Always ahead of its time

Ever since proton pump inhibitors appeared, we have pointed out the consequences of taking them inappropriately. Heartburn often means not too much but too little stomach acid: food stays in the stomach longer, and even a little acid in the oesophagus is unpleasant.

Gastroenterology, too, warns against long-term use.

We were the first clinic in Switzerland able to measure the acid–base balance reliably.

Other practices still hardly apply these findings.

We looked into the risks of amalgam fillings and campaigned for amalgam to be no longer used in dental practices.

In 2016 Schweizer Illustrierte (no. 40) cited a study from the USA: people with more than eight amalgam fillings had raised mercury levels in their blood.

Amalgam is no longer used in Swiss dentistry.

Use antibiotics sparingly and reserve them for severe and treatment-resistant cases.

More and more bacteria have become resistant. Experts speak of a “post-antibiotic era”, and sparing use is the official recommendation.

D-mannose, a simple sugar, for recurrent bladder infections.

In 2015 Schweizer Illustrierte (no. 42) presented D-mannose as an “insider tip” and a “very