INTRAVENOUS NUTRITION

BY FRED G. ARNOLD, NMD

Intravenous Nutrition involves vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are delivered directly into the blood stream. Probably the most popular intravenous nutrition is the Meyer’s Cocktail, named after Dr. John Meyers, M.D. who used intravenous injections to treat his patients for a variety of health conditions.

Why would someone need Intravenous Nutrition?
There are various reasons why someone would need Intravenous Nutrition. It has been said that our soil no longer has the nutrient value it did in the past and the foods we eat are depleted of the nutrients we need to be healthy. Furthermore, as we get older our digestive system tends to not work as effectively as it did when we were younger and if our foods are not being broken down into an absorbable form, they are not getting absorbed into the blood stream. Lastly, many medications will deplete the body of valuable nutrients leading to another health condition. One such example is the medication metformin, used to treat Type 2 Diabetes, that depletes the body of Vitamin B12. A depletion of Vitamin B12 can increase homocysteine in the body, a cardiac risk factor.

Benefits of Intravenous Nutrition
Dr. Alan Gaby, M.D., writes about the benefits of The Meyers Cocktail and describes the following benefits: helpful with both acute and chronic problems, bypasses ineffective absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, enhances the healing process, promotes greater health, promotes greater ability to absorb nutrients, and promotes the use of nutrients orally. 2

Conditions Treated with Intravenous Nutrition
Dr. Gaby describes many acute and chronic health conditions that benefit from intravenous nutrition:
Blood Pressure, Fatigue, Depression, Mental Clarity, Asthma, Migraines, Infections, Fibromyalgia, Muscle Spasm, Chronic Sinusitis, Upper Respiratory Infections, Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis, Cardiovascular Disease, and many other conditions.2

What is in a Meyer’s Cocktail?
The Meyer’s Cocktail IV is a mixture of B Vitamins including Vitamin C and minerals. It can be used in the treatment of a wide range of health conditions and symptoms, and for optimizing well-being.

Other Intravenous Solutions
There are a variety of different intravenous solutions, dependent upon the individuals specific health condition. In his book, Primal Panacea, Dr. Thomas Levy, MD, JD writes about the benefits of high dose Vitamin C given intravenously for treatment of the following conditions: osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, herpes, viral infections, and cardiovascular conditions.3 Other specialized intravenous solutions are used to treat the following conditions: heavy metal toxicity, macular degeneration, tissue and wound healing, and Parkinson’s disease.1

Testing for Nutrient Deficiencies
Nutrient deficiencies can be determined with specialized testing. Two specialized tests that our office uses is the Micronutrient Test by SpectraCell, that measures nutrient deficiencies in the white blood cell and the NutraEval test by Genova Diagnostics, a very comprehensive nutritional evaluation to identify clinical imbalances that may inhibit optimal health. Current blood work is recommended when treating with intravenous nutrition that can then be compared to future blood work after a course of treatment.

Summary
Intravenous nutrition is a very effective way to replace nutrients in the body that may be depleted and improve a variety of different health conditions. The Meyer’s Cocktail is probably the most recognized intravenous nutrition; however, there are also many other intravenous mixtures that are customized to each individuals health condition. Specific nutrient testing is available to determine specific deficiencies.

1. Osborne, Virginia, ND. Intravenous Nutritional Therapy for Physicians. Phoenix, AZ, 2006.
2. Gaby, Alan, MD, Intravenous Nutrient Therapy: “The ‘Myers’ Cocktail”, Altern Med Review. 2002. Oct; 7(5):389-403
3. Levy, Thomas E., MD,JD, Primal Panacea, MedFox Publishing, 2011