“Each patient carries his own doctor inside him. We are our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to work.” Albert Schweitzer, M.D.
What a powerful statement made by a well known physician. However, can this statement be related to my personal story of Health through Nutrition, Weight Loss and Light Exercise? Well, let me tell you my friends that even before I came across Dr. Schweitzer’s above wise thought, when my body started sending me messages, I listened.
In this presentation I mentioned, many times, the fall of 2001 as the crossroad of my health. Prior to that time, I was a good listener with reference to vitamins and minerals, whenever the topic came up, but I did not bother myself with it too much, with only two exceptions. The exceptions were CO Q10 and Shark Cartilage. We will talk about my experience with these two later on in this section.
In a previous section of this presentation I shared with you my experience with calcium. This is an extremely important mineral. Again I remind you to educate yourselves and try to supplement your diet with calcium. My next experience was with Vitamin C. It is what I call the vitamin of vitamins!!!
It was early spring in 2003 when I called Dr. Wilson and asked him what I could do about my iron deficiency. He did not have to think very long. He said, “Gus, I want you to start taking 2000 mgs of Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids a day.” I asked him about the bioflavonoid part of the vitamin. He told me that bioflavonoid is what tunes up the absorption system. This is an extremely important concept for everybody. He then explained to me that as years go by and we get older, our absorption system weakens. Because of that, we do not properly absorb the vitamins and minerals from the foods that we eat. I strongly believe that the same problem might exist in younger people too. It is possible that poor absorption of vitamins and minerals is the reason we have so many young people (children, teenagers and young adults) that have weak immune systems, cancer, or various other diseases. To my knowledge, there is no way that we can test this function. Therefore, a supplement like this is very helpful.
The next day I went out and purchased Vitamin C with Bioflavonoids and started taking 2 capsules, totaling 2000 mgs a day. Now, we need to keep in mind that almost always, when we say we take 2000 mgs a day, it is not accurate because, most of the time, manufacturers use fillers along with the vitamin and mineral substance. There is a lot of discussion about the fillers and the quality of vitamins, but you have to have some trust, and as we said earlier in this presentation, if you want to create your heart’s desire, most of the time, you have to look at things with a feeling of wonder. That is what I did, and I was pleasantly surprised.
In 45 days I went and had another blood tests and I saw that the level of iron was within the normal range. At the same time my hemoglobin became normal. Of course, I was feeling much better too. I was fascinated, and I still am, with how our body works. Of course, Vitamin C has many other properties that are good for you. We are not going to go to these details because it is not the purpose of this presentation. The next supplement that I took was Salmon Oil. It just so happened that I was familiar with it from my early childhood. I remember my mother used to call it “fish oil”. Unfortunately, I’ve never taken it before. Again, this was a suggestion of my friend, Dr. Wilson. Then, as I mentioned, I read the literature about it and became more fascinated. It contains the famous Omega 3 Fatty (good) Acids, and many other good properties. Among them is the fact that it is a natural blood thinner.
Then I became familiar with Vitamin A. I learned that this vitamin is good for many conditions of the eyes. Up to this day, I do not have to wear eyeglasses and sometimes I am surprised myself. I took Vitamin A mostly from the precautionary point of view. The raw materials for this vitamin can be found in the following foods which I eat regularly.
The next supplement was CO Q10. It is a very powerful coenzyme that I have taken for some time. It has many good properties. Among them are:
2. Helps with patients with cardiac problems
3. It lowers blood pressure
4. It lowers cholesterol
5. It strengthens our immune system
6. It helps people with diabetes
7. It fights gum disease
8. It improves athletic performance
9. Some researchers say that it fights cancer.
It is very important to share with you my knowledge on the foods that have CO Q10.
8. Wheat Germ 9. Rice Bran 10. Soy Foods
With reference to CO Q10 supplements, they come in several different forms; sublingual (under the tongue), lozenges, chewable tablets, tables and oil based gel caps. Although this vitamin supplement is considered extremely safe and it has been said you cannot overdose on it, I suggest that you check with your doctor or dietitian. Also, you can request a blood test to see the levels of CO Q10 in your body.
The last supplement that I have taken and I am pleased to share my experience with you is Shark Cartilage. This is a very powerful supplement but not very well known, especially on the east coast of the United States. In general, people on the west coast know much more about it. This supplement, or better said, this food, is manufactured from a body part of one of the largest sea predators of the world, the shark. It has many health properties. Among the most important are:
1. It fights cancers. There are many studies out there that support this argument.
Finally, let me share one other experience with you. At one time I had a mole on my left leg that after a period of time got bigger. This was a few years ago, when I was just getting familiar with Shark Cartilage. Again, I was open minded, I had taken 4-5, 1000 mg capsules of Shark Cartilage a day and in about 5-6 weeks the growth had completely shrunk. I hope you enjoyed this article on vitamins and minerals. If you want me to share my fascinating experiences with you live, please visit my web site for details.
