The Vitamin Cure: Clinically Proven Remedies to Prevent and Treat 75 Chronic Diseases and Conditions REVISED & UPDATED 2ND EDITION

by Monte Lai Ph.D.

Overview

CLINICALLY PROVEN REMEDIES TO PREVENT AND TREAT 75 CHRONIC DISEASES AND CONDITIONS

COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED BASED ON NEW MEDICAL RESEARCH

Based on over 40 years of research and hundreds of leading studies, The Vitamin Cure is a comprehensive guide to improving overall health with vitamin and essential element therapies.

Modern medicine has done much in the field of acute conditions such as trauma, infections, burn, and bone fractures, but it has limited success in treating chronic diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer, and diabetes among others. At present, the root causes of most chronic diseases are still unknown, and the drugs developed by pharmaceutical companies to treat chronic diseases actually treat only the symptoms rather than causes. According to Dr. Monte Lai, a nutrient deficient diet and unhealthy lifestyle are by far the two most important environmental factors associated with the causes of a host of chronic diseases. The Vitamin Cure provides a comprehensive overview of how vitamin and essential element therapies are the key to treating and preventing many of the chronic conditions.

While the internet is chock full of health related information about vitamins and essential elements, it is difficult to sort through all available information to build a reliable knowledge base to improve health. The aim of this book is to provide readers with easily accessible evidence-based knowledge about vitamins and essential elements for prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. The Vitamin Cure relies on a statistical method known as meta-analysis (combining data from multiple studies) that is currently the most reliable method for assessing the efficacy of vitamins or essential elements in preventing or treating chronic diseases.

The Vitamin Cure brings clinically proven remedies to light for any reader looking to improve overall health and prevent debilitating disease. This book contains five parts:

• Part one contains a brief history of the discovery of each of the thirteen essential vitamins, namely, vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B7, vitamin B9, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. It also presents meta-analytic evidence of the efficacy of each vitamin in prevention and treatment of diseases, its recommended daily allowance and best food sources. 
• Part two covers essential elements, including the five essential elements, i.e., calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium and phosphorous, and the eight essential trace elements, i.e., iron, zinc, manganese, copper, molybdenum, iodine, chromium and selenium. It also presents meta-analytic evidence of the efficacy of each essential element in prevention and treatment of diseases, its recommended daily allowance and best food sources. 
• Part three explains important secrets for staying healthy. These include explanation of how sugar makes you fat, why patients with autoimmune diseases should not eat meat, and how exercise benefits the brain? 
• Part four provides meta-analysis evidence of which vitamins and essential elements should be taken to prevent and/or treat seventy-five chronic diseases and conditions. These seventy-five chronic diseases and conditions include lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, blood cancer, bladder cancer, glioma, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cataracts, hypertension, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, hepatitis C, fatty liver disease, Parkinson's disease, sleep apnea, and others. 
• Part five summarizes clinically proven remedies for preventing and treating the seventy-five chronic diseases and conditions presented in Part four.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630063122
Publisher:	Humanix Books
Publication date:	07/29/2025
Pages:	568
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

MONTE LAI, PHD (LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA) is formerly a professor of biophysics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where his research focused on the field of free radicals in biology and medicine. Most recently, he was CEO of the pharmaceutical Medinox, Inc, focusing on the design and development of new pharmaceutical drugs. For the past two decade he has been at the forefront of the research on the pros and cons of therapeutic drugs in treating diseases and conditions. Currently he devotes his time to educating the public and medical community on ways to improve health and wellbeing.

Dr. Lai lives & works in the Los Angeles, California metro area.

DrMonteLai.com

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS to THE VITAMIN CURE: CLINICALLY PROVEN REMEDIES TO PREVENT AND TREAT 75 CHRONIC DISEASES AND CONDITIONS REVISED & UPDATED 2ND EDITION by Monte Lai, Ph.D.

