So in my own health journey, I must admit I am a total pill popper…. vitamins, to be exact. I have a long love-hate relationship with them. When taking a deep dive into my blood work, I noticed some vitamin deficiencies and some hormonal imbalances. As a result, I have either self-prescribed or been prescribed a variety of supplements, most of which I forget to take or some I probably don’t absorb correctly. I started investigating shortcuts to my vitamin regimen…how can I take fewer each day and absorb them better?

In my quest for a solution, I met Dr. Smith of Healthier. Dr. Smith’s team is now working at Back to Health Center, providing vitamin injections and IV therapy. I am a huge fan of the B12 injections for increased energy, but I also indulge in the pretty little things to get that youthful skin glow. Check out what Dr. Smith has to say about IV therapy:

Intravenous (IV) nutrient therapy is rapidly becoming a popular choice to optimize wellness and prevent illness in people seeking creative ways to stay well in our modern world. Even when free of major illnesses, many people experience fatigue and discomfort that prevents them from living the life they desire.

IV nutrient therapy is part of a holistic and natural approach to maintaining health and well-being. Preliminary research on multiple vitamins and nutrients suggests that when certain blood concentrations are reached, these vitamins can alter the course of disease states. The concentration of vitamins and nutrients that can be absorbed through oral ingestion is limited; therefore, IV administration is helpful in achieving optimal levels. Additionally, environmental illnesses such as seasonal allergies that inhibit nutrient absorption are at an all-time high. This makes it all the more difficult to experience the therapeutic effects of nutrients. It is also well demonstrated in medical research that a large portion of the population is now taking antacid medications that severely limit the oral absorption of magnesium, calcium, and other vital nutrients.

Interest in treatment with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients was first sparked in the 1950s when Dr. John Myers started administering his Myers cocktails to his John Hopkins University internal medicine clinic patients. Like many physicians today, Dr. Myers was troubled by the symptoms of many of his patients that could not be relieved by conventional medicine. He developed cocktails of vitamins and nutrients for specific conditions that brought his “difficult” patients great relief. Dr. Myers took great care to test his cocktails on lab animals and then on himself. He soon attracted thousands of lifelong patients from all over the world for his services. Eventually, other physicians borrowed his methods. As the practice of medicine changed, the practice of IV vitamin infusions fell by the wayside. Because methods of treatment popularized and studied were largely driven by pharmaceutical companies, nutrient and vitamin treatment was largely ignored as less lucrative.

In recent decades, practitioners interested in holistic treatment methods have regained interest in this methodology, and their patients have greatly benefited. IV nutrient hydration has shown promise in treating fatigue, pain, anxiety, and depression. We are beginning to understand how high-dose nutrients may arrest and reverse the deleterious effects of aging. Protocols have also been created to treat migraines, asthma, upper respiratory infections, and cardiovascular disease. Due to the lack of fully-funded studies, we do not yet have the evidence to prove these therapies are curative; however, they are again helping many patients that failed to find answers from conventional medicine.