10 cures

Natural Health, Nov-Dec, 1998 by Robert (American physician) Atkins

See a doctor with a problem, and more than not, you'll be told, "Take this drug." I tell my patients, "Change your diet and take nutrients." Here's why, and the nutrients prescribe for 10 health problems.

For a quarter century, I've strived to replace the risky medical treatments that are commonly used to treat chronic diseases with safer, gentler measures that I have found to be consistently more effective. When treating chronic disease, it has always seemed senseless to me to first turn to drugs and other invasive procedures with all their side effects. * At the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan, patients are initially prescribed nutrient therapy, along with dietary and other lifestyle changes, to treat all kinds of health problems, some even life-threatening. We've seen these patients consistently overcome illness, often without drugs and surgical procedures that other doctors deemed necessary. * Forty-three-year-old Jack Spanfield is a good example. He came to our center with an 11-year history of ulcerative colitis. He had frequent bloody diarrhea, mucus, and cramps. Strong drugs hadn't helped Jack, and when I first saw him, he required two painkilling enemas daily. After two weeks of nutritional therapy and a sugar-free diet, he began to improve. In six weeks his bowel function was normal, and in three months he was off all medications. * Patients like Jack are told by their doctors that nothing but drugs can help them. My advice: Don't believe anyone who tells you that! * On the following pages are nutrient protocols (including vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other substances) that are used at the Atkins Center to successfully treat and prevent 10 serious and increasingly common chronic health conditions. Additional conditions are profiled in my latest book, Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature's Answer to Drugs (Simon & Schuster, 1998). This book contains nearly 1,000 scientific references that document the efficacy of specific nutrients.

Please note the following before you undertake any of these supplement programs:

* Consult with your doctor before discontinuing your drugs or combining nutrients with drugs (since the effectiveness of the nutrients could make the drugs unnecessary).

* Determine the cause of your sickness and correct it. Nutrients will help, but until the cause is eliminated, be it a bad diet, stress, or other factors, the problem will persist.

* Dosages represent the total daily amount to take, including the dosage that you will get from a basic formula (see sidebar, "Where to Start" at right). Divide the total amount into three or more equal doses to be taken with meals.

* Once you derive clear benefit from your program, taper down the quantities to one half.

* If a nutrient approach does not work, see a doctor informed in nutritional medicine. Nutrients may still help, but you need a tailored program.

* Take nutrients with meals, but take herbs 20 minutes before eating. If you are on a low-fat diet, make sure you take the following with a meal that contains some fat or oil (to ensure absorption): vitamins A, E, D, tocotrienols, carotenoids, lycopene, lutein, and Co[Q.sub.10]

ULCERS

Thought for a century to be the result of stress, ulcers are now believed to be caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. The lesions that form on the stomach walls did not occur before the refining of foods, leading one to think that they are caused, at least in part, by a heavy consumption of refined carbohydrates like sugar and flour. Of this I am certain: Reducing the intake of dietary carbohydrates helps heal ulcers. Adding fiber to the diet is also important, as are beneficial bacteria supplements. Moreover, the following nutrients are excellent for helping the two most common types of ulcers --duodenal and gastric--to heal.

Dr. Atkins Recommends

Gamma-oryzanol 450 TO 900 mg

Glutamine 1,500 TO 3,000 mg

Zinc 50 TO 100 mg

Vitamin U 120 to 240 mg

Pantethine(*) 600 TO 1,200 mg

Licorice 100 to 200 mg

Vitamin E 400 TO 800 IU

Cat's claw extract 500 TO 1,000 mg

Vitamin A 15,000 TO 30,000 IU

(*) Half pantethine and half panthenic acid.

MEMORY LOSS

The Coming of the new millennium has fostered widespread interest in ways to improve and maintain brain function with nutrients. Convincing scientific evidence has shown that nutrients are better than drugs at preserving our nerve cells. No drug has been proven to prevent memory loss. However, optimal nutrition can improve your memory, concentration, mood, and judgment, and will help you realize the maximum life span of your brain and nerves.

Dr. Atkins Recommends

B complex 50 TO 150 mg

Ginkgo biloba extract 60 TO 120 mg

[B.sub.6] 100 TO 200 mg

Folic acid(*) 3 TO 5 mg

[B.sub.12] 1,000 TO 2,000 mcg

[B.sub.1] 100 TO 200 mg

Octacosanol 6 TO 12 mg

(*) Women who need to shrink uterine fibroids, prevent breast cancer recurrences, or deal with endometriosis or fibrocystic breasts should keep daily supplemental folic acid below 600 mcg.

Fatigue

Without a doubt, the most common complaint I hear from my patients is fatigue. There are many reasons for this condition, including a chronic debilitating illness, a viral overload, an accumulation of external and internal toxic byproducts, an underactive thyroid, and a stressed immune system. But the most common cause of tiredness is diet--and, more specifically, unstable blood sugar. In other words, a diet high in protein and fat and low in simple sugars is usually the best approach for overcoming fatigue. However, other dietary practices can also help. You can optimize digestive health by avoiding metabolic poisons such as margarine and junk foods, eating several meals a day (as opposed to loading up at one or two meals), and avoiding caffeine and other stimulants.