When we get sick we immediately go to our doctor, or if it’s something less severe we may go to our pharmacy. But could there be safer, healthier cures from nature without the negative side effects of drugs? Many people think so. And there is plenty of research and studies to demonstrate this.

Looking after our health with the correct foods and proper exercise will stack the odds in our favour regarding health. But could we also get cures from food and supplements? There is a lot of research that suggests so.

In any case, prevention is better than cure, and we can avail of health food supplements to help us attain optimum health and help prevent many illnesses and diseases in the first place, eliminating the need for a trip to the doctor. Drugs do have their place, and we may all benefit from them at times, but are they being over used? And are we better off avoiding them whenever we can? I think the best approach to drugs is ‘use when necessary / avoid if possible’.

You may have heard the term ‘super foods’. These are simply foods that are packed with nutrients and high in antioxidants, which can help prevent and cure even serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants kill off free radicals, which are substances that damage healthy cells in the body.
Free radicals can come from fried and processed foods, environmental pollution and even mental stress. The main anti-oxidants are vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Selenium, and Zinc and you can get extra quantities of these from supplements as well as in your food.

 

SUPPLEMENTS

There is a lot of evidence to show that we can achieve optimum health by getting extra nutrients from supplements over and above what we can possibly get in our diets. Even the recommended daily amounts of vitamins & minerals are the quantities that will simply prevent disease and serious health issues. But optimum health is something very different. In some cases, taking multiples of these RDA’s have been shown to give extra health benefits. Do you want to simply be disease free and prevent serious health issues or on the other hand, would you like to enjoy robust good health, have boundless energy and mental clarity and be able to stave off the effects of aging?

OPTIMUM HEALTH

Many people assume they can get all they need from food. Even if this were true, they can go beyond what they need, and aim for Optimum Health. We should aim to get as many nutrients as possible from our food, by eating a varied diet based on the best quality foods that we can get. As well as this, we can get great benefit by supplementing our diet with health food supplements such as vitamins and minerals in the form of tablets and powders.

Once upon a time you may have been able to meet the RDA’s of vitamins and minerals in many cases. But these days, many foods contain only a fraction of what nature intended. Fruit and veg for example loses many nutrients through pesticides and storage and transport.

These foods can begin to lose their nutrients as soon as they are picked, so the time it takes from farm to fork can have a huge impact on their quality. And these days, this time can be considerable; have you checked the country of origin on these foods you buy? It has been estimated that 80 to 95 % 0f nutrients originally found in foods are lost before we finally eat them! Our soil is routinely depleted of minerals through the use of inorganic fertiliser. This decreases the nutritional value of the foods grown on this ground. These weakened plants become more susceptible to attack from pests and need to be sprayed with pesticides, which further deplete the soil of nutrients and have been shown to contribute to cancer in humans. These pesticides have also been implicated in causing neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

VITAMINS v. DRUGS

In many cases taking therapeutic doses of vitamins and minerals works better than the conventional drugs used. Why then do we not hear more about these? Why are they not being offered as the treatment of choice? Because doctors are not trained in Nutrition and health food supplements. They spend years at college learning about drug cures for all sorts of ailments, so that’s what they prescribe us when we visit them. In general, it is up to the patient to seek out the best treatment for his / her condition. The medical expert will offer medical cures, the surgeon will offer a surgical solution, the Naturopath will offer a solution from natural sources and so on.

There are however, doctors originally qualified as medical doctors, who have studied and researched these natural cures. And have tens of thousands of case studies to show the results.

 

A HOLISTIC APPROACH

These doctors, the most famous of which may be Dr. Robert Atkins, take it upon themselves to learn all the best remedies from all sources, drugs and natural cures. They are able to offer their patients the best, safest, most effective cures with the least harmful side effects. This may be nature based, drug based or a combination of both. A holistic doctor will take everything into account. Natural substances have been shown to cure many ailments as well as or better than pharmaceuticals without the negative side effects.
For example, studies have shown that 50mg of Folic Acid per day can treat depression just as well as the most powerful anti-depressant drugs, such as amitriptyline, without the negative side effects.

A diet and supplement programme high in anti-oxidants, such as beta carotene, has been shown to protect against many forms of cancer.

Selenium’s association with cancer development is well documented, there is a very good study showing a 50% decrease in cancer deaths when patients are treated with this natural mineral.

There is an endless list of such studies for every ailment, demonstrating the value of natural cures, from the common cold to life threatening diseases. The results of all this research are documented in bestselling books in every book store. Such as Dr. Atkins’ ‘Vita-Nutrient Solution’ and ‘The Optimum Nutrition Bible’ by Patrick Holford.

 

BIG PHARMA

There is no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest Billions in research and controlled studies of natural substances. The rewards are not there for them to do this. A natural substance cannot be patented, so if a company pours large sums of money into promoting a natural substance as a treatment, then you or I can produce and sell it for the same reason. Therefore, they need to develop a drug that they can patent so they are the sole seller and they can reap the profits from their efforts.
Can you imagine the benefits to be gained if we could somehow put the same amount of money into research of cures and preventions from nature in the form of food and health food supplements?

Big pharma is a multi-billion-dollar business, selling us products that may not be in our best interest. You may not hear about these natural alternatives from your Doctor, as they are only trained medically, and are only promoting cures from pharmaceuticals.

 

ANTIBIOTICS

There has been a lot of discussion lately around the over prescription and over use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are used for many infections, and we probably all need them from time to time. And it’s great that we have them. But they kill good bacteria in our gut as well as bad bacteria. And we suffer many health issues when these good bacteria are killed off. Those of us in the know are aware of the benefits of taking natural probiotics in the form of a supplement capsule to repopulate the gut with these good bacteria.

But I have never heard a doctor advising this after a course of antibiotics! Why not? Because they are natural substances as opposed to drugs and your doctor is unaware of them.

There is a scientific basis for the use of Vitamins, Minerals, Amino Acids and Herbs in the prevention and treatment of many of the chronic illnesses that plague us today. These vita-nutrients harness the body’s ability to heal itself, rather than resorting to conventional drugs and invasive procedures, and address the true cause of disease instead of temporarily alleviating symptoms, promoting longer lasting and more effective healing. This is backed by cutting edge scientific research and these natural cures are safe and effective.

What is the answer? Seek out a Naturopathic or Holistic Doctor or Clinical Nutritionist as well as seeking medical advice to treat or prevent your ailment. Do your own research to see which has shown to have the best results in the past. Then make up your own mind which treatment / combination of treatments you wish to use.

There are many other natural courses of action that we can take to support or replace conventional medicine. Such as getting out in nature, meditation, the correct exercise and various forms of therapy for mental health issues. But how many doctors even mention, or give great advice on these options?

And when has your doctor handed you a contact for an expert outside the medical field, such as a physiotherapist, psychotherapist, nutritionist or fitness trainer, to support the treatment they suggest or to help you get off the drugs you are on???

 

BE YOUR OWN HEALTH GUIDE

In conclusion, take it upon yourself to research the best methods of achieving Optimum Health. And the best treatments and preventions for any ailments that you may have, minor or serious, from all sources, not just your doctor. Ask questions of your Doctor, and get him / her to support you in your efforts to achieve optimum health, using all support systems available.

Please contact us now here at Lifegym to see how we can help you achieve Optimum Health.

Yours in Health and Fitness,

Tony Matthews