that reason is hard to attack for its enemies. And – just as a sideline – since Ortho-molecular Medicine cannot be defamed in such a way, this discipline is currently being restricted by more and more new legislation until it will be completely forgotten one day.

Secondly, Orthomolecular Medicine does not receive the attention it deserves. Since Ortho-molecular Medicine is a scientific field, but also strongly linked to nutrition, it is positioned somewhere between alternative and orthodox medicine. Some of its exponents claim with good reason that Orthomolecular Medicine because of its scientificity is really part of “school medicine” or university taught medicine. I would like to contradict this with some reservations, but mainly due to semantic reasons. I actually never use the

term university taught medicine. University taught medicine refers to the type of medicine taught at schools and universities, which is obvi-ously arbitrary. I prefer using the term “orthodox medicine”. Orthodox means conforming to an established doctrine; rigid, fossilized.

When applying this to medicine, I refer with the term orthodox to a predominant paradigm that is more than anything a belief system and the cen-tral element of this belief system is a specific scientific procedure, namely: the randomized controlled double-blind trial published in a peer reviewed journal.

Since Orthomolecular Medicine follows this paradigm, it should be considered to be in the domain of orthodox medicine and should there-fore be part of university-taught medicine. But that is not the case. Most medical doctors have never visited a single lecture on Orthomolecular Medicine during their six years of arduous train-ing. I do not need to explain to you why this is the case. It certainly is not that medical doctors do not show interest in this field.

As naturopathic doctors, we have in fact inherited the field of Orthomolecular Medicine, or, more specifically, it has been bequeathed to us. But for many naturopaths, Orthomolecular Medicine is too technical, too scientific; in fact, it doesn’t seem to really fit into the field of Alternative Medicine. Orthomolecular Medicine mainly draws on synthetically produced substances and it claims that more is more. This is why it is also often neglected in Alternative Medicine.

Thirdly, there are several misconceptions about Orthomolecular Medicine even among therapists. Orthomolecular Medicine has got its own tenets, its history and its limitations. I often come across statements such as: a balanced diet provides the body with all the necessary nutrients. Such state-ments reveal fundamental misconceptions about Orthomolecular Medicine. I will return to this point later.

Fourthly, we can obtain excellent results with Orthomolecular Medicine. It rarely conflicts with other therapies which are applied simultaneously. It would be a pity to give away such precious therapeutic potential by ignoring decades of re-search stemming form thousands of scientific


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studies and also neglecting the practical knowl-edge of medical doctors and naturopaths.

Fifthly, and this is little known, Dr. Clark’s prac-tice since 1962 for most of its existence has been based on herbal and Orthomolecular Medicine. In the late eighties still, Dr. Clark called her practice “Center for Orthomolecular Medicine”.

Though the term “Orthomolecular Medicine” was not coined until 1968 by Linus Pauling, there were publications about it long before, mainly in the US, such as those by Adelle Davis. The prin-ciples of Orthomolecular Medicine, which I will be talking about in more detail, are reflected in many recommendations by Dr. Hulda Clark.

WHAT IS ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE? DEFINITION, HISTORY, PRINCIPLES

The word component „ortho“ means, „right, cor-rect, adjusted“. The word expresses that we inter-fere with the physiological and pathological proc-esses of the human body on a molecular level, that we adjust the molecules, so to speak.

The definition of the term “Orthomolecular Medicine” goes back to Linus Pauling and was established in 1968. Pauling wrote: “the preserva-tion of good health and the treatment of disease by varying the concentrations in the human body of substances that are normally present in the body and are required for health. The adjective orthomolecular is used to express the idea of the right molecules in the right concentration."

This sounds rather technical but defines the main points of this discipline such as:

• The use of chemical substances

• The use of the body’s own sub-stances

• There is a focus on the maintenance of health

Linus Pauling was among the most outstanding think-ers and scientists of the 20th

century and an enemy of nuclear power. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and for his research on the molecular structure of proteins in 1954. In 1962, he obtained the Nobel Peace Prize for his effort to end nuclear weapon tests. 1945, Pauling concerned himself with the possibility that sickle cell anemia could be a molecular dis-ease. He described how the altered heme proteins grouped together to form the abnormal sickle cells.

He asked himself to which extent other diseases might be determined on a molecular level. He found out that mental diseases and arteriosclero-sis were linked to an imbalance of nutrients. He described how the Canadian psychiatrist Dr. Abram Hoffer administered high doses of niacin and vitamin C to schizophrenic patients with the result that their medical condition improved so markedly, that pharmaceutical drugs were often no longer necessary.

Mental diseases, so the conclusion, were often the results of low concentrations of certain nutrients such as, for instance, the vitamins B1, niacin, B6, B12, Biotin, vitamin C, folic acid and others.

The concepts and practices of Orthomolecular Medicine were created by people who were clearly outstanding minds: either because of their careful and successful scientific work, like Roger Williams, the discoverer of pantothenic acid, or Linus Pauling; or because they based their medi-cal studies on a biochemical background, such as

Abram Hoffer, the publisher of the “Journal of Ortho-molecular Medicine”; or by basing their medical practice on a systematic and exact bio-logically scientific procedure. This led to a quick acceptance of Orthomolecular Medicine, it did however not become part of the training of medical doctors.

Over the years more and more diseases turned out to be at least partly due to a molecular imbalance, and the science to treat diseases with vitamins and minerals was making great progress. Meanwhile, hun-

Linus Pauling


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dreds if not thousands of studies on every single vitamin have been published, documenting a large number of therapeutic effects, some of which quite surprising. Good pertinent books provide references to such scientific studies.

In the German-speaking part of Europe Ortho-molecular Medicine is mainly promoted by Dr. Matthias Rath and Dr. Ulrich Strunz. Dr. Strunz’s concept is based on Orthomolecular Medicine and supplemented by his version of a healthy diet and daily exercise. Strunz is mainly apolitical and has developed an elegant style to avoid trouble with established medicine by allying himself with well-established authorities in the scientific community. The Strunz concept makes sense and is presented to the consumer in an appealing manner. Strunz’s books are based on scientific evidence and brought to the point: it is popular science at its best. His products are not exactly low-priced. The same products are available from other producers in a less stylish format but at far lower prices, for example from the Dr. Clark Re-search Association, if I may use this opportunity to make a little publicity on my own account.

Dr. Matthias Rath on the other hand is also quite active politically. He advances the same theses as Dr. Strunz does where the contents are concerned, but does not place much value on a healthy diet and exercise. His books – for example “why ani-mals do not get heart attacks – are also written for the lay person. Dr Rath was mainly attacked be-cause of his provocative theses. There was re-cently a report on him fighting AIDS in Africa by simply using vitamins and minerals.

To me, it seems counterproductive to drag a well-functioning therapy into the crossfire of criticism by using overstretched theses. The same has been said by others about the Clark book titles. Dr. Rath’s statements are clearly not false but they sometimes tend to exaggerate. It remains to be seen if his admittedly courageous strategy will meet with success in the long term.

