Northern Centre for Integrative Medicine | IV Micronutrient Therapy

There are times that using supplementation by mouth is either inappropriate or inadequate. Absorption of nutrients is 100% when administered IV. You can imagine how this is a tremendous advantage to people that have, for example, a difficult time digesting their food.

— IBS
— Crohn’s disease
— Colitis
— People with foods sensitivities, poor appetite and nausea

or have higher than average requirements for certain nutrients

— Athletes
— People under high amounts of physical or emotional stress
— People who are trying to get in shape for the first time
— People with acute viral illness or dehydration

Energy booster and athletic performance (Myers cocktail)

The most commonly used Intravenous nutrient treatment is referred to as the Myers Cocktail. Developed over 30 years ago by Dr. John Myers, MD, the Myer’s Cocktail is a combination of water-soluble vitamins and minerals necessary for basic metabolic function. It can be used to support the adrenal glands and the immune system. This basic formula can be customized by adding or removing particular nutrients as patients needs change.

The vitamins and minerals used include:

— Vitamin C
— Magnesium
— Calcium
— Sodium Bicarbonate
— Vitamin B12
— Vitamin B6
— VitaminB5
— Vitamin B1
—Vitamin B-complex

Musculoskeletal pain and muscle spasm (magnesium push)

Magnesium sulfate, “the Magnesium push”.

This is one of the most popular intravenous therapies offered at our office and is often done along with the Myers cocktail. In general this IV is used for athletes that have stiff or sore muscles or people that are in acute muscle spasm. It is often remarkable when used in migraine headaches and in general in people that have chronic pain.

Injected magnesium can add to the therapy of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue in many ways (see references). In a human study of IV magnesium, Silver reported that tissue levels rose for 24 hours following infusion and distributed for another 24 hours, giving a therapeutic window of at least 48 hours following one infusion. Magnesium needs to be appropriately diluted and started at lower doses and increased to the patient’s tolerance.

Anti-aging detoxifier and antioxidant (glutathione push)

Glutathione in its reduced form is the body’s most powerful antioxidant. IV glutathione treatment is administered via a slow push from a syringe over 15–30 minutes, depending on the dosage. Illnesses that are associated with decreased levels of glutathione and show benefit from repletion include:

— Parkinson’s disease
— Liver disease (glutathione is produced normally in the liver)
— Diabetes
— Inflammatory lung processes
— Coronary heart disease
— Vocal polyps or changes on the vocal folds

Heart and artery health (Plaquex)

Phosphatidylcholine, or Plaquex forms a larger molecule called lecithin, which is found within the membranes of all human cells and provides the fluidity that is fundamental to membrane health. Cellular communication depends on properly functioning membranes. It is also the major source of choline, which is used in the production of an essential neurotransmitter that is vital for neurological and muscular function. Choline plays a major therapeutic role in supporting the methylation cycle, which is vital for various metabolic functions, like DNA production.

— Neurological diseases: Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, neuropathy, stroke recovery, head trauma
— Liver support: Hepatitis B and C, fatty liver disease
— Cardiac support: Atherosclerosis
— Fatigue
— Athletic enhancement

Diabetic neuropathy (Alpha Lipoic Acid)

Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a naturally-occurring nutrient that is an antioxidant and helps to regulate blood sugar. It is both water-soluble and fat-soluble. This characteristic allows for antioxidant protection throughout the body. It prevents cell damage and keeps levels of other antioxidant vitamins and nutrients high- such as vitamin C, vitamin E, CoQ10 and glutathione. Only small amounts are typically found in the bloodstream, so supplementing with ALA has a lot of physiological impact. Intravenously, of course ALA is 100% absorbed and has even more interesting effects:

— Diabetes control and helping the terrible pain of diabetic neuropathy
— Chronic fatigue syndrome
— Certain Cancers
— Treats and prevents some side effects of chemotherapy and radiation
— Neurological diseases

Heavy metal reduction

Toxic metal reduction Metals interfere with multiple metabolic processes in the human body, causing fatigue, headaches, mood and memory problems. Simple testing can determine if this is a problem. Chelation agents are then injected that bind and eliminate those metals from your body.

Myers Cocktail References

Intravenous Nutrient Therapy: the “Myers’ Cocktail” – Foundational Medicine Review
by AR Gaby · 2002 · Cited by 78 ·(Altern Med Rev 2002;7(5):389-403)

Intravenous micronutrient therapy (Myers’ Cocktail) for fibromyalgia: a placebo-controlled pilot study.
Ali A, Njike VY, Northrup V, Sabina AB, Williams AL, Liberti LS, Perlman AI, Adelson H, Katz DL.
Version 2. J Altern Complement Med. 2009 Mar;15(3):247-57. doi: 10.1089/acm.2008.0410.
PMID: 19250003 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

Padayatty SJ, et al. (2010). Vitamin C: Intravenous use by complementary and alternative medicine practitioners and adverse effects. DOI:doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011414

Pressman P, et al. (2017). Bioavailability of micronutrients obtained from supplements and food.
journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2397847317696366

Shrader WA. (2004). Short and long term treatment of asthma with intravenous nutrients. DOI:
doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-3-6

Magnesium References

Open Heart. 2018 Jan 13;5(1):e000668. doi: 10.1136/openhrt-2017-000668. eCollection 2018.
Subclinical magnesium deficiency: a principal driver of cardiovascular disease and a public health crisis. James J DiNicolantonio 1 , James H O’Keefe 1 , William Wilson

Dubé L, Granry JC. The therapeutic use of magnesium in anesthesiology, intensive care and emergency medicine: a review. Can J Anaesth. 2003 Aug–Sep;50(7):732–746. PMID: 12944451.

