Reviews of The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease
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High doses of vitamins have been known to cure serious illnesses for nearly 80 years.
Claus Jungeblut, M.D., prevented and treated polio in the mid-1930s, using a vitamin. Chest specialist Frederick Klenner, M.D., was curing multiple sclerosis and polio back in the 1940s, also using vitamins. William Kaufman, M.D., cured arthritis, also in the 1940s. In the 1950s, Drs. Wilfrid and Evan Shute were curing various forms of cardiovascular disease with a vitamin. At the same time, psychiatrist Abram Hoffer was using niacin to cure schizophrenia, psychosis, and depression. In the 1960s, Robert Cathcart, M.D., cured influenza, pneumonia, and hepatitis. In the 1970s, Hugh D. Riordan, M.D., was obtaining cures of cancer with intravenous vitamin C. Dr. Harold Foster and colleagues arrested and reversed full-blown AIDS with nutrient therapy, and in just the last few years, Atsuo Yanagasawa, M.D., Ph.D., has shown that vitamin therapy can prevent and reverse sickness caused by exposure to nuclear radiation. Since 1968, much of this research has been published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. This book brings forward important material selected from over forty-five years of JOM directly to the reader.
At 800 pages, The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease is a very large book, but it is also a very practical book. If you want to know which illnesses best respond to nutrition therapy, and how and why that therapy works, this is the book for you. Part One presents the principles of orthomolecular medicine and the science behind them. Part Two is devoted to orthomolecular pioneers, presenting an introduction to maverick doctors and nutrition scientists in a reader-friendly way that brings the subject to life. Part Three brings together extraordinary clinical and experimental evidence from expert researchers and clinicians.
If the word "cure" intrigues you, this book will also. The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease shows exactly how innovative physicians have gotten outstanding results with high-dose nutrient therapy. Their work is here for you to see and decide for yourself.
Andrew W. Saul, M.S., Ph.D., is editor-in-chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine and is a board member of the Japanese College of Intravenous Therapy. He has published over 180 peer-reviewed articles and has written or coauthored twelve books. Dr. Saul was on the faculty of the State University of New York for nine years, and has won three competitive New York Empire State Fellowships for teachers. He is featured in the documentary movies Food Matters and That Vitamin Movie. In 2013, Saul was inducted into the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame. His website DoctorYourself.com is the largest non-commercial natural healing resource on the Internet.
The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease, subtitled "65 Experts on Therapeutic and Preventive Nutrition," is a complete course in nutritional healing for less than fifty dollars.
$49.95 in USA. (large format quality paperback) ISBN-10: 1591203708 ISBN-13: 978-1591203704
Also in hardcover, $69.95 in USA. ISBN-10: 1591203929 ISBN-13: 978-1591203926
"If you only buy one book this year, this is it. The value of this book, for which no praise is high enough, lies in its massive accumulation of proof."
Vitality magazine
WHAT'S IN THE BOOK?
