The Doctors' Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia - Hardcover

Hendler, Sheldon Saul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 067166784X ISBN 13: 9780671667849

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 1990

Synopsis

In this comprehensive book, Dr. Sheldon Saul Hendler has compiled the most complete, authoritative, and up-to-date guide to nutritional supplements ever published. Ranging from Vitamin A to Zinc, from fish oil to ginseng, more than 200 entries for vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, and other dietary supplements:

About this title

About the Author

Sheldon Saul Hendler received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Columbia University, and holds an M.D. degree from the University of California, San Diego, where he is a member of the medical school faculty. A nutritional adviser to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the American Association of Retired Persons, he is also the author of The Oxygen Breakthrough and The Complete Guide to Anti-Aging Nutrients.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

What This Book Can Do for You That No Other Book Can

Your Guide to the Benefits of the Nutrition Revolution
[From Home-Remedy to High-Tech)

This book will help you reap the benefits of an extraordinary "revolution" that is rapidly gaining momentum in our midst. This is a revolution in information and thinking, one in which more and more people feel empowered to exert control over and take more responsibility for their own health. Nutrition is central to all of this, including "micronutrition," the vitamins, minerals and other health-giving components of our food. We are discovering that through the manipulation of nutrition, and especially micronutrition, we can not only treat but, in many cases, prevent the ills that we once accepted as inevitable. And we can often do so without always having to resort to costly and, not infrequently, ineffective medications that come freighted with adverse side effects.

This is a revolution in which we are at last heeding the counsel of Hippocrates, who, centuries ago, said, "Let thy food be thy medicine." We are making exciting new discoveries every day related to the micronutrient components of our food -- with the result that, in the United States alone about half of the entire population is now taking micronutrient supplements, convinced that diet itself, given the kind of polluted and stressful world we live in, is inadequate to supply all the nutrients that are needed, convinced that these supplements will help prevent and treat disease, as well as boost energy, promote a feeling of physical and mental well-being and prolong life.

Even some of the more conservative bastions of the medical "establishment" are finally joining this revolution. At first there was massive resistance to this, but now the data in support of prudent nutritional supplementation are becoming so overwhelming that the resistance is fading. The National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, major medical journals and medical schools are all involved in research related to nutritional supplements and/or have already acknowledged the very significant benefits some of these supplements can confer.

The supplement marketplace is rapidly moving from its old "home remedy" roots to its "high tech" future. This book can guide you to that future today, so that you can immediately begin benefiting from the very best and very latest research findings and breakthroughs related to micronutrition.

Congratulations on joining the most significant health movement in history. Congratulations on reading this book. I believe you will find it your best possible guide. The reasons for this are explained below.

1) MORE AUTHORITATIVE/MORE OBJECTIVE/BETTER DOCUMENTED

Not all vitamin/mineral supplement guides are equal. They can -- and do -- differ enormously in real value to the consumer. Some, though published recently, are woefully out of date; some others are full of scientific and medical misinformation and mistakes. Most are still poorly documented. Many are obviously biased -- designed either to knock the whole idea of taking supplements or to praise, indiscriminately, every supplement that comes along.

For many years, friends, patients and fellow doctors, familiar with my background as a biochemist, researcher and medical doctor with a strong interest in human metabolism, diet, nutrition, and experimental and preventive medicines, have asked me where they could get objective, well-documented information on vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other food supplements. Among their questions were these: Which supplements, if any, are worth taking? Is there good evidence suggesting that these supplements are really helpful? Which substances are safe and in what doses? Which are the best forms in which to take these supplements? What are the optimal combinations? What results can be expected? Who should take supplements -- and when? Should all of us be taking the same things or should people in different age groups and life situations follow regimens specific to their needs? Can any of these substances really have significant impact on health and longevity; can they do anything to reverse, as well as prevent, disease?

Several years ago I set out methodically to answer these questions. My focus at that time was on aging and the degenerative processes that accompany aging. I wanted to know if nutritional supplements could have any measurable impact on the degenerative diseases that accompany aging. I studied very carefully the information that was typically being provided the general public and most physicians. I was distressed by what I discovered. It was as if the "experts" had formed up in two teams and were doing fierce battle with each other. On one side were what I call the old-line nutritional "academic conservatives" who doggedly insist that "the great American diet" provides everything anyone could possibly need in the way of nutrition. And on the other side were what I call the nutritional "true believers," those who proclaim every new supplement to be a "miracle cure" for one dire ill or another and sometimes for just about every ailment known.

The trouble with the nutritional conservatives is that they are sadly out-of-date, badly out-of-tune with new research findings. The "great American diet," far from providing optimal nutrition, has just about done us in, contributing not to health but to obesity, heart disease, cancer and premature aging and death. As a nation we are overfed and often seriously undernourished. Calories we've got -- in excess. But they are calories too often devoid of real nutritional value. Dietary/nutritional imbalances and deficiencies contribute significantly to the premature deaths of millions of Americans annually. And our changing world has placed new demands on our bodies, exposing them to environmental and psychological stresses and insults that were not previously so prevalent, stresses that deplete our tissues of protective and regulatory nutrients as never before.

As for the "true believers," the trouble there is obvious. This side, as much as the other, has impeded nutritional research with its often uninformed and excessive claims. (As noted later, the true believers, even while making insupportable claims, often overlook real benefits that are sometimes more remarkable than the ones they have focused on.)

In between these two warring factions I found few and generally only feeble voices of reason. So I set out to research and write a book that would, without any axe to grind, without any products to sell or any vested interests to protect, systematically and objectively analyze all of the available scientific and medical data for each of the substances for which anti-aging claims had been made. That project resulted in The Complete Guide to Anti-Aging Nutrients (Simon and Schuster, 1984; Fireside, 1986). I wanted the book to serve as a bridge between the two opposing camps and hoped that it would bring the investigation of nutritional supplements onto a higher plane, where the consumer would be better served.

In large part I feel rewarded for my effort, as that book managed to garner strong support in both camps, drew both closer to the center and brought many serious researchers, previously alienated by the extremes on both sides, into the supplement arena. Even two Nobel Laureates, who told me they had previously dismissed out-of-hand most claims being made for nutritional supplements, took a new interest in the field after reading my book. The book garnered excellent reviews in both the medical and popular press and won a "Best Book" award from Self-Care magazine. It was subsequently cited as a major source in a number of best-selling diet, nutrition, and other health books.

Encouraged by that response, I have now updated and vastly expanded that book, to embrace the whole nutritional marketplace. The result is this book, and it is, I believe, the most objective and best documented book ever published on this important topic. My conclusions are based upon my own biochemical insights, my own laboratory and clinical research and an exhaustive study of the relevant worldwide research literature. I have, in the course of preparing this book, analyzed literally thousands of research papers.

I believe I have succeeded in being as objective and pragmatic as possible. I have sought always to be guided by the best possible evidence. If something works, I say so. If there are no data (nor any good rationale) to support a particular claim, I don't hesitate to say that, either. In some cases I am compelled to say we simply don't know, that more research is warranted or required before we can declare a particular substance sate and effective.

2) MORE NEWS AND MORE GOOD NEWS

I am convinced that this book delivers more genuine nutritional news than any other and, in fact, more good news than any other. You might expect a book that sticks to the facts and leaves the wishful thinking to others to be short on positive news -- but that expectation is wrong. The more we really understand the vitamins, minerals and other food substances the more good we discover can be said about them.

Over and over I find supplements being touted for all the wrong reasons -- entirely or largely without scientific support. Meanwhile, really wonderful uses to which these substances could be applied (as suggested by sound research data) get entirely overlooked. Thus the consumer gets cheated twice: first by being given an erroneous "indication" or reason for using a supplement, second by not being told about a real indication for using the substance. This has far-reaching ramifications. The reason why someone takes a supplement has, logically, a great deal to do with who should take it, when it should be taken, how much should be taken, with what it should be taken and so on. It is vitally important, therefore, to know, first and foremost, whether the claimed indications or reasons for using any given substance are valid.

This book focuses sharply on those "indications." It highlights the "good news" -- but only the good news that is genuinely supported by the best, most reliable scientific findings. If there's bad news the book will tell you that, too. Even that, however, is good news for the discriminating consumer. Knowing what won't help you or might even harm you is, in many ways, just as useful as knowing what will help.

The wonderful thing about this rapidly expanding field is that, if you know how to find it and apply it, there is so much that is exciting and promising that even the most ardent supplement enthusiast need not resort to exaggeration in order to deliver plenty of very good news. The facts are exciting enough in their own right. Let's insist on those facts. That's the only way the excesses and oversights of the true believers can be vanquished and the skepticism of the academic conservatives, who still control much of this research, can be overcome. (For a preview of "good news" specifics, see the following chapter.)

3) MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UNDERSTANDABLE AND HELPFUL

This book is unique in its organization and the scope of its coverage. It analyzes all the vitamins and minerals that have any genuine relevance as nutritional supplements. It does the same for the amino acids and many other substances. Each analysis is structured so that you can quickly and easily determine what the nutrient is, what it does -- and doesn't -- do, who it's good for, what ailments it can help treat or prevent, what amounts it should be taken in, what it should be taken with, what precautions apply and so on. This book provides more consumer guidance than any other currently on the market.

It also covers many substances that are overlooked by or are unknown to other authors of supplement guides. These include the most important nucleic acids and their derivatives, lipids and their derivatives, all of the significant medicinal herbs, a variety of miscellaneous food supplements and a number of often exciting "biologicals," pharmaceuticals and other potentially therapeutic chemicals which are, increasingly, being used as adjuncts in nutritional and alternative therapies.

This book combines information in one place that was, previously, available, if at all, only in diverse texts and research papers. It is a compilation and analysis of the most exciting "medicine" of our time.

4) MORE UP-TO-DATE (AND AHEAD-OF-DATE)

This book provides not only the most comprehensive, authoritative supplement information available, it also provides you with the most up-to-date information available. In fact, some of this information is "ahead-of-date," since, in some instances, it tells you about exciting, newly emerging substances that can be expected to enter the marketplace in the near future -- or that are already in experimental use. Since I am personally involved in a number of laboratory and clinical research efforts related to nutritional and other therapeutic substances, I have a lot of "inside" preview data I am, in some instances, at liberty to share with you.

5) MORE PRESCRIPTIVE

Many health-related books describe; few prescribe. In this book, I not only describe the most exciting nutritional and supplemental substances available, I also tell you how to use them, both individually and in a variety of combinations designed to meet specific needs and different lifestyles. In the analysis of each substance you will find information on the illnesses and disorders for which that substance might be used, the doses that have been reported effective and other helpful information, including any relevant precautions. In Part Three of this book you will find formulas specifically designed for such purposes as:

losing weight
lowering cholesterol quickly without dieting
building stamina and endurance
protecting your heart
fighting cancer
dealing with "female troubles"
resisting pollutants
boosting immunity
fighting colds, flu, allergies
protecting against cigarette smoke
fighting arthritis

I'd like to introduce you now to some of the specific benefits that are in store for you. In the following chapter, I will give you a summary review of some of the most significant and beneficial discoveries that have been made to date with respect to a number of micronutrients and other therapeutic substances.

Copyright © 1990 by Sheldon Saul Hendler, M.D., Ph.D., and Proteus, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 067166784X
• ISBN 13: 9780671667849
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 496