Orthomolecular medicines’ main goal is to restore the body’s balance both in the brain and bodily functions by correcting imbalances or deficiencies based on each person’s biochemistry.
Orthomolecular doctors utilize natural substances such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and amino acids to achieve that balanced chemistry.
Orthomolecular Medicine was founded by the famous molecular biologist, Linus Pauling, Ph.D. He won the Nobel Peace Prize twice for his work. He named this new kind of holistic treatment, Orthomolecular Psychiatry.
Later it was used to treat problems in the body as well as in the brain. The new holistic treatment began in 1968. In the beginning, there were only a handful of doctors who specialized in Orthomolecular medicine.
Orthomolecular Medicine comes from the Greek words ortho meaning correct and molecule. It means the right treatment for the correct Nutritional imbalance or deficiency using optimal vitamins, amino acids, and other elements of nutrition.
Orthomolecular doctors take specialized blood work and study the brain and body chemistry of the patient. In your healthy brain, there is a balance of the amino acids in the brain chemistry. They test elements that your standard doctor does not and will not. He is not trained to treat that way and most insurance companies will not pay for the testing. If you ask your regular doctor about Orthomolecular medicine, he will probably not even know the term, much less anything about how it works. Most of them are negative toward holistic medicine.
If one amino acid is deficient or too high, certain abnormalities in behavior can occur. Some of the amino acids calm the brain and some excite the brain. They need to be balanced for normal mental behavior.
In the body as well, you need a balance of nutrients such as Vitamin B12 as well as other B vitamins. You need magnesium, calcium, and other nutrients to have radiant health.
I have used the principles of Orthomolecular medicine on and off since the 1980s when it was first introduced into holistic medicine by Dr. Pauling. He passed away some years ago, but his work is being carried on by others. I began studying the subject when I was working on my nutrition degree in those years. I was studying one of the sections in the course when my daughter got sick.
After my daughter was injured by her first shots, I used them to help restore her health. Back then, Orthomolecular Medicine was new and there were no real stats on how to use it with children. There were only a handful of doctors across the whole country. I could not afford the thousands of dollars to get her to one of them.
After buying books on the subject and researching all the literature, I managed to get a doctor in the area, to run the brain chemistry and blood work.
I then worked with her until she began showing improvement and was able to design a program for her behavior and her health issues. The doctor who took the tests monitored her as well. It took months of studying her dosage of amino acids and her behavior. I did succeed in the end, but it was a day-by-day process.
So, a major part of longevity is living with optimal health which involves many aspects of life: the food we eat, the negative foods that we need to avoid; exercise; our mental and heart health; our attitude toward others and ourselves; and the need to optimize our genetics.
How does our body and brain chemistry become imbalanced?
Stress, overwork, lack of sleep, mental strain, and years of neglecting our health contribute to body and mental imbalances.
Today, our diets today full of junk food, sodas, sugar, caffeine, and processed foods, the majority of our diet is deficient in most of the needed vitamins and sadly lacking in the minerals and trace minerals needed for real true health.
Then you need to account for the percentage of obese people, people who are diabetic, people who have high blood pressure, and have other co-morbidities that tax the body and its ability to work properly. We may be one of the richest countries but not one of the healthiest.
Our children, many of them are clearly unhealthy as well. There is no question that the majority of Americans are deficient in most of the important nutrients that are needed to be healthy and fight off infections. Depression is a serious and increasing problem with our children in all age groups. Suicide is rising as well.
Then recently came the lockdowns and Covid 19 hit us. The lockdowns have caused thousands more cases of depression and increased alcohol and drug usage to cope with the isolation. People have gained weight from overeating and drinking trying to cope with their more stressed life and jobs. All of this further hurts your immune function and your health overall.
In the next few weeks, we are going to be discussing the use of vitamins such as Vitamin D and C to improve health and immunity. I am going to teach you about orthomolecular medicine as well and how it can be used to improve health.
Look at your life and write down what you are doing that is good for your health and what is not. You can solve a problem until you are ready to not only identify a problem but also take the first steps with the courage to change your life to improve your health and longevity.
Your homework is to bluntly look at your lifestyle and what you are willing to change to have better health.
These are not links to my sites but to the men who founded orthomolecular medicine and nutrition medicine with expertise and research. These doctors with information at the below sites have lots of degrees and research behind their names. Explore these sites on your own.
Educational Links to Read More
Resource to locate a Orthomolecualar Doctor
Orthomolecular Medicine | Program by Dr. Linus Pauling (alternativetomeds.com)
http://www.doctoryourself.com/
Cathryn Freer, the Herbladyisin signing off for today.
