Articles by Dr. Zoltan P. Rona, MD, M.Sc.
Enzyme Supplement Safety and Efficacy
I am a duly licensed medical doctor in Ontario and have been in private medical practice for over 33 years. I specialize in complementary and integrative medicine and have written 11 books on the subject including "Vitamin D, The Sunshine Vitamin,"... Read more »
TREATING DEPRESSION NATURALLY
The following is part of an occasional series by Dr. Rona, called “Drugs You May Not Need.”
Depression is a form of human suffering associated with many symptoms. Not everyone diagnosed with depression by a medical doctor has all these symptoms, but... Read more »
Omega-3 Supremacy
Virtually every new patient I have seen in my private practice in the past 10 years has been taking at least one or more nutritional supplement. In my experience, the most popular ones by far are omega-3 fatty acids coming from fish oil, seafood,... Read more »
Defusing the Calcium Bomb
Heart and circulatory problems are still the number one cause of chronic illness and death in North America today. Worldwide, the WHO predicts that, by the year 2020, cardiovascular disease will account for 11.1 million deaths a year. At least 40%... Read more »
Aspirin – Miracle Drug? or False Hope?
(Ed. Note: This article was originally published in the November 2002 issue of Vitality, and has been updated for re-release this month.)
Thanks to media hype, over 50 million people in North America are regular aspirin users and this figure is... Read more »
Megadose Vitamin Therapy for Cancer
Intravenous nutritional therapy is invasive and should only be considered by those who have tried unsuccessfully to use strict diet changes and oral supplements to heal chronic health conditions. Although it is often used by healthy individuals,... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – March 2007
Dear Dr. Rona;
I recently had a check up at my family doctor and asked him how much vitamin C I should take to prevent bladder infections. He said that vitamin C was not necessary to take and that high doses of vitamin C causes kidney stones. ... Read more »
The Perils of Painkillers
So, you think Tylenol is safe. Most of us have always assumed that Tylenol (acetaminophen) is the safest painkiller on the market. After all, it is the number one drug used in the world. While it is usually effective for mild to moderate pain,... Read more »
Boost Your Brain and Body with B Vitamins
While not as glamorous as ginkgo biloba, ginseng or St. John’s wort, the B vitamins are far more important for the optimal functioning of the brain, spinal cord and nervous system than any other nutrient or herbal remedy. While glucosamine... Read more »
Vitamin E – Nature’s Powerful Antioxidant
itamin E is not a single nutrient but exists in nature as a family of eight different antioxidants. Some vitamin E supplements sold in health food stores and pharmacies contain only alpha-tocopherol but, in nature, there are four tocopherols. ... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – July 2007
Dear Doctor Rona,
I hope you won't mind answering a question. In your book you recommend York Nutritional Lab in the U.K. to test for food intolerances. Since it has been several years since that book was published, I looked for a lab here in the... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – September 2007
Dear Dr. Rona:
I really do not understand the difference between a naturopath and a holistic doctor. They seem to prescribe the same kinds of things. I know that the services of a holistic MD in Ontario and most other provinces are covered... Read more »
Vitamin D - A Physician Separates Truth From Hype
When the June 8, 2007 front page of the Toronto Globe and Mail proclaimed the cancer preventing benefits of vitamin D (a.k.a. “the sunshine vitamin” or D3), and the Canadian Cancer Society chirped in with their modest recommendation for everyone... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – October 2007
Hi Dr. Rona, I have followed your columns for years and have always respected your expertise. I don't know if you can help me but here is my situation.
I publish local parenting magazines in Northumberland and Peterborough counties (... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – November 2007
GAMMA GLOBULIN INJECTIONS
Dear Dr. Rona:
I plan to travel to Costa Rica and Mexico and I would like your opinion on gamma globulin. Id like to know whether I should have this to prevent hepatitis A before going to these regions. The reason I am... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – December 2007
Dr. Rona:
I am a 62-year-old male who has experienced the libido enhancing effects of maca yet I am surprised to read that, according to studies, maca does not increase testosterone levels. I wonder if you have done blood or saliva testing on... Read more »
SEXY SUPPLEMENTS
When most people think of enhancing libido and fertility they think of boosting certain hormone levels. Testosterone, DHEA, growth hormone, estrogen and progesterone are the major hormones involved – and their optimal levels in the body can be... Read more »
Calcium Demystified
Do calcium supplements really cause heart attacks? A recent randomized controlled trial published in the January edition of the British Medical Journal (15 January 2008) concludes that: “Loading with high doses of calcium reduces bone loss but at... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – April 2008
Does L-arginine cause heart attacks?
Dear Dr. Rona,
I read your excellent article in Vitality this month where you recommend L-arginine as a supplement for testosterone supplements. However the bottle of capsules 500MG prohibits use if a patient... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – May 2008
Dear Dr. Rona,
I have been fighting with Crohn’s Disease (CD) for 40 years now, with many ups and downs but also some great improvements during the past six years through herbal remedies, cleanses and treatments for the muscles and lymphatic... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – March 2011
(In this occasional series, Dr. Rona shares some of the most common questions asked by patients, along with subsequent answers.)