Foreword by Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD
Acknowledgments
Preface by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc
Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD: An Appreciation
Introduction
PART ONE: FOUNDATIONS OF ORTHOMOLECULAR THERAPY
When Evidence Is a Choice by Andrew W. Saul, PhD;
Linus Pauling and the Advent of Orthomolecular Medicine by Stephen Lawson;
Pandeficiency Disease by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Reflections on Two Modern Medical Research Ideas: Double-blind Trials and Peer Reviews by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Megavitamins by Harvey M. Ross, MD;
Vitamin Dependency by Andrew W. Saul, PhD;
"Safe Upper Levels" for Nutritional Supplements: One Major Step Backward by Alan Gaby, MD;
Death by Medicine by Gary Null, PhD, Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, Martin Feldman, MD, and Debora Rasio, MD;
"Supernutrition" as a Strategy for the Control of Disease by Roger Williams, PhD;
Orthomolecular Psychiatry by Linus Pauling, PhD;
Observations on the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range of a Vitamin in Human Pathology by Frederick Klenner, MD;
Early Evidence about Vitamin C and the Common Cold by Linus Pauling, PhD;
Dynamic Flow: A New Model for Ascorbate by Steve Hickey PhD, Hilary Roberts, PhD, and Robert F. Cathcart, MD;
The Third Face of Vitamin C by Robert F. Cathcart, MD;
The Method of Determining Proper Doses of Vitamin C for the Treatment of Disease by Titrating to Bowel Tolerance by Robert F. Cathcart, MD;
The Origin of the 42-Year Stonewall of Vitamin C by Robert Landwehr;
Children, Vitamin C, and Medical Progress by Lendon H. Smith, MD;
Clinical Procedures in Treating Terminally Ill Cancer Patients with Vitamin C by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
PART TWO: PIONEERS OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE
Hall of Fame Pioneers
Ilya Metchnikov, PhD, Joseph Goldberger, MD, William McCormick, MD, Max Gerson, MD, Casimir Funk, PhD;
Cornelius Moerman, MD, Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi, MD, PhD;
Roger J. Williams, PhD;
William Griffin Wilson;
Ruth Flinn Harrell, PhD,
Linus Pauling, PhD,
Henry Turkel, MD,
Adelle Davis, M.Sc.,
Thomas L. Cleave, MD;
Carl C. Pfeiffer, MD, PhD;
Irwin Stone, PhD;
Josef Issels, MD;
Frederick Klenner, MD;
Wilfrid Shute, MD, and Evan Shute, MD;
Allan Cott, MD;
Carlton Fredericks, PhD;
William Kaufman, MD, PhD;
Hugh MacDonald Sinclair, MD;
Arthur M. Sackler, MD;
Max J. Vogel, MD;
Emanuel Cheraskin, MD, DMD;
Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Humphry Osmond, MD;
Lendon H. Smith, MD;
Ewan Cameron, MD;
Fannie H. Kahan;
R. Glen Green, MD;
Archie Kalokerinos, MD;
David R. Hawkins, MD, PhD;
Bernard Rimland, PhD;
Bruce Ames, PhD;
Robert F. Cathcart III, MD;
Richard Kunin, MD;
Hugh Desaix Riordan, MD;
Masatoshi Kaneko, PhD;
Hiroyuki Abe, MD, PhD,
Chris Reading, MD,
David Horrobin, MD,
Michael Lesser, MD,
Erik T. Paterson, MD,
Sister Theresa Feist
Harold D. Foster, PhD,
Jonathan V. Wright, MD,
Jeffrey Bland, PhD,
Tsuyohi Kitahara
Ed Desaulniers, MD,
Alan R. Gaby, MD,
Ronald E. Hunninghake, MD,
Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD,
Gert Schuitemaker, PhD,
Steven Carter,
Andrew W. Saul, PhD.
