Orthomolecular Therapy
ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE
Orthomolecular is a term that comes from ortho, which is Greek for "correct" or "right," and "molecule," which is the simplest structure that displays the characteristics of a compound. So it literally means the "right molecule."
Two-time Nobel Prize winner, and molecular biologist, Linus Pauling, Ph.D.,coined the term "Orthomolecular" in his 1968 article "Orthomolecular Psychiatry" in the journal "Science."
Orthomolecular medicine describes the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body.
Orthomolecular medicine is a form of complementary and alternative medicine aimed at maintaining health through nutritional supplementation. It is based on the assertion that there is an optimum nutritional environment in the body, and diseases reflect deficiencies in this environment.
Orthomolecular therapy is designed to enable patients to achieve optimum health by utilizing only naturally occurring substances—vitamins, minerals, enzymes, trace elements, co-enzymes. This type of therapy can be used to treat diseases such as cancer and AIDS, or as a preventative measure to impede degenerative diseases and aging.
This approach is sometimes referred to as megavitamin therapy because it evolved out of doses of vitamins and minerals many times higher than the recommended intake. Non-optimal levels of certain substances can cause health issues beyond simple vitamin deficiency and balancing these substances is an integral part of optimal health.
Some main principles of mesotherapy include:
- Diagnosing nutritional deficiencies followed by establishing proper nutrition can result in a cure.
- Pharmaceuticals should be used sparingly.
- Environmental toxins and food poisoning antagonize nutritional deficiencies. These conditions must be eliminated as well.
- Blood testing can be erroneous and unreliable as a predictor or indicator of nutrients in body tissues.
- Mind/body therapy is employed as an adjunct, where optimism, hope and faith are integral allies for both the patient and physician.