From:
Guy R. Schenker, D.C.
February, 1999


Dear Doctor,

     If someone asked you if you knew a way to treat a man  
who has had hepatitis for 7 years that would lower his 
SGOT enzymes from 1900 all the way down to 62, what would 
you reply?  You saw from the case history presented in 
last month's Letter that such an amazing response is 
indeed possible when that patient's metabolic balance is 
restored using NUTRI-SPEC.

     You further learned that that incredible response had 
nothing to do with using remedies that are "good for the 
liver," nor nutrients that are reputed to "support the 
liver."

     You would handle this patient the same way I or any 
other NUTRI-SPEC practitioner would.  You would merely 
test the patient to determine which metabolic control 
systems are not functioning properly.  The patient's 
testing would reveal one or more fundamental metabolic 
imbalances which are sure to be a causative factor in the 
hepatitis.

     THE "CURE" FOR THIS PATIENT (AS FOR ANY PATIENT)
        IS TO INCREASE HIS ADAPTATIVE CAPACITY...

with the improved metabolic efficiency that comes from 
biochemical balance.  The whole point of NUTRI-SPEC (and 
the only point of NUTRI-SPEC) is to define exactly what 
the special nutrition needs are for each individual, based 
on objective test patterns, when evaluated within the 
context of the 5 fundamental metabolic control systems.

     Not one doctor in a thousand could achieve the 
results you saw in that hepatitis patient.  The reason is 
because so few doctors have a clear vision of what their 
role is as a health care provider.

                          - 2 -


     Most of us became doctors because we wanted to help 
people and because we wanted to enjoy the emotional and 
financial rewards that derive from providing a valuable 
professional service.  As we embarked on our journey to 
become qualified health care providers, our mission was 
quite simply the pursuit of truth.  We were intent on 
mastering all information essential to properly evaluate 
and care for patients.  We had to learn the natural laws 
that govern health and disease.  We had to learn what were 
the causes of diseases; how to identify and analyze those 
causes; and, how to correct those causes.

     Regrettably, at some point along the road to becoming 
a doctor...

        MOST OF US WERE DIVERTED FROM THE PURSUIT
           OF TRUTH BY THE SEDUCTION OF CURES.

From that moment on, our professional lives were pursued 
with a vision that was clouded by the temptation of 
emotional and financial gratification not derived from 
making patients healthier and stronger, but rather from 
making them feel better.

     Since most doctors have lost the vision and are 
focused only on "cures," we see patients with knee pain 
treated with anti-inflammatory drugs when what they really 
need is a complete functional testing of all the related 
soft tissues, followed by the appropriate rehabilitation 
regimen.  We see patients with back pain "cured" with 
ultrasound while the underlying faulty biomechanics are 
never even evaluated let alone restored to normal.  We see 
patients with anxiety "cured" with Prozac when the cause 
of their anxiety (perhaps hypoglycemia associated with 
several metabolic imbalances) is not even considered.

     The case history in last month's Letter showed what 
can be achieved when you regain your vision -- when you 
re-awaken your passion for the pursuit of truth.  With a 
clear focus on your role as a healthcare provider you will 
ask yourself not how do you cure this patient's hepatitis, 
but rather, where is the breakdown in this patient's 
adaptative capacity?  What metabolic control systems need 
to be strengthened?

     In testing this patient and finding an electrolyte 
stress imbalance, we realized that while this imbalance 
tends to be thought of in terms of cardiovascular disease,  
a breakdown in this metabolic control system has far- 
reaching implications that affect the metabolism and body 
chemistry of every tissue and cell in the body.
                          - 3 -


     Did this patient's liver benefit from restoring the 
electro-negative colloidal properties of the body fluids?  
Did the liver benefit from normalizing intracellular and 
extracellular fluid and electrolyte composition and 
movement?  Was the balancing of pH in each of the body 
fluid compartments of any value to the liver?  Did the  
more efficient oxidative metabolism benefit liver 
function?

     Do you really see the essentiality of a patient-
specific approach to healthcare as opposed to the 
conventional disease-specific approach?  NUTRI-SPEC gives 
you some indispensable tools, empowering you to offer your 
patients objective, comprehensive healthcare rather than 
being just another dispenser of cures.


     That hepatitis case history was presented within the 
larger context of our discussion of the increased 
specificity and power of your newly revised Quick 
Reference Guide protocol for electrolyte stress patients.  
We have reached the point in our discussion of electrolyte 
stress where we consider the many medications that are 
likely to be encountered in these patients.  We talked at 
some length last month about calcium channel blockers -- 
their devastating effects, and why you should place your 
highest priority on getting your patients off these drugs.  

     There is another medication about which you must be 
informed.  That is potassium chloride, the form of 
potassium given to many of your ES patients who are on 
diuretics as part of their blood pressure management.

     It is true that many patients who are on diuretics 
and thus have depleted potassium levels need to have their 
potassium replaced.  (The same applies to magnesium, but 
no one but NUTRI-SPEC doctors seem to know or care.)  You 
must understand, however, that potassium chloride is the 
last form of potassium your ES patients should take.  The 
majority of your ES patients are chloride sensitive.  The 
chloride in the potassium chloride will make their ES 
imbalance worse and continue to push their blood pressure 
up despite the blood pressure medications that are being 
taken.

