Dear Reader,
Do you really need to bother with vitamin supplements?
Big Pharma has an interest in you believing that your only effective solution is to take expensive and toxic chemically-produced patent drugs. But I’ve achieved great results using vitamins as therapy with thousands of patients in my medical practice.
Fact is, the body responds to nutrition-based treatments in nearly every area of health, from anti-aging and virility to heart and brainpower. My patients are living proof.
And, a number of scientific studies, some of them unprecedented in scale, show definitively that nutritional supplements produce immediate results in people over a variety of health issues.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition produced a study identifying specific benefits of vitamins to successfully combat various ailments, from a weakened immune system to poor eyesight and “brain fog.”1
The 100-plus page report looked at over a decade of research into supplemental treatments.
Here are just a few of their findings:
• Antioxidants pack a punch against a host of health problems that afflict aging populations. They can prevent cataracts, age-related dementia, and macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65 in the US.
• Calcium and Vitamin D, when taken properly, have the power to reduce the rate of hip fracture in older folks by at least 20 percent – meaning 40,000 to 50,000 fewer hip fractures each year in the United States – for an average annual savings of $1.5 to $2 billion. This is of special importance, since 25% of people who suffer hip fractures die within a year from complications.
• A high-quality daily multivitamin bolsters the immune system and wards off infectious disease.
I’ve been writing about these and other supplement-related health benefits for years. Yet the mainstream medical establishment still hasn’t embraced a nutritional approach to fighting disease.
The good news is it’s getting harder for conventional doctors to keep their heads in the sand. There’s now a body of evidence so overwhelming that even conservative, pro-drug, anti-supplement publications like the Journal of the American Medical Association have been forced to take notice.
An article published in JAMA stated it clearly:
“All adults should take vitamin supplements to help prevent chronic diseases. The daily use of a multivitamin can be a potentially powerful way to improve one’s health.”2
I would add that unlike drugs, vitamins and other dietary supplements have an excellent safety record. Since this is one of my specialties, I have many “discoveries” to share about supplements and health. Here are a few simple suggestions for some common ailments:
Arthritis: Vitamin D is a great ally in this battle. It’s been shown to reduce the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis as much as 34 percent. The official recommendation is 400 IUs, but to get the beneficial protection from an inflammatory disorder, I put my patients on 1000 IUs per day.
Heart Health: Alpha lipoic acid (ALA), found in abundance in red meat, boosts energy at the cellular level. It’s a potent antioxidant, which means it neutralizes the negative effects of “free radicals,” rogue compounds that cause damage to nearly all systems in the body.
ALA lowers the risk of atherosclerosis and extends the life of other antioxidants, like vitamin C, E, and CoQ10. It can also penetrate every kind of tissue in the body, earning it the nickname “the universal antioxidant.” I use 100 mg of ALA per day.
Brainpower: Omega-3 fatty acids not only prevent heart disease and cancer – they’re essential to neurological health and brain function. Numerous studies have shown improved cognitive function in older folks whose diets are rich in omega-3s. These “good” fats are found in abundance in fish, eggs, nuts, and certain fruits and vegetables. Cod liver oil is also a great source of pure omega-3s. I usually use about a tablespoon a day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
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1 Dickinson, Annette, The Benefits of Nutritional Supplements, Council for Responsible Nutrition, June 2002.
2 Fletcher RH, Fairfield KM. “Vitamins for chronic disease prevention in adults,” Journal of the American Medical Association, 287(2002):3127-3129.