Shall we exercise logic in health?
1 - If the smallest parts of the human body, from the brain to the big toe, are cells, when they get sick, the body gets sick.
2 - For cells to function, they need basic conditions (these: icaro.med.br/12habitos), such as constant maintenance and repair, oxygen and nutrients for this (to be used in the structure of the cell parts and as fuels, for energy generation: most cellular processes require some kind of energy). When nutrients are lacking, therefore, it is logical to assume that this leads to disturbances, which the body manifests as symptoms and diseases.
3 - Hundreds of different cells require hundreds of different nutrients which, ideally, should come from a good diet. However, the WHO estimates that almost 70% of the world's population eats poorly and, in Brazil, the IBGE estimates that 90% of the Brazilian population eats poorly. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that the diversified nutrient intake of most human beings is insufficient in quantity and quality (due to poor diet) - and we have already concluded, logically, that a lack of nutrients makes people ill (it is not the only form of illness, but, as we have seen, it is an important mechanism in the generation and aggravation of diseases).
4 - Preventing and treating diseases, therefore, necessarily involves improving the delivery of nutrients to most people's cells, something they can learn to do themselves or with the support of trained professionals (usually health professionals and, above all, with the support of good nutritionists). Being self-taught in this area is difficult because, nowadays, it really is easier to obtain knowledge, but the quality of this knowledge is often questionable, mainly due to prejudices, outdated information and even “vested interests” spread around, often even on the part of “official” entities. On top of this, non-health professionals often lack “background” in terms of biochemistry, physiology, which tests to request, how to evaluate them, how to plan/calculate and execute a diet, etc. We agree, therefore, that in order for nutrients to reach our cells properly (and so we can better prevent and treat diseases), we need to be monitored by good health professionals (here's the key to making the right choice - go here: https://icaro.med.br/?s=bons+profissionais).
5 - Why good health professionals? Four essential reasons for you to reflect:
Good nutrient intake can basically come from good nutrition (most recommended), good supplementation (formulas that provide nutrients) or a combination of both. A good health professional will know how to deal with this issue, which other professionals they can enlist to support them, make the necessary changes (in diet and/or supplementation) and combine them with other treatments - all with the aim of properly nourishing the cells (or they'll get sick, remember?).
Most health professionals have little emphasis during their undergraduate studies on the importance of each nutrient, the interactions between them, their metabolism and their actual sufficiency in the body. That's why they either get up to speed on good sources after college or they don't give the issue its due importance. For doctors, the most common approach is a clinical training that prioritizes “identifying the disease and prescribing remedies for it”; for traditional nutritionists, in the clinical part, there is a greater emphasis on supplying the basics against standards of supposed “normality”, which are more acceptable than ideal. And who wants to have only acceptable health?
✅ If your health professional “does his part” but at least refers the patient to a competent and up-to-date Nutritional Medicine professional, OK. But what often happens is that the patient arrives with symptoms, for example, to see a doctor who looks up the “name of the disease” in the light of the symptoms reported and prescribes one or more remedies that are somewhat “protocol” for that disease, without giving much thought to the basic conditions or nutrient imbalances that may be causing those symptoms. The patient then leaves the doctor's office more often with medication than with advice on how to improve their habits, dietary pattern and supplementation which, given all that has been said (apart from emergency situations), in most cases would be adequate and sufficient to improve the symptoms/diseases and even cure them. This is why recurrences of pathologies and even their worsening are common: if the cause is not treated and only the symptoms are “attenuated” or blocked, the imbalance continues to evolve, worsening silently or as the patient “gets used” to living with various symptoms.
Always remember that medicines are substances foreign to the body (and therefore more likely to have side effects, especially with chronic use) and are designed to help the body's self-healing processes, not to replace the importance of nutrients, supplements, vitamins and minerals.
6 - Logic, therefore, demands that every good health professional, especially when acting clinically, when receiving a patient and consulting them carefully and in detail, always understand that their disorders (symptoms and diseases) possibly have nutrient disorders (most commonly deficiencies) at their root (or as a maintaining and aggravating factor) and that the ideal would be to seriously consider correcting the Basic Conditions and better nutrition and adequate supplementation (outside of emergency and urgent situations) before prescribing specific medicines or procedures (or at least alongside this) - this would greatly reduce the consequences of drug abuse, bring better results and even allow for better prevention of further deterioration in health by strengthening the body, which naturally tends to function better when it receives the basics it needs to do so.
7 - For all these reasons, my suggestion is that you choose health professionals in general to accompany you who have the minimum knowledge of what I have explained above, which I call Nutritional Medicine, and who value the practice of this with patients. And when choosing doctors and nutritionists, in any clinical area, I believe that such care is even more important, with a view to better results for you and less medication (which, in some cases, can even generate bad effects and addictive reactions). I've explained it above, but it's worth pointing out that most medical schools still teach too much about diagnosing and prescribing the right medicine, even though, most of the time, what you really need are the right nutrients and habits. After all, often, especially chronically:
- Muscle pain may need magnesium or potassium replacement more than anti-inflammatory drugs;
- Poor bowel function may require more water, fiber and probiotics than laxatives;
- Changes in blood glucose may require chromium and vanadium more than antidiabetic drugs;
- Depression may respond better to omega-3 than to antidepressants;
- Anxiety may respond better to GABA than to tranquilizers;
- Tiredness may respond more to D-ribose than to stimulants;
- Immunity may respond more to taurine and theanine than to immunostimulants;
- The body can fight infections better with pantethine, B-complex and vitamin C than with antibiotics;
- Memory and cognition may respond better to the B complex than to dementia drugs;
- Metabolism may respond better to vitamin D replacement than to the use of sibutramine.
It's not that medicines don't have their importance (sometimes they are fundamental); it's just that, before them, many important things, such as nutrients, may be being forgotten by those who prioritize medicines and know little or nothing about Nutritional Medicine. It's all a matter of logic, isn't it? Reflect and benefit.
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