Supplements

The field of nutritional forensics (as practised at our clinic) can lead to great improvements in health for various patients.? As well we prefer a commonsense approach to supplementation since ‘concentrated supplements’ can sometimes cause more harm than good.

Discerning nutritional fact from fiction is an ‘ingredient’ for successfully navigating the cancer maze. Sadly many patients, desperate to get better, often have no way to validate products & many pay through the nose for the latest ‘miracle foods.’

The problem is compounded by Dr Internet which abounds with extraordinary claims. But as the late Carl Sagan said – “Exceptional claims require exceptional evidence.”

The field of cancer supplementation requires substantial expertise and must be based on individual pathology. It then must be constantly revised using periodic diagnostic testing to identify supplements that are not working or worse still – causing problems.

While the field shows promise – it is an evolving science – in our experience few are doing it well.

Luckily, at the institute, we have the experience to help you in this matter of delicate tuning.

Asked to bring their supplements, many patients arrive with a bucket full. As you might expect, diagnostic testing reveals metabolic imbalance – enough to make a well person ill. The pill head picture emphasises a growing trend that is becoming more extreme.

Adopting a ‘more is better’ supplemental approach may in fact cause an illness of its own. This does not help heal the cancer. Consequently much of what we do initially is to reduce and prioritise the supplements our patients are already taking.

Again it takes expertise to sort this out but many doctors or oncologists don’t have this knowledge. Constant cross checking and collaboration between the nutritionist and the medical team is crucial for success in this field but again – in our experience this is all too rare.

We believe it unethical to promote unproven cancer supplement claims but many patients do this vigorously – influenced by internet marketers. Our advice is to play it safe and only follow nutritional advice from established centres such as…

If you can’t see a cancr nutrition expert, we suggest you eat a diet containing foods which contain the minerals and vitamins known to help prevent or slow the advance of some cancers. For example – a study at the Mayo clinic states pomegranate juice may slow the growth of prostate cancer?

But please use common sense – if you choose to drink pomegranate juice, talk with your doctor first. Although pomegranate juice is generally safe, there is evidence that it affects the metabolism of several prescription medications, including the blood thinner warfarin (Coumadin) and some drugs used to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The certainty principle: Big centres of learning and good scientists are cautious about making the exceptional claims as noted by the late Carl Sagan. BUT most of the claims on Dr Google are stated with such certainty – beware. There is a huge discrepancy between what we observe at the cancer coalface on a weekly basis and what these claims purport with such surety and certainty – indeed miracle claims in cancer are made with such certainty that I’ve written extensively on it – click here.

[color-box color=”green”]No miracle cures! In 40 yrs -our institute’s founder Grace Gawler, has seen every wild claim you could imagine…? BUT – she has never seen a miracle cancer cure related to ‘miracle diets or supplements. That’s a big sample group – about 15,000+ patients – including full time care giver to her ex-husband Ian Gawler. (with better diagnostics even his miracle cure story is now challenged)

If a patient is shown to low in calcium for example, taking calcium supplements may not solve the problem, and we find the concentrated dosage often throws other elements out of balance. So nutritional forensics is the science and art of correcting the imbalances and helping the patient to reach metabolic balance and therefore good health.[/color-box]

?The two biggest dangers in nutrition are thinking that it does nothing and thinking that it does everything.?