Most publications about Orthomolecular Medi-cine are published by companies that sell prod-ucts themselves. This certainly implies the danger of one-sidedness. Careful research is therefore needed whenever a detailed answer is needed to a specific question. However, this does not mean that many of these books are non-serious and

superficial. Burgerstein’s “Nutrition Handbook”, for instance, is an excellent source of information. Furthermore, the books of Andreas Jopp and Amanda Ursell are not related to the industry as far as I know.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

As we have seen, Orthomolecular Medicine con-sists in the use of endogenous chemical sub-stances with the view of preserving or regaining health. There are two phenomena involved in this process which have to be separated even though their boundaries are not always clear. Firstly, the human body has to be supplied with a certain number of substances: water, oxygen, 7 bulk ele-ments, 10 trace elements, 13 vitamins, 2 essential fatty acids, 8 essential amino acids. 2 amino acids are only essential during infancy. Generally, car-bohydrates are not essential, but the covering the complete energy requirement only through fats and amino acids leads to side effects. One can therefore consider carbohydrates as essential in their entirety and then count a total of 45 essential substances. Since there are contradictory state-ments concerning the number of essential sub-stances, I have listed them for the sake of com-pleteness.

water (1)

oxygen (1)

Bulk elements (7): • calcium • phosphorus • sodium • potassium • magnesium • sulfur • chlorine

Trace elements (10): • fluorine • iron • zinc • copper • iodine • manganese • cobalt • molybdenum

zinc


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• chrome • selenium

Vitamins (13): • vitamin A • vitamin D • vitamin E • vitamin K • vitamin C • vitamin B1 • vitamin B2 • vitamin B6 • vitamin B12 • folic acid • niacin (or niacinamide) • pantothenic acid • biotin

Essential amino acids (8): • isoleucine • leucine • lysine • methionine • phenylalanine • threonine • tryptophan • valine

Semi-essential amino acids (babies) (2): • arginine • histidine

Non-essential amino acids (may become essential in the case of increased nutritional requirements, such as certain health conditions) (* = not en-coded in the genetic code):

• glycine • alanine • serine • aspartic acid • asparagine • glutamic acid • glutamine • cysteine • tyrosine • proline • hydroxyproline* • hydroxylysine* • citrulline* • cystine* • ornithine*

Essential fatty acids (2) • omega 3 fatty acids

• α-linolenic acid • Eicosapentaenacid is synthe-

sized from α-linolenic acid • Docosahexaenacid is synthe-

sized from α-linolenic acid

• omega 6 fatty acids • linoleic acid • γ-arachidonacid is synthe-

sized from linoleic acid • γ-linolenic acid is synthe-

sized from linoleic acid

• omega 9 fatty acids (oleinacid)

• other not essential greases and fatty acids

Carbohydrates (1, essential as a group) (not a complete enumeration):

• monosaccharides • glucose • fructose • galactose

• disaccharides

• polysaccharides

If these 45 substances are not present in sufficient amounts, then deficiency symptoms can arise. The deficiency symptoms described in pathology books usually refer to distinct deficiency condi-tions often caused by specific illnesses. Serious cases resulting from insufficient supplies are rare in our civilized cultures. “Sub-clinical defi-ciency” is of far more importance and leads to cell weakness and metabolic disturbances and thus in the long run to chronic degenerative ill-nesses which often cannot be ascribed unambigu-ously to one specific deficiency.

The argument that one can sufficiently provide oneself with all nutrients by means of a healthy diet may be correct. However, the German Con-sumption Study with 23,000 participants proves that it is apparently not as simple as it looks: more than 50% of the population do not reach or exceed the RDAs set forth by the German Society for Diet (DGE) with their daily food! It is a whopping 98% for folic acid, 75% for Vitamin D,


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65% for Vitamin B2 and still 53% for the impor-tant vitamin C. Please refer skeptics to this study. It cannot be denied: the population is undersup-plied with micronutrients.

But is the recommended minimal supply of the DGE (German Society for Nutrition) correct? It is probably difficult to fix the right dosage, but the “Stone Age Diet" can give us a hint: What did our ancestors eat? Calculations of nutritionists have shown that our ancestors had a daily intake of about 600mg vitamin C (RDA DGE 100mg), 33mg vitamin E (RDA DGE 10mg) and 42mg zinc (RDA DGE 10 mg).

How can it be that we are undernourished in a time of abundance? There are several reasons: Firstly, our food mainly consists of empty calo-ries. We eat sweet and fat-containing foods; the nutrient density is accordingly much lower. The undersupply with important nutrients stimulates the feeling of hunger, leading to a vicious circle ending in overweight.

Secondly, our soils do not yield what they used to; our food is highly cultivated and possesses a lower nutrient density. The report of the US De-partment of Agriculture is informative in this respect. In the course of the last 50 years, the nutrient concentrations in fruits and vegetables have decreased by about 30%. You cannot com-pensate for the loss by eating 30% more food, because the energy balance will be out of balance.

Thirdly, food is harvested raw, transported and stored for a long time and they usually end up lying around for a few days at the consumers’ before being eaten. An apple stored at room tem-perature loses 40% of its vitamin C content in a single day!

Fourthly, food is processed either by the producer or by us. By cooking, peeling, husking, grinding, pasteurizing, irradiating and conserving, further nutrients are lost.

The second and more important aspect of Ortho-molecular Medicine is that many nutrients, in-cluding non-essential ones, when taken in high doses develop effects exceeding those taken in physiological doses. Let us take vitamin E as an example: at the daily recommended dose of 10mg, it prevents signs of deficiency; at 200mg

per day the risk of a heart condition; at 300mg damage to the muscular system during exercise and at 800mg, it raises T-cell activity and im-mune function and possesses an anti-inflammatory effect on rheumatoid arthritis.

This second aspect of Orthomolecular Medicine is often the decisive aspect for many applications. This is why a healthy diet does not replace an orthomolecular therapy even though the diet may contain all nutrients in sufficient quantities.

For such a therapy not only essential substances can be used, but also non-essential substances that can have beneficial effects at the correct dos-ages. These substances can be from the groups of vitamins, minerals, fats and fatty acids, amino acids, enzymes and co-enzymes and sometimes hormones.

Over the years, some principles have been devel-oped for Orthomolecular Medicine, thus defining this paradigm. Not every orthomolecular practi-tioner will agree with each of them, nor do I my-self maintain that they are right or wrong. I sim-ply state that these principles, some of which I have already discussed, determine Orthomolecu-lar Medicine.

PRINCIPLES OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

• The application of the body’s own sub-stances.

• Applications have to be scientifically docu-mented.

• Especial emphasis is laid on prevention.

protein structure of hemoglobin: haemoglobin consists among others of 146 amino acids


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• A slight undersupply can lead to chronic de-generative diseases, so-called subclinical de-ficiencies.

• Orthomolecular substances are often highly dosed. The principle is: more is more. It is the aim to exploit all the effects of a substance.

• Substances are dosed in such a way that they cannot cause any side effects or trigger only known reversible side effects. Tables indicat-ing safe maximum doses are used for that purpose. Such doses are generally high; many vitamins cannot be overdosed. Caution: The maximum safe dosages are often listed in far too low amounts by “safety fanatics”. Their calculation is as follows: a dose which has never given any cause for complaints about side effects is taken and reduced by a large safety factor. With this method, no patient will ever end up with a headache for half a day, but this method unfortunately prevents the patients from being helped in most cases. More about this below.

• In most cases, a therapy program consists of a number of complementary substances instead of only one substance. There are substances which by all means have to be ingested to-gether because they influence each other mu-tually, e.g. B vitamins.

