 About Orthomolecular Therapy or Orthomolecular Medicine...
Orthomolecular Medicine is the practice of preventing and treating disease by providing the body with optimal amounts of substances which are natural to the body. The key idea in Orthomolecular Medicine is that genetic factors and health problems are central not only to your physical characteristics but also your biochemical make-up. Orthomolecular Medicine seeks to improve health by boosting specific nutrients.
Diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, schizophrenia or depression are associated with specific biochemical abnormalities, which are either causal or aggravating factors of the illness. In Orthomolecular Medicine, it is possible that the provision of vitamins, amino acids, trace elements or fatty acids in amounts sufficient to correct biochemical abnormalities will be therapeutic in preventing or treating such diseases.
We have been taking vitamin and mineral supplements to eliminate deficiencies for a long time, centuries in fact. Orthomolecular Medicine takes this idea one step further, proposing that larger than usual doses of certain nutrients can actually prevent or cure disease. Although there is still considerable debate over specific dosages and their therapeutic effects, the basic principle is now firmly established and widely accepted. Supplements of Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Vitamin E and D etc. are commonly taken to improve health and well-being but these can also be increased naturally through your diet and there is a diverse range of nutrients that are used in various doses and combinations as part of Orthomolecular medicine.
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