Soave PM, Conti G, Costa R. Arcangeli A. Magnesium and anaesthesia. Curr Drug Targets. 2009 Aug;10(8):734–743. PMID: 19702521.

Nagai N1, Fukuhata T, Ito Y. Effect of magnesium deficiency on intracellular ATP levels in human lens epithelial cells. Biol Pharm Bull. 2007 Jan;30(1):6–10. PMID: 17202650.

Barbagallo M et al. Effects of glutathione on red blood cell intracellular magnesium : relation to glucose metabolism. Hypertension. 1999;34:76–82. doi:10.1161/01.HYP.34.1.76.

Silver BR. Development of cellular magnesium nano-analysis in treatment of clinical magnesium deficiency. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004;23(6):732S–737S. PMID: 15637223.

Glutathione References

Aebi S, Assereto R, Lauterburg BH. 1991. High-dose intravenous glutathione in man. Pharmacokinetics and effects on cysteine in plasma and urine. European Journal of Clinical Investigation. 21(1):103-10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1907548/

Davids LM, Van Wyk JC, Khumalo NP. 2016. Intravenous glutathione for skin lightening: Inadequate safety data. South African Medical Journal. 106(8):782-6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27499402

Fukugawa NK, Ajami AM, Young VR. 1996. Plasma methionine and cysteine kinetics in response to an intravenous glutathione infusion in adult humans. American Journal of Physiology. 270(2 Pt 1):E209-14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8779940

Hauser RA, Lyons KE, McClain T, Carter S, Perlmutter D. 2009. Randomized, double-blind, pilot evaluation of intravenous glutathione in Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders. 24(7):979-83. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19230029

Kern JK, Geier DA, Adams JB, Garver CR, Audhya T, Geier MR. 2011. A clinical trial of glutathione supplementation in autism spectrum disorders. Medical Science Monitor. 17(12):CR677-682. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3628138/

King LA, Horak FB. 2009. Delaying mobility disability in people with Parkinson disease using a sensorimotor agility exercise program. Physical Therapy. 89(4):384-393. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664996/

Marco EJ, Hinkley LBN, Hill SS, Nagarajan SS. 2011. Sensory processing in autism: A review of neurophysiologic findings. Pediatric Research. 69(5 Pt 2):48R-54R. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3086654/

Otto M, Magurs T, Langland JO. 2017. The use of intravenous glutathione for symptom management of Parkinson’s disease: A case report. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29101773

Pizzorno J. 2014. Glutathione! Integrative Medicine: A Children’s Journal. 13(1):8-12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684116/

Phosphatidylcholine References

Zeisel SH, Blusztajn JK. Choline and human nutrition. Annu Rev Nutr 1994;14:269-296.
Phosphatidylcholine. Altern Med Rev. 2002 Apr;7(2):150-4.

Jenkins PJ, Portmann BP. Use of polyunsaturated phosphatidyl choline in HBsAg negative chronic active hepatitis: results of prospective double-blind controlled trial. Liver 1982;2:77-81.

Niederau C, Strohmeyer G, Heintges T, Peter K, Göpfert E. Polyunsaturated phosphatidyl-choline and interferon alpha for treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C: a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Hepatogastroenterology. 1998

Jäger R, Purpura M, Kingsley M. Phospholipids and sports performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2007 Jul 25;4:5.

Ali Mousavi S, Khorvash F, Hoseini T. The efficacy of citroline in the treatment of ischemic stroke and primary hypertensive intracereral hemorrhage; a review article. ARYA Atheroscler. 2010 Fall;6(3):122-5.

Kidd PM. Phosphatidylcholine, a superior protectant against liver damage. Altern Med Rev 1996;1:258-274.

Alpha Lipoic Acid References

Alpha-lipoic Acid Monograph – Foundational Medicine Review
by D Acid · 2006 · Sep. 3, 2006 · Monograph. Page 232. Alternative Medicine Review u Volume 11, Number 3 u 2006. Alpha- lipoic Acid.
Review: Rom J Intern Med. 2004;42(2):293-9. Treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy with alpha-lipoic acid is evidence based. A Vereşiu

Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 1999;107(7):421-30. doi: 10.1055/s-0029-1212132.
Alpha-lipoic acid in the treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy in Germany: current evidence from clinical trials. D Ziegler 1 , M Reljanovic, H Mehnert, F A Gries

J Intern Med. Jul-Sep 1999;37(3):297-306. Effects of 3-month treatment with the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. G Negrişanu 1 , M Roşu, B Bolte, D Lefter, D Dabelea