Other Nutrient Pioneers
James Caleb Jackson, MD,
Bernard Adolphus Macfadden,
Elmer McCollum, PhD,
Claus Washington Jungeblut, MD
PART THREE: ORTHOMOLECULAR TREATMENT
Alcoholism
The Alcoholic: How Sick Into Treatment? How Well When Discharged? by Elizabeth Gentaial;
The Reflection of Hypoglycemia and Alcoholism on Personality: Nutrition as a Mode of Treatment by Elsa Colby-Morley, EdD, PhD;
Guidelines in Treating the Alcoholic Patient in the General Hospital with Orthomolecular Therapy by Nathan Brody, MD;
A Biochemical Denominator in the Primary Prevention of Alcoholism by E. Cheraskin, MD, DMD, and W. M. Ringsdorf, Jr., DMD;
Alzheimer's Disease
High Doses of Vitamins Fight Alzheimer's Disease by the Orthomolecular News Service;
The Prevention of Memory Loss and Progression to Alzheimer's Disease with B Vitamins, Antioxidants and Essential Fatty Acids: A Review of the Evidence by Patrick Holford;
How Aluminum Causes Alzheimer's Disease: The Implications for Prevention and Treatment of Foster's Multiple Antagonist Hypothesis by Harold Foster, PhD;
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Child Psychiatry: Does Modern Psychiatry Treat or Abuse? by Abram A. Hoffer, MD, PhD;
The Benefits of Going Beyond Conventional Therapies for ADHD by Gary Null, PhD, and Martin Feldman, MD;
Treatment of Learning Disabilities by Allan Cott, MD;
Vitamin Treatment of Hyperactivity in Children and Youth: Review of the Literature and Practical Treatment Recommendations by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc;
The Adverse Effects of Food Additives on Health: A Review of the Literature with Special Emphasis on Childhood Hyperactivity by Tuula E. Tuormaa;
Raising Student Achievement Through Better Nutrition by Helen F. Saul, MS Ed;
Treating Children with Hyperactive Syndrome: A Memoir by M.C. Giammatteo PhD, EdD;
Cancer
Vitamin C and Cancer by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Antioxidant Nutrients and Cancer by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Vitamin C: A Case History of an Alternative Cancer Therapy by John Hoffer, MD, PhD;
The Real Story of Vitamin C and Cancer by Steve Hickey PhD, and Hilary Roberts, PhD;
Schedule-Dependence in Cancer Therapy: What is the True Scenario for Vitamin C? by Jorge Duconge, PhD, Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, PharmD, Michael J. Gonzalez, PhD, and Neil H. Riordan, PhD;
Ten Questions For Doctors: A UK Cancer Patient's Quest For Ascorbic Acid Therapy by Graham Carey with Andrew W. Saul, PhD;
Vitamin C and Chemotherapy by Steve Hickey, PhD, and Hilary Roberts, PhD
Sixteen-Year History with High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C Treatment for Various Types of Cancer and Other Diseases by James A. Jackson, PhD, Hugh D. Riordan, MD, Nancy L. Bramhall, RN, and Sharon Neathery, MT
Intravenous Ascorbate Treatment of Breast Cancer: A Case Report by Bernhard G. Welker, MD;
High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C and Long-Time Survival of a Patient with Cancer of Head of the Pancreas by James A. Jackson, PhD, Hugh D. Riordan, MD, Ronald E. Hunninghake, MD, Neil Riordan
High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C in the Treatment of a Patient with Renal Cell Carcinoma of the Kidney by Hugh D. Riordan, MD, James A. Jackson, PhD, Neil H. Riordan, and Mavis Schultz
Case Study: High-Dose Intravenous Vitamin C in the Treatment of a Patient with Adenocarcimona of the Kidney by Hugh D. Riordan, MD; James A. Jackson, PhD, and Mavis Schultz;
Schedule Dependence in Cancer Therapy: Intravenous Vitamin C and the Systemic Saturation Hypothesis by Michael J. Gonzalez, DSc, PhD, Jorge R. Miranda Massari, PharmD, Jorge Duconge, PhD, Neil H. Riordan, PhD, Thomas Ichim, PhD;
A Nutritious Cocktail for the Treatment of Melanoma: A Case Report by Joao Libanio G. de Oliveira, MD;
Acute Myeloid Leukemia: An Orthomolecular Case Study by Michael Friedman, ND, Erik T. Paterson, MD;
Antioxidant Vitamins Reduce the Risk for Cancer: (Parts One and Two) by Michael J. Glade, PhD, CNS;
Vitamin C and Cancer: Is There a Use for Oral Vitamin C? by Steve Hickey, PhD, and Hilary Roberts, PhD;
Integrative Oncology for Clinicians and Cancer Patients by Michael B. Schachter, MD.
