December 2004

Magic bullets no more

by Dr. Howard Loomis

The definition of nutrition is "the science of food, how it is ingested, digested, absorbed, transported, utilized, and eliminated." The FDA's definition of food and drugs can be summarized by saying that no medical claims can be made for food, and only drugs can alter the normal functioning of the body.

We are justified then in concluding that if you attempt to use nutrients (food) to alter physiology you are either wasting your time or breaking the law. Many chiropractors have come to the same conclusion and argue against the use of nutritional supplements by our profession.

In the past, I have taken the opposite position and have justified a rational and legally acceptable position for the use of nutritional supplements by chiropractors. I will continue to do so. In fact, whether a DC wishes to run a general practice or to specialize in low back cases, it is imperative to analyze a patient's dietary needs and to make whatever changes are needed, including the use of supplements.

Many say that they were not adequately trained to use nutrition in our practices. I agree that we are not trained to function as dietitians in a hospital, and we certainly were not trained to use nutritional supplements as "magic bullets" or drugs. But we have received an excellent education in the basic sciences and comprehend the maintenance of homeostasis which, by the way, is perfectly consistent with chiropractic philosophy.

For example, all cases of disc degeneration, whether traumatically induced or not, suffer from a lack of protein holding water in the nucleus pulposus. Protein holds water. This is just as true inside the disc as it is in the vascular system. Without adequate protein in the blood, water "leaks" into the tissue spaces and causes edema. Without adequate protein reserves, the body cannot adequately repair an injured disc after injury, and disc degeneration is inevitable.

In other words, most patients with chronic disc degeneration probably have problems digesting protein and should be examined for such. Unfortunately, recommending protein supplements or increasing protein intake will not suffice because the patient will not be able to digest and assimilate the increase. Doctors running 24‑hour urinalysis tests coupled with dietary analysis see this clinical picture quite often.

Dietitians and nutritionists are not trained to view the body as a whole as chiropractors are. We would not think of training dietitians in chiropractic in order to help low back cases recover. Why would we believe DCs should be trained in nutrition?

What is needed is not to bring chiropractors to nutrition, but to bring nutrition to chiropractors. Cast aside the mistaken medical concept of magic bullets and instead begin to maintain homeostasis. Maintain what the body is attempting to maintain every minute you are alive.

Nutrition is the science of food, not the science of magic bullets. Learn to feed the body. Work in harmony with nature; do not try to direct it and cover up symptoms. Learn to recognize symptoms as evidence of deviations from normal function and feed and adjust the body back to normal. Give it what it needs to maintain homeostasis! That is nutrition and chiropractic at their best.

No other profession has maintained the vitalistic viewpoint needed to treat the body in this manner. Apparently, no other profession has enough respect for the intelligence of the human body to allow it freedom to heal itself. Perhaps that is not true, but it does appear that way. Acceptable scientific methodology requires controlling normal body functions, not working in harmony with them. I remind you of the definitions of nutrition and drug therapy.

Unfortunately, the term "innate intelligence" is no longer acceptable terminology within our profession. Yet, every beginning biology student is taught that every living cell consistently demonstrates a strong desire to live. It is so predictable that it is used to describe normal behavior and deviations from it are considered pathological. Surely the term innate or inborn intelligence describes this phenomenon. Maybe we should hang onto our philosophical heritage a bit longer and not throw the baby out with the bath water.

Perhaps my argument is best made by the textbook "Human Physiology: The mechanisms of body function" (Vander, Sherman and Luciano, 4th ed., McGraw‑Hill, 1985). I quote this text because it is intended for undergraduate university students who are not majoring in science: "The concept of an internal environment and the necessity of maintaining its composition relatively constant is the single most important unifying idea to be kept in mind while attempting to unravel and understand the functions of the body's organ systems and their interrelationships."

It seems like such a simple concept to understand, and yet it seemingly eludes us. Do we respect the body's ability to maintain homeostasis, the concept of self‑organization, or do we insist on manipulating it to control symptom patterns?

(Dr. Loomis welcomes input on the subjects covered in this column. To make a comment or ask a question, call him at 800‑662‑2630 or write 6421 Enterprise Lane, Madison, WI 53719. Visit www.loomisenzymes.com online for information on upcoming Loomis Institute seminars.)