20 years ahead

Personalized medicine

Better late than never... Everyone in the medical profession is now talking about “personalized medicine”. Instead of “one size fits all”, it is gradually being realized that individual needs can vary. This has been the view of integrative or holistic medicine since the very beginning and in the SGK since its foundation in 1997.

Mitochondrial medicine

We are reading and hearing more and more about mitochondrial medicine. It is a fact that we need energy to live. This energy is a necessary prerequisite for all functions in the organism. However, it is not only the presence of energy that is important, but also how the energy is generated. We differentiate between aerobic - i.e. with the help of oxygen - and anaerobic - without oxygen. The more oxygen is used to provide our energy, the healthier the cell is. It thrives wonderfully, differentiates and does its work. However, if energy is produced without oxygen, i.e. anaerobically, this has an effect on the cell's behavior. Instead of thriving, the cell will begin to divide and, in the worst case, it can turn into a malignant tumor. This correlation was put into practice many years ago in the SBC and is now one of the most important measures in cancer prevention. The biochemical / bioenergetic correlations have also led to the development of one of our most popular products, MitoActiv - Healthy Food for the Mitochondria. We can now look back on over 10 years of experience with this product.

Statins - cholesterol-lowering drugs

Statins are one of the most frequently prescribed drugs worldwide. It is estimated that 2-300 million people take these pills every day. The fact that it has come to this is still based on the belief and above all on the marketing of the “evil cholesterol”. The doctors of the SGK have repeatedly warned about the potentially harmful effects of statins for around 20 years. Now a movie has been released on this very subject: Cholesterol, the big bluff.

It once again provides a well-founded report on the side effects of these drugs and - once again - confirms our view.

Fever reduction

Until now, conventional medicine has held the view that fever in an illness must always be reduced, confusing fever with the illness itself. For decades, the physicians of the SGK have explained how fever represents the healing reaction and should not be reduced but even supported.

In an advertisement from a pharmaceutical company, we doctors could even read: “Don't give fever a chance!” which is completely absurd and counterproductive to health. The particularly tragic part... These were recommendations in pediatrics!

Now, finally, an article entitled “Fever is our best friend” appears in the October 2019 Zeitschrift für Hausarztmedizin and explains how “reflexive fever reduction is not always helpful” and continues: “In many cases, fever reduction is pointless, possibly even harmful...”

Stem cells

An article about the “newly discovered” regenerative effect of fat stem cell extracts appeared in Schweizer Illustrierte #19 on May 4, 2015. A similar method had already been used at the SGK for years. The SGK has been involved in stem cell medicine for around 10 years, making it one of the oldest institutions and even one of the first with a Swissmedic permit for the removal of skin for the storage of stem cells. In the meantime, a switch has been made from skin to the use of fat, with the very potent SVF, Stromal Vascular Fraction (PULS shipment of 05.10.2015. Unfortunately, the SGK is currently no longer allowed to use this procedure therapeutically until the legal situation has been clarified (the SGK was also “ahead of the law”). On the other hand, fat harvesting for the extraction of SVF stem cells, for cosmetic lipofilling and for storage for later use is still permitted.

COPD

In Schweizer Illustrierte #49 from December 9, 2016 we find the article: Milestone in COPD therapy. “A new study shows that cortisone has little place in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease” (quote from the article). With cortisone there were worse lung values and even more pneumonia. Patients at the Seegarten Clinic (SGK) received this information and the possibility of alternatives decades ago.

Oncologic therapy

In Schweizer Illustrierte #18 from 6 May 2016, “Check-up” reports on a “new discovery” made by the University of Basel in the fight against cancer, namely that under certain circumstances, tumor cells switch their metabolism to energy production without oxygen. This discovery has been around for almost 100 years and was postulated by the biochemist Otto Warburg, who was also awarded the Nobel Prize for it. This knowledge has been used for many years in the SBC for tumor treatment and prevention.

Bladder infections

In Schweizer Illustrierte #42 from October 16, 2015, a special sugar called D-mannose is described as a new “insider tip” and “very effective remedy” for cystitis. At last. SGK doctors have been recommending this “miracle cure” to their patients since 1999.