• Orthomolecular Medicine usually uses syn-thetically produced substances. There are not enough studies on vitamins which prove that natural vitamins are indeed superior to syn-thetic ones. An exception to this is vitamin E; it is recommended to use the natural variety. The reason is that vitamin E is not a molecule like most other vitamins but instead a whole group. Therefore natural vitamin E has a dif-ferent composition. With the other vitamins, the natural and synthetic vitamins are chemi-cally identical. It is claimed that natural vita-mins are absorbed more efficiently if they are bound in a biological matrix. This statement holds true for some substances, but Ortho-molecular Medicine compensates this by in-creasing dosages. Many alternative practitio-ners do not agree with this principle. Ener-getic reasons can also influence one’s choice for the use of natural dietary supplements. It is in any case not wrong to use substances

originating from natural sources; it is merely a question of expense.

• Orthomolecular Medicine does not usually start to work immediately; it takes time since it influences the physiological balance.

• According to the definition of Orthomolecu-lar Medicine, hormones also belong to or-thomolecular substances and are usually used in the domain of anti-aging (HGH). However, most experts are of the opinion that hormones should not be tampered with because they in-terfere too much with the whole system.

• Orthomolecular Medicine does not have to be a cause therapy – it often isn’t! It is only a cause therapy if clinical or subclinical defi-ciencies are to be cured; this is mostly not the case for highly dosed applications.

• Sports and a „healthy diet“ can play a role but do not necessarily have to do so.

The ingestion of orthomolecular substances usu-ally occurs orally (tablets, capsules). A nutrient therapy can also be orthomolecular if it is accord-ingly tailored. Intravenous or intramuscular ap-plications frequently have to be used with serious diseases.

IMPORTANT USES OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE: SPECIFIC SUBSTANCES

Because of the time limit of this speech, I have chosen to present only a few exemplary therapeu-tic options, but options that may prove to be very useful.

Vitamin E: • 800mg per day reduces joint pain caused by

inflammatory joint diseases in two thirds of the participants.

• A study of the WHO shows that low blood levels of vitamin E correlate with cardiovas-cular diseases by 63%, cholesterol levels and blood pressure only by 20%. Vitamin E can reduce the risk of a cardiovascular disease by more than 40% (5 studies with more than 130,000 participants).

• After a heart attack: patients who take 400-800mg Vitamin E every day had a 77% lower


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chance of suffering another heart attack than patients who were not taking vitamin E.

• Vitamin E reduces heart attacks and strokes by 40%!

Vitamin C: • 1000mg per day ingested preemptively for 10

years reduces the risk of getting age-related cataract by 83%.

• reduces the chance of getting cancer by around 50% (34 studies with different dos-ages in the range of 500-1000mg).

• 800mg increase life expectancy by 5 years (!), as observed in 8 studies with 11,000 par-ticipants.

• Vitamin C 6,000mg for two days, then re-duced to 1000mg, calms down colds and cold symptoms very quickly (20 studies). Ingested preemptively, vitamin C reduces the chance of catching a cold by 68%.

• Vitamin C when suffering from allergies: can lower histamine levels by up to 38% in the long term.

• Vitamin C is a must for diabetics in order to reduce long-term damage. Clotting of the blood can be reduced by 50%.

• Vitamin C in cancer cases (Linus Pauling and Ewan Cameron): median of life expectancy is 5 times longer (sic!) for patients suffering from serious cancer if 10g of vitamin C per day is administered intravenously.

Antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, Vitamin A, beta-carotene) • lower the risk of getting cancer by 50% (129

studies).

Vitamin B12 • deficiencies are the main reason of anemia at

old age. One fourth of all people living in an old people’s home suffer from anemia. This condition can be cured by administering vi-tamin B12, folic acid and other B vitamins. Strangely enough, it is a rare occurrence that vitamin B12 is prescribed by doctors in old age homes, even while 10 or ore pharmaceu-tical drugs are administered to one patient.

Folic acid: • prevents the risk of losing an infant due to

premature birth by 70%. • Folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 lower

homocysteine levels by 30-60%. High levels

of homocysteine double the risk of a heart at-tack and quadruple the risk of a stroke.

Niacin: • Three times 600mg inositol nicotinate daily

normalizes cholesterol levels. It should only be done under medical supervision since irre-versible changes of the liver cells can occur. In spite of this, it is more effective than any clinical cholesterol reducer.

Vitamin B2: • 400mg daily ingested for three months im-

proves migraine attacks in 67% of patients.

Vitamin B1: • 30% of the patients with mental illnesses

suffer from a lack of vitamin B1. Always supplement!

Omega-3 fatty acids: • Fish eaters have a 40% lower heart attack risk

if they eat fish that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Selenium: • 200mcg per day doubles the activity of the

killer cells and lymphocytes. • Lack of selenium: blood levels beneath 45µg

indicate a three times higher risk of suffering a heart attack.

DANGERS OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

Followers of orthodox medicine are very quick to say that orthomolecular substances are dangerous. It is a fact that orthomolecular substances are mostly harmless, however. According to an arti-cle in the local newspaper of Berne, 10% of all hospital entries are attributable to medication side effects, as disclosed by an internal census. By warning against the dangers of vitamins, one simply reveals one’s complete lack of knowledge about the circumstances, or inability to under-stand statistics. Fact is: amino acids are practi-cally harmless, and so are vitamins. Even the fat-soluble vitamins E and K, against which there are frequent warnings, are harmless; they can be bound and excreted with urine. Vitamins A and D can be overdosed; this only happens in the case of vitamin A after ingesting 50’000-100’000 units per day over a period of several months, which is an exceptionally high dose, and the symptoms are mostly not serious. Caution has to be exercised in


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case of pregnancy: no highly dosed vitamin A supplements should be taken, as this may damage the child. Only vitamin D is dangerous to a cer-tain degree; one should be careful not to take more than 400iU per day over a long time.

Caution is advised with minerals: one should not ingest more than is indicated on the package. Most accidents happen with iron: this preparation, like all remedies, should be kept out the reach of children.

On asking the Swiss Toxicological Information Center, I received the following answer: in 2004, there were 5 cases of iron poisoning; 3 were mi-nor and 2 moderately serious, and a minor case involving vitamin A. Apart from these occur-rences, no other cases involving nutrients were documented for the whole year. Compare that to 220,000 deaths in US hospitals every year due to pharmaceutical drugs.

LIMITS OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

Orthomolecular Medicine, like all other therapies, is not a universal remedy. It can do many things, but not all. Its limits consist in that it is not a cause therapy. Sanitation, milieu therapy and energetic therapies are often required for a lasting success.

I mentioned in the first part of my speech that one would be able to survive artificially on 45 essen-tial substances, and quite well at that. However, most orthomolecular specialists agree that Or-thomolecular Medicine is unable to completely compensate for a life with terrible food and with-out physical exertion.

OUTLOOK

Science is always progressing. New studies on vitamins and minerals are appearing in incredible amounts: this can only benefit Orthomolecular Medicine. At the same time, the lobby of pharma-ceutical companies is interfering with the free accessibility to orthomolecular substances. The European law which came into effect on 1st Au-gust 2005 and which deals with supplements may be an improvement for Germany; that is defi-nitely not the case for England and Holland who have been as liberal as the US so far. It is to be feared that many supplements will only be avail-

able in small useless dosages or at pharmacies at an accordingly higher price.

It is probable that the requirements for production of dietary supplements will climb steadily until they equal the requirements for pharmaceutical products, with according consequences for their price. It is also probable that more companies that quote scientific studies will be put on trial be-cause of illegal advertising of medicinal products. In Switzerland, the government already defines what can be stated about vitamins and minerals, regardless of the current evidence.

I am nevertheless confident that Orthomolecular Medicine will continue to play an important role, simply due to the fact that it is well documented, easy to apply and quite cost-efficient. However, the place which it really deserves will definitely not be allotted to it for the next decades.

