At Novus Medical Detox Center, we believe
that it is important that our patients receive the
best care and are as comfortable as possible
during their medical detox program. This is
why we provide private rooms, exceptional food and
a staff that really cares about each patient.
We have found that many of our patients
come to Novus with the ingrained behavior pattern
of taking a drug for any type of discomfort-not to
handle the actual cause of the discomfort but
merely to cover it up.
At Novus, we believe patient education is
vital.
Many of our patients have not had a
thorough medical physical exam in years-if
ever.
We encourage our patients to select a
holistic physician who will conduct the physical
with the intent to locate the actual physical
cause for their complaints and who will only
prescribe a drug if there is no other viable
alternative.
We also find that many of our patients are
not aware of how some natural supplements can be
real alternatives to drugs and will relieve the
symptoms our patients are experiencing without the
harmful side effects of the drugs. In fact,
once they have experienced relief from the
supplements, most of our patients request the
natural alternatives rather than
drugs.
One of the natural supplements that our
patients find very helpful is omega-3.
WHAT IS OMEGA-3?
Omega-3 is the name given to
a group of essential fatty acids ("EFA's"). EFA's are
not made by the body but must be obtained from our
diet and are then processed by the
body.
The main food sources from which we obtain
omega-3 fatty acids are fish, shellfish, pumpkin
and sunflower seeds, canola oil, cod liver oil,
leafy vegetables and
walnuts.
THE BENEFITS OF
OMEGA-3
To understand the following comments taken
from studies that have been done about the
benefits of omega-3 supplements, it is important
to understand that most of the research has
centered around the use of eicosapentaenoic acid
(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) omega-3 fatty
acids.
ANXIETY AND
DEPRESSION
A growing number of people
are upset with the conventional medical treatment
for anxiety and depression-where their doctors
don't try to determine the cause but just
prescribe a drug. People are
upset with this approach because it seldom
actually works and the drugs often create other
harmful and sometimes deadly side
effects.
In addition to most of the ailments known
to man from high blood pressure to erectile
dysfunction, the side effects of anxiety and
depression drugs include suicide and worsening of
depression.
Antidepressants are now required to have
black box warnings-a warning label that indicates
a very dangerous drug.
There is growing evidence in the published
medical literature that omega-3 fatty acids do
alleviate anxiety and depression without an
antidepressant's dangerous side effects.
In an article written by Joseph R. Hibbeln,
Teresa A. Ferguson, & Tanya L. Blasbalg for
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, the authors found "...aggressive and
depressive disorders may be exacerbated by
nutritional deficiencies in omega-3 fatty acids...
Ensuring optimal intakes of omega-3 fatty acids
during early development and adulthood shows
considerable promise in preventing aggression and
hostility."
The Hordaland Health Study in Norway
(1997-1999) included 22,000 people and
concluded that those who regularly took cod liver
oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, were
about 30% less likely to have symptoms of
depression than those who did not. The longer the
participants took cod liver oil, the less likely
they were to have high levels of depression.
In June 2005, the British Journal of
Psychiatry
concluded:
"There is good evidence that
psychiatric illness is associated with depletion
of EFAs and crucially, that supplementation can
result in clinical amelioration (improvement). As
well as challenging traditional views of aetiology
(study of causes) and
therapeutics (treatment and healing) in
psychiatry, the clinical trial data may herald a
simple, safe and effective adjunct to our standard
treatments for many disabling
conditions."
(Definitions in
parentheses added by
Novus.)
HOW DOES OMEGA-3
WORK?
Until we make more progress in
understanding metabolism, DNA and the human genome
(the set of cells containing instructions for how
the body operates), it is unlikely that we will
really understand how and why omega-3 works and
for whom it will work, but medical studies have
shown the following:
* A lack of DHA has
far-reaching hormonal effects, increasing anxiety
and unwanted emotions.
* A low level of omega-3
fatty acids is a likely predictor of increased
depression, angry feelings and
anxiety.
* Dietary supplementation
with omega-3 can be a non-drug treatment for
depression, angry feelings and
anxiety.
* Brain tissue is
estimated to be 60% fat and omega-3 fatty acids
appear to be the body's favorite, so when there is
a lack of omega-3 the brain does not function as
well.
* Performance on mental
ability tests has been shown to increase with
higher levels of omega-3 fatty
acids.
* Omega-3 levels directly
affect mood and brain function.
* Lower levels of omega-3
in infants and children have been associated with
learning problems such as those exhibited by
children labeled "ADHD"--the phony
disease.
* Increased consumption of
omega-3 reduces the risk for cardiovascular,
neurological and immunological disorders, diabetes
and cancer.
* EPA and DHA may delay a
decline in mental performance in elderly
men.
* DHA may protect against
Alzheimer's disease and
dementia.
* Autopsies of the brains
of people who suffered depression revealed
deficits of DHA.
* Three studies presented
in March 2007 at the American Psychosomatic
Society's annual meeting held in Budapest, Hungary
indicated:
o
Low levels of either EPA or DHA predicted high
degrees of angry feelings and
outbursts.
o
The amount of omega-3 consumed may cause
beneficial anatomical changes in areas of the
brain that regulate
emotion.
o
Low levels of DHA were associated with poor
performance on various tests of mental
competence.
(This must have been difficult to hear by
the very people who have created most of the
opinion-based, not science-based, mental diseases
and are the biggest proponents of unproven
dangerous drugs and dangerous
treatment.)
CONCLUSION
While Novus patients do rave about our fish
dinners, the most reliable way to ensure that
adequate amounts of DHA and EPA are given to our
patients is through the use of easily digested
supplements.
After our patients leave Novus, we
encourage them to continue taking omega-3
supplements and then they will not need to put
toxic (read poison) substances into their
bodies.
Because they work and because they obey the
primary rule of medicine to do no harm, Novus
utilizes other natural supplements that will be
discussed in coming
newsletters.
DISCLAIMER: THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS NOT INTENDED AS
MEDICAL ADVICE. THE READER
SHOULD ONLY DECIDE TO TAKE OR NOT TAKE ANY
SUPPLEMENTS OR DRUGS AFTER RECEIVING THE ADVICE OF
THEIR MEDICAL
DOCTOR.
