|
Ignaz Semmelweis - Wikipedia |
In the 19th
century a young Hungarian doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis advocated that doctors
wash their hands in between patients. Dr. Semmelweis found that by doing so the
incidence of infectious disease was drastically reduced.
His peers
called him a “quack, they ostracized him and continued to perform vaginal
exams, surgeries and other medical therapies without washing between patients.
It was believed at the time that bad air was the cause of childbed fever
(puerperal sepsis).
In spite
of the fact that Semmelweis was able to consistently demonstrate that mortality
rates from childbed fever immediately declined from 18 percent to 1.3 percent,
his peers clung to their beliefs. Not because they had ever been proven but
because this is the way it had always been done. Because of their reluctance to
change, even in the face of what we would all agree to an obvious and common
sense approach to reducing the spread of disease, thousands of people
died.
Semmelweis
was eventually committed to an insane asylum where he died at age 42. It would
take another 132 years before doctors would realize that sanitary precautions
should be incorporated into daily practice procedures.
|
Alexander Fleming - Wikipedia |
In 1928
Dr. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. His discovery was discussed the
very next year in the British Journal of Experimental Pathology. Dr. Fleming
was ignored by the medical community and it was not until some 15 years later
that penicillin began to be used to treat bacterial infections. Why did it take
so long?
Maurice
Maeterlinck expressed it ever so well with his comment “Each progressive spirit
is opposed by a thousand mediocre minds appointed to guard the past.”
Doctors
are usually down on what they what they aren’t up on.
Could
this be the main reason traditional doctors don’t acknowledge the potential
health restoring abilities of nutritional therapy? Most likely it is. Of course
it could be that they are brainwashed into believing that drug therapy is the
only real philosophy with hard based science reviews. Either way, ignorance is
ignorance!
Please
know that doctors and drugs are the third leading cause of death in the United States.
As reported in the Journal of American Medical Association, over 250,000
Americans die each year from medical therapies including at least 113,000 from
the negative effects of prescription medications. Death from medical errors is
now the third cause of death in the U.S. behind heart disease and
cancer.
Although
some what dated the study that appeared in two articles in the June 19, 2002
issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Fletcher and
Fairfield reviewed studies published between 1966 and 2002 that investigated
the links between vitamin intake and diseases such as cancer and coronary heart
disease. This article alone should have made traditional doctors take notice of
the healing and preventative powers of supplements.
Folic
Acid may cut the risk of certain cancers and heart disease.
Other
vitamins, such as vitamin E, have been found to reduce cancer risk when
consumed at recommended levels, and vitamin D plus calcium supplements have
been shown to decrease the risks of bone loss and fracture in the elderly.
Fletcher
pointed out that most Americans–except those who follow what he described as a
“super-perfect” diet–likely do not get enough of certain vitamins in their
diets and would benefit from multivitamins, as well.
A
recent survey showed that only 20% to 30% of Americans consume at least five
servings of fruits and vegetables per day, the recommended amount.
The
evidence promoting the benefits of various vitamins is relatively new, Fletcher
explained, so doctors may not yet be aware of it. Furthermore, vitamins are
considered to be somewhat of an alternative therapy and some doctors have “this
prejudice against anything that’s not very orthodox,” Fletcher stated.
As people
age, they also become less able to absorb some vitamins from their diets, and
research has suggested that people who drink alcohol may need extra folic
acid. In addition, Fletcher said, some physicians may not understand the
importance of vitamin deficiency and may fail to recommend multivitamins.
Many
so-called experts will tell you not to worry about taking vitamins if you are
eating a balanced diet. Unfortunately, dieting alone can’t provide enough
essential vitamins and minerals to promote optimal health. For instance, you
would need to consume 5,000 calories per day (mostly fat) in order to get the
recommend minimum (400 IU) of vitamin E, and 12,000 calories per day to get the
minimum amount of chromium. Most of our foods are processed and, therefore, the
nutrients have been leeched out of them. Could this be one of the reasons
pre-senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have increased so dramatically over
the last few decades?
Thousands
of studies validate the benefits of taking a multivitamin/mineral formula on a
daily basis. These studies have been reported in medical journals, popular
newspapers and magazines. A good multivitamin/mineral formula offers a broad
range of health benefits. Taking a daily multivitamin/mineral formula reduces
the incidence of heart disease, heart attack, stroke, glaucoma, depression,
macular degeneration, diabetes, senile dementia, and various cancers.
A Few Vitamin Facts
1. Multivitamin Use Is Associated
With Lowering A Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Disease. A study published in the
American Journal of Medicine states that an independent risk factor for
cardiovascular disease, C-reactive protein (CRP), could be reduced by the
intake of a multivitamin. An elevated CRP level found in one’s blood serum is
associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Source: American
Journal of Medicine, Volume 115, and Issue 9
2. Daily Multivitamin Use May
Bring Significant Savings To Older Americans. According to this study, the daily use of a
multivitamin by older adults could bring about more than $1.6 billion in
Medicare savings over the next five years.
