| Orthomolecular Medicine |
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Orthomolecular medicine is defined as the provision of the optimum molecular constitution, especially the optimum concentration of substances that are normally present in the body, for the purposes of treating disease and preserving health. Dr. Linus Pauling proposed the term Orthomolecular Medicine in 1968 in the journal ''Science'' . The field of Orthomolecular Psychiatry deals with the use of orthomolecular medicine to treat psychiatric problems. METHOD In orthomolecular medicine, diseases are assumed to originate from multiple nonspecific causes, congenital and acquired. These causes give rise to biochemical aberrations, the accumulation of which results in symptoms and signs, from which the perception of a disease state follows. Clinically-apparent diseases may be described as fuzzy sets of biochemical anomalies. Clearly, it is advantageous for physicians to recognize and to correct patients’ small sets of biochemical anomalies at an early stage, before expansion of the anomalies results in recognizable diseases. In practice, the orthomolecular doctor relies heavily on laboratory testing. In addition to standard clinical chemistries, orthomolecular doctors now employ a wide range of sophisticated laboratory analysis, including those for amino acids, organic acids, vitamins and minerals, functional vitamin status, hormones, immunology, microbiology, and gastrointestinal function. Many of the newer tests have not been accepted by conventional medicine. Orthomolecular therapy consists in providing optimal amounts of substances normal to the body, most commonly by oral administration. In the early days of orthomolecular medicine, this usually meant high-dose, single-agent nutrient therapy. However, some ailments require the withholding of normal substances. Thus, "optimal" is a matter for clinical judgment. Most often, the orthomolecular practitioner employs multiple vital substances--amino acids, enzymes, non-essential nutrients, hormones, vitamins, minerals, etc.--in a therapeutic effort to restore those (or derivative substances) to levels statistically normal for healthy young persons. Often supplementation with relatively large doses of vitamins is given and the name megavitamin therapy has become popularly associated with the field. Megavitamin Therapy is the administration of large amounts of vitamins, often many times greater than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Short chained fatty acids are produced by fermentation of Dietary Fiber in the colon, then absorbed and utilized, often aided with a combination of Probiotics , Prebiotics and " Glyconutrients " added to the diet. The substances may be administered by changing the diet to emphasize certain elements high in nutrients, dietary supplementation with tablets, or intravenous injection of nutrient solutions. POPULARITY A survey released in May 2004 by the (page 6). "The fact that only 11.8% of adults sought care from a licensed or certified CAM practitioner suggests that most individuals who use CAM self-prescribe and/or self-medicate." (page 6). RELATION TO CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine has many conventionally trained doctors among its members and authors. However, conventional medicine regards most orthomolecular therapies as insufficiently proven for clinical use. Proponents contend that many conventional doctors have little familiarity with the detailed concepts and clinical background of orthomolecular medicine. Orthomolecular medicine claims an evolving nutritional pharmacology that overlaps between natural medicine and conventional medicine. Conventional medicine disputes the validity of most orthomolecular therapies based on the lack of authoritative studies and the results from some disputed studies. Proponents note that the disputed studies used much lower doses, frequencies, duration or assimilable forms than they recommend or other special conditions, contamination, populations or statistical treatment often not clearly published in the documentation. The relationship of conventional medicine to Orthomolecular proponents has been limited and sometimes technically adversarial. Sometimes proponents claim partisan politics, pharmaceutical industry influence, and competitive considerations to be significant factors. Some other orthomolecular therapies have been long recognized and officially sanctioned within Europe and Japan. REFERENCES
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