People often ask me what Ortho-Molecular Nutrition means. Ortho-Molecular Nutrition is the belief that by concentrating and balancing the molecules in the body, we can achieve a state of optimal health. Ortho is a Greek word meaning, "correct" or "right." So Ortho-Molecular literally means, "right molecules. "Each of us is born with genetic strengths and weaknesses. It is our genetics, combined with our environment, that determine our own unique set of nutritional requirements. Stress, pollution, poor eating habits, lack of sleep, and genetic pre-dispositions can push these needs way out of balance. When our biochemical needs are out of balance our bodies become deficient in certain nutrients, causing us to become weak, tired and vulnerable to illness and disease. Correcting these imbalances can make a huge difference in the quality of our life. Ok, great but how do we put this information into application? There are too many examples, but I will state a few. It's takes very little vitamin C to prevent Scurvy. The average multi vitamin has the minimum daily allowance of 60 mgs, which will accomplish that just fine. Some of my multi's have 1000 mgs to 1800 mgs, and I take 10,000 mgs per day myself. Can taking more really have an effect on the quality of your life? One study from UCLA announced that men who took 800 mg a day of vitamin C lived 6 years longer than those who consumed the FDA's recommended daily allowance of 60 mg a day. The study, which evaluated 11,348 participants over a 10-year period of time, showed that high vitamin C intake extended average lifespan and reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease by 42% (Enstrom et al. 1992).
That is just an example of one nutrient. Here is another example I received this week from the Life Extention Foundation. You all know I blog on vitamin D3 all the time, because it can have a major improvement in your health and well being.
cw
Life Extension Update Exclusive
AMA journal meta-analysis finds vitamin D supplements linked with reduced risk of dying over a six year period...
The September 10, 2007 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of Internal Medicine published the results of a meta-analysis conducted by Philippe Autier, MD of the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, and Sara Gandini, PhD of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, which concluded that men and women given vitamin D supplements had a lower risk of dying from any cause over a 5.7 year average follow-up period.
For the review, Drs Autier and Gandini selected 18 randomized, controlled clinical trials involving vitamin D supplementation published prior to November, 2006. The trials included a total of 57,311 participants. Subjects who received vitamin D were given 300 to 2000 international units (averaging 528 IU). Serum vitamin D levels were measured in half of the studies.
There were 4,777 deaths recorded over the follow-up period. Subjects who received vitamin D were found to have a 7 percent lower risk of dying of any cause compared with those who did not receive the vitamin. In those who were tested, blood levels of vitamin D were 1.4 to 5.2 times greater among participants who received vitamin D supplements than in those who did not.
In seeking a explanation for the finding, the authors make note of vitamin D’s ability to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, improve blood vessel function, and boost the immune system. They also suggest that the ability shown by statin drugs "to decrease all-cause mortality could partly be due to increases in vitamin D levels they would provoke or through acting as vitamin D analogues on vitamin D receptors."
"The relationship between baseline vitamin D status, dose of vitamin D supplements and total mortality rates remains to be investigated," the authors conclude. "Population-based, placebo-controlled randomized trials in people 50 years or older for at least six years with total mortality as the main end point should be organized to confirm these findings."
In an accompanying editorial, Edward Giovannucci, MD, ScD, of the Harvard School of Public Health poses provocative questions, such as, "Would even a greater reduction in mortality accrue than that suggested in this meta-analysis if intakes of vitamin D were higher, if compliance was improved, if higher levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were attained, and if the duration of supplementation was longer?"
"From a broader public health perspective, the roles of moderate sun exposure, food fortification with vitamin D, and higher-dose vitamin D supplements for adults need to be debated," he concludes.
http://www.lef.org/newsletter/2007/2007_09_11.htm?source=eNewsLetter2007Wk37-1&key=archive
Personal note: Most multi's contain 200 IU's to 400 IU's. Most of mine contain 800 IU's to 1200 IU's. I take 2000 IU's in the summer and 4000 IU's in the winter.
Christopher Wiechert, C.N.C.
Christopher Wiechert's Healthblogger is for educational or informational purposes only, and is not intended to diagnose or provide treatment for any condition. If you have any concerns about your own health, you should always consult with a health care professional. If you decide to use this information on your own, it's your constitutional right, but I assume no responsibility.
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