Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS April 8, 2016 [printfriendly]
I know that some drugs are critical for specific medical situations. I know that some supplements are critical for specific nutritional deficiencies. However, beware of those practitioners that only peddle drugs or supplements to solve symptoms. Drugs and supplements may be necessary to resolve acute and painful situations, but most are only Band-Aids.
In dentistry, some of my profession push fluoride to decrease decay. In nutritional healthcare, some practitioners push antioxidants to offset free radicals. In medicine, many medical doctors write prescriptions for drugs to treat disease manifestations. Most of these pills – the drugs and supplements – still only deal with the signs and symptoms of disease. Can you see the disconnect? Where is the science? Who is delving into the real and underlying causes?
If you had a splinter in your finger, all the medicines or supplements in the world, and all the lifestyle changes you could think of, would not take care of the pain, inflammation, and infection that the splinter was creating. Not until you simply removed the splinter that was piercing the skin of your finger, would you have a chance to heal.
With that thought in mind, only after you recognize the injustices you have been hurling at your body for decades, and then address them, could you begin a healing process.
As a periodontist, I want to treat my patient’s immediate concerns. If there were acute infection, I want to reduce it. If there were irritants causing inflammation, I want to remove them. If there were oral hygiene procedures that my patient needed to implement, I want to teach them. However, I can never improve a patient’s future gum health and overall health without addressing nutrient-dense foods and lifestyle changes.
Research has demonstrated over and over again that diet and lifestyle can correct or improve almost everything chronic that is going on in the body. I have posted many of my articles about this subject on my website.
My Summary Thoughts: After eliminating any acute problems, correcting diet and lifestyle would be my next step. Then, if the body needed an extra boost, specific drugs and supplements could be recommended that might serve a supportive role.