INTRODUCTION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Part One – Vitamins

• Chapter 1 - Vitamin A
• Chapter 2 - Vitamin B1
• Chapter 3 - Vitamin B2
• Chapter 4 - Vitamin B3
• Chapter 5 - Vitamin B5
• Chapter 6 - Vitamin B6
• Chapter 7 - Vitamin B7
• Chapter 8 - Vitamin B9
• Chapter 9 - Vitamin B12
• Chapter 10 - Vitamin C
• Chapter 11 - Vitamin D
• Chapter 12 - Vitamin E
• Chapter 13 - Vitamin K

Part Two - Essential Elements

• Chapter 14 - Calcium
• Chapter 15 - Potassium
• Chapter 16 - Sodium
• Chapter 17 - Magnesium
• Chapter 18 - Phosphorous
• Chapter 19 - Iron
• Chapter 20 - Zinc
• Chapter 21 - Manganese
• Chapter 22 - Copper
• Chapter 23 - Molybdenum
• Chapter 24 - Iodine
• Chapter 25 - Chromium
• Chapter 26 - Selenium
• Chapter 27 - Omega-3 fatty acids

Part Three - Secrets for Staying Healthy

• Chapter 28 - How sugar makes you fat?
• Chapter 29 - Why patients with autoimmune diseases should not eat meat?
• Chapter 30 - Who's coming to the party? Free-radical, a persona non-grata
• Chapter 31 - What are free radicals?
• Chapter 32 - A personal story of hunting hydroxyl radical
• Chapter 33 - What are antioxidants?
• Chapter 34 - How exercises benefit brain health?
• Chapter 35 - Why fruit and vegetables are good for health?
• Chapter 36 - What is aging?

Part Four - Prevention and Treatment of Diseases and Conditions

• Chapter 37 - Alzheimer's disease
• Chapter 38 - Asthma
• Chapter 39 - Atherosclerosis
• Chapter 40 - Atrial fibrillation
• Chapter 41 - Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Chapter 42 - Autism
• Chapter 43 - Autoimmune thryoid disease
• Chapter 44 - Bladder cancer
• Chapter 45 - Blood cancer
• Chapter 46 - Bone fracture
• Chapter 47 - Breast cancer
• Chapter 48 - Cardiovascular disease
• Chapter 49 - Cataracts
• Chapter 50 - Cervical cancer
• Chapter 51 - Cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia
• Chapter 52 - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Chapter 53 - Chronic kidney disease
• Chapter 54 - Chronic pancreatitis
• Chapter 55 - Cognitive impairment
• Chapter 56 - Colorectal cancer
• Chapter 57 - Coronary artery disease
• Chapter 58 - Depression
• Chapter 59 - Type 1 diabetes
• Chapter 60 - Type 2 diabetes
• Chapter 61 - Dry eyes
• Chapter 62 - Endometrial cancer
• Chapter 63 - Eczema
• Chapter 64 - Esophageal cancer
• Chapter 65 - Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction
• Chapter 66 - Fatty liver disease
• Chapter 67 - Fibromyalgia
• Chapter 68 - Gestational diabetes
• Chapter 69 - Glaucoma
• Chapter 70 - Glioma
• Chapter 71 - Gout
• Chapter 72 - Grave's disease
• Chapter 73 - Heart disease
• Chapter 74 - Heart failure
• Chapter 75 - Hemodialysis
• Chapter 76 - Hepatitis C
• Chapter 77 - Hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol)
• Chapter 78 - Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Chapter 79 - Infammatory bowel disease
• Chapter 80 - Kashin-Beck disease
• Chapter 81 - Liver cancer
• Chapter 82 - Lung cancer
• Chapter 83 - Lupus erythematosus
• Chapter 84 - Age-related macular degeneration
• Chapter 85 - Male infertility
• Chapter 86 - Melanoma
• Chapter 87 - Metabolic syndrome
• Chapter 88 - Migraine
• Chapter 89 - Multiple sclerosis
• Chapter 90 - Neural tube defects
• Chapter 91 - Obesity
• Chapter 92 - Oral cleft
• Chapter 93 - Orthostatic hypotension
• Chapter 94 - Osteoporosis
• Chapter 95 - Pancreatic cancer
• Chapter 96 - Parkinson's disease
• Chapter 97 - Preeclampsia
• Chapter 98 - Premature death
• Chapter 99 - Prostate cancer
• Chapter 100 - Renal cell cancer
• Chapter 101 - Respiratory infections
• Chapter 102 - Rheumatoid arthritis
• Chapter 103 - Rickets
• Chapter 104 - Schizophrenia
• Chapter 105 - Sepsis
• Chapter 106 - Sleep apena
• Chapter 107 - Stomach cancer
• Chapter 108 - Stroke
• Chapter 109 - Tuberculosis
• Chapter 110 - Venous thrombosis
• Chapter 111 - Vitiligo

