Julian Whitaker, M.D.

In My Own Words: Julian Whitaker, M.D.

"As a long-time practitioner of alternative medicine, I am often asked why I took the "road less traveled" in medicine.

I certainly didn't set out to be unconventional. I graduated from Dartmouth College in 1966, earned my medical degree at Emory University Medical School in Atlanta in 1970, and completed my internship at Grady Memorial Hospital, also in Atlanta. Good formal medical education is important, and I'm grateful for this foundation in basic medicine, but there was something to come that was far more important to my career as a physician.

In August 1991, the first issue of my monthly newsletter, Health & Healing, rolled off the presses. Since then I've covered just about every treatment option offered at the Whitaker Wellness Institute ? vitamin and mineral supplementation, herbal therapies, natural hormone replacement, acupuncture, chiropractic, EECP and more. Today over half a million subscribers, disenchanted with the failures of conventional medicine, rely on Health & Healing for news about safe and effective alternatives. Countless others have turned to my books in search of the crucial health information they can't get from their own doctor: Reversing Diabetes, Reversing Heart Disease, Shed 10 Years in 10 Weeks, A Guide to Natural Healing, Is Heart Surgery Necessary?, and The Pain Relief Breakthrough. To keep up with ongoing developments in my field, I belong to the American College for Advancement in Medicine, a professional organization of physicians dedicated to nutritional and alternative therapies. I am a founder of the American Preventive Medicine Association, a physician advocacy group for freedom of choice in medical treatment, and am board certified in anti-aging medicine. Through my clinic, newsletter, books, lectures and now this web site, I continue to preach the healing powers of diet, exercise, lifestyle changes, and the principles of orthomolecular medicine to an ever-growing audience. "

The following is an excerpt from Health & Healing, November 1998, Volume 8, No. 11

Use Xylitol, the Sweetener That Prevents Tooth Decay

   Sugar is the bane of dentistry because it is a favorite food of Streptococcus mutans, bacteria that reside in the mouth and are the principal cause of dental caries. These bacteria metabolize sugar in a fermentation process, producing acids that eat through the enamel of teeth and cause decay. S. mutans thrive in the low pH (high acid) conditions in the mouth that inhibit other bacteria, easily adhering to tooth surfaces and contributing to plaque buildup. The more sugar you eat and the more often you eat it, the larger and more destructive the colonies of S. mutans in your mouth.
   Xylitol is a naturally occurring carbohydrate derived from birch trees. It looks like sugar and it tastes like sugar-but the similarities end there. Unlike sugar, xylitol is slowly and only partially absorbed by the body, making it an excellent sweetener for diabetics. A number of long-term studies have also shown that xylitol administered on a regular basis reduces the formation of new caries, halts and even reverses the progression of early decay, and provides continued protection for months to years after use.
   Xylitol does this by inhibiting the growth of S. mutans, which is unable to metabolize it for energy. Xylitol also raises the pH of the mouth, making it less hospitable to S. mutans, and over time, these microorganisms are crowded out by harmless bacteria. Xylitol also reduces periodontal disease. In a 1996 studied carried out at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio; patients were given gum or small candies sweetened with xylitol after meals and sugary snacks. After an average of 1.8 years, patients
had significantly fewer caries at the roots of the teeth and improved gum health.
   I recommend chewing xylitol gum or sucking on xylitol mints after meals and sweet snacks. The brand we use at the Whitaker Wellness Institute is Clen*Dent (now Spry Dental).