Cardiovascular Disease
An Orthomolecular Theory of Human Health and Disease by Linus Pauling, PhD, and Matthias Rath, MD;
A Unified Theory of Human Cardiovascular Disease Leading the Way to the Abolition of This Disease as a Cause for Human Mortality by Matthias Rath, MD, and Linus Pauling PhD;
Introduction of Niacin as the First Successful Treatment for Cholesterol Control: A Reminiscence by William B. Parsons, Jr., MD;
Orthomolecular Medicine and Heart Health: Unmasking the Magnesium Link to Multiple Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease by Aileen Burford-Mason, PhD;
Treatment of Hypertension from an Orthomolecular Medicine Standpoint by George D. O'Clock, PhD;
Nutritional Treatments for Hypertension by Eric R. Braverman, MD, and Ed Weissberg;
Acquired Atherosclerosis: Theories of Causation, Novel Therapies by Joseph G. Hattersley, MA;
The Role of Homocysteine in Human Health by K. J. McLaughlin, DC.
Depression and Anxiety
Vitamin B3 for Depression by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc;
The Effect of Folic Acid and B12 on Depression: Twelve Case Studies by Joseph A. Mitchell, PhD;
Supplemental Niacinamide Mitigates Anxiety Symptoms: Three Case Reports by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc;
Niacinamide's Potent Role in Alleviating Anxiety with Its Benzodiazepine-like Properties: A Case Report by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc;
A Biochemist's Experience with GABA by Phyllis J. Bronson, PhD;
Agoraphobia: A Nutritionally Responsive Disorder by Laraine Abbey, RN.
Drug Addiction
Attenuation of Heroin Withdrawal Syndrome by the Administration of High-Dose Vitamin C by Alexander G. Schauss, PhD;
Methodology: Use of Orthomolecular Techniques for Alcohol and Drug Abuse in a Post-Detox Setting by Alfred F. Libby, PhD, Oscar Rasmussen, PhD, Wesley Smart, Charles Starling, MD, Patricia Haas, Cortland McLeod, John J. Wauchope, and Hortensia Gutierrez;
Massive Vitamin C as an Adjunct in Methadone Maintenance and Detoxification by Jordan Scher, MD, Harry Rice, MD, Suck-oo Kim, MD, Ralph DiCamelli, PhD, and Helen O'Connor, RN;
The Hypoascorbemia-Kwashiorkor Approach to Drug Addition Therapy: A Pilot Study by Alfred F. Libby, PhD, and Irwin Stone, PhD;
The Use of Ascorbic Acid and Mineral Supplements in the Detoxification of Narcotic Addicts by Valentine Free, MA, and Pat Sanders, RN;
Niacin for Detoxification: A Little-Known Therapeutic Use by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc.
Eye Diseases
Nutrition and Eye Diseases by Robert G. Smith, PhD;
Cataracts and Orthomolecular Treatment by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Cataracts and Vitamins: The Real Story by Damien Downing, MBBS, MSB, and Robert G. Smith, PhD;
Successful Reversal of Retinitis Pigmentosa by Merrill J. Allen, OD, PhD, and Raymond W. Lowry, OD;
Eye-Pressure Lowering Effect of Vitamin C by Herschell H. Boyd, MD.
Fatigue
Staged Management for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Erik T. Paterson, MD;
Changes In Worker Fatigue After Vitamin C Administration by Hang-Hwan Yeom, MD, PhD, Gyou Chul Jung, MD, Sang Woo Shin, MD et al.
HIV/AIDS
Orthomolecular Treatment of AIDS by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
HIV/AIDS: A Nutrient Deficiency Disease? by Harold Foster, PhD;
The Failure of Medical Science to Prevent and to Adequately Treat HIV/AIDS: An Orthomolecular Opportunity by Harold D. Foster;
Nutritional Supplements Can Delay the Progression of AIDS in HIV-Infected Patients: Results from a Double-Blinded, Clinical Trial at Mengo Hospital, Kampala, Uganda by Edith Namulemia, M.BchB., M.Sc. Epid., James Sparling, MD, Harold D. Foster, PhD;
Highly Beneficial Results in the Treatment of AIDS by Joan C. Priestly, MD;
The Successful Orthomolecular Treatment of AIDS: Accumulating Evidence from Africa by Marnie Bradfield, MA, and Harold D. Foster, PhD.