     We have many references showing the devastating 
effects of chlorides on blood pressure.  The latest of 
these comes from the Proceedings of the National Academy 
of Sciences from December 24, 1997.  The reported study 
was done at the University of California and it was
particularly interesting because it not only showed the
                          - 4 -


damaging effect of potassium chloride, but also showed 
that there were extreme benefits to be had from 
supplementing hypertensive patients with potassium 
bicarbonate and especially potassium citrate.  These two 
forms of potassium (which are familiar to those of us 
using NUTRI-SPEC) did a good job not only of lowering 
blood pressure but also of decreasing the incidence of
stroke.

     Your NUTRI-SPEC Quick Reference Guide gives you 
specific protocol for the use of both potassium 
bicarbonate and potassium citrate.

     If you have a patient that is taking potassium 
chloride on prescription, get them off it immediately and 
replace it with whatever potassium salt or salts are 
indicated by your Quick Reference Guide analysis.

     We must make one other comment in regard to your ES 
patients who are on medications.  Be careful you do not 
miss an ES patient due to medication.  Many patients who 
are hypertensive or who have other aspects of cardio-
vascular disease will be on one or more medications which 
can mask their electrolyte stress imbalance.  If they are 
on blood pressure medicines and/or diuretics their blood 
pressures may be held down within normal limits even upon 
orthostatic challenge.  The pulses may also show a normal 
clinostatic response while on certain medications.  Go 
ahead and treat these patients as an electrolyte stress
imbalance regardless of the absence of the test pattern.

     There is yet another medication that relates to 
potassium supplementation that you must understand -- ACE 
inhibitors.  These medications are a reasonably good 
choice for your high renin ES patients.  The ACE inhibitor 
is acceptable for these patients while you are working at 
correcting their fundamental metabolic imbalance.

     The only problem you will run into with these 
medications is that they do cause some degree of excess 
potassium retention.  Looking at the treatment of many 
hundreds of ES patients on ACE inhibitors whose Quick 
Reference Guide evaluation called for supplementation with 
potassium citrate and/or di-potassium phosphate and/or 
potassium bicarbonate, we have never seen one single 
negative reaction to the indicated potassium supplements.

     The reason this subject must be discussed is because 
many NUTRI-SPEC practitioners are not medical doctors.  
That means they are not the doctor that prescribed the ACE 
inhibitor.  What can happen is that the medical doctor who
                          - 5 -


prescribed the ACE inhibitor, upon finding out that you 
put the patient on potassium supplementation concurrent 
with their ACE inhibitor prescription, will fly into a 
rage and claim that you are irresponsible and incompetent.  
If the possibility of that scenario concerns you, then 
cover yourself by checking the patient's serum potassium, 
and/or sending a note to the other physician that your 
nutritional analysis of the patient indicates the need for 
a small dose of potassium supplementation and that you are 
aware of the potential potassium retention with the ACE 
inhibitor, and that you will be monitoring the patient 
closely.

     To summarize what you need to know regarding 
medications in electrolyte stress patients:

1.  Do not miss an electrolyte stress that is hidden by 
blood pressure medications.

2.  If your patient is on a calcium channel blocker get 
them off it immediately, substituting another blood 
pressure medication if necessary.

3.  If a patient is taking potassium chloride by 
prescription, substitute one or more of the NUTRI-SPEC 
potassium dispersing agents as indicated by your analysis.

4.  If a patient is on an ACE inhibitor, let the patient 
know, and perhaps even let the prescribing doctor know, 
that you are aware of the ACE inhibitor's potential to 
cause potassium retention.

5.  Above all, understand that you are in a position in 
most cases to decrease and even eliminate many blood 
pressure medications.  You have been shown how to do this 
gradually, based on objective indicators.


     There is one more subject we must cover to wrap up 
our discussion of electrolyte stress imbalance -- your 
testing of the patient's four pulses.  There is a 
potential problem that can occur in all your patients, but 
shows up most often in patients with electrolyte stress or 
electrolyte insufficiency.  The problem I am referring to 
is that of...

                       ARRHYTHMIAS.

     The four pulses are an important part of you QRG 
analysis.  If your patient has an arrhythmia, it will give 
a distorted number for that particular pulse, and can thus
                          - 6 -


lead you astray in your QRG analysis.  The most common 
arrhythmia you will encounter is a preventricular 
contraction, which shows up clinically as a skipped beat.

     Suppose you are counting a patient's pulse and the 
rate at which the heart is beating is 18 beats during your
15 second count -- which would give you a pulse rate of 72 
beats per minute.  Now, suppose instead of beating
regularly, that patient's heart is beating at the same 
rate but skips two beats.  During your 15 second count you 
would now only count 16 beats and if you multiply by 4 it 
will give you what appears to be a pulse rate of only 64.  
Of course a 64 compared to a 72 will potentially make a 
significant difference in your QRG analysis.

     You must learn not to use these aberrant pulses in 
your analysis.  I have trained my staff to put a little 
asterisk by any of a patient's four pulses that involved 
an arrhythmia.  That tells me to either ignore or modify 
this pulse when I am doing my QRG analysis.  It also tells 
me that the patient has an arrhythmia and that I must 
consider certain supplements that are specifically 
indicated in the QRG because of that finding.

     You now have all the tools you need to effectively 
handle anything an electrolyte stress patient can throw at 
you.  It bears repeating here what you have heard me say 
many times in the past...

         IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE WITH NUTRI-SPEC,
       TREAT PATIENTS  WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

Since establishment medicine does such a poor job of 
controlling this condition, and absolutely nothing to 
prevent or improve it -- this is a chance for you to truly 
shine with NUTRI-SPEC, as you enrich people's lives as no 
one else can.


                             Sincerely,



                             Guy R. Schenker, D.C.


Next

Nutri-Spec Letters

Index