Contributed by Dr. Rick Jahn, Arctic Chiropractic
Customized vitamin supplements are one of the hottest new trends in the health and wellness industry. Yet the only real surprise about this phenomenon is the misinformation surrounding its rise. First, it must be acknowledged just how long vitamin supplements have been around: since the dawn of man, in fact. Our earliest ancestors were able to get their essential vitamins directly from the food they ate.
In 2018 though, we suffer the effects of irresponsible agricultural practices, industrialization and food processing. Due to this, our culture accepts a shorter history. The story goes that the vitamin came to us only in 1912 from a Polish biochemist by the name of Casimir Funk. After Funk, came a quick succession of synthesized “discoveries” of the vitamins we best know today (A, B, C, etc.). Made in labs, these scientific breakthroughs isolated elements of the vitamin from their nutritional origins, becoming the capsules so many take today.
This understanding of the modern vitamin supplement is not an altogether false one. Therefore, the danger is not in believing this history. The true danger lies in the assumptions formed out of believing vitamins can only originate from synthetic materials. Combine this with the 21st century takeover of modern medicine by the pharmaceutical industry, and it’s no wonder most people are so confused about their supplemental intake.
Most vitamins you encounter today are actually partial vitamins, or isolates, and have little resemblance to the true vitamin complex found in food as natural nutrients. In fact, the definition of vitamins has degraded to the point where many people believe it is normal to take supplements formed from non-food items, like coal tar. To make matters more confusing, contradictory studies show up about isolates on the nightly news. One moment, certain vitamins are considered good for curing a certain illness or malady. The next moment, those vitamins are considered bad or ineffective. A blind belief in studies and assumed wisdom from many of the so-called experts will lead to this kind of confusion.
The other school of thought takes into account the entirety of human and natural history, and understands that true vitamins must always appear in nature as a complex and therefore should only be sourced from food. This is where I stand. But I’m not just against the isolate vitamins because of their synthetic sources. The popularity of these vitamins has threatened to take holistic practitioners, like me, right out of the equation. In the information age, people have decided to take the entirety of their health strategy into their own hands. Without realizing it, so many have fallen into the belief that any information is good information.
If the average person still goes to a doctor, it is most likely to find the root cause of a particularly glaring symptom in their life that they fear may become life-threatening or life-impairing (headaches, drastic mood changes, extreme PMS, etc.). This often leads to consulting blood tests for the answers. Blood tests, like the partial vitamin isolate, have been given esteem and respect by assumed wisdom rather than optimal results.
Every individual needs specialized attention from a health professional, there is no doubt about it. But what should you, as a patient, be looking for in a doctor or health professional? For starters, ask yourself if your doctor of choice is actually addressing your individual needs. This requires a doctor willing to sit down with you and put all the pieces of your history together. You need a doctor who isn’t just relying on charts or blood test results to make blanket judgements and diagnoses. The greatest power a doctor or health professional can bring to a patient’s life is that of acute interpretation.
Coming from a background in functional nutrition and Chinese medicine, I pride myself in interpreting the imbalances in the body by noticing often over-looked symptoms. For me, each person requires a different, individualized approach. Holistic practitioners, like myself, look to improve one’s life before things get dire or serious.
The popular misunderstanding behind vitamins and the popular misunderstanding behind a doctor’s role in a patient’s life ultimately find their intersection point in the information age. When every fact, figure and piece of data is available almost all of the time, it becomes only too tempting to consult “Dr. Google” for an immediate self-diagnosis. Whatever article gets the most hits and ranks highest on the search engine becomes the only universal truth acceptable to the general public. In the same way, the never-ending blitz of marketing found on billboards, in our magazines and on our computers attempt to convince us that one brand or type of vitamin supplement is the only way to live a healthier, fuller life.
Not only is this modern trend of turning to “Dr. Google” for help problematic. This misinformation is starting to discredit the health profession as a whole. The longer this continues, and people give themselves into random supplements, the more they will be let down. This may result in a culture too jaded to follow, or not able to discern sound advice.
So, with all the information floating around both the real and the virtual world, take a break, breathe and remember your ancestors. Remember the ancient natural history we are a part of. Demand natural, food-based origins from all of your vitamin supplements. Look to those in holistic, functional wellness practice, such as myself, who can guide you as an individual toward the supplements you actually need.
Dr. Rick Jahn, Doctor of Oriental Medicine and Functional Nutrition Practitioner, is now seeing patients for acupuncture and functional nutrition at Arctic Chiropractic in Palmer. You can also visit us online at www.alaskanaturalhealth.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AlaskaNaturalHealth.