This could be an opportunity for you as a doctor or an alternative practitioner: you can achieve therapeutic success where others have not man-aged due to lack of knowledge. I invite you to make use of this knowledge. In the transcript, I have compiled a list of books which I found use-ful.

REFERENCES

Cancer and Vitamin C, Linus Pauling and Ewan Cam-eron, ISBN 0-940159-21-X The Vitamin Bible, Earl Mindell, ISBN 0-85140-672-6 Nutritional Influences on Illness: A Sourcebook of Clini-cal Research by Melvyn R. Werbach, ISBN 978-0961855055 As well as Dr. Werbach’s other books on nutriological medicine, an invaluable and complete and completely references source of information for anyone wanting to work successfuly in the field of nutriological medicine.


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Geriatric Medicine with Nutri-tional Substances SUPPLYING THE HUMAN BODY WITH NUTRI-ENTS

Increasingly more people, including the aged, wish to take responsibility for their own health back into their own hands. They are only too familiar with the “old” medicine after tiresome experiences: prohibitions, operations, conceal-ments, whitewashing. Symptoms are battled and suppressed with pills; but is the illness cured and the person healed?

The draft of the German health care reform law, paragraph 2/3, autumn 1999, contains the following excerpt: The prevention of an illness is the best option among the possibilities of treatment. The health system should not only be a mending business in the case of already de-veloped illnesses. Prevention should therefore be given more significance than so far.

The importance of an optimal diet is becoming increasingly apparent in this context. Ortho-molecular Medicine is still a new field which deals scientifically with nutrients. Each year, thousands of new scientific studies and publica-tions about the properties and the effects of nutrients appear. In spite of this, Orthomolecu-lar Medicine has a difficult position in estab-lished science. Economic interests, competitive thinking, ignorance and ponderousness are rea-sons for this. New approaches are always criti-cized because they do not conform to the main-stream. It takes at least 15 years until research finds its way into practice.

This bewilders the general public. Whom shall one believe, who is right? Should I take dietary supplements? Dr. Dieter Bessing, president of the German Society for Orthomolecular Medi-cine, answers the following question in an in-terview: “All the time, patients are coming to my practice and saying that their doctors sug-gested: ‘You don’t need any vitamins.’ What do you think of this?”

“Basically, it’s failure to render assistance. In our time, vitamins, minerals and trace elements are extremely important to remain healthy.”

It is indisputable that nature did not shape the human body in such a way that it would require dietary supplements to survive. Extreme vita-min deficiency diseases such as beriberi (lack of vitamin B) or scurvy (lack of vitamin C) are rather rare in the industrialized Western coun-tries. On the other hand, subclinical deficien-cies are widespread.

The founder of Orthomolecular Medicine, No-bel Prize winner Linus Pauling, already studied the vitamin intake of people during the Stone Age – that is to say, to what kind of nutrient values evolution adapted itself. The result of Pauling’s study: the intake of micronutrients was threefold above the current RDA, and 20 times higher for vitamin C! In addition, the Stone Age man did not inhale any exhaust emissions, live in congested areas, sit in front of the computer or eat processed food.

Due to many reasons, the nutrient density – the amount of micronutrients per kilocalorie – of our food has decreased: unfavorable food com-position (fast food, junk food), leached soils, storing and transport, processing of food and food preparation (for example heating). A low nutrient density cannot be compensated by means of food consumption. If we simply eat more in order to fulfill our micronutrient levels, we put on weight – which is one reason for the rampant problem of obesity.

The DGE determined in a large-scale study, which percentage of the population had not achieved the (already too low) RDA of various nutrients via food consumption. Folic acid came off especially badly, 98% of the popula-tion do not achieve the recommended daily average; 75% for vitamin D, 65% for vitamin B2 and 53% for vitamin C. On average of the researched nutrients, about half the population does not ingest the recommended daily average for each nutrient! In other words, most people are deficient for a number of nutrients, and there is hardly anyone who reaches only the


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RDA through food for all nutrients. It should be added that this study was carried out with peo-ple between the ages of 19 and 35. The situa-tion is even more unfavorable for older people, as we will elaborate on below.

Considering these facts, it is not surprising that lifestyle diseases such as degenerations of all kinds and various physical and mental afflictions are the order of the day. Rather, it is surprising that an organism is able to survive at all in the face of the precarious supply of vital nutrients.

NUTRIENT SUPPLY IN ADVANCED YEARS

Life expectancy is increasing globally. Age en-tails more illnesses if precautions are not taken in adequate ways. A diet suited to one’s needs is the best prevention against degenerative diseases.

Studies about the diet habits of senior citizens unfortunately reveal diet habits that correspond to the unfavorable diet habits of the other age groups to a large extent: most senior citizens eat too much fat and sugar and consume too few micronutrients. This eating behavior lowers per-formance especially in advanced years and is the doorway to all kinds of conditions that are com-mon among the aged.

To make things worse, there are various reasons for an even more unfavorable nutrient supply among senior citizens:

Reduced energy demands The older we grow, the less calories we need. We therefore eat less. The nutrient supply decreases proportionally, assuming a constant nutrient den-sity. An example: a 30-year-old female office worker has a daily energy demand of 2200 kcal on average. When she grows older, her energy demand decreases in the following manner while pursuing the same scheme of physical activity: 33-55 years: 1980 kcal; 55-75 years: 1680 kcal; from the age 75 years: 1500 kcal.

Elevated nutrient demands In contrast to energy demands, older people often have higher nutrient demands where micronutri-ents are concerned. Chronic diseases often ele-vate, for instance, oxidative stress and the need for antioxidants like A, C, E, selenium and sec-ondary phytochemicals.

Lack of appetite Lack of appetite, a frequent phenomenon in ad-vanced years, can have several causes. The re-duced amount of taste buds on the tongue, which can be part of aging as well as of ingesting phar-maceutical drugs, can decrease appetite because the taste experience no longer sets in. Lack of appetite occurs as a side effect of taking medi-cines, and a monotonous diet can influence the appetite negatively. It should be mentioned that lack of appetite does not have to contradict the increased intake of fat and sugar. Since the mean-ing of eating and the preparation of food become less important due to the lack of appetite, ready made quick dinners are often used because they allow easy preparation in adequate portions. Such products, however, rarely contain a suitable nutri-ent density.

Mechanical challenges Factors such as physical impairments during the preparation of the food, chewing ailments due to badly fixed dentures, missing teeth or swallowing problems, which can develop due to age-related reduced secretion of saliva and digestive en-zymes, play a role.

Decreased absorption Especially vitamins A, B1, B12, C, D, the miner-als iron, calcium, magnesium and some of the trace elements are absorbed less efficiently in the intestines.

Decreased production Important nutritional substances such as coen-zyme Q 10 and vitamin D are produced in lesser

A fresh and vitamin-rich diet would be desirable


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quantities at an advanced age.

Mental factors Frequently, mental impairments like forgetful-ness, confusion or even dementia supervene. Psy-chological problems triggered by drastic life events like the death of one’s partner or moving to a new home can cause depression. Such ex-periences belong to the daily life of many aged people and are frequently accompanied by de-creased food intake which can go as far as refus-ing all food.

Economical factors Economical factors can also play a role. Disad-vantaged aged people are often forced to buy cheap food which contains less nutrients.

Medication Senior citizens often ingest drugs which prevent effective absorption, burden the body’s nutrient deposits and are conducive to an unbalanced diet. Drugs for rheumatic conditions, for example, can lead to inflammation of the gastro-intestinal tract, and diuretics can bring about a life-threatening dehydration or mineral deficiencies.

