Introducing the Orthomolecular guy substack!
Its about time...
Hello there!
I'm thrilled to announce the launch of my Substack newsletter! This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of the great Dr. Andrew Saul (Feb 5, 1955 - Feb 3, 2024), who devoted his life to spreading the science of orthomolecular nutrition. He inspired me initially, and his courage and wisdom changed countless lives. The heart behind this project is to continue his mission: to change and save people's lives with the simple yet profound message that underlies the art and science of orthomolecular nutrition: you can be your own doctor. "Physician, heal thyself' has never been truer than in modern times, where we lucky souls can follow in the footsteps of the great heroes of this movement: Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Abram Hoffer, Dr. Fred Klenner, Dr John Cathcart, Dr. Andrew Saul, Dr. Archie Kalokerinos, Dr. Hugh Riordan, Dr. Thomas Levy, and many more. I mentioned these names to highlight the simple fact that this field of nutritional therapeutics was developed by a two-time Nobel prize winner (Pauling) and other PhDs, and open-minded medical doctors who practiced in the lab, the clinic, the hospital room, and the delivery room, often with spectacular results.
Why focus on orthomolecular nutrition amongst the myriad of other modalities available? It is both the opinion and experience of the luminaries named above and yours truly, that orthomolecular nutrition is the safest and most affordable way to learn to care for yourself and your family. It saves lives, prolongs wellness, and prevents illness before it can take hold. It can heal the body, mind, and gut and extend longevity. But what is it anyway? What do we mean by orthomolecular nutrition? Like any form of nutritional therapy, it is all about correcting a nutritional imbalance in the body. For example, Drs. Hoffer and Pauling discovered that the vitamin b3 deficiency disease, Pellagra, was more widespread than previously imagined. He found the same applied to the vitamin C deficiency disease called scurvy. They discovered that for many people, mega doses of these vitamins were required to prevent the mild, subclinical form of these two diseases and that radical cures in mental and physical health occurred once the deficiencies were corrected. In my next post, I will tell my story of being cured of out-of-control allergies and chronic sinusitis after just three weeks of vitamin C. But the truth is that I had subclinical scurvy! Why? How did this happen? Our modern environment puts constant stress on the body due to exposure to toxic chemicals in our air, water, homes, and food and toxic and chronic stress in our work and lifestyles. All these things lead to a chronic state of oxidative stress for millions and millions of people. When combined with a diet low in vitamin C (the case for the vast majority of humans on earth), it creates a state of deficiency that leads to low-level scurvy. In frank scurvy, teeth fall out, scars and old wounds reopen, terrible skin conditions develop, and indeed, people die of simply being depleted of vitamin C. This was famously the principal cause of death of sailors for centuries during the ages of sail. Due to their limited diet of ship's biscuit and salted meats (which had almost no vitamin C whatsoever) on transoceanic journeys, sailors dropped like flies of scurvy until 1747 when Dr. James Lind, the first orthomolecular researcher, found that lemon juice (which is very high in vitamin C) prevented these deaths, and the sailors could be at sea for months in good health. The rest, as they say, is history.
People rarely die of scurvy today, although modern case history will find examples of frank scurvy from time to time in people who self-limit their diets to be severely vitamin C deficient. But what we do see is an epidemic of subclinical scurvy. These are diseases known as heart failure, atherosclerosis, diabetes, allergies, poor immune systems, chronic fatigue, and countless more. My purpose is to disseminate the life-saving knowledge of how to take vitamin C, Niacin, amino acids, other vitamins, and herbs to as many people as possible so they can enjoy a higher quality of life and a longer life than they could have imagined. Furthermore, we have just come through the worst pandemic in recent world history, and I believe the COVID-19 virus has taken an enormous toll on the physical and mental health of hundreds of millions. I personally suffered from long-haul COVID-19 for two years and believe with all my heart that I would not be here without vitamin C and other nutritional supplements such as NAC that have kept me going.
A little bit about me: I'm 47 and a father of 9. After working in finance for many years, I went in a new direction after nutrition changed my life. I completed my master’s degree of science in human nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in 2018. I have been doing freelance nutritional consultation from a Functional and orthomolecular perspective for the last five years since I graduated and applying my knowledge and experience to help keep our family going, along with my amazing wife Virginiai who is a Healthcare Project Manager, Midwife, an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and nutritional genius in her own right. This blog marks a new chapter in my journey as a nutritionist, and my vision is that it will become your preferred source for honest, thorough, comprehensible, and fun information on how to doctor yourself and your family.
But more than just covering orthomolecular nutrition, I will also write about functional nutrition, which refers to collecting various metrics on the body to determine the underlying cause of illness and imbalance, from traditional blood tests to genetic profiles. Also, I will talk about herbs, diets, and traditional nutritional therapeutics- all from current evidence-based research- to help my readers cut through all the noise and better understand how to maximize their wellness. I also will present new studies on important nutritional topics so you can stay aware of the latest research.
So here is the deal with this substack: twice per week, I’ll do a new post about orthomolecular, functional, herbalism, diet, or other nutrition topics that interest me and my readers. This service will be free as part of my mission to reach 1,000,000 people with this life-changing message! but if you wish to support this service by becoming a paid subscriber, that would be deeply appreciated and will come with special perks like live chats, Q&A posts, and audio content. Also, access to all archived posts-you never know when the answer to your burning question might be in the archive!
 Thank you, dear reader, for the most valuable gifts- your time and attention. I promise not to waste either, and I'm very excited to venture together on our mutual wellness journey!
Kevin Kirkpatrick
‘Take C until symptom-free, no matter what the dose may be’ Dr. Andrew Saul