What is Orthomolecular Medicine?

Orthomolecular Medicine (OM) is a term coined by Linus Pauling in the late 1960's referring to his practice of using naturally occurring substances (nutrients) to treat disease and maintain optimum health. OM literally means "right molecule". Linus Pauling's  focus was primarily the field of psychiatry. You will hear people refer to OM as "megavitamin treatment" because often very large doses (larger then FDA recommendations) of vitamins and minerals are used to treat disease.

As in other forms of traditional healing such as Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, Traditional Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, etc., the goal of an OM practitioner is to re-balance the system of the patient. In OM the practitioner's goal is to provide deficient nutrients. Evidence for the practice of OM has been drawn from many fields of scientific study including veterinary medicine, human medicine, biochemistry and immunology just to name a few. In contrast to a traditional western treatment, an OM practitioner places nutrition first and foremost when addressing illness and then strives for a cure or "re-balance" rather than a medication to merely ameliorate clinical signs. The theory behind this type of practice is that all organisms are unique, not only in their build and personalities, but also biochemically. Additionally, biochemical needs change as a result of exposure to stress, during the aging process, exposure to infectious agents, during reproduction and environmental exposure to toxins and pollutants. We see examples of these individual differences every day - "easy keepers", "hot horses", the overanxious thoroughbred prone to ulcers, etc..  The USDA has published dietary guidelines for feeding animals, but these published nutritional standards are a generalization for normal healthy animals and are designed to avoid deficiencies and toxicities. They do not take into account individual variations or increased nutrient demand under stresses, it would be nearly impossible to do that without individual analysis of each animals feed, water, environment and biochemical/nutritional status.

Although there are over forty nutrients required in optimum amounts, the most commonly used nutritional supplements in OM are:

Vitamins A, E, C and D

The B vitamins

Essential fatty acids

Selenium, Iron and Zinc

These are prescribed in varying amounts after evaluating the basic diet, making changes if necessary and then adding nutrients depending on the particular illness or clinical signs.