Food in nursing homes In most nursing and senior citizen homes, too little attention is paid to a healthy diet. The mass catering is not to the senior citizens’ taste, and they are not put together and prepared in a nutri-ent-conserving manner. This deficient diet is of-ten not noticed by both the affected parties or the personnel and doctors.

To sum up, it can be said that a supplementation with nutrients is particularly important at an ad-vanced age.

Please allow me to conclude with a remark: I know from experience that ingesting dietary sup-plements in the shape of capsules is often associ-ated with taking pills and drugs. Please be aware of the fact that when you take dietary supple-ments in the shape of capsules, then you are in-gesting nutrients in a highly concentrated and targeted form. This has nothing to do with swal-lowing drugs.

WHAT IS AGING?

Although it is safe to say that very few of us look forward to growing old, aging is a natural process which cannot be stopped altogether and which follows certain predictable patterns. Until today, the phenomenon of aging has not been clearly explained; however, a few factors are known to accelerate or slow down aging. The speed of the aging process varies from person to person. Many of the phenomena which are associated with the aging process are actually consequences of accu-mulated burdens resulting from a bad diet, too much alcohol, smoking or lack of exercise.

Many of the changes which used to be regarded as unavoidable consequences of the aging process can be decelerated or even completely prevented today. Living longer, however, does not – unfor-tunately – mean living better. Degenerative ill-nesses such as arthritis, cardiac diseases, osteopo-rosis and cataract plague our aged fellow-humans. Instead of reaching the age of 200, we should focus on fully enjoying our lifespan and staying energetic and generally free from disability until the end of our days. Orthomolecular Medicine can make a significant contribution in this matter.

Of more than 300 factors, which are currently under debate of determining or influencing the aging process, the following are the more impor-tant ones:

• Damages caused by oxygen radicals. These damages decrease the functions of the cell and the ability of the cell to divide and to re-place itself. The brown age spots which de-velop on mature skin are visible examples. antioxidants quench free radicals.

• Hormonal decline nutrients can improve the hormone production, for instance trypto-phan for serotonin (against depression) or ar-ginine for Human Growth Hormone (regen-eration and decelerated aging)

• Decreasing immune power various miner-als, vitamins and proteins are well docu-mented for the improvement of the immune system.

• Glucose deposits on cell membranes in the case of diabetes vitamin C, vitamin E, chrome and multi-mineral supplements help to prevent subsequent damages.


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• Chromosome damages which lead to cell death or degeneration antioxidants act preventively.

ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE

The term “Orthomolecular Medicine” is often used but rarely defined, so let me define it here:

Orthomolecular Medicine was founded by the Nobel Prize laureate Linus Pauling and is under-stood as a therapy involving substances which are natural to the body – substances which the body requires (e.g. vitamins) and which frequently play an important role for metabolism; and substances which the body produces itself (e.g. coenzyme Q10 or other enzymes).

Such substances are applied in two ways: for the removal of illnesses caused by deficiencies and for the highly dosed therapy which in part goes far beyond physiological demands. Since ortho-molecular substances display a broad therapeutic scope, they can also be used in high doses. For this application, it is therefore explicitly not rele-vant, in which region the physiological require-ments lie. This is often misunderstood by people who are not familiar with the subject.

One must also clearly distinguish between pre-vention and treatment. Orthomolecular Medicine offers basic approaches for both. An example with a preventive character is cataract. The Or-ganization of German Ophthalmologists writes: “The incidence of cataract in people between the ages of 65 and 75 is far beyond 90%; half of them perceive visual impairments by the time they have reached the age of 75.” Vitamin C ingested regularly in high doses can lower the frequency of cataract by 83%! However, once the lens is cloudy, vita-min C cannot heal the condi-tion.

For this reason, it is very im-portant to prevent slow-developing diseases. What was neglected on prevention can often not be made up for by means of therapy. Surgical measures then become inevi-table, are unpleasant, carry risks and are far more expen-

sive.

The Government and the health insurance com-panies would do well to focus more on preven-tion. Unfortunately, this is not popular and not in the interest of the industry, which is why hardly anything is being done. This is a pity, especially because Orthomolecular Medicine is very well documented. One sometimes has to ask oneself why the Government has financed all these stud-ies when action does not follow.

The following elaborations do not represent a conclusive list of the potentials of orthomolecular geriatric medicine. It is rather a selection of treatment possibilities which should point out the unfortunately yet unexploited potential of Ortho-molecular Medicine for the aging and aged in an exemplary manner.

SPECIAL NUTRIENT NEEDS IN ADVANCED YEARS

Increased protein demands Young people should have protein supply values between 0.3-0.4 grams per pound of body weight. A study conducted at the Tufts University shows that older people use up more protein. The protein balance for a supply of 0.4 grams per lb of body weight was negative. The protein supply should be 0.5-0.6 grams per pound of bodyweight for older people.

Vitamin D deficiency with older people Vitamin D levels decrease with increasing age. One reason: vitamin D is synthesized in the skin and processed in the liver and kidneys. Both, the synthesis capacity in the skin and the processing capacity in the liver and kidneys, decrease with advancing age. In nursing homes, the patients are

often not mobile enough to walk around in the sun. This, how-ever, is important for the pro-duction of vitamin D in the skin. A daily vitamin D supplementa-tion between 500 and 1000 IE is recommended for people above 65 years of age.

B vitamins The elderly often do not get sufficient quantities of B vita-mins, especially folic acid and the vitamins B6 and B12, from

Vitamin C has many positive effects


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their diet. More than one third of the adults who are more than 65 years old suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency, because the ability to absorb this vitamin decreases sharply with age. In compari-son with younger people, people between the ages of 65 and 80 show far lower levels of vita-min B6 and folic acids.

Minerals and trace elements The food older people eat often does not contain enough minerals such as zinc, magnesium, potas-sium, selenium and chrome. In comparison with younger people, they can absorb zinc and magne-sium less efficiently. Lack of zinc and selenium can lead to an age-related weakening of the im-mune system.

Calcium The average calcium supply of older women and men is far below the optimal range. In addition, the absorption capacity of the intestines for cal-cium decreases with age. The reduced receptivity of the aging intestines for vitamin D, which usu-ally induces the absorption of calcium, is partially responsible for the reduced calcium intake in older people. A bad supplementation endangers the health of the bones and increases the risk of osteoporosis.

Antioxidants (vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene, selenium und zinc) Free radicals are toxic, strongly reactive mole-cules which attack substances very quickly in their environment through oxidization, which results in damages to cell membranes, fat mole-cules, proteins and DNA, thus accelerating the aging process on a cellular level.

Our cells are equipped with a whole lot of protec-tive shields (“antioxidants”) to ward off free radi-cals. By making sure that there are plenty of anti-oxidants in our cells, we can protect ourselves against damages caused by free radicals to a large extent. The most important antioxidants are vita-min A, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, the minerals zinc, manganese and selenium, the amino acid cysteine and Co-Enzyme Q10.

SPECIAL NUTRIENTS FOR AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE BODY

Anemia Aged patients suffer from a lack of intrinsic fac-tor which is generated in the stomach and which is necessary for the absorption of vitamin B12. In early stages, this effect can be counterbalanced by taking highly dosed vitamin B12 orally. If the production of intrinsic factor is nearly non-existent, then vitamin B12 has to be injected.

