THE HOLISTIC PHARMACY APPROACH TO HEALTH

by Dr. Pamela A. Popper

More and more people are seeking out holistic practitioners - and many practitioners, including MD's and DO's, are advertising that they offer a holistic approach. This is refreshing in that it shows that there are open-minded healthcare professionals who are trying to respond to the wishes of their patients. However, a common byproduct of visits with holistic practitioners is the recommendation to take supplements - sometimes a long list of supplements. The problem is that there is little to no scientific justification for the advice to take isolated nutrient supplements in most cases.

The two most common reasons, in my experience, given to justify the use of supplements are either that most people suffer from certain deficiencies that can be remedied by taking them, or that they are effective for relieving symptoms of disease. I disagree with these recommendations for several reasons. First, I'll acknowledge that most people are suffering from nutrient deficiencies, even though they consume enough, or in most instances, too much food. The reason is that they are eating calorie-rich but nutrient-deficient foods. This is best remedied by converting to a program of dietary excellence. There are thousands of nutrients in foods, and the body does not need a lot of any of them daily, but does need a little of all of them. Eating a deficient diet and taking a few supplement pills does not provide the wide range of nutrients needed for optimal health, and there is no scientific evidence to indicate that doing so reduces the risk of developing disease, the risk of premature death, or has the capacity to reverse degenerative disease.

Another issue is that a major shortcoming of Westernized medicine is paying too much attention to the relief of symptoms, rather than working to identify the underlying cause of disease and reverse it. People develop a false sense of security as a result - their symptoms are eliminated, and in many cases their biomarkers are normal. But the root cause of their condition is untreated, and they will inevitably experience declining health. This is one of the reasons why so many elderly people are taking multiple medications - the original condition that developed was never treated properly, and not only did their health continue to decline, but eventually the side effects of the drugs caused other health problems as well. The recommendation to take supplements instead of pharmaceutical drugs offers little advantage. The supplements may be less toxic, and symptoms, in some instances, can be suppressed, but there is no evidence that supplements prevent or reverse disease, leaving the patient in still the same condition of declining health. In effect, these practitioners have become "holistic pharmacists" - they are prescribing supplements instead of drugs.

There are studies showing that certain isolated nutrient supplements positively affect some biomarkers of health. But the scientific literature has shown numerous times that the use of surrogate markers to measure health improvement is not effective. For example, oncologists justify many cancer treatments because they shrink tumors but for many forms of cancer, there is no increase in survival rate.

There is ample evidence that adopting a program of dietary excellence and optimal habits will reduce the risk of and reverse disease conditions. So, why do health care professionals continue to recommend supplements instead of dietary improvement?

The reason is training. Physicians, especially, are trained to mitigate symptoms with drugs. This same reductionist approach to health can also be applied to natural health, through the use of supplements. Many Continuing Education Programs, the supplement industry, and media articles stress this approach. Very few physicians have received training in Lifestyle Medicine - an approach that focuses on the totality of the diet and lifestyle as a means for preventing and reversing disease.

That's why Dr. T. Colin Campbell and I have developed a Lifestyle Medicine Certification Course that provides just such training for physicians and health care professionals. Most busy doctors do not have the time to engage in trial and error in order to learn new protocols, and are unwilling to risk their patients' health while they experiment. This course is taught by medical professionals who have been treating patients using diet and lifestyle intervention for many years, have tracked the results of their patients, and have published impressive articles in medical journals. Additionally, the program provides doctors with a financial model for the operation of their offices using this approach, since doctors, like everyone else, have to make a profit in order to stay in business.

If you are interested in more information about this program, you can visit our website at www.wellnessforum.com or call our office to set up a conference call at 614 841-7700 to discuss the applications for your office.

Article printed with permission from Dr. Pamela A. Popper and taken from Newsletters Vol 6 Issue 10 March 10, 2008. Dr. Popper is the founder and Executive Director of The Wellness Forum, a chain of health and wellness centers located throughout the United States and the Far East.