Why You Don’t Need Lipitor and Company
Dear Dr. Rona:
I read your article in Vitality about cholesterol lowering drugs.... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – June 2008
Dear Dr. Rona:
My brother who is 62 years old has liver cirrhosis. Currently he is under medical care in Singapore Mount Elizabeth Hospital. For less than a year he had a cancerous tumor in his liver, recurring four times with an interval of 2-3... Read more »
Magnificent Magnesium
Calcium is the mineral that has always had the most media attention, as well as overwhelming approval from the medical profession as a supplement that women should be taking. That in itself may be enough to arouse suspicion. As you might suspect,... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – July 2008
Reverse Osmosis Arthritis
Dear Dr. Rona,
I have been drinking reverse osmosis water for about three years now, believing that it was my best alternative to tap water. Over the last few months I have started developing joint aches, cracking, and... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – September 2008
Dr. Zoltan,
I’ve read many you’re your articles recently and enjoyed them all. However, I have a question. I have been drinking distilled water for 20+ years now - a Westbend Dolphyn unit. I guess I bought into many of the earlier concepts –... Read more »
Healing Diabetes Naturally
“Avandia was recently back in the news, when it was found that Dr Steven Haffner admitted leaking information about a study linking the drug to a 43% greater risk of heart attacks. Our law firm is currently investigating claims involving the use... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – October 2008
Question for Dr. Rona
Dear Dr. Rona,
I have been using zinc supplements for years and always believed I was doing the right thing. Yesterday on the internet I came across a number of articles referencing a 2003 study from the NCI which stated men... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – November 2008
Live Whole Food Concentrates Question
Dear Dr. Rona,
I read a quote of yours regarding live whole food concentrates from your book Joy of Health.
What live whole food concentrates do you recommend that have been processed under 100 degrees?
Do you... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – December 2008
Please Help My Child
Dear Sir,
My child was a late speaker. He also started walking late. At the time when my wife conceived, I was seriously ill due to some unknown phobia and suffering from sleeplessness. Later on, doctors found jaundice in my... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – February 2009
QUESTION FOR DR. RONA
Dr. Rona:
What do you have for tinnitus (ringing in the ears)?
- Mike
DR. RONA’S ANSWER
Dear Mike:
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) is an extremely common complaint (12 million Americans suffer from the annoying problem) and may... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – March 2009
Question on Fertility Drugs
Dear Dr. Rona,
I am 32 years old who is married recently. GYN Doctor gave me medications which are, NAT 400 Natural Vitamin E 400 IU. Then to take for 2 months Clomid 50 mg (5th day from period) then for 10 days... Read more »
Drugs You Don’t Need And the Best Natural Alternatives
(Ed note: This is the first of an intermittent series by Dr. Rona on Drugs You May Not Need.)
Thousands of drugs are available in the drug compendium but only a few dozen are truly disease curative or what you might call life saving. The vast... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – April 2009
Dear Dr. Rona,
Very recently I read a short version of your magazine (health news update) with the above article.
Under the heading for Coenzyme Q10 it states ' commonly prescribed pharmaceutical drugs deplete Co-Q10 levels'. I have been prescribed... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – May 2009
Dear Dr Rona,
Is there a naturopathic treatment for chlamydia pneumoniae? I have been using Dr Sherry Rogers' protocol in the Cholesterol Hoax , which involves azithromycin for a five day period, twice a month for a six month period. It does not... Read more »
Bone Density Drugs And the Best Natural Alternatives for Osteoporosis
In December 2008, the New England Journal of Medicine published a U.S. FDA report suggesting a possible link between taking the popular osteoporosis drug, Fosamax, and the development of esophageal cancer. The FDA received 23 reports of... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – June 2009
Dear Dr. Rona,
I a frequent reader of Vitality Magazine and I always look forward to your column. I have some questions about Natural Human Growth Hormones. What are they and how safe are they? I'm 47 and have just started feeling the onset of... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – July 2009
Dear Dr. Rona:
"Oh God, no" was the response when a young friend of mine told a doctor at Toronto St. Michael's Hospital MS clinic that she was taking 14,000 iu of vitamin D a day. "There is no long-term evidence that it does not cause harm to the... Read more »
Ask the Doctor – September 2009
Hello, Doctor! I have a 12-year-old daughter who got her first menstrual period two months ago. She is very irregular and her period stops for a week and then comes back in two weeks or less. She just went through her menstrual last week and once... Read more »
Challenging the Statin Drug Dogma
Cholesterol lowering statin drugs are a $26 billion a year industry in North America. The commitment by mainstream doctors to these drugs, in fact, is so powerful that many physicians themselves take statins, even though their cholesterol levels... Read more »
Vaccination Controversy
Media hype surrounding the impending swine influenza pandemic of 2009 has frightened many Canadians into desperately seeking flu vaccines and other potentially harmful prescriptions for protection from this perceived threat.
However, I do not... Read more »