A Lack of vitamin B12 leads to anemia, which is often recognized and treated by orthodox doctors. However, anemia is not treated in many cases, or heart medication is administered instead of a curative treatment, thus triggering side effects. Old people are often lethargic because they do not have enough blood. The solution of this prob-lem would be very easy and the quality of life would improve drastically.

Cataract The eye mainly protects itself from damages caused by UV radiation with a high concentration of vitamin C, which is 30-40 times higher than in neighboring tissues.

A large number of studies have shown that vita-min C can prevent cataract by 50%. If taken in high doses together with other antioxidants over a long time period, then 80% of all cataract cases could be avoided – an incredible result if one bears in mind that 90% of all people above the age of 65 suffer from cataract.

Glaucoma The benefits of vitamin C, vitamin A and E for controlling the eye pressure were shown in sev-eral studies. The dose has to be high; low doses were ineffective.

Macular degeneration 40% of people over the age of 75 years are diag-nosed with this illness. The patients can no longer see clearly; a veil covers their sight. The only available medicine costs $1700 per injection and has to be repeated once a month. Several studies show that the illness is avoidable by about 40% if vitamin C is ingested. Low levels of vitamin E can also trigger macular degeneration.


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Osteoporosis The risk of osteoporosis increases with age. Women are affected six times more frequently than men; every fourth woman above 65 is af-fected. In order to maintain the health of the bones, calcium and vitamin D work together closely. Osteoporosis is widespread with people who do not ingest enough calcium and vitamin D. Older people who take daily supplements of vi-tamin D and calcium are less prone to losing bone substance and sustaining osteoporotic fractures.

Immune system The immune system weakens with increasing age because the body’s defenses start to regress. Many older people are more susceptible to infec-tions. However, not all of them actually suffer from a weak immune system. Some of them have got an immune system which just as strong as that of a younger person, and the nutritional status is an important factor explaining these differences. Supplementing of vitamin C, E, zinc, vitamin B6 and selenium improves the functions of the im-mune system. In a placebo-controlled study con-ducted by Girodon, the mortality rate caused by infectious diseases was lowered by 90% with patients who ingested 20mg of zinc and 100ug of selenium each day!

Brain and mental fitness Many people are afraid of age-related loss of their mental faculties. In fact some people slowly lose cerebral functions: memory and concentration start to decrease. About a third of those who are above the age of 85 show visible signs of decline of their mental faculties. On the other hand, many older people (some of them far beyond the age of 90) have preserved their mental faculties and are just as fit as younger people. Cerebral function, concentration and the capability of the nervous system of those who are well provided with thia-mine (B1), riboflavin (B2) and iron are superior to those who do not take sufficient amounts of these substances. Already slight deficiencies of the vitamins B6, B12 and folic acids can affect mental performance. Niacin and the vitamins E and C help to maintain the circulation of the small blood vessels in the brain.

Arthritic pains Arthritic pains can be controlled with vitamin E. However, at least 800IU of vitamin E have to be

taken each day, smaller doses are useless. 800-1200IU per day lead to a significant improvement of the pain level in two thirds of the patients. Only natural vitamin E has this effect.

Cancer The frequency of cancer occurrences increases with age. Countless studies show that vitamin C can reduce the risk of cancer. The ingestion of 1000mg per day reduces the risk by about 40%. In the seventies, Linus Pauling showed that even advanced cancer cases can be successfully treated with intravenous vitamin C (life expectancy in-creased by 5 times) or even cured.

Cardiovascular diseases Vitamin E and selenium have been shown to be particularly important for reducing cardiovascular diseases. In 2001, 828,000 people died in Ger-many, half of them because of cardiovascular diseases.

Longevity A large-scale study involving 11,000 participants in the US has shown that the life expectancy is five years higher with the intake of 800mg of vitamin C per day than with people who only took 50mg per day. This is mostly due to the lower occurrences of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

CONCLUSION

Older people suffer from serious nutrient defi-ciencies and should by all means take dietary supplements.

Orthomolecular Medicine offers a variety of pos-sibilities in the domains of prevention and treat-ment with downright astounding results. The expenses of the treatment are very low.

Unfortunately, most doctors do not take possibili-ties of Orthomolecular Medicine into account and are not familiar with this therapy. Instead, they use dozens of drugs which often only aggravate the condition of the patients. A better training program for the doctors in nursing and old peo-ple’s home is most desirable.

As alternative practitioners, we have the opportu-nity to use the published science and achieve improvements of quality of life bordering on miracles.


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Happiness Thanks to Nutri-tional Substances? Are there any possibilities to increase one’s mood, joie de vivre, self-assertion and stress tolerance in a natural manner and without side effects by means of ingesting nutritional substances?

Naturopath Daniel Albisser, who manages the health practice www.frohmedizin.ch, states: “It is possible under certain conditions and inclusion of modern naturopathic laboratory diagnostics.”

Some people simply conduct their own experi-ments; they hear or read about miracles triggered by certain substances and take these supplements in the hope of soon experiencing the desired effect. This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The diffi-culty lies in the detail.

THE BRAIN EQUALS SPIRIT AND MATTER

Targeted procedure of an ortho-molecular diagnosis and therapy considerably increases the suc-cess rates. It shall not be con-cealed that mental illnesses have many causes. Deficits of micro-nutrients is one factor not to be underestimated – and this issue only is addressed here!

Our body translates what we experience and feel into chemical formulae. The brain possesses about 10,000 neuro-chemicals. The individual com-position of these molecules determines – from a biochemical point of view – our emotional life to a large extent.

A BRIEF DIGRESSION INTO NEUROCHEMISTRY

The most important molecules that influence our emotions are:

• Acetylcholine enables us to think, learn and memorize.

• Adrenaline and und cortisol keeps us alert. • Dopamine makes us creative, controls move-

ments and provides for contentment. • Endorphins keep pain in check and convey a

sense of happiness. • Estrogen brightens the mood. • Testosterone is responsible for enthusiasm and

aggressiveness.

• Serotonin makes a person balanced and calm. Studies have shown that depressed people have serotonin levels which are about 50% lower.

If something is not in order with the composition of these second messengers, then the person may suf-fer for example from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), Alzheimer’s, dementia or depressive disorders.

How are orthomolecular substances in psychiatric medicine different from the common pharmaceuti-cals used in orthodox medicine? Orthomolecular Medicine is interested in the biochemical profile of a human being, recognizes deficits and imbalances of relevant nutritional substances and gives an ac-cording treatment. Classic psychiatry works in a symptom-oriented manner and looks for remedies for depression, schizophrenia, sleep disorders etc. We will take an exemplary look at the phenomenon of depression.

In western societies, roughly every tenth person suffers from depression at least once in a lifetime. Unfortunately, only 20% of these cases are treated adequately because they are not recognized as such. According to the WHO study “Global Burden of Disease”, depression, besides heart diseases, will be one of the most important causes of inability to work by 2010. Typical symptoms of

depression are melancholy, lack of appetite, fatigue, sleep and concentration disorders, low self-esteem and inability to enjoy. Depression can affect every-day life in varying degrees. The transmission of signaling molecules in the nerve cells is impaired. The main stress hormone cortisol destroys the nerve cells in the cerebral region of the hippocampus.

Dr. Clark points out the existence of parasites in the brain in the case of clinical depression. She mostly finds hookworms (Ancylostoma), Ascaris from cats and dogs, Trichinella and Strongyloides and an exposure to Shigella. She specifies animal excre-ment and the inhalation of polluted dust as main sources. She recommends solid hygiene, targeted extermination of the germs and the execution of all four cleaning programs. It is important that all fam-ily members, including domestic pets, are treated along in order to avoid chronic new infections.

