Did you know that you could absorb nutrients quickly with IV therapy from a Toronto clinic?

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies should be paid attention to, especially if you’re trying to meet health goals. But according to a University of Toronto study, it was shown that “[a] large proportion of Canadians weren’t meeting daily requirements for vitamins A and C, nutrients vital for a strong immune system, as well as calcium, magnesium and potassium, minerals that [help] regulate blood pressure.”

Thus, our absorption of nutrients should be considered for ensuring optimal functioning and cellular functioning. This could help with nutrient effectiveness, while helping to manage body stress, brain health, bone health, cell health, mental performance, and both chronic and acute health issues.

In this post, we discuss why Canadians are lacking nutrients; also, the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre explains how IV therapy could increase your nutrient intake, which could help correct deficiencies.

The Functional Medicine View: Why There Are Nutritional Deficiencies

Wellness is a popular topic, so it’s surprising that Canadians lack nutrients. Why would this issue persist today in a first-world country? Here are some reasons:

• Convenient foods are ultra-processed: Families are “on the go” and require convenient meal prep. Unfortunately, industrialized foods are “ultra-processed,” meaning that foods are derived from unhealthy oils, sugars, modified starch, food colours and additives. Eating for wellness and immune function can be difficult when foods are stripped of nutrition from preservatives.
• Inflammation and chronic health issues affect nutrient absorption: According to “Chronic Diseases in Canada: Contemporary Burden and Management,” more than 50% of Canadian adults have been diagnosed with one or more chronic conditions. But the RDA (recommended dietary allowance) only provides guidelines for average “healthy” individuals; because inflammation and chronic disease prevent nutrient absorption, those people suffering from these conditions need additional nutrients.
• Agricultural practices lack nutrients: Farming has changed over years to “improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition,” explains the Scientific American. Thus, we could be exposed to pesticides while undergoing nutrient deficiencies.
• Prescriptions can reduce nutrients in the human body: According to Statistics Canada, “Over half of Canadian adults aged 18 to 79 have used at least one prescription medication in the past month.” Unfortunately, many pharmaceuticals reduce nutrient absorption in the digestive tract.
• Some people are unaware of nutrition guidelines: Age has a role in nutritional intake. Many Canadians do not realize that seniors require different doses of nutrients (i.e. vitamin D and calcium) compared to young adults.

So how do you play “catch up” when you have nutritional deficiencies? At the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre, our health professionals generally advise a few methods: dietary changes and/or intravenous infusion therapy.

Dietary changes would include consuming organic nutrient-rich foods and supplements (i.e. multivitamins, nutraceuticals, etc.), and axing processed and sugar-laden foods from your diet. However, this strategy may not be fitting for some patients, especially for those who suffer from dysphagia. Moreover, oral therapies do not always allow for full absorption, as foods and supplements need to travel through the digestive tract for absorption.

Thus, our functional medicine providers also recommend intravenous infusion therapy, sometimes known as IV drip therapy or vitamin IV therapy for helping address nutritional deficiencies.

How IV Therapy Could Help Alleviate Nutritional Deficiencies in Toronto

As one of our popular treatments, IV therapy allows for a complete absorption of nutrients. For patients with compromised digestion, dysphagia or detestation to pills, IV therapy is a sound choice. This is because intravenous drip therapy doesn’t trigger unwanted side effects that could occur from oral supplements, such as cramping, diarrhea, bloating, etc.

The process for getting an intravenous therapy drip works like this at the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre:

1. An initial consultation (30-45 minutes) is conducted with our functional medicine providers. Take note: the functional medicine model consists of treating patients as singular entities, which means patients may be required to take functional medicine lab tests (i.e. blood work), depending on their current health status.
2. Once possible deficiencies have been established, our clinic can customize a freshly compounded IV drip with essential nutrients to help you correct deficiencies, boost energy levels, and reduce oxidative stress.
3. The patient is comfortably seated during the appointment and the IV drip is inserted into the vein. The therapeutic doses of solution enter the blood flow, allowing for the nutrients to become instantly absorbed.

Ready to upgrade your wellness with IV therapy? Let’s talk! At the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre, our vitamin IV lounge is currently accepting new patients for IV treatments.

Getting IV Therapy at the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre

It’s time to grab hold of your health reins at the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre.

Our functional medicine team of health professionals is available to customize your functional medicine treatments. With an integrative, patient-centered approach to health care, we practice allopathic medicine, naturopathic medicine, bio-identical hormone therapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and other modalities.

Our IV infusion therapies can be personalized to treat your health condition and to manage age-related conditions. (If you’re interested in another IV drip with high-dose vitamin C, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a medley of amino acids, or a combination of ingredients, let us know!) Some conditions that IV vitamin therapy could help with include: chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune conditions, treatment-resistant depression, adverse brain chemical changes, infertility, thyroid conditions, and more.

How can we improve your nutrient uptake? Let’s start planning your vitamin drip treatments for optimal health – call (416) 968-6961 to book your DISCOVERY SESSION on IV therapy in Toronto.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. Consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website.

 

References:

“Americans are addicted to ultra-processed foods, and it’s killing us,” by Adam Piore, Newsweek Magazine, published December 8, 2021, viewed on May 26, 2022.

“Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?” EarthTalk, Scientific American, published April 27, 2011, viewed on May 26, 2022.

Montague T., Nemis-White J., Aylen J., Torr E. Martin L., MacPherson N., Gogovor A. (2019). Chronic Diseases in Canada: Contemporary Burden and Management; http://www.hcic-sssc.com accessed on May 26, 2022.

Nasri H, Baradaran A, Shirzad H, Rafieian-Kopaei M. New concepts in nutraceuticals as alternative for pharmaceuticals. Int J Prev Med. 2014;5(12):1487-1499.

“Prescription medication use among Canadian adults, 2016 to 2019”, by The Daily, Statistics Canada, modified June 28, 2021, viewed on May 26, 2022.

“Vitamins and minerals your diet is likely missing,” by Leslie Beck, The Toronto Star, published June 28, 2021, viewed on May 26, 2022.