By staff of Forum Health Asheville
Healthcare practitioners trained in nutritional medicine know the many benefits of using intravenous (IV) drips to quickly and efficiently deliver nutrients directly to where they are needed: the cells. IVs bypass the digestive system and its potential barriers to the absorption of nutrients (deficient hydrochloric acid is at the top of the list, followed by deficient digestive enzymes and a lack of beneficial friendly gut bacteria that aid digestion).
IV nutrients are given in therapeutic, pharmacological doses far above the minimal requirements of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), which are intended to avoid deficiency states and have little to do with promoting optimal health.
Magnesium IV Therapy
The body’s familiarity with natural nutrients (as contrasted with “unnatural” drugs) accounts for the high safety profile of IV nutrient administration.
Sixty-seven percent of the population is estimated to be magnesium deficient, a fact that gives magnesium a starring role in IV nutritional therapy. Because deficiency of this mineral results in spasms, magnesium is especially useful to treat asthma (spasm of bronchioles), high blood pressure (spasm or constriction of blood vessels), menstrual cramps (spasm of the uterus), and migraines (vascular spasm). Heart failure and heart arrhythmia are conditions associated with decreased intracellular magnesium levels and, as such, are also benefited by this essential mineral. For mostly unknown reasons, people who are deficient in magnesium often cannot correct their deficiency by taking magnesium capsules by mouth until the magnesium levels are first replenished by IV administration.
Vitamin C IV Therapy
Vitamin C’s starring role in IV administration is due to its anti-viral properties that make it useful in treating colds, influenza, and hepatitis. Because humans (and guinea pigs and bats) cannot make vitamin C the way other mammals can, there is much benefit to be had from IV Vitamin C. It is also indicated for immune support, for treating allergic conditions, for its anti-cancer properties, and to aid the detoxification of heavy metals.
Myers Cocktail
The Myers Cocktail, named after the late Maryland physician John Myers, M.D., and popularized by Alan Gaby, M.D., combines magnesium and B vitamins to safely, inexpensively, and effectively treat a variety of chronic conditions including depression and fibromyalgia and chronic conditions of the digestive tract that can result in magnesium being “leaked” or wasted.
Other benefits of IV Therapy
Nutrient depletion is common, especially in patients requiring surgery, who may not have been able to tolerate eating prior to surgery or who suffer from a poor diet. IV administration of nutrients before surgery can have a positive impact on the post-surgical course, including less pain and faster healing.
Macular degeneration is often responsive to IV administration of nutrients required for healthy eye function, including zinc, selenium, glutathione, and vitamin B complex.
Though dehydration is obvious after vomiting and diarrhea, its role in chronic disease is often overlooked. Chronic, low-grade dehydration impairs cellular function. Afflicted patients can respond well to re-hydration by IV fluids.
A blend of vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients comprise a Mega-Nutrient, an IV used to replenish nutrients during a course of chelation therapy and also anytime someone feels rundown, is exhausted by chronic illness, or is under more stress than usual. Stress “eats up” nutrients (especially B vitamins), thereby creating a temporary exaggerated need
Intensive anti-oxidant therapy can be delivered by using IV glutathione or alpha-lipoic acid. These nutrients have special use in modulating peripheral neuropathy of diabetes, liver disease (including hepatitis), asthma, and virtually any chronic disease in which oxidation plays a role.