Atherosclerosis

In another article in the same issue, a doctor writes that it is not LDL cholesterol that is harmful in the development of arteriosclerosis, but the so-called fatty acids. Integrative medicine has been aware of this for more than 20 years and uses this knowledge accordingly in the treatment of such risk factors, far away from the use of statins with their many known side effects. The healthy fatty acids have no side effects!

Intestinal flora

Conventional medicine has now discovered the so-called “microbiome”, i.e. the intestinal flora. Now, for the first time in conventional medicine, so-called stool transplants are being successfully carried out for certain intestinal diseases. The first stool transplantation in the SGK took place around 15 years ago! And integrative medicine has been dealing with intestinal flora analysis and treatment since around 1985.

Homocysteine

Homocysteine was only recently introduced into conventional medicine as a so-called risk factor for arteriosclerosis. This parameter was probably considered uninteresting until now, as it can be improved with “simple vitamins.” In integrative medicine, however, this factor has been recognized and treated since the 1990s.

iron

And now the problem with iron. It is thanks to the Basel doctor Dr. Beat Schaub from Binningen, who has been working for many years to ensure an adequate supply of iron. Again, ridiculed and opposed. In the same Swiss magazine, a quote from Dr. Samuel Stutz, MD, on how best to age: Social contacts, sufficient exercise, a healthy diet with plenty of protein, vitamin D and... iron.

Antibiotics

Already 20 years ago, the doctors of the SGK warned against the excessive use of antibiotics. Today we have the receipt. More and more bacteria are becoming insensitive to these drugs. We are even talking about the “post-antibiotic era”. It is long overdue to develop more trust in the body's own self-healing powers again and to reserve antibiotics only for really serious and therapy-resistant cases.

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

I was quite astonished when I received the results of a test recently introduced at the Bern Inselspital. A breath test for detecting small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The same test was already introduced here at the end of the 1990s.

Amalgam Fillings

In Schweizer Illustrierte #40 from October 7, 2016, a study from the USA was cited, indicating that individuals with more than eight amalgam fillings showed elevated levels in their blood. The Seegarten Clinic had already addressed these “dangerous dental fillings” in the 1980s and recognized the associated risks.

The Cholesterol Lie

Likewise, in this issue of Schweizer Illustrierte, the important role of cholesterol is finally being discussed—how it is essential for cell membrane tension, as a repair molecule, and for the production of bile acids, hormones, and vitamin D. Patients of the Seegarten Clinic have been aware of this since the beginning of our practice.

In the Gesundheitstipp from March 2017, another article is dedicated to the “myth of the evil cholesterol.” Many patients at the Seegarten Clinic have been “cured” after years of unsuccessful drug therapy simply by discontinuing such cholesterol-lowering medications.

Acid Blockers

Since the introduction of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in the 1990s—affectionately labeled as “stomach protectors”—the doctors at the Seegarten Clinic (SGK) have warned against their improper use. In the meantime, these potent medications have even become available without a prescription.

The most common symptom leading to the prescription and purchase of these drugs is heartburn. Interestingly, this always conveys the impression that excessive acid production is the cause. However, in many cases, the opposite is true. Heartburn often occurs with age, as normal stomach acid production declines! As a result, digestion worsens, and food remains in the stomach longer. This can sometimes lead to a small amount of residual acid reaching the esophagus, which—even in small quantities—can be very uncomfortable. On the other hand, more acid means better digestion. Food moves more quickly from the stomach into the small intestine, preventing heartburn. The doctors at the SGK have been applying this principle for over 20 years.

Now, gastroenterologists are gradually beginning to recognize and acknowledge this aspect. As a result, drinking lemon water is now being recommended as a way to relieve heartburn.

I would love to look back in 20 years and see how the methods that are currently ridiculed and opposed by conventional medicine have become standard practice.

Here is a small selection of these topics to conclude:

• The risks associated with root canal-treated (non-vital) teeth
• The issues surrounding the extensive vaccination schedules for infants and young children
• The increasing recommendation for flu vaccinations
• Environmental burdens: from toxins to Borrelia infections
• Food intolerances

And, of course, stem cell therapy—an enormous beacon of hope for many chronically ill patients. We can only hope that this promising treatment will no longer be withheld from patients for too long.

Dr. med. John van Limburg Stirum