If you have specific health problems, it is important to have them diagnosed first. If they are chronic degenerative conditions, or your health practitioner says, “Well, what do you expect at your age?” then it is time to consider some of the therapeutic supplements that are described in the previous chapters. (You might also try to find a more responsive health practitioner.)
Your attempt to enhance your health is not a substitute for diagnosis and proper treatment of medical conditions. You can, however, enhance your health and increase the likelihood of success of any other treatment regimen. You will also probably decrease the side effects of medication and increase the rate of healing after surgery or other treatment.
Other Supplement Programs
Notes On Your Health Program
Various treatment programs for different health conditions have many similarities. This is because many of the same supplements help a variety of health problems. Also, sometimes different supplements help the same problem, and what works will vary from one person to another. For example, individual needs for the same nutrient may vary up to 40 times.
Your response to herbs and flavonoids may be quite different from the response of your neighbor, or even that of another family member. This is the nature of biochemical individuality. Fortunately, there are also a lot of similarities among people, and this allows physicians to learn what to do for one person from our experience with another. However, the differences between people may require adjusting what we learn and adapting it for the individual. This is part of the art of healing.
This program is a useful starting point for your own needs, or if you are a physician, it can be used as a foundation for developing treatment programs for your patients. You do not have to try everything at once. Whether you are just beginning a dietary supplement health program, or if you are a physician just starting in the field, you will benefit by trying only one or a few supplements and adding new ones as you become more familiar with the substances.
You know your body’s individual responses better than anyone else, in some ways even better than your health practitioner, and you have to use that information to create your own health or to help your health practitioner guide you. If your practitioners are unfamiliar with this information about dietary supplements, you can help them begin to understand it by giving them a copy of my book "Vitamin Revolution." This will help you to become a partner in your health care.