Part Five - Summary of recommended daily doses of vitamins and nutrient elements for prevention and treatment of diseases and conditions

AUTHOR'S PUBLICATIONS

REFERENCES

GLOSSARY

ABBREVIATIONS

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Preface

INTRODUCTION to THE VITAMIN CURE: CLINICALLY PROVEN REMEDIES TO PREVENT AND TREAT 75 CHRONIC DISEASES AND CONDITIONS REVISED & UPDATED 2ND EDITION by Monte Lai, Ph.D.

In the 1970s, Linus Pauling, a two-time Nobel laureate, recommended large doses of vitamin C to prevent and cure cancers. He himself took 8 grams of vitamin C daily, and he was fit and healthy well into his seventies. Pauling’s claim received tremendous media attention; he was frequently in the news. During that time, I was a graduate student pursuing my doctorate in biophysics in Honolulu, Hawaii, and found Pauling’s media exposure particularly compelling, given that my dissertation focused on free radicals and antioxidants. High-dose vitamin C produces hydro gen peroxide, which kills cancer cells in the body. Recently, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommended intravenous high-dose vitamin  C injections as a form of cancer therapy for treating certain advanced stages of cancer. Through my own research work, I had already learned how antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E scavenge harmful free radicals (molecules with unpaired electrons) in the body.

I continued my research work in the field of free radicals in biology and medicine after I joined the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee as a faculty member, devoting my research to nitric oxide, a gaseous free radical fundamental to numerous health processes, ranging from cardiovascular function to reproductive health. In 1995, while taking a sabbatical leave, I decided to resign from my position as a full professor of biophysics at the medical school and serve as president and CEO of a new pharmaceutical company, focusing on the design and development of new drugs, in San Diego. Over the past two decades, I have been at the forefront of pharmaceutical research, acquiring extensive knowledge on the advantages and disadvantages of therapeutic drugs for treating a wide range of diseases and conditions.

Diseases and conditions can be divided into categories of acute and chronic. Modern medicine has done much in the field of acute conditions—such as trauma, infections, burns, bone fractures, and migraine attacks—but it has had limited success in treating chronic diseases—such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and diabetes, among others. Therapeutic drugs for chronic diseases are designed to treat symptoms rather than causes.

Take type 2 diabetes as an example: Most diabetes drugs can lower blood glucose. But high blood glucose is a symptom, not a cause, of type 2 diabetes. Compare this to how a fever is a symptom rather than the cause of an infection—bacteria or viruses are the causes. Antipyretic agents that prevent or reduce fever, such as naproxen or acetaminophen, may control the fever, but they cannot eradicate the pathogen that causes the infection—the agents treat only the feverish symptoms, not the causative pathogen. Likewise, diabetes drugs treat only the symptom of high blood glucose, not the cause of type 2 diabetes.

At present, the root causes of most chronic diseases are still elusive. Both genetic and environmental factors are known to play pivotal roles in etiologies of chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are often related to gene mutations. A single gene mutation rarely causes chronic disease; although people who carry a hereditary mutated gene may be at an elevated risk, it does not mean that they will inevitably suffer from the disease. Environmental factors are known to affect epigenetics (how our genes interact with the environment) as well as trigger the expression of predisposed hereditary genes. A nutrient-deficient diet and an unhealthy lifestyle are by far the two most important environmental factors associated with the causes of a host of chronic diseases. Conversely, a nutrient-rich diet and a healthy lifestyle can stave off chronic diseases.

