Nutritional medicine at the Linus Pauling Prevention Center
The medical relevance of micronutrients beyond deficiency theory
For years, within classical medicine, attention was paid only to extreme nutritional deficiencies (such as scurvy or beriberi). But in preventive and orthomolecular medicine, we look beyond that lower limit, focusing on the optimal bioavailability of essential micronutrients – based on epidemiological, functional and clinically relevant thresholds.
Thus, nutritional medicine is not alternative thinking, but a medically based approach that is critical to regulating immunity, aging, epigenetic expression, metabolism, hormonal balance, cardiovascular health and cognitive resilience.
Why work with epidemiological thresholds?
Reference values in classical labs usually indicate a broad normal range based on a typical population – but not necessarily a healthy or optimal population. Just as blood pressure or cholesterol values are assessed more refined today, the same is true for micronutrients.
Within the Linus Pauling Prevention Center, we use science-based target values based on epidemiological studies, meta-analyses and clinical experience. The goal: to achieve an optimal physiological status adapted to age, genetics, context and risk profile.
Some important nutritional parameters in our practice
Vitamin D3 (25-OH vitamin D).
Target value: > 75-100 nmol/L (30-40 ng/mL)
Vitamin D is a neuroimmunomodulatory hormone with impact on bone metabolism, immunity, inflammation, mood and brain function.
Vitamin K2 (menaquinones).
Essential for the activation of osteocalcin and matrix Gla proteins that help prevent calcium deposition in soft tissues. K2 is the conductor of the calcification process,keeps calcium in bone where it belongs and avoids calcification of soft tissues such as in the arterial wall, among others.
Selenium (SEPP- and GPx-related)
Target value: > 130-150 µg/L
Crucial for glutathione peroxidase activity, thyroid enzymes, immune competence and viral response.
Folic acid (active folates, e.g., 5-MTHF)
Target value: > 10-15 nmol/L
Essential for methylation, DNA repair and homocysteine metabolism.
Zink
Cofactor in hundreds of enzymatic processes, including immune activation, wound healing, gut barrier function and hormonal regulation.
From measurement to guidance: nutrition and targeted supplementation
We always start with measurement in blood or plasma, supplemented where possible with functional or genetic insights. Only then follows a personalized plan with:
– Nutrition tips: enrichment with foods rich in the missing nutrient (e.g. sardines, liver, Brazil nuts, egg yolks, green leafy vegetables, seaweeds)
– Lifestyle modifications: sunlight, exercise, gut health, stress reduction
– Targeted, medical supplementation: only where needed, in correct form (e.g. vitamin D3 with K2, selenium as selenomethionine, zinc picolinate, 5-MTHF instead of synthetic folic acid)
Supplementation is never commercially encouraged, but dosed by medical prescription, guided by blood values and effect monitoring.
Part of the orthomolecular concept
Nutritional medicine is not an isolated module within the Linus Pauling Prevention Center, but a core component of the broader orthomolecular concept: the pursuit of the optimal molecular environment for the body to function, recover and age healthily.
Unlike “quick fix” medicine, this approach invites co-creation of health – where physician and patient work together for balance, underpinned by science and supported by ethics.