Radiation Sickness
Vitamin C Prevents and Reverses Radiation Damage by Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD;
Vitamin C as Protection Against Radiation Exposure by Gert E. Schuitemaker, PhD;
Schizophrenia and Other Mental Illness
Orthomolecular Treatment for Schizophrenia: A Review (Part One) by Raymond J. Pataracchia, ND;
Orthomolecular Treatment for Schizophrenia: A Review (Part Two) by Raymond J. Pataracchia, ND;
Chronic Schizophrenic Patients Treated Ten Years or More by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD;
Background to Niacin Treatment by Humphry Osmond, MD, DPM;
Zinc and Manganese in the Schizophrenias by Carl C. Pfeiffer, MD, PhD, and Scott LaMola;
Orthomolecular Treatment of Schizophrenia by Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD with Frances Fuller, RNCP;
Orthomolecular Psychiatric Treatments Are Preferable to Mainstream Psychiatric Drugs: A Rational Analysis by Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc;
Controlled Fasting Treatment for Schizophrenia by Allan Cott, MD.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Where Are the Bodies? The Safety of Antioxidants and Micronutrients
Appendix 2: The Riordan Intravenous Vitamin C Protocol
Appendix 3: Radiation Injury Protocol
For Further Reading
About the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine
About the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine
Index
About the Editor
FROM THE FOREWORD
Orthomolecular medicine prevents and treats diseases by providing optimal amounts of substances that are natural to the body. This means that we can prevent and treat illness and maintain ideal health through proper diet with the supplemental addition of vitamins, minerals, essential fats, and amino acids. Orthomolecular medicine has been proven to be effective, with considerable medical evidence from the leaders and pioneers, including Dr. Abram Hoffer and Dr. Linus Pauling, the two-time Nobel Prize winner.
Orthomolecular medicine provides effective treatments without adverse effects, unlike synthetic medicine, by enhancing the body's natural healing power to fight chronic diseases. Our colleagues and other healthcare professionals have successfully treated thousands of patients with chronic diseases utilizing orthomolecular medicine and nutritional therapy.
Nutritional therapy should be the first choice for treatment and prevention of diseases. We should choose standard medicine only when nutritional treatment has proven ineffective, because it is a doctor's duty to choose a safe treatment with the least adverse effects.
Nutritional treatment has evolved in the long history of humankind, proving its safety and effectiveness. Orthomolecular medicine has been established as a scientific way of treatment. Our second choice - the standard treatment - uses pharmaceutical drugs as the lead option. The reason for its placement as the second choice is that tens of millions of people suffer every year from the adverse effects of drugs, and hundreds of thousands are dying from them. This simple fact is surely enough for us to realize that our first choice should be nutritional treatment.
Unfortunately, it has become the norm in the last 20 to 30 years for doctors and patients to choose drugs as soon as they spot a disease. What we consider as a "dangerous drug" is their first choice. Behind this trend are the pharmaceutical giants, who grow rich from people choosing the dangerous products. Magazines, newspapers, and television do not seem to hesitate when advertising the drugs that may be harmful for the patients. We have to give a cautious look at how we treat diseases, and take a lead in spreading the safe way of medicine with nutritional treatment.
For that purpose, Dr. Andrew W. Saul has compiled The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease. Dr. Saul is an educator on orthomolecular medicine for doctors, as well as an evangelist to enlighten the public with the excellence of nutritional treatment. He has made a global contribution by establishing www.DoctorYourself.com where the correct medical information is communicated. He has long served as an editorial board member for the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, and also as the editor-in-chief of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service. The International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM) chose him as an inductee for Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame in 2013 for his contribution to the field for many years. I, as the president of ISOM, deeply appreciate his friendship and support as a great advisor.
