By Dr. Claude Mondiere, M.D., PhD.
We eat to live. Medicine is an empirical science and we are far from mastering the different parameters that influence us.
The so-called supplements’ raison d’etre is the sustenance of every day life.
Their goal is to provide elements missing in our food and necessary for our body's development and maintenance, to give us the energy to be physically and mentally active.
All human biology is regulated by feedback signals. We must find the right balance, which varies from one person to the next, and from one moment of our lives to another.
Our bodies are composed of multiple elements, including certain organs that pump, transform and stock what we eat.
There are essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals that the body does not produce but needs in order to produce energy.
If they are lacking in our basic nutrition, there may be shortcomings and malaise, even disease. Supplements compensate for these deficiencies.
There can also be overloads, which can be treated through cleansing, purging, fasting, or even bleeding in older times. These come up in all cultures and religions.
Throughout the evolution of mankind, observers have discovered the benefits of certain herbs and minerals, as well as various ways to preserve them for the prevention of seasonal deficiencies.
Various cultures have their healers who prescribe such “supplements” with a magical touch, thus commanding respect in their communities.
Since the 20th century we have new medicine prescribed by doctors, and house landmark remedies to stay healthy have vanished: who remembers the probiotics given with a antibiotics prescription by a Doctor to avoid a deterioration of the intestinal flora? Probiotics are back now because digestion is a crucial part of well being and we rediscovered that some people were very healthy before WWI.
Yet this is one return, against mounds of expensive, aggressive and often addictive prescription drugs.
With the dominance of pharmaceutical companies turned multinational, the cost of the health system in America (and in many other countries), the severe lack in cooking skills in many homes, a new kind of medicine, accessible to all in supermarkets without regulation, has emerged. .
We eat to live. Medicine is an empirical science and we are far from mastering the different parameters that influence us.
The so-called supplements’ raison d’etre is the sustenance of every day life.
Their goal is to provide elements missing in our food and necessary for our body's development and maintenance, to give us the energy to be physically and mentally active.
All human biology is regulated by feedback signals. We must find the right balance, which varies from one person to the next, and from one moment of our lives to another.
Our bodies are composed of multiple elements, including certain organs that pump, transform and stock what we eat.
There are essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals that the body does not produce but needs in order to produce energy.
If they are lacking in our basic nutrition, there may be shortcomings and malaise, even disease. Supplements compensate for these deficiencies.
There can also be overloads, which can be treated through cleansing, purging, fasting, or even bleeding in older times. These come up in all cultures and religions.
Throughout the evolution of mankind, observers have discovered the benefits of certain herbs and minerals, as well as various ways to preserve them for the prevention of seasonal deficiencies.
Various cultures have their healers who prescribe such “supplements” with a magical touch, thus commanding respect in their communities.
Since the 20th century we have new medicine prescribed by doctors, and house landmark remedies to stay healthy have vanished: who remembers the probiotics given with a antibiotics prescription by a Doctor to avoid a deterioration of the intestinal flora? Probiotics are back now because digestion is a crucial part of well being and we rediscovered that some people were very healthy before WWI.
Yet this is one return, against mounds of expensive, aggressive and often addictive prescription drugs.
With the dominance of pharmaceutical companies turned multinational, the cost of the health system in America (and in many other countries), the severe lack in cooking skills in many homes, a new kind of medicine, accessible to all in supermarkets without regulation, has emerged. .
