Orthomolecular Medicine for Everyone. Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
ORTHOMOLECULARMEDICINE FOREVERYONE
Megavitamin Therapeuticsfor Families and Physicians
Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD,and Andrew W. Saul, PhD
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the authors. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and authors are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the authors and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc. 28812 Top of the World Drive Laguna Beach, CA 92651 949-715-7327 • www.basichealthpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoffer, Abram
Orthomolecular medicine for everyone : megavitamin therapeutics for families and physicians / Abram Hoffer and Andrew W. Saul.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59120-501-2
1. Orthomolecular therapy—Popular works. I. Saul, Andrew W. II. Title.
RM235.5.H638 | 2008 | ||
615.5'3—dc22 | |||
2008028097 |
Copyright © 2008 Abram Hoffer and Andrew W. Saul
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: John Anderson
Typesetting/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
PART ONE Orthomolecular Medicine
1. What Is Orthomolecular Medicine?
2. The Use of Food Supplements
6. The Other B Vitamins and Vitamin A
PART TWO Treatments for Specific Ailments
10. Gastrointestinal Disorders
15. Psychiatric and Behavioral Disorders
16. Epilepsy and Huntington’s Disease
17. Allergies, Infections, Toxic Reactions, Trauma, Lupus, and Multiple Sclerosis
Appendix: Finding Reliable Information on Orthomolecular Medicine
This book is respectfully dedicated to the memories of Drs. Humphry Osmond and Hugh Riordan.
Acknowledgments
The list of women and men, boys and girls, doctors, scientists, and patients is simply too great to be recorded. Whatever I have found useful in the practice of orthomolecular medicine has been driven into me by all these supporters and especially by the thousands of patients who allowed me to heal them by using nutrients and nutrition, with the fantastic advantage that I could follow the golden rule of medicine, “First, do no harm.” But I must thank Linus Pauling, double Noble Prize winner, for creating the word orthomolecular and providing the scientific explanation for why some nutrients are needed in large doses. I also thank Premier Tommy Douglas, of Saskatchewan, Canada, without whose magnificent support there would have been no research leading to the development of orthomolecular medicine.
—Abram Hoffer
My personal thanks to Colleen Donaldson, Helen F. Saul, John I. Mosher, Richard Bennett, and Nancy Watson Dean. I add a special thank-you to my ever-healthy cadre of readers of my DoctorYourself.com website. I would also like to thank Robert Sarver, Stephen H. Brown, and Robert McHeffey for their contributions to the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service’s educational press releases, a number of which have been incorporated into this book.
—Andrew W. Saul
Introduction