Robert C. Atkins - Dr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution: Nature’s Answer to Drugs

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FIRESIDE
Rockefeller Center
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1998 by Robert Atkins, M.D.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

First Fireside Edition 1999

FIRESIDE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Designed by Irving Perkins Associates, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Atkins, Robert C.

Dr. Atkins vita-nutrient solution : natures answer to drugs / Robert C. Atkins.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. VitaminsTherapeutic use. 2. Dietary supplements

Therapeutic use. L Tide.

RM259.A85 1998 97-42790

61.5 .328dc21 CIP

ISBN: 978-0-684-84488-6
ISBN: 0-684-84488-5 (Pbk)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3501-3 (eBook)

This book is not meant to replace the advice and treatments prescribed by your health care provider. It is not meant to encourage treatment of illness, disease, or other medical problems by the layman. Rather, it is meant to inform you and open you to new health choices that are now available to those who seek broader knowledge. Any application of the recommendations set forth in the following pages is at the readers discretion and sole risk. If you are under a physicians care for any condition, he or she can advise you about information described in this book.

PART I
NUTRIENTS VS. DRUGS

While most of my previous books bear the word revolution in their titles, its ironic that the title of this book merely indicates that I have a solution, when, in fact, the thrust of this book is a truly revolutionary idea. Though the impact of this solution is indeed revolutionary, the total upheaval implied by the word wont be necessary. Happily, much of the groundwork is already in place and changes are occurring, albeit slowly. Still, when it comes to fighting disease, putting a halt to undue suffering, and enjoying a higher quality of life, I tend to get impatient.

Mainstream medicines most prominent voices have long advised us that vita-nutrients have no inherent power to treat or prevent disease, and that we dont need to make a special effort to obtain these substances for our bodies. What we have not been taught, however, is that a monumental body of evidence belies this contention. Collected by scientists at the worlds most eminent institutions and published in our most prestigious journals, it definitively establishes that vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and all the other natural sources of nourishment that I call vita-nutrients can safely and effectively replace many of the drugs and invasive procedures that medicine imposes on us.

In short, the cat is out of the bag. Scientists have proved the therapeutic value of nutrients and have placed us at the threshold of a new era in medicine.

When I started to write this book, I didnt fully realize just how close we are to crossing that threshold. Nor did I recognize the extent of the company I keepthe thousands of physicians and research scientists from the finest quarters of conventional medicine who, like me, have opted to treat their patients with an extremely broad range of nutritional supplements.

I had intended to report on the successful vita-nutrient treatments that weve devised over the past twenty years at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, which have helped tens of thousands of people prevent and overcome illness. But in order to take full advantage of the important work of many others in this growing field, I decided instead to assemble a small, devoted team of nutritionists, researchers, and writers who could help me explore both the published research and personal knowledge of some of our most progressive and creative nutrition practitioners. What we learned was so exciting that one day one of my co-workers exclaimed, Dr. Atkins, I think this book could change the world. A few months later the comment was, This book will change the world. While I realized, of course, that one book cant possibly attain a goal this momentous, I confess that Ill be disappointed if it doesnt help in at least some small way.

Part One of this book will show you why the vita-nutrient solution isnt just a means of preventing deficiency states. In fact, its the treatment of choice for most of the chronic illnesses that plague us today. By addressing the true causes of disease instead of temporarily alleviating symptoms, it enables longer-lasting, more effective healing. Part Two will reveal the full disparity between the role nutrients can and should play in overcoming illness, along with the way the medical profession can restrict its options. Here I describe the therapeutic capabilities of over one hundred vita-nutrients and nutritional herbs. Youll learn that familiar vitamins and herbs that you see listed on the side of a cereal box represent only a fraction of the natural healing substances that are available to all of us. These vita-nutrients can be such powerful health resources that I have come to consider them the tools of healing.

In Part Three well put together all of this information by creating a personalized program to help you regain or improve your health. This system, which is based on the principle of targeting your nutritional supplements, will help you create your own tailor-made program, much like the ones we use at the Atkins Center. These will not only correct the deficiencies that cause specific health problems, but will also play health-restoring roles unrelated to deficiencies. Whether your problem is diabetes, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, or an infection, youll formulate a vita-nutrient solution that will help you get wellwithout resorting to the drugs and invasive procedures with consequences that are often as serious as the ailment itself, Empowered by a new level of health care choices, you should do very well indeed.

I believe that this newfound power comes hand in hand with a duty to share itwith your family, with friends, and, yes, with your doctors. The vita-nutrient solution is a community solution, although it is by no means a substitute for professional medical care. You will need a doctor at your side to watch over your well-being and monitor your progress.

Even though the vast majority of medical professionals care about their patients health and are always open to a promising new treatment, they are often unwilling to ignore the pronouncements of medicines policy makerswho as a group have never been as enthusiastic about natural treatments as they are about pharmaceuticals. The grassroots support on which nutritional medicine has always had to rely must overcome consensus medicines resistance to change. Find out if your doctor will guide you or will at least support your efforts to find a nutrient-based health program. You might even ask him or her to read this book, which is copiously footnoted with solid mainstream research citations and references for that very purpose. If a doctor dismisses nutrition or tells you that supplements may interfere with medications, I hope this book will convince you to consider finding a different physician.