3. Slash Cancer Odds. Taking 200 micrograms of selenium
daily for four and a half years cut cancer rate 42 percent and cancer deaths in
half in a group of 1300 individuals. The incidence of colorectal cancer dropped
64 percent and prostate cancer an amazing 69 percent! University of Arizona
Study.
4. Prevent Alzheimer’s. Not a single elderly person who
took separate doses of vitamin E (200-800 IU) or vitamin C (500-1000 mg)
developed Alzheimer’s disease during a four-year double blind study. Chicago’s Rush Institute
for Healthy Aging.
5. Boost Immune System. Taking 200 IU of natural vitamin
E daily boosted immune functioning in older people. A supplement with only 60
mg of vitamin E daily did not improve immune functioning. Obviously, superior
immune functioning lessens infections, possibly cancer and heart disease. Tufts University
Study
6. Stop Heart Attacks. A daily dose of 400-800 IU of
natural vitamin E cut subsequent heart attacks in men with heart problems by an
astonishing 77 percent. Cambridge
University, England.
7. Stop Strokes. High doses of B vitamins
decreased the amount of plaque in carotid (neck) arteries by 10 percent during
a four-year study. Blocked carotid arteries can cause strokes. Plaque increased
by 50 percent in non-vitamin B takers. University of Toronto.
8. Prevent Fractures. Taking 500 mg of calcium and 700
IU of vitamin D daily for three years significantly cut the rate of bone loss
and non-vertebral fractures in men and women older than age 65. Tufts University
Study.
9. Save Vision. Women taking vitamin C
supplements cut their risk of cataracts by 77 per cent. Tufts University
and the National Institutes of Health.
10. Prolongs Life. Taking vitamin E and vitamin C
(in higher doses than in a multivitamin) cut chances of death from all causes
by 42 percent. Vitamin E users were 47 percent less apt to die of heart disease
and 59 percent less likely to die of cancer. National Institute on Aging.
11. Help Decrease The Risk Of
Stroke. According
to researchers from Harvard, the long-term dietary intake of folate and vitamin
B12 may help decrease the risk of ischemic stroke. Source: Stroke, Volume 35,
2004
12. Vitamin C Deficiency May Be
Linked To Respiratory Disorders. In a two-year study, researchers found that vitamin C may
prevent symptoms linked to airway diseases such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Source: Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, Volume 101, Number 10, 2004
Almost as
unacceptable as not recommending vitamin and mineral supplements is the
recommendation of them based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The RDA
is the measured amount or dosage of nutrient per vitamin and minerals
recommend. The RDA or as I call it the Recommended Disease Allowance, may
keep you from getting Scurvy, but it certainly won’t stand- up to the many
chronic diseases that continue to plague modern man.
The U.S. federal
government sets these levels based on the “average adult.” The “average
person plan” assumes that you are an adult under 60 years old who is in good
health, has normal digestion, isn’t overweight, leads a relatively stress-free
life, has no medical problems, doesn’t take any medication, eats a balanced
diet, and consumes 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Needless to
say, most of us don’t fit into the definition of the average person defined by
RDA. In fact, most adult women don’t meet the RDA for zinc, Vitamin B, calcium,
magnesium, and Vitamin E. Likewise, most adult men don’t meet the RDA for
zinc and magnesium. Fewer than 29% of people eat 5 fresh fruits and vegetables
a day. Furthermore, 20% of the U.S.
population doesn’t eat ANY fruits or vegetables at all!
The
recommended daily allowance is some fifty years out of date. It was never
intended to advance health, only to prevent malnutrition diseases like scurvy
or rickets. Taking the minimum amount of a nutrient to prevent gross deficiency
diseases doesn’t help those people who want to be truly healthy and not just be
free of symptoms.
The RDA
is inadequate if your goal is for prevention and or treatment of heart disease,
cancer, cataracts, depression, senility, diabetes, arthritis and other age
related disorders. For optimal health and well being, many health practitioners
are recommending many times higher than the RDA on certain nutrients. It’s no
secret, for the majority of the U.S.
population the diet is poorly lacking in essential nutrients. Additionally,
nearly all Americans are deficient even in the minimal RDA requirements, and
are therefore exposed to premature death.
Taking an
optimal daily allowance multivitamin/mineral formula is the best way to ensure
you obtain and maintain optimal health.
The
average medical doctor has less than 3 hours of nutrition while attending
medical college. Our health as a nation would be better served if medical
students received more hours in nutrition and prevention than in “drugs are the
only thing to mention” mentality.
Questions?
My staff loves to answer questions and help others help themselves get and stay
healthy. Give us a call 205-879-2383. www.DrRodgerMurphree.com