Neurons oft the human brain


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Do we have to let it get this far? Especially since the domain of mental illnesses is a forbidden topic of conversation in many circles, prevention and means of protection are all the more important. The adequate supply of nutritional supplements is an important factor.

STUDY RESULTS ARE THERE – LET US USE THEM!

The accompanying orthomolecular treatment for mental illnesses was successfully applied by Pfeif-fer in the seventies with the opening of a clinic where psychiatric patients were prescribed person-alized micronutrients based on various laboratory parameters (1).

Recently, many promising studies by Walsh (2) have confirmed the validity of Pfeiffer’s fundamen-tal work.

In this study, 207 people (aged between 3 and 55) displaying behavioral problems and violence were watched. 85% among them had taken anti-depressants, tranquilizers or Ritalin in the past.

Lab parameters for blood histamine levels, copper-zinc ratio in the blood, cryptopyrrol in the urine, heavy metal burdens in the hair, glucose tolerance in the blood and malabsorption in the stool were determined. Based on the findings of the laboratory, a personalized orthomolecular therapy was carried out over a period of 4 to 8 months. The clinical results were the following: assaults declined by 98%, and in 55% of the cases, the violent behavior ceased altogether.

A PEEK INTO THE LABORATORY

Laboratory values referring to a connection be-tween mental impairment and micronutrient status can be deduced from several studies (3). The fol-lowing laboratory parameters are especially rele-vant for depressive disorders:

Laboratory finding Orthomolecular therapy

Chronic heavy metal burden in the hair

• Exposure prevention

• Counteracting heavy metal with zinc, sele-nium, sulfurous amino acids (cysteine, methion-ine), vitamin C, corian-der extract

Serotonin* (blood) Vitamin B6, tryptophan

Hypoglycemia** Zinc, chrome, manganese, B-vitamins, potassium, magnesium

Cryptopyrrol*** (urine)

Zinc, vitamin B6

Low pros-taglandin**** E1 value

Zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6, niacin, vitamin C,

Low histamine lev-els***** (blood); copper values in hair mostly elevated

Folic acids, Zinc, niacin, B12

Elevated histamine levels (blood)

Calcium, zinc, manganese, vitamin C, molybdenum

• *Serotonin, also known as the “happy” hor-mone, is an essential part of the human hormo-nal system. Serotonin influences appetite and sleep, controls the sex drive, body temperature and affects the emotional state. A sufficient amount of serotonin in the body makes one calm and balanced while extreme lack of serotonin leads to emotional hypersensitivity or even ag-gressive behavior. Constant deficiency syn-dromes can promote several mental illnesses: depression and anxiety, stress, sleep and eating disorders. In addition, migraine attacks are par-tially attributed to a lack of serotonin.

• **Hypoglycemia refers to the condition of tem-porary or continuing low blood sugar levels, be-low the hormonally regulated average of about 100mg in 100cc of blood. It is, to some extent, the opposite of the just as widespread blood sugar elevation, hyperglycemia, which is known as diabetes in its full-fledged treatment-requiring form. Both metabolic disorders are considered “lifestyle diseases” since we don’t find them among people who live close to nature on simple means without industrial exposure and who be-have reasonably in general. Cerebral cells and other parts of the nervous system are especially sensitive to abnormally low sugar levels. The grey zones where, from a medical point of view, no hypoglycemia is in evidence, but symptoms such as depressive and attention disorders, fa-tigue, irritability, fear and indifference are pre-sent and which originate from low sugar levels


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are of particular interest here, since they are also widespread.

• ***Cryptopyrrol is a biochemical substance which is eliminated through the urine when cer-tain metabolic health conditions are present. This occurs in the shape of a complexation with zinc and vitamin B6, which is why the organism loses these two important nutrients, resulting in a combined deficit of zinc and vitamin B6, which can entail several metabolism-related ill-nesses as well as mental and psychosomatic dis-orders.

• ****Prostaglandins are tissue hormones. Low-ered E1 (a sub-form of the prostaglandins) status is typical of behavior disorders and mental ill-nesses.

• *****Histamine is an amine which is composed of the amino acid histidine. Histamine functions, among other things, as a neurotransmitter in the human body. In this function, it influences the nervous system and sleeping-waking rhythm and appetite control.

In order to develop its neurotransmitters, the body needs nutritional substances such as proteins, vita-mins, essential fats, minerals and secondary phyto-chemicals. Our body requires 45 essential sub-stances which are also needed by our brain. If one or the other substance is missing, then the cerebral metabolism can be upset: lack of drive, irritability and nervousness are typical signs.

TOP NUTRITIONAL SUBSTANCES FOR MENTAL EQUILIBRIUM

Omega-3 fatty acids: are found in sea fish, avoca-dos, nuts, linseed oil and in lesser quantities in rape-seed oil. New studies show that they, too, can help in the case of depression. The most important repre-sentatives are: eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The correct ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is important. According to the annual report of the German Nutrition Society, the daily intake of omega-3 fatty acids is only 0,15g per day instead of the necessary 1,5g per day – only 10% of the necessary amount. A complete fatty acid profile in the blood is a good way to

gain some insight.

Protein: if your overall protein level in the blood is beneath 8g/dl, then it is too low and your protein reserves have to be replenished.

Tryptophan: an essential amino acid which the body requires in order to produce serotonin, the “happy“ hormone. Supplying tryptophan increases the serotonin levels in the brain and tissues. If lack-ing, depression and even psychoses can be the con-sequences. Cashew nuts and tuna fish are good natural sources. Your blood levels should be be-tween 37 and 56umol/l.

Phenylalanine: another essential amino acid. Helps against depression and boosts mental performance. Synthesizes the neurotransmitter noradrenalin, a mood booster. Peanuts or almonds are good sources. Can be turned into tyrosine in the liver. Blood levels should be between 51 and 61 µmol/l.

Glycine: A further, non-essential amino acid: gly-cine is a calming neurotransmitter in the brain. It possesses a soothing, fear-dissolving effect, can dampen hyperactivity and also benefits concentra-tion and memory.

B-vitamins:

• If there is, for instance, a lack of Vitamin B3 (niacin), then the body does not have enough tryptophan in order to produce serotonin. De-termination of the NAD level in the red blood cells is a safe indicator.

• B6: according to an extensive German study, 53% of the men and 76% of the women do not take enough B6. The body needs vitamin B6 for the production of serotonin. A safe indicator is the B6 value in the plasma: a value of less than 40nmol/l signifies a lack of B6.

• Folic acid (vitamin B9; sometimes also B11): You probably have too little folic acid. Only 1% of the Germans take in the RDA of 200mcg each day. In order to achieve such val-ues, it would be necessary to eat about 3,5 kg of broccoli every day. Folic acid possesses the ability to ease mental illnesses which are associated with low histamine levels and

Omega 3 fatty acids


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support the efficacy of a lithium therapy in the cases of manic depression. Laboratory value: de-termine folic acids in the erythrocytes. Values below 160ng/ml indicate a lack within overall reserves.

• Vitamin B12 is especially effective for older people suffering from depressive disorders and fatigue. Where the blood levels are concerned, it is good to know that the overall B12 content in the blood does not allow reasonable statements about the actual status. It is better to have holotranscobalamin II levels measured. This will tell you about the actual B12 status.

Vitamin C: 2-6g per day can help soothe depres-sions, irritability and fatigue attacks. An insufficient vitamin C status increases the histamine level in the blood. This worsens allergies, asthma, gastric ulcers and mental diseases. Vitamin C is necessary for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters noradrenalin and serotonin.

