What, exactly, is IV therapy?
In many people’s understanding, IV therapy is synonymous with high-dose IV Vitamin C used as an adjunctive therapy for cancer treatment, and to help ameliorate the side effects of chemotherapy.
While it’s true that high-dose IV C is effective in these ways, in my general naturopathic practice I find that patients with many other conditions benefit from both high-dose IV C and other IV therapies.
As people age, IV therapies offer special benefits.
Aging people often have nutrient deficiencies that cannot be orally addressed, whether due to a lack of intake of nutrients, an inability to digest or absorb nutrients, or nutrient depletion from taking pharmaceutical agents.
IV therapies offer direct delivery of nutrients to the cells, resulting in better function. So the patient feels better as a result. Fairly frequently, we hear the comment “I feel like myself again.”
The Myers Cocktail, probably the most common nutritional IV – read about it here (PDF) – includes (among other nutrients) vitamin C, B vitamins, calcium, and magnesium.
B vitamin deficiencies are among the most commonly found in people as they age. Magnesium is particularly beneficial, as when taken orally high‑dose magnesium tends to cause diarrhea, especially when stomach acid is low (as is common in older folks or anyone on antacid medication).
Magnesium is fundamental in the treatment of asthma, headaches, blood pressure, and “anything that twitches.”
People most commonly come to us for Myers Cocktail treatment when they sense an oncoming flu or respiratory condition and want to stop it in its tracks.
This works well. Even more dramatic is the effect of the treatment on the herpes virus. The widely touted shingles vaccine is far from universally effective, but the IV C in the Myers Cocktail and higher-dose IV C therapies can significantly dampen the symptoms and shorten attacks of both shingles and genital herpes.
IV C and Myers Cocktails are often followed by treatment with glutathione. Glutathione is unfortunately not well absorbed in oral form, but is easily given in a glutathione “push.”
Glutathione is a critical antioxidant, fundamental to detoxification, DNA repair, improved immune response, treatment of neurodegenerative and pulmonary diseases, and much, much more. Because these health issues are increasingly common as we age, the benefit of glutathione treatments is obvious.
Another type of IV that promotes healthy aging is IV amino acid therapy.
An aging person’s amino acid status can suffer due to insufficient intake and poor digestion. Amino acid therapies are useful for depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug rehab, and for building proteins that support cellular structure and function.
Aside from these basic IV therapies, we offer many botanical and antioxidant therapies for the treatment of specific conditions, including degenerative liver disease, inflammatory and autoimmune disease, and macular degeneration.
Safe and effective, IV therapies have become integral to the optimal aging toolbox.
Learn more about Dr. Connie’s Hernandez’s work HERE.