Intravenous (IV) therapies are exceptionally powerful because they circumvent the potential loss of potency due to possible breakdown in the GI tract and poor absorption of some orally administered nutrients.
What Are IV Therapies?
IV therapies involve administering nutrients directly into the bloodstream (intravenously). IV therapy can be more effective than taking supplements orally for correcting intracellular nutrient deficits.
The intravenous methods targets nutrients directly to where they are needed: the cells. IVs bypass the digestive system which sometimes blocks the absorption of nutrients. If you are low on hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes, for example, you do not absorb all the benefits of oral supplements.
Are IV Therapies safe?
IV nutrients are given in therapeutic, pharmacological doses greater than the minimal requirements of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), which are intended just to avoid deficiency states. Because natural nutrients are easy on the body – and welcomed – IV administration has an exceedingly high safety profile.
How Do IV Therapies Work?
In addition to chelation, we offer the following targeted IV therapies for the treatment of specific conditions:
What is in a nutritional IV? It depends upon what is right for each person; each IV is made up for the individual needs.
Generally, nutritional IVs contain vitamins and minerals. High doses of vitamin C are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and required for healing of tissues.
B vitamins are almost always included in the IV treatments, because all the vitamins and their mineral co-factors are used heavily when there is illness, to make enzymes.
Magnesium is good for many things, including constipation and migraine headaches.
A nutritional IV may also contain phospholipids to help cell membranes heal. Lipoic acid may be part of the mix because it is protective and healing to the liver; it is especially good for hepatitis.
Giving IV nutritional therapies will put nutrients back into the body, and improve the ability of cells to detoxify, repair, and regenerate.
A popular IV is the so-called Myers Cocktail, an intravenous vitamin and mineral protocol developed by Dr. John Myers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. He saw that many conditions stem from digestive problems – leaky gut, indigestion, bloating, and food sensitivities for example. He saw that these people were not absorbing many of the nutrients in their food. Also, some diseases cause the body to use nutrients at a faster rate, or to require higher amounts for proper healing.
When nutrients are injected intravenously, we by-pass the problematic digestive tract. Levels in the bloodstream temporarily rise so that the nutrients are “coaxed” into the cells, and frequently into the mitochondria where they are active. This temporary boost frequently “kick-starts” the cells, so that energy is produced more efficiently in them.
Glutathione Therapy for Parkinson’s Disease
Scientists still aren’t sure what causes Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating, progressive neurological disorder. They do know it develops when nerve cells that produce a chemical called dopamine become damaged and die.
Our physicians use a remarkable therapy called IV glutathione to help slow the process of nerve cell degeneration. Levels of glutathione, a naturally occurring brain-protecting antioxidant, are significantly decreased in Parkinson’s patients, with the deficiency occurring in the portion of the brain where dopamine-generating neurons are concentrated.
For many Parkinson’s patients, glutathione replenishment has proven to be an effective therapy for halting or even potentially reversing disability. In patients who respond to this therapy, the effects can be almost immediate and dramatic. Within an hour of treatment, patients often experience reduced rigidity, fewer tremors, and improved walking ability.
Infusions for Macular Degeneration, Cataracts, and Retinopathy
Deterioration of sight is one of the most common health problems of aging. Around age sixty, the likelihood of serious ocular disorders-macular degeneration, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy-accelerates.
Fortunately, these vision problems can be slowed and even reversed in many cases. Because free radical damage is a significant contributor to these problems, antioxidants have a strong protective effect. Over the past 15 years, several studies have shown that the risk of macular degeneration, retinopathy, and cataracts can be greatly reduced using antioxidant supplementation.
We offer specialized therapies to prevent, treat, and reverse vision loss. IV administration of high doses of antioxidants, fatty acids, carotenoids, amino acids, and minerals (sometimes in conjunction with chelation therapy) can dramatically enhance nutrient delivery and arrest degeneration of vision.
IV Magnesium for Heart Attack and Heart Failure
If you’re ever rushed to the hospital with a heart attack, intravenous magnesium could save your life. In a 1995 study, researchers found that the in-hospital death rate of those receiving IV magnesium was one-fourth that of those who received standard treatment alone.
In 2003, a follow-up study of these same patients revealed an enduring effect of magnesium treatment. Nearly twice as many patients in the standard treatment group had died compared to those who received magnesium, and there were considerably more cases of heart failure and impaired heart function in the placebo group. At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, IV magnesium is standard therapy for patients with heart problems.
Immune Enhancement
Your immune system is on constant guard to protect against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens. This system keeps you free of not only serious infections but also cancer and autoimmune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, in which the immune system attacks healthy cells. Unfortunately, the older we get, the harder we are hit by these immune-related conditions.
As with all disease, a number of nutrients play well-defined roles in the immune response, and chief among them are antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. For patients suffering from immune disorders-or anyone who just needs an immune boost-we offer immune drip therapy. Our unique IV cocktail contains high doses of B-complex vitamins along with vitamins C, E, beta-carotene, selenium, and zinc, all of which are vital for a healthy immune system.
IV Magnesium for Arrhythmia, Asthma, Diabetes, and More
In addition to increasing survival after heart attack, IV magnesium also smoothes out arrhythmias and improves outcomes in patients undergoing angioplasty with stent placement. It is also beneficial for acute asthma attacks, often working to relax airway spasms when drugs do not. Magnesium supplementation is crucial for diabetics, too, because it improves insulin sensitivity, helps blood sugar control, and reduces risk of retinopathy.
The list goes on: Magnesium can also reduce the frequency and severity of migraine headaches, help prevent kidney stones, boost immune function, and protect DNA from carcinogens. Magnesium can even help you sleep. It not only relaxes the muscles, but it also increases the length of restorative slow-wave sleep.
Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia
The fatigue, pain, and depression from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia are real, and they have a cause. More importantly, help is available. At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, we don’t just treat the symptoms of these disorders-we take a comprehensive approach that has the potential to reverse these conditions, alleviating pain, increasing energy, and boosting immunity.
People suffering with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue are believed to have impaired cellular function-particularly in the way muscle cells handle calcium and phosphate. This, in turn, stimulates painful contractions and muscle spasms.
To address these problems, we prescribe a full regimen of therapies, including IV doses of B vitamins, magnesium, vitamin C, and other nutrients proven to boost energy, improve tissue repair, and relieve stress.