Effective Non-drug Alternatives for Chronic Health Conditions

Billions of dollars are spent each year on pharmaceutical medications in the US – many incorrectly or unnecessarily proscribed. Patients are routinely prescribed 6, or even 10 drugs to combat their symptoms, and then wonder why they do not feel good. Often, they are not told about the potential side effects, or that other, safer alternatives are available. Most chronic medical conditions such as heat disease, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis and others respond very well to natural therapies, Results can be obtained using vitamin and mineral supplementation, diet and other lifestyle modification, alone or in conjunction with traditional treatments. In this lecture, Dr. Sosin will review the most common chronic conditions and specific recommendations for treating these conditions using effective non-drug therapies. Research data and case studies will be reviewed. (more…)

The mouth is the gateway to the body because all cellular function and major systems begin with fuel that is processed in the mouth.  Poor nutrition and body health starts with a poor environment in the mouth – the proverbial “Garbage in, Garbage out”.  Interestingly enough, the mouth is the last place to receive nutrition for its own function – the gums, teeth, etc – even though the process starts in the mouth.  Therefore lack of nutrition becomes a never-ending cycle of poor health leading to more poor health – all from poor health of the mouth. DR W Loesche at the Michigan School Of Dentistry associates poor dental health with “early death from any cause” and DR Jack Caton President of the American Academy of Periodontology states that “avoiding periodontal disease is not just important for keeping teeth for a lifetime, but also in keeping the rest of the body healthy.”
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The Government today decided to introduce a blanket ban on mercury. The ban means that the use of dental amalgam in fillings will cease and that it will no longer be permitted to place products containing mercury on the Swedish market. “Sweden is now leading the way in removing and protecting the environment from mercury, which is non-degradable. The ban is a strong signal to other countries and a Swedish contribution to EU and UN aims to reduce mercury use and emissions,” says Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren.
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A new study funded in part by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) suggests that an alkalising diet may be an important key to reducing bone breakdown, or “turnover,” while aging. The study comes on the heels of several ARS-reported studies suggesting that consuming more-than-recommended amounts of calcium may not be the main answer to protecting bone.

The study was led by physician and nutrition specialist Bess Dawson-Hughes at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Mass. ARS is a scientific research agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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In 2002, Harvard researchers published a report that seemed to indicate that long-term supplementation of pre-formed vitamin A (retinol, not beta-carotene) increases risk for osteoporosis and fractures in postmenopausal women (CLICK HERE for article). This data seemed to confirm some previous observations in animal studies, although there have since been other epidemiological studies which showed no correlation between the intake of pre-formed vitamin A and fracture risk in women (see below). Regardless, after 2002, it has been commonly advised by most guidelines to limit daily retinol consumption (below 7,500 IU/day- although some have said less than 5,000 IU) to limit the potential fracture risk. Many nutritional products were adjusted at that time to increase beta-carotene and reduce retinol to make vitamin A claims.
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Dementia and Vitamin D
A new large-scale senior population study has found that a lack of vitamin D in the elderly could be linked to cognitive impairment. The study prompted researchers to suggest vitamin D supplementation as a possible means of reducing the risk of dementia. The findings from the researchers revealed that compared to those with optimum levels of vitamin D, those with the lowest levels were more than twice as likely to be cognitively impaired.

Our high dose Vitamin D supplements are available in both 1000 and 5000 IU strengths.
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Studies of living brain tissue may lead to the development of new stroke therapies

Dr. Sergei Kirov, a neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies, is using slices of living human brain tissue to identify potential new therapies for stroke patients. As he notes, a stroke “takes away” the pump that maintains necessary levels of sodium and potassium in and around brain cells. When the pump is not working accurately, cells become bloated and die. Resulting “waves” cause much of the immediate brain cell death in the stroke’s core, with milder waves continuing in contiguous areas called the penumbra. This can potentially increase stroke size and damage. Using an animal model, Dr. Kirov is looking at several drugs to evaluate whether the pounding of the penumbra can be stopped. He has also completed a small pilot study using live human tissue.
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B12 for Brain Health

In a recent review of the literature, adequate levels of vitamin B12 may still not be enough to fend off the potential of age related cognitive decline. It is suggested that higher levels of B12 may be more efficacious in avoiding this common effect of B12 deficiency. B12 is also important in the reduction of Homocysteine, a marker for cardiovascular disease.

B12 levels can be detected through a simple laboratory test that can be ordered here at IPM.

IPM’s Homocysteine Factors provides 1000mcg of vitamin B12, along with other ingredients included to support patients with higher homocysteine levels.
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Dr. Allan Sosin recently contributed a chapter to the book “Food and Nutrients in Disease Management.” Edited by Ingrid Kohlstadt, this text aims to effectively bring food back into the clinical arena and help physicians put food and nutrients back on the prescription pad. Dr. Sosin’s chapter on chronic kidney disease reflects his many years of experience healing chronic disease with nutritional therapy. We hope this new text will find its way into the hands other physicians who are interested in incorporating effective nutritional solutions to many common chronic conditions.

Features

• Explains how food and nutrients that are used incorrectly worsen disease outcomes

• Contains more than 40 disease-specific chapters, written by doctors

• Emphasizes laboratory tests, drug-nutrient interactions, food-drug interactions, and clinical toxicology

• Details quality and dosing of supplemental nutrients

• Includes more than 100 tables, figures, and summaries for speedy clinical reference

• Presents cutting-edge scientific evidence for prescribing whole foods, dietary patterns, and supplemental nutrients