Dr. Saul has reviewed numerous studies by nutritional pioneers published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and other publications. In editing this book, he has carefully chosen papers and reviews written by 65 experts.
As the president of ISOM, representing 23 organizations from 20 nations around the globe, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Saul for publishing this remarkable book, The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease. The book brilliantly and successfully captures what we need to know about orthomolecular medicine now. Its information should be viewed as a comprehensive seminal standard that has been long awaited by healthcare professionals worldwide who practice, or are planning to practice, orthomolecular medicine and nutrition. We know that there are doctors and scholars who have skepticism towards this field of medicine. This book will convey the scientific truth about orthomolecular medicine that will remove their suspicion.
Orthomolecular medicine is a science, philosophy, and an art that is beneficial to people's physical and mental health. I truly believe that this book will contribute to save many people who are suffering from chronic diseases, by encouraging the world to know what good orthomolecular medicine can do for their health.
Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD
President, International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine
PREFACE
The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease presents an opportunity to empower yourself with information about how to improve not only your life span (how long you live), but your health span (how well you live) as well.
People with chronic disease face a psychological and medical conundrum. Modern treatment of chronic illness often involves the use of one or more prescription drugs. These medications can cause medical mayhem within the body, which in turn can increase chronic disease susceptibility (e.g., hypertension, obesity, and immune dysfunction) as well as premature death (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, and infectious disease). What would happen if, instead of being drugged for life, such people had an opportunity to mostly use orthomolecular medicine based on the information in this book?
Orthomolecular medicine relies on natural substances normally present in the human body and brain (e.g., vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and hormones). These natural substances support the physiological and biochemical processes that the body and brain use to function normally, enabling people to reap tremendous psychological and physical benefits. In fact, the consistent use of orthomolecular medicine would mitigate other risks that increase chronic disease susceptibility as well as premature death.
Given the fact that many "modern" treatments make well people sick or sick people sicker, it makes sense to use this information to change your life and your future. For every health condition in The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease, there are reasonable orthomolecular alternatives that can lessen the burden of drug therapies, or perhaps replace drug therapies altogether. Why wait any longer? Go for it and help yourself and your loved ones live a healthier, more life-affirming, flourishing existence.
Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, MSc
Editor, Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine
"Finally: a book which shows orthomolecular medicine in a clinical and historical perspective. Without doubt a milestone in orthomolecular history itself."
Gert E. Schuitemaker, PhD (Ortho Institute, The Netherlands)
"A great book."
Helsemagasinet magazine, Norway
"If tomorrow, every health practitioner started applying the information in The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease, the improvement in the health of the nation and the reduction in suffering would be unprecedented."
John I. Mosher, PhD, Professor, State University of New York
"The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease sounds like a book you would take to school. It's not. It's easy to read and easy to follow. It's the most terrific book out there."
The Body Talk Health Show
"Fantastic, marvelous! This is extremely fine medicine."
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, MD, Finland
"The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease will contribute to saving many people who are suffering from chronic diseases, by encouraging the world to know what nutritional medicine can do for their health."
Atsuo Yanagisawa, MD, PhD, Japan
"A terrific volume and wealth of information. A tremendous achievement."
Jonathan E. Prousky, ND, Canada
Review of The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease, from the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine:
Just as it seems the whole the world is moving to e-books and soundbites of the internet, Andrew Saul, true to his contrarian ways, saw it as necessary to bring to the world this weighty 800-page reference work, The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease.
Follow his thinking and you'll discover some great reasons why you need this book in your practice. Despite the hundreds of books on the subject, Saul perceived that there is a blind spot: namely, there was no adequate showcase for the longest continuously published orthomolecular resource in the world: The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. This book aims to correct that with a well thought out compilation of 46 years of Journal papers on both theory and practice, the historical personages and pioneers, and innovative therapies for chronic conditions as discovered by the many orthomolecular healers who contributed over the years.