You may have browsed through the internet or read a newspaper and found an article claiming that vitamins are effective in treating diseases. Yet several months later, you may have seen another news report make the opposite claim, suggesting that vitamins are not only useless but also possibly harmful to health. You might not know what to believe anymore. I am certain many people feel this way. Nowadays, information is readily available on the internet. With just a few keystrokes, you can find ample health-related data about vitamins and essential elements. Nevertheless, it is difficult to sort through all the available findings to build a reliable knowledge base that will improve your health and that of your loved ones. The aim of this book is to provide you with easily accessible, evidence-based knowledge about vitamins and essential elements for the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases.

Before you dive into the contents of the book, you need to know how clinical data are generated. First, several kinds of clinical studies exist. Let us start with the simplest one. A doctor prescribes vitamins to treat a patient suffering from a disease, and after taking vitamins for a few months, the patient recovers from the illness. The doctor publishes his findings in a scientific journal. This is called a case study. If the doctor prescribes vitamins to a group of patients rather than a single patient and publishes his findings in a scientific journal, that is called an observational study. On the other hand, if the same doctor publishes the findings of a study in which he divides his patients into two groups, where one group receives vitamins and the other group receives a placebo, and neither the doctor nor the patients know who is taking vitamins and who is taking the placebo, that is called a randomized controlled trial.

Many doctors and scientists worldwide are conducting clinical studies to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamins for preventing or treating chronic diseases. For example, in the past 10 years, at least eight clinical studies have been published on the use of vitamin D for the prevention of osteoporosis. Although their topics and design might have been similar, these eight clinical studies produced different results and conclusions due to factors such as patient selection, dosage, environment, and the like. Can vitamin D prevent osteoporosis? Of those eight clinical studies, which one should you believe?

Fortunately, a statistical method known as meta-analysis has been widely used to assess the efficacy of pharmaceutical agents in treating diseases. In the case of the abovementioned example, a meta-analysis would combine all the clinical data obtained from those eight clinical studies, excluding the data deemed to be biased, and analyze the remainder of the combined data to reach a statistical conclusion on whether vitamin  D can or cannot prevent osteoporosis. Meta-analysis is currently the most reliable method for assessing the efficacy of vitamins and essential elements in preventing and treating chronic diseases. All the information on how vitamins and essential elements prevent and treat chronic diseases in this book is based solely on meta-analyses published in peer reviewed scientific journals, not any single clinical study report. 

This book has five parts. Part One contains a brief history of the discovery of each of the 13 essential vitamins—namely, vitamin  A, vitamin  B1, vitamin  B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B7, vitamin B9, vitamin B12, vita min C, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. Part Two covers essential elements, including the five essential elements—calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, and phosphorus—as well as the eight essential trace elements, which are iron, zinc, manganese, copper, molybdenum, iodine, chromium, and selenium. Both Parts One and Two also present meta-analytic evidence of the efficacy of each vitamin/essential element in the prevention and treatment of diseases, its recommended daily allowance, and best food sources of it. Part Three provides important secrets for staying healthy. These include an explanation of how sugar makes you fat, why patients with autoimmune diseases should not eat meat, and how exercise benefits the brain. Part Four provides meta-analytic evidence of which vitamins and essential elements should be taken to prevent and/or treat 75 chronic diseases and conditions, including lung cancer, breast  cancer, colorectal cancer, COVID-19, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, blood cancer, bladder cancer, glioma, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, cataracts, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, hepatitis C, fatty liver disease, Parkinson’s disease, sleep apnea, and others. Part Five summarizes the clinically proven remedies for preventing and treating the 75 chronic diseases and conditions presented in Part Four.

For easy reference, all vitamins, essential elements, secrets for staying healthy, and diseases in this book have been assigned a specific chapter number: vitamins are numbered from 1 to 13, essential elements from 14 to 27, secrets for staying healthy from 28 to 36, and diseases from 37 to 111. For example, vitamin A is 1, calcium is 14, and Alzheimer’s disease is 37.

Author’s disclaimer: The book provides readers with relevant health information about vitamins and essential elements, but it does not intend to be a substitute for any medical advice given to readers by health-care professionals. Efficacies of vitamins and essential elements in preventing or treating diseases may vary among individuals. Recommendations from the book should not replace any nutrient-balanced diets or prescribed medications.