Nutrition Articles by Richard Kunin, MD

From Cancer to Polio

Megavitamin therapy is the most exciting area of nutrient therapy and the most controversial. There is a mystique about megavitamins. The name itself implies power and extremism and there are, indeed, reports of benefits in almost every medical disorder. Low doses of nutrients are established in the prevention and treatment of specific deficiency diseases. Megadoses, however, offer benefits beyond vitamin action and into the realm of pharmacologic or drug therapy.

This is not a small subject so let me offer a few applications to illustrate the scope of meganutrient therapy: Vitamin A in preventing post-operative immune deficiency; also in preventing and even reversing certain cancers. Carotene in preventing certain cancers and in reducing cardiovascular disease. Vitamin E in peripheral vascular disease and lung disorders due to smog or high altitude. Vitamin K to promote healing of bone fractures. Vitamin B1 as an adjunct in treating lead poisoning. Vitamin B2 in combatting adverse effects of psychiatric drugs. Niacin for lowering blood cholesterol, and in treating schizophrenia. Pantothenic acid to bolster adrenal steroid output and combat allergy and stress. Folic acid in preventing birth defects and in treating 'restless legs.' Vitamin B6 in pre-menstrual syndrome, autism and epilepsy. Vitamin B12 in depression and fatigue syndrome. Biotin in some cases of epilepsy and diabetes. Ubiquinone in congestive heart failure. Carnitine for extra reserve athletic performance. Choline for tardive dyskinesia and, finally, inositol for diabetic neuropathy.

Read more: Mega-Nutrient Therapy

Nutrition doomsayers often warn against taking vitamins, especially in large doses. Are megavitamins dangerous? The truth of the matter is that vitamins are in a class by themselves when it comes to safety. They are safe, even at large doses, so long as the warning signs of toxicity are heeded. Even the fat soluble vitamins, A and D offer treatment benefits that far outweigh the adverse effects of overdose. But isn’t that what doctors are for, to help patients use medicines safely and effectively. It is just common sense that megavitamins should be used under medical supervision. Unfortunately the medical profession is just now recovering from "malnutrition." It is not easy to find an experienced and knowledgeable nutrition-physician.

Read more: Megadose B12 Therapy

Mercury makes up about half a gram, i.e.. 500 mg or 500,000 mcg, per ton (about 1000 Kg) of the Earth's crust, mostly as a reddish mercuric sulfide, known as cinnabar.  Thus mercury is naturally present in our food, ranging up to 50 ppb in fruits, vegetables and grains, 200 ppb for meats and 600 ppb for fish.  This translates as 600 ng (i.e. 0.6 mcg) per gram.  When mercury concentrations are higher than this it is certainly due to agricultural chemicals, such as mercury fungicides. 

Read more: Mercury Misery

Philip had been steadily losing his grip—literally—for four years, since he first began to notice that his left hand would shake when he tried to hold his fork. He got really alarmed when his left foot started to go. Before long one could trace his route by the marks his toe left on floors after he went by. He bumped into doors, took a few spills, dropped things and began to lose the self-confidence that had given him the courage to start his own real-estate business. He also became steadily more fatigued and he mysteriously lost 20 pounds in weight. He was only 38 years old. Where would it end?

Read more: Multiple Sclerosis: a Case History

I remember a drug company advertisement this past year, which used the expression "strong medicine" to catch the eye of the wary and erudite doctors. I have already forgotten what the medication was—so much for advertising. What does matter is that the phrase did catch my eye and I thought the thought: "too bad that most patients and their doctors fail to realize that nutrients are also strong medicine." In fact, in treating deficiency diseases, the corrective nutrients are the strongest possible medicines. No matter how clever or powerful a new drug treatment may be, the fact is that sickness is not likely a result of medication deficiency. This is not to deny the benefits of pharmacology; and "strong medicine" can improve the odds of recovery and perhaps give some comfort or relief of symptoms. But there is no known disease that is caused by drug deficiency. On the other hand every nutrient deficiency is potentially fatal! That is one of the most persuasive arguments in favor of putting nutrition first. To correct a nutrient deficiency is "strong medicine."

Read more: Nutrient Therapy—Strong Medicine!

Nutrition and Pollution are moving to center-stage in medicine today, competing with Infection and Genetics, i.e. germs and genes, which have been the main concepts in our classification of disease for the past 100 years. Germs and genes are 19^th century concepts that have matured in the light of 20^th century chemistry and molecular biology, culminating in antibiotics and genetic engineering. Food and poisons, are pre-historic concepts, they have been with us forever; but advances in science and technology help us to see them in a new light, beyond the concept of food and into the realm of nutrients, components of food that are essential to health.

Read more: Nutrition: Pollution Medicine

It’s All About Dose

Modern medicine is still at the early stages of research regarding the optimal intakes of nutrients. The field is controversial and subject to revision and the best advice available at present is the warning to beware of over-eating all types of food. This is based on considerable research that shows protein excess is bad for the kidneys; fat excess is bad for the blood vessels and sugar excess causes a long list of complications, ranging from dental cavities to hyperactivity and influencing both diabetes and hypoglycemia in between.

With that in mind, how should one react to a research report that tells us that sugar intake has no effect on children's behavior, that it is essentially of no effect?! The sweet truth is that sugar got a reprieve from the New England Journal of Medicine. Before you go on a sugar binge, however, I think there is also a bitter truth in this report: that the research design of this study was faulty and the conclusions are therefore invalid.

Read more: Optimal Sugar