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BIONUTRITION
There is a revolution that is taking place within medicine. Bionutrition is
essentially becoming a medical specialty. What is Bionutrition?
Bionutrition is taking nutritional supplements at levels that have been
shown to provide a medical benefit in the medical literature. These are
not RDA levels of supplementation. RDAs were created to prevent acute
nutritional deficiencies while also providing proper nutrients for normal
growth and development. Bionutrition provides nutritional supplementation
at optimal levels in order to delay and hopefully even prevent chronic
degenerative diseases. Acute deficiency diseases are like scurvy (vitamin
C deficiency), rickets (vitamin D deficiency), or pellegra (niacin
deficiency). Chronic degenerative diseases are diseases like coronary
artery disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's disease,
multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and macular degeneration.
As we are about to enter the 21st Century, we find ourselves dying and
suffering from degenerative diseases. I have not seen a case of rickets,
scurvy, or pellagra in my 26 years of private practice in Family Medicine.
Needless to say, I am much more interested in discovering how I can help
prevent degenerative diseases in my patients. The scientific medical
literature is now showing us that well over 50 of these degenerative
diseases are caused by "Oxidative Stress".
Oxygen is essential for life itself, however we are now realizing that
there is a "dark side" to oxygen. During the normal metabolic use of
oxygen within the battery of our cells (called mitochondria), oxygen is
used to create energy. During this process called oxidation, a "free
radial" is occasionally is produced. This "free radical" has at least one
unpaired electron in its' outer orbit. This "free radical" essentially has
an electrical charge. If this "free radical" is not readily neutralized by
surrounding antioxidant nutrients, it can create more volatile "free
radicals", damage proteins, lipids, and even the DNA nucleus of the cell.
Antioxidants have the ability to render these "free radicals" harmless.
Our bodies make a certain amount of antioxidants; however, they are not
able to make enough to handle the number of "free radicals" that our bodies
produce. Therefore, we must get the rest of the antioxidants from our food
supply. The most common antioxidants that most people are familiar with
are vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. We need enough antioxidants
available to handle the amount of "free radicals" produced. If there are
more "free radicals" than antioxidants, oxidative stress occurs. Balance
is the key. In order to protect ourselves from most degenerative diseases,
we need to have a surplus of antioxidants available to quickly render these
"free radicals" harmless.
DEGENERATIVE DISEASES
More than 60 million Americans suffer from some form of cardiovascular
disease (disease of the heart and blood vessels); 13,670,000 have coronary
artery disease. Although there has been a significant decrease in the
number of cardiovascular deaths in the past 25 years, it still remains the
number one cause of death in the United States. There are 1,500,000 heart
attacks each year and about one-third are fatal. The sad statistic is
250,000 of these deaths occur within the first hour of a heart attack and
long before the individual can even make it to the hospital. Forty-five
percent of all these heart attacks occur in individuals under the age of
65. The first sign of heart disease in more than 30 percent of cases is
sudden death. This does not give a person much time for lifestyle changes.
In spite of the tremendous amount of money spent on cancer research and
treatment, cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United
States. There were 537,000 cancer deaths in 1995 and 1.3 million new cases
projected to be diagnosed in 1996. Unlike heart disease, there has been a
steady increase in the number of deaths caused by cancer over the past 30
years. We have spent over 22 billion dollars in cancer research over the
past 25 years, only to see absolutely no decrease in the relative number of
people dying from cancer. The greatest advancements in cancer treatment
have developed because of earlier diagnoses of certain cancers. Everyone
agrees we need to look at primary prevention of the development of cancer,
since treatment is usually not very effective.
In 1950, the United States ranked seventh among the top 21 industrialized
nations in the world when it came to life expectancy. Since that time, we
have spent far more money on health care than any other country in the
world. Last year we spent over 1 trillion dollars on health care, which was
13.6 percent of our gross national product (GNP). That is well over twice
as much as the next closest nation. We have our MRI and CT scanners,
angioplasty, bypass surgery, total hip and knee replacement, chemotherapy,
radiation therapy, antibiotics, advanced surgical techniques, advanced
drugs, intensive care units—the list goes on and on.
In 1990, we ranked eighteenth in life expectancy compared to those same 21
industrialized nations. The healthcare system we claim is the best in the
world is actually near the worst when we look at how long Americans live.
We aren't getting our moneys worth, especially when you consider how much
we are suffering from the effects of degenerative diseases. Look at the
near-epidemic increase of Alzheimer's dementia, diabetes mellitus,
arthritis, chronic obstructive lung disease (emphysema), and macular
degeneration.
It is not the years of life with which most of us are concerned but the
quality of life in those years. Who would want to live to a ripe old age if
you cannot recognize your closest family member because of Alzheimer's
dementia? So many of my patients lose their eyesight because of age-related
macular degeneration. No one seems to die of old age any more. We are
suffering and dying of degenerative diseases.
We need to look again at our approach to health care in America. The
overwhelming majority of our health care dollars are spent after we become
sick. Little is spent on prevention. Our philosophy in medicine is to
"attack" disease. Perhaps this came with the advent of antibiotics. With
the vast array of medications to choose from one would think we could cure
everything. We have not met with much success, however, with degenerative
diseases. At best we may be able to slow the process down but usually we
are simply making patients more comfortable. Treatments for strokes,
cancer, macular degeneration, Alzheimer's dementia, and Parkinson's disease
are truly not very effective.
Prevention of disease and protection of health is the key. It is much
easier to maintain health and try to prevent disease than it is to regain
health after it has been lost. Practitioners must learn to appreciate the
body host and its magnificent ability to protect and heal itself. We need
to learn to build the body's defense system against degenerative disease.
Only then will the cost of medicine decline and the quality of life
improve. Medications will not be needed as often and will be far more
effective and have fewer side effects when they are used.
I have spent the last three years researching the medical literature in
regards to how nutritional supplements can affect our health. This Web
Page was created to share this information with you. Most physicians are
against their patients using nutritional supplements. However, physicians
can no longer ignore the growing medial evidence that is showing us that
there is a definite health benefit to those patients who routinely take
nutritional supplements. I will explain in detail how nutritional
supplements may benefit individuals who are suffering from specific
degenerative diseases. In my recently published book,
"Bionutrition----Winning the War Within" I explain the reason why everyone
needs to be taking nutritional supplements over their entire lifetime in
order to delay and hopefully prevent many of these degenerative diseases.
I also detail the recent medical literature, which has convinced me to
recommend nutritional supplements to my patients. If you would like to
order this book, just click here for ordering information.
I believe that everyone needs to be taking nutritional supplements to
better protect their health against chronic degenerative diseases. Just as
we have learned that there is a health benefit to moderate exercise and a
high-fiber, low-fat diet that includes at least 5 to 7 servings of fruits
and vegetables every day. I now am convinced that there is even a greater
health benefit for my patients that routinely take a complete and balanced
nutritional supplement.
They are able to decrease their risk of developing heart disease, cancer,
strokes, arthritis, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's
disease, cataracts, macular degeneration, and many other degenerative
diseases. Bionutrition offers us the best hope in our future fight against
these diseases.
Listed below are several specific degenerative diseases. If you would like
to learn how bionutrition might be able help you if you are suffering from
any of these diseases, just click onto the one that you may be interested.
Coronary artery disease
Cancer
Cardiomyopathy
Alzheimer's Dementia
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Cystic Fibrosis
Macular Degeneration
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gerhig's
Disease_)
Asthma
Osteoporosis
Diabetes Mellitus
Parkinson's Disease
"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different
from the things we do." - Author Unknown
"There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different
from the things we do." - Author Unknown
