Vitamin supplements: The dark side

An article by
Dr Asghar Ali Shah
Homeopathic Physician
Published in The News International on November 14, 2011

Commercialism in medicine promotes the belief that the nature alone cannot provide all the nutrients our body needs. This is not true as the natural food has all the vitamins and minerals we need. The natural sources of the vitamins and minerals also provide the same in an ideal form along with the balancing and counter balancing nutrients.
Patients often ask this writer if they could continue taking their vitamin and mineral supplements. And they are surprised when told that the natural food is the best source of all their vitamin and mineral needs.
A study published on October 11, 2011 in the United States indicates a 17 per cent increase in the risk of developing prostate cancer among men who take high doses of vitamin E. The new research is prompting a fresh look at the value of vitamin supplements, with some surprising results indicating that taking too many supplements could be harmful.
Another recent US study conducted among women and published on October 10 revealed that multivitamin preparations were useless and gradually contributed to a higher risk of mortality.
Mr Toren Finkel, head of the Centre for Molecular Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, USA (NIH) said in an interview that while it seems logical that taking vitamins and antioxidants should help fight illness and disease, the clinical data are consistently showing no benefit. Finkel added: “For years, we were using these supplements without knowing the effects on the body.” The research is forcing scientists to rethink the use of supplements with antioxidants, which had been seen as beneficial in preventing cancer, heart disease and other ailments.
In 2007 researchers had established a link between taking selenium supplements and an increased risk of adult diabetes. In fact those who take supplements are often already getting nutrients from their food. So the people who are choosing supplements may not need them. The matter of concern is that they do not think about their total intake.
David Schardt, a nutritionist, explained that the problem is that people think more is better and also believe that vitamin and mineral supplements are harmless. There are a lot of people who have faith in their vitamins - a faith encouraged by an industry that generates $50 billion a year. Moreover, manufacturers are free to say almost anything they want about the virtues of supplements.
The practice of medicine is not a business and should never be one. Capitalistic values stress on consumerism, short-term goals and giving society what it thinks it wants. On the other hand, the medical profession stresses humanism, long-term goals and meeting society’s actual needs.
A morbid anxiety is fuelled by clever publicity by the manufacturers of patent and proprietary drugs. Their advertisements seduce potential customers into believing that their products would guarantee longevity, health, fitness and beauty.
In majority of cases suffering from any deficiency of a vitamin or a mineral the cause lies in poor assimilation of the same. Homeopathic system of medicine cures our body’s inability to absorb the required vitamins and minerals from our natural food. The writer has himself observed that the patients showing deficiency of certain nutrients start absorbing and assimilating those nutrients from their usual natural diet.

Read more...

Obesity invites disease

An article by
Dr Asghar Ali Shah
Homeopathic Physician
Published in The News International on March 14, 2010

Over 20 million children under the age of five are overweight, indicate latest WHO statistics. Obesity is on the rise and has reached epidemic proportions in the world. About twenty percent of children are either overweight or obese.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) estimates the ideal weight of a person based on his size and weight. It is valid for an adult man or woman (18 to 65 years). Doctors often use it to measure obesity. BMI is equal to a person’s weight in kilograms (kg) divided by his height in meters (m) squared. Adults with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese. But those having a BMI of 40 or more are extremely obese.
It’s a common belief that eating too much and exercising too little is the main cause of gaining weight. But this is not true all the time. It is my personal observation that some people eat a lot but they do not gain weight. They are quite healthy, slim and smart. And there are many who take very little food, but they are overweight. You may also have observed the same.
There is another set of people who eat a lot but keep losing weight. It shows there are other factors involved in obesity rather than the eating habit alone.
Genes play a great role in tendencies to gain weight or lose weight. There may be more chances to develop obesity if one or both parents are obese. Some studies have shown that certain drugs, such as steroids, antidepressants, high blood pressure, medications used to lower blood sugar such as insulin may cause excessive weight gain.
For some people, emotions influence their eating habits. Many people eat excessively in response to boredom, sadness, stress or anger. While most overweight people have no more psychological disturbances than normal weight people, about 30 percent of the people who seek treatment for serious weight problems have difficulties with binge eating. Diseases such as hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, polycystic ovary syndrome and Cushing’s syndrome also contribute to obesity.
Women tend to be more overweight than men. Men burn more energy at rest than women, so men require more calories to maintain their body weight. The metabolic rate decreases in women when they reach the postmenopausal age. That is partly why many women gain weight after menopause.
Obesity is not just a cosmetic consideration. It is widely known that obesity is the fertile land for disease. Health problems start when someone starts getting overweight, and the likelihood of problems increases as someone becomes more and more overweight. Many of these conditions cause long-term suffering for individuals and families such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) of the knees, hips, and the lower back.
A very interesting Norwegian study showed that obesity tended to increase blood pressure more significantly in women than in men. The risk of developing high blood pressure is also higher in obese people who are apple shaped (central obesity) than in people who are pear shaped (fat distribution mainly in hips and thighs).
There are a lot of treatments available in the market for obesity. But almost all of them are associated with serious side effects and toxicity except homeopathy. Homeopathy is a time tested, proven method to cure obesity. The writer has also seen amazing results in treating obesity in the patients who were determined and followed the instructions carefully.
International research shows that homeopathic medicines are extremely effective in reducing weight by improving the metabolic system, digestive system and elementary system.
Homeopathy is the fastest growing system of medicine in the world. There is wider acceptance of homeopathy in such countries as France, Germany, Mexico, Argentina, India and Great Britain. The British royal family is patronizing the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital for the last one hundred years and prefer taking homeopathic treatment when needed.
It is not necessary to achieve an “ideal weight” to derive health benefits from obesity treatment. Instead, the goal of treatment should be to reach and hold to a “healthier weight.” The emphasis of treatment should be to commit to the process of life-long healthy living including eating more wisely and increasing physical activity. In sum, the goal in dealing with obesity is to achieve and maintain a “healthier weight.”

Read more...