The book is divided into three major parts. Part One details the foundations of orthomolecular therapy and the science behind it. In this section Saul states that progress in orthomolecular medicine can be divided into two classes: major, paradigm-shifting discoveries and the many smaller advances which build and expand the applicability of the pioneers' overall vision. This process has churned along for a half-century and, as Saul explains, it began with a long, quiet incubation period, until a critical mass of consciousness change took place, and the advances progressed rapidly. This ascent is the exciting age in which we now live, and so, Part One charts some of the major and minor innovations and principles in a selection of 20 Journal papers. Foundational papers, for example, would include the theoretical paper Orthomolecular Psychiatry by Linus Pauling, along with Frederick Klenner's practical Observations on the Dose and Administration of Ascorbic Acid When Employed Beyond the Range of a Vitamin in Human Pathology.
Fleshing out this overview are papers which expand the main ideas into specific areas such as cancer and pediatric psychiatry. Wisely included are specific articles on what we might call the "vitamin wars:" the politics of orthomolecular vs. conventional medicine (i.e. safe upper limits of nutrients; research methods; the limitations of drugs and dangers of iatrogenic disease). Through these battles, we gain an appreciation of how even the best ideas get waylaid out of fear and prejudice. Throughout this section Saul excerpts pertinent commentary from his own JOM writings to connect the dots into a coherent whole
Part II, Pioneers of Orthomolecular Medicine, show us some of the lively personalities that created this movement in medicine. When we consider that most vitamins were discovered within the last 80 years, we are young; many of the main figures today represent just the second generation after the originators from the last century. With so small a pantheon, nothing can familiarize ourselves better than Orthomolecular Medicine's Annual Hall of Fame Awards which take place at our yearly conferences. In this evening a handful of pioneers are celebrated and presented with a multimedia biography of their life's work. Saul here gathers the biographies of 56 pioneers and advocates, some passed on but many who are still with us. The value of this section is that the OM Hall of Fame is about the only place you're likely to hear of the existence of many of these quiet geniuses, some of whose work is locked away in paper archives and forgotten, despite their tremendous contribution and promise to our sick age.
Part III brings the best of JOM's knowledge base to bear on specific chronic diseases such as alcoholism, cancer, depression, schizophrenia and pediatric mental health. Not intended to be an exhaustive list, it samples what is possible, with a selection of disease categories drawn from the classic papers of contributing authors and experts. Instead of searching through the decades of journals, Saul has helpfully selected his estimation of our "greatest hits" for common chronic diseases. In the case of cancer there are clinical papers from Abram Hoffer, Hugh Riordan, Michael Schachter and Linus Pauling. Likewise in schizophrenia are invaluable works by Abram Hoffer, Humphrey Osmond and Jonathan Prousky. These sections are rich in case histories, physician observation, successes, setbacks, and practicalities. What becomes clear here is that chronic disease is where orthomolecular therapy shines; unfortunately it's the one thing that our taxed health care system is ill equipped to explore and adopt.
Saul also includes some valuable appendices which include immuno-boosting IV vitamin C protocols of Frederick Klenner, Vitamin C anticancer therapies at the Riordan clinic and radiation injury treatment protocols of Atsuo Yanagisawa. They form a testament to the power of the optimum dose.
The Orthomolecular Treatment of Chronic Disease succeeds very well in bringing together over 45 years of published research from the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. More than an encyclopedia, it's a self-contained education on the history, personalities and major discoveries all wrapped up with applications to specific diseases. Large as it is, it's imminently more practical than 45 years of brittle journals on a groaning bookshelf. It's one of the best synopses of our venerable JOM as you'll ever see.
(Review written by Greg Schilhab)
Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE
YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews athttp://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html
) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html
)
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