Nutrition & Lifestyle

shutterstock_60568222 No specific diet has been shown to make magnetic therapies more effective. However, nutrition, supplements and lifestyle issues need to be addressed for any condition for which magnetic therapy would be considered. In general, since inflammation is a component of most health conditions, an anti-inflammatory diet is usually very helpful. See this Healing Foods Pyramid for a good presentation of a Mediterranean style diet, which would be considered an anti-inflammatory diet. This type of diet is generally acceptable for most people. However, a diet which heavily consists of raw vegetables and fruits would generally be the most anti-inflammatory. It is generally accepted that fried or cooked fats derived from animals, (including meats and dairy, and even from seafood) are strongly inflammatory in the body. A diet with regular amounts of these foods adds an inflammatory burden to the body. To offset the free radical or oxidative stress caused by these foods, the diet needs to contain large amounts of raw fruits and vegetables. Hence the recommendation for people to have between 5 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

While magnetic therapies have a large array of actions that support health and reduce the problems associated with many health conditions in the body, these actions work better to produce results with a more comprehensive approach, including appropriate nutrition, supplements and improving various lifestyle behaviors. Magnetic therapies work to optimize the function of cells and physiologic processes in the body. Removing the cause of any given health condition/s, when possible, will go a long way to either helping to reverse the condition or at least arrest progression. Otherwise, supporting the body in its basic functions through the use of supplements and nutrition as medical food, will optimize the function of the body – whatever state it may be in.

Lifestyle behaviors that contribute to disease and disability include substance abuse [alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs, etc.], inadequate exercise/activity, non-restorative sleep, unresolved stress, overeating and repetitive use of unhealthy foods, including overuse of processed foods and sugars, negative attitudes, and boredom, among others. Correcting these nonsupportive or negative lifestyle behaviors will decrease cellular and physiologic stress, allowing magnetic therapies to work with the body to rebalance and heal itself better.

It is beyond the scope of this website to go into more detail on how to make lifestyle improvements to support health. For this, I would encourage you to consult with your healthcare practitioners for advice.

Supplements

Below is a list of some supplements that I commonly use to facilitate the actions of magnetic fields in the body for various health conditions. This is by no means comprehensive, but should serve as a fair starting point.

I believe that most people should be on a basic foundation of supplements, since these would support the body’s general health regardless of the underlying health conditions.

These basic foundation supplements include:

a good multivitamin – my recommended brand is Purity’s Perfect Multi
vitamin D3 – 2000 to 5000 IU per day
omega-3 fatty acids – 1000 to 3000 mg twice a day
Water – about half your body weight in ounces throughout the day (if you weigh 100 pounds you would take 50 ounces of water per day)
vitamin C - either a sustained release formulation of 1000 mg twice a day, or general vitamin C 1000 mg three times a day. Higher doses are often necessary, so consult with your healthcare practitioner

Any of the recommendations I make below for specific conditions will assume that the basic foundation supplements are also being used.

Detoxification

To facilitate healing in the body where toxicity is present, whether from environmental toxins, old viral infections, fungal infections, dental amalgams, insecticides and pesticides, etc., supporting detoxification is an important component of healing whether or not magnetic fields are used. Detoxification is facilitated by magnetic fields, by allowing cells to open their membranes to eliminate dormant toxicities that prevent healing. It is not uncommon for magnetic therapies to temporarily aggravate the body as part of the detoxification process, through a healing crisis. The healing crisis has to happen in order for the body to be able to heal and recover. The use of nutrition and supplements improves this detoxification process. You may need to consult with your healthcare practitioner to help you with proper detoxification.

When toxins are released by cells during stimulated healing, they usually end up in the gastrointestinal tract. The major detoxification pathways in the body include the liver, gut, kidneys and skin. When toxins are processed by the liver they end up in the gut and may recycle back into the circulatory system through the veins in the gut. Trapping toxins in the gut after expiration by the liver is an important part of removing them from the body. Otherwise they just keep recycling in the body without removing the total body burden. There are numerous books on detoxification. One of the best is by Dr. Sherry Rogers, Detoxify or Die. Dr. Rogers long-ago appreciated the value of magnetic therapies to help with the detoxification process. You can follow many of her recommendations for how to perform detoxification properly.

