Posted today on LinkedIn’s nutritional group site is an article rightly suggesting that supplementation can reduce the rate of patients returning with complications. Hospitals are well behind the times when it comes to natural treatments. I was in hospital following an accident and asked for some arnica tablets to speed my recovery only to be met with blank stares.
My posted comment was:
Supplements are a must for most people not living the life of a hunter-gatherer. This is all the more true of people unlucky enough to be ill enough to be admitted to hospital. Supplements such as vitamin C are universally beneficial. If in hospital for a heart attack then coenzyme Q10 is a must. However, oddly overlooked despite its recognition in 1998 by the Nobel Prize is L-arginine supplementation.
There are abundant research papers showing improved healing of wounds in animals given Arginine supplementation (e.g.Barbul et al, Journal of Surgical Research, 38 (1985), 228-334). As a result of the weight of animal research the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine gave Arginine supplementation to patients undergoing surgery with high risk of complications. The second group received the amino acid glycine. By day 7 post op. it was found that The Arginine group had higher immune-cell activation before surgery and by 7 days post op. the levels were three times higher (Albina et al, American Journal of Physiology, 254 (1998), 228-334). Critical Care Medicine published a study showing shorter hospital stays and fewer infections for hospital patients given Arginine supplementation and another Arginine study has demonstrated stimulation of the immune-system response, which was thought to prevent immune system failure in trauma victims (Barbul et al., Journal of Surgical Research,38 (1985), 228-334).
We all know that the best answer to staying out of hospital is a nutritional one, but tragically mainstream medicine has not yet cottoned on (or turns a blind eye?).