156: Interview with an Icon: Dr. Alan Gaby and Nutritional Medicine (Part 1)

People who have accomplished much in their lives have often said that they stood on the shoulders of the giants who laid the groundwork for their discoveries and accomplishments. Dr. Karl unequivocally states that Dr. Gaby dramatically changed his interest in and his ability to practice nutritional medicine. Dr. Gaby’s life work is his Nutritional Medicine. It represents about 40 years of research and his personal experience of treating patients and teaching medical school students like Dr. Karl. 

Dr. Karl sees Dr. Gaby's work as his backstop around what we know about using a particular substance (or supplement) for a condition.  In this episode, Dr. Karl and Dr. Gaby discuss some things that might be considered controversial. Stay tuned. We hope you enjoy the conversation!

COVID 

Many decisions related to COVID and nutritional medicine get based on what we already know from the research on preventing and treating other infections. That is because there is not much funding behind nutrition research. 

Hidden food allergies

Dr. Gaby recommends working with a health practitioner to uncover any masked allergies. Sometimes allergies are a contributing factor to various chronic problems. Yet, many people are not even aware they exist. In Dr. Gaby’s experience, many people found they got way fewer and less severe infections after avoiding certain foods. 

Supplements

Vitamin C has several effects on immune function, and high doses of Vitamin C, administered intravenously, have brought about some dramatic improvements in people with infections. 

A Vitamin D metabolite was given to people with COVID in a clinical trial in Spain. It brought about a dramatic improvement. Dr. Gaby does not recommend using very high doses of Vitamin D, however. 

Zinc is known to prevent COVID from entering cells.

Black elderberry syrup has a long history of traditional use for respiratory infections. In a meta-analysis, a marked benefit got seen in the symptoms in people with colds and flu. In a test tube, black elderberry extract inhibited the replication of a chicken coronavirus. 

The Sunlight Complex

Vitamin D differs from all other vitamins. It forms part of what Dr. Gaby calls the Sunlight Complex. When the human skin gets exposed to sunlight, it produces Vitamin D. It also produces a hormone related to immune function, amongst other things. Sunlight also gets taken into the brain via the eyes and stimulates many different hormonal functions. 

Methyl folate and depression

We know that the methylated form of folic acid, methyl folate, is effective as a treatment for depression when given at the appropriate dosage and combined with a drug like Prozac. It appears, however, that folic acid is more potent as an adjunct to antidepressants than methyl folate. 

Although Dr. Gaby uses methyl folate occasionally, he feels concerned about putting it in a multivitamin along with other things.

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Dr. Gaby