Calcium: if the calcium levels are very low, then the nervous system is extremely sensitive. You become nervous, inwardly restless and irritated. Calcium supplementation can also soothe PMS, as new studies show. Normal Blood levels are between 95 and 110mg/l.

Magnesium: the mineral which protects you against stress together with calcium. Magnesium is one the most frequently used dietary supplements. In spite of this, unusually low magnesium levels are often encountered in practice, probably because many conventional dietary supplements contain insufficient amounts or hardly absorbable magne-sium. A reliable indicator is the determination of ionized magnesium in the serum levels. Normal values are between 0.5-0.65mmol/l.

Selenium: is responsible for active thyroid hor-mones by activating the enzyme type-I-iodothyronine-5-dejodase which converts the thy-roid hormone in its active form. An insufficient amount of selenium equals less active thyroid hor-mones, which can result in listlessness, depression and exhaustion. People in Guatemala, for instance, have selenium levels of 240mcg/l of blood thanks to selenium-rich soil. We possess an average value of 74. In addition, selenium detoxifies the heavy metal cadmium, which is said to cause depressions. Your blood levels should be between 130-200ug/l.

Zinc: People suffering from depression often have very low zinc levels because zinc is necessary for

the synthesis of enzymes which in turn build up neurotransmitters. Also, zinc is important for the synthesis of adrenaline and noradrenalin which are developed from the amino acid tyrosine. Learning disabilities with children can also be an indication of low zinc levels. The normal blood levels for adults are between 1.0 and 1.5mg/l.

Iodine: Not enough iodine inevitably leads to de-creased activity of the thyroid gland, a hormone factory, resulting in listlessness, abnormal fatigue, depression and lowered cerebral performance. Lack of iodine is widespread. A reliable indicator is the 24h renal iodine excretion. Values of less than 100ug per day show a latent lack of iodine.

Manganese: participates in the metabolism of the neurotransmitter dopamine. A lack of manganese can lead to mental disorders and is often encoun-tered in cases of schizophrenia. Blood levels should be between 0.1 and 0.2mg/l.

PROCEEDING SYSTEMATICALLY

The more closely the points below are followed, the more successful the therapy will be.

Meaningful lab findings are the first, indispensable step: modern na-turopathic labora-tory diagnostics show which sub-stances are defi-cient and where imbalances exist. Generally, the fol-lowing can be said: if even only one substance of the 45 essential nutritional substances is insuffi-ciently present in the body, then general symptoms such as dejection, irritability or nervousness can be caused.

Interpretation and a correct comparison with the correct reference levels add up to an individual therapy plan. It should be kept in mind that in orthodox medicine, reference levels usually are set with regard to sick individuals. Ideal values may be different.

Product selection: in this case, purity and the best possible bioavailability, such as Dr. Clark de-mands, have to be considered. For instance, the reabsorption of organic manganese compounds like manganese gluconate or chelated manganese com-


20

pounds is superior to manganese sulfate. Organic magnesium compounds such as magnesium orotate, aspartate, gluconate or chelate are also absorbed more easily.

Optimal consumption times and interactions (in-hibitory or synergetic) between individual nutri-tional substances and ingested medicines have to be included in the therapy plan. A lack of vitamin E, for instance, increases the need for selenium in the tissue.

The amounts for the therapeutic dose range have to be taken into account. Recent reference levels can be found in the extensive studies of Melvin R. Wer-bach (Melvyn R. Werbach; “Nutriological Medi-cine”). The correct therapeutic dose range over a certain length of time is a key factor for success. The therapeutic dose range can vary strongly with the recommended daily amount: thus, the RDA for vitamin C is 60mg per day. However, the therapeu-tic dose range is as high as 10,000mg, a hundred times higher! With Linus Pauling et al., the thera-peutic range is actually up to 100g – a thousand fold – such as during an intravenous cancer therapy.

In addition, one has to know about damaging over-doses and incompatibilities towards phenylalanine and tyrosine when affected with phenylketonuria, for instance, and about reciprocal interactions be-tween nutritional substances and, if applicable, pharmaceutical drugs.

In practice, a reasonable therapy is based on the principle “first measure, then replenish specifi-cally”. Depending on the symptoms, a specialized laboratory determines individual nutritional sub-stances and hormones in the blood. Now you will say: “I have already done all this, the doctor looked over the blood work and said that everything is normal.” As a matter of fact, most of the nutritional substances listed here are not determined at all by orthodox medicine – and the average values are calculated from a million blood values. And whose blood values? Ill persons’, because hardly a healthy person sees his doctor in order to have his or her blood taken. Which is why nearly every person feels tired, despondent, stressed out, suffers from headaches or depression, even though he/she pos-sesses “normal” blood values from an orthodox medical point of view. However, symptom free living only starts at the top of the reference range or higher. This is why it is important to correctly in-terpret the laboratory values and to have a sound knowledge of the reference values of healthy people and use them for comparison.

A correctly applied therapy with nutritional sub-stances offers an excellent possibility to improve one’s mood and ability to perform in a natural man-ner and without side effects.

OTHER THERAPIES THAT MAY BENEFIT YOU

Let us look beyond our own noses. A meta-study conducted by Prof. E. Ernst from the University of Exeter discovered the following in 2001: high evi-dence and no severe security worries are present for the following therapy forms in the case of treatment for depression:

• Herbal therapy: St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

• Relaxation therapy • Biofeedback therapy • Physical exercise (jogging, cycling, swimming

twice a week for 60 minutes) • Massage therapy

Daniel Albisser, ND www.frohmedizin.ch

Important! Please note:

This information is not intended to replace pro-fessional consultation or treatment by trained and approved doctors or therapists.

(1): Pfeiffer C.C.: Nährstoff Therapie bei psychischen Stö-rungen. Karl F. Haug Verlag, Heidelberg 1990. (2): Walsh, W.J., et al.: Reduced violent behavior following biochemical therapy. Physiology & Behavior 82 (2004) 835-839 (3) Selected studies concerning this subject: • Adams P.W. et al.: Effects of vitamin B6 on depression

associated with oral conception: Lancet 1 (1973) 897 • Beckmann, V., Ludoph E.: DL-phenylalanine as antide-

pressant. Arzneimittel Forschung 29 (1978) 1283 • Colby-Morley, E: Neuro-transmitters and nutrition J.

orthomol. Psychiat. 12 (1983) 38. • Friedman, B.J., et al.: Manganese balance and clinical

observations in young man fed a manganese-deficient diet. J. Nutr. 117 (1983) 133.

• Gelenberg, A.J. et al.: Tyrosine treatment of depression. Am. J. Psychiatry 137 (1980) 622.

• Prousky, J.E.: Orthomolecular treatment of anxiety disorders, Townsend letter, Feb/Mar 2005, 82-87

• Reynolds, E.H., et al.: Folic acid, ageing, depression and dementia. BMJ 324 (2002) 1512.

• Römmler, A.: Das Serotonin Defizit Syndrom: Substitu-tion mit 5-OH-Tryptophan effektiv. OMZs. f. Ortho-mol.Med 3 (2005) 15.

• Su, K.P., et al.: Omega-3 fatty acids in major depressive disorder. A preliminary double-blind, placebo controlled trial. Eur. Neuropsychopharmacol 13 (2003)

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Transcript of B 22 Volume 10 Issue 1 - Dr. Clarkdrclark.com/pictures/Bulletin_Orthomolecular.pdf · December 2007...