Some of the supplements that can be used for this include:

foundation supplements – see above
Chlorella pyrenoidosa, a freshwater green alga, 10 g daily, can be used for inflammation and detoxification.
Chitosan – 1 to 2 with each meal, when there is fat with the meal
Beta sitosterol – standard dosing per the bottle
Selenium – 200 to 400 mcg twice a day
EDTA – as recommended by your practitioner
DMSA – as recommended by your practitioner

Pain

Since pain is caused by so many different problems in the body, the specific approach needs to be tailored to the cause. Inflammation is probably the most common associated cause, and is probably present most the time. In injury, when nerves are bruised, crushed or cut, pain management is more related to simply pain suppression with over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (eg, Tylenol), salicylate (eg, aspirin) or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs, eg, Ibuprofen). With very strong pain, prescription medications may be needed and may include narcotics such as codeine.

foundation supplements – see above
vitamin E (mixed tocopherols only – not the cheaper dl-alpha tocopherol) 400 to 1600 IU daily
calcium 1.5 g daily;
magnesium 600 to 750 mg daily (any form other than oxide)
curcumin – 1000 to 4000 mg twice a day
Ginger: As dried root, 1 g 2 to 3 times per day to start, increased up to 4 g daily
Saloxisin (which includes Willow Bark extract and Boswellia)
Bromelain – 500 mg three times a day
Samento (Uncaria tomentosa or uña de gato) 1 capsule or 15-30 drops of liquid extract twice a day.
SAM-e enteric-coated 400 mg of twice a day to three times a day

Sleep

These can be used individually or in combination at bedtime as needs arise and results determine:

foundation supplements – see above
Melatonin 3-12 mg at bedtime (some suggest taking one dose at about 4 pm and the rest at bedtime). If there is trouble staying asleep as well, 1-3 tabs of regular melatonin can be taken at dinner or up to 2 hours before sleep and 1-3 tabs of sustained release melatonin at bedtime
5-HTP capsules, 50-200 mg with meals or at bedtime (do not mix with SSRI anti-depressants or anti-Parkinson drugs)
St. John’s Wort 300 mg – caution needs to be used with many medications
Kava: as dried root, 450 mg 1 or 2 capsules at bedtime or up to twice per day
Valerian: as extract, 400 to 900 mg 2 hours before bedtime
German chamomile: as tea, steep 3 g of dried flower heads in 150 ml boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes and strain; take 1 cup up to 3 times daily
L-theanine 100 mg-200mg
GABA: 500-1,000 mg at bedtime.

Stress

foundation supplements – see above
Adaptogen combination preparation – Vital Adapt Siberian ginseng: As powdered root, 0.6 to 3 g 1 to 3 times per day, or ethanolic extract, 0.5 to 6 mL 1 to 3 times a day; use for 2 to 8 weeks, then abstain for 2 weeks
Gotu kola: As dried leaves, 600 mg 3 times per day; as tea, 600 mg dried leaves steeped in 150 mL of boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes and strain; take 1 cup 3 times per day
Valerian: as extract, 400 to 900 mg 2 hours before bedtime

Arthritis, Tendonitis, Bursitis

foundation supplements – see above
Glucosamine sulphate (not hydrochloride) 500 mg three times daily.
Chondroitin 400 mg three times daily (alone or in combination with Glucosamine).
Capsaicin cream (Zostrix) – thin film of cream (0.025%, 0.075%) applied to the joint/s four times a day.
magnesium 600 to 750 mg daily (any form other than oxide)
curcumin – 1000 to 4000 mg twice a day
ginger: As dried root, 1 g 2 to 3 times per day to start, increased up to 4 g daily
Saloxisin (which includes Willow Bark extract and Boswellia)
bromelain – 500 mg three times a day
Samento (Uncaria tomentosa or uña de gato) 1 capsule or 15-30 drops of liquid extract twice a day.
SAM-e enteric-coated 400 mg of twice a day to three times a day
MSM 3000 mg/day as a powder, mixed in water
Hyaluronic acid 100-500 mg/day (a good combination may be found in Ultimate HA)

Osteopenia/osteoporosis

foundation supplements – see above
a good bone building formula, eg, OsteoPlus, Bone Health Take Care, Osteosheath, Bone-Up
walking on hard surfaces up to 3 mi./hr 5 to 7 days per week
an alkaline producing diet
hormone replacement – with bio identical hormones (see your healthcare practitioner), DHEA 25-50 mg/ day, estrogen supporting supplements such as Estrovera or HRTPlus

Other supplement and support protocols may be found at www.illnessisoptional.com