Intravenous (IV) therapy is a method of feeding minerals, vitamins, and amino acids directly into the bloodstream in order to correct intracellular nutrient deficiencies—with the ultimate goal of delivering up to ten times the nutrients than could be administered orally. With thirty-three years of Anti-Aging and holistic medicine, Mitchell Ghen, DO, PhD is an international lecturer on oral and IV nutrition, and stem cell transplantation, and discusses the benefits of intravenous nutritional therapies: “Regardless of what you do orally, the amount that you take by mouth in nutrients or in food is reduced as we get older. Only by IV route can you get sufficient nutrients: If you are over 40, without the IV route, you cannot get the nutrients you need.”
When expounding upon the critical necessity of knowing, implementing, and practicing IV therapy, Dr. Ghen refers to chilling statistics and data. “75% of the United States population has some sort of chronic disease. In the typical Western model, we are just using a Band-Aid…we are handling symptoms, as opposed to treating the underlying cell abnormalities.” As integrative and holistic medicine grows at a more rapid rate than any other sector in healthcare, IV therapy and other alternatives are gaining more traction and popularity, in addition to a greater understanding regarding nutritional balance.
Experts agree that the overarching goal of IV therapy is to recreate the cell-to-cell milieu of someone youthful. “We are the most healthy between ages 18 and 32—we are basically immortal at that time,” says Dr. Ghen. Considering the fact that many patients are consistently overmedicated with prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals, Dr. Ghen is eager to disseminate information surrounding new ways of returning to optimal health. “The first year of medical school everyone studies biochemistry. In the biochemical model, we find all the things that we use intravenously; by using IV therapy, we are returning to the genesis—the beginning—we are trying to create the initial, early ways in which cells become healthy.”
Dorothy Merritt, MD focuses on preventive and environmental medicine, lead toxicity, nutritional genetics, and microcurrent. Dr. Merritt has founded a number of centers that specialize in treatment of lead toxicity, and was one of 100 principal investigators for the NIH TACT trial for chelation therapy—a treatment used for removing heavy metals from the blood. “Based on the results of TACT, a random controlled NIH trial, EDTA Chelation is soon going to be the number one treatment in diabetics to prevent further morbidity and mortality. TACT 2, a confirmatory trial in diabetics with previous heart disease is already underway. If it replicates TACT, the FDA will approve it and every primary care doctor, endocrinologist, and cardiologist will need to know how to do this simple treatment in their offices.”
For those readers who have wondered why healthcare practitioners and professionals are adding IV therapy to their practices, A4M will be hosting an IV Symposium from August 11-12, designed for physicians, nurse practitioners, and any medical professional looking to develop knowledge of intravenous nutritional therapies. The two-day course in Las Vegas, which will include lectures from both Dr. Ghen and Dr. Merritt, will cover the fundamentals of IV therapy, and expand on the use of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other unique parenteral compounds, while also concentrating on chelation therapy. Clinicians completing this workshop will have a thorough understanding of IV therapy, and the ability to immediately implement various IV protocols into their practices. The course has been provided multiple times per year for the past three years, offering hundreds of clinicians training through an actively hands-on experience. Attendees will receive 16 CME credits. Register now.
