Can vitamins take the place of prescription drugs?
Still bucking the medical mainstream, “diet revolution” guru Dr. Robert C. Atkins says yes. And he has an iconoclastic message for an American public hungry for non-traditional health care: Get on a good regimen of “vita-nutrients”–and, eventually, get off prescription drugs.
In his new book, “Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature’s Answer to Drugs,” Atkins says unnecessary medications “pose the greatest health risk of all.”
High-dose combinations of vitamins, minerals, amino and fatty acids and other nutritional supplements can prevent illness, he says, and often heal disease better than conventional drugs. And, he says, an abundance of studies, conducted mostly in the ’90s and cited in his book, confirm his thesis.
“Mainstream medicine has always said, `This is unproven, this is unproven.’ But that’s just simply not a tenable position anymore,” said Atkins in a telephone interview from his Atkins’ Center for Complementary Medicine in Manhattan.
He is a cardiologist and the author of two “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution” books and other publications.
The nation’s top medical organizations–Atkins calls them his “formidable opposition”–have yet to formally react to “The Vita-Nutrient Solution,” which only recently hit the book stores.
But groups such as the American Dietetic Association, the American Heart and Diabetic associations and the American Medical Association promote diet and exercise–not nutritional supplements–as the most crucial elements of a healthy lifestyle.
Atkins has been at odds with the medical groups since 1973, a year after the AMA condemned the high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate menu he advocates for weight loss in his best-selling “Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution.” The medical groups endorse a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
“The best nutritional strategy for optimal health is to obtain adequate nutrients from a wide variety of foods,” says the American Dietetic Association. “Supplementation is not appropriate unless scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness is well-accepted.”
University of Miami Medical School nutritionist Sheah Rarback, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says Atkins’ new book–in light of his famous diet that shuns fruits and many vegetables–may send a troubling “mixed message” and could easily be misinterpreted. She also is skeptical about some of the studies Atkins cites.
More Top Picks Best Electric Razors For Tough Whiskers
“I think diet and exercise is the first line of defense,” said Rarback. “Most people continue to look for the easy way out. It’s a whole lot easier to take 10 pills a day than it is to go to the gym and to eat a variety of foods. When you take supplements, you can lose sight of how important diet is.”
Atkins contends that while diet is a very important element in health, it is virtually impossible to get the maximum level of nutrition from diet alone because of how foods are produced and cooked, and because benefits from some nutrients require mega-doses, he says.
In his book, Atkins describes more than 100 vita-nutrients and medicinal herbs and recommends specific regimens and dosages for people with a range of ailments, from arthritis and epilepsy to anxiety, diabetes and heart disease. The book also features anecdotes about some of Atkins’ patients who started taking vita-nutrients and gradually went off their prescription drugs while under Atkins’ care.
Atkins, who also sells vita-nutrients and food products for low-carbohydrate diets, points to the use of pantethine as one of the most dramatic vita-nutrient treatments. “It’s better at lowering cholesterol than the drugs you see advertised on television,” said Atkins, who was treating arthritis patients with the B-complex nutrient when he noticed its “spectacular” effect on cholesterol. “It’s just a B vitamin and its side effects are that it helps a lot of other things as well,” including allergies and colitis.
Atkins’ book comes during an explosion of interest among public and health-care professionals in alternative therapies, including nutritional supplements.
Atkins points to a recent AMA poll that asks physicians what issues they would like to see discussed in medical journals. In 1996, complementary medicine ranked 68 out of 73 options, he said. In 1997, it jumped to the No. 3 spot, Atkins said.
Rarback says new studies are showing that there may be significant benefits to taking high doses of some vitamins, such as E.
“A lot of the research is looking very strong and I think we need to be open-minded,” she said. “There are possibly going to be changes in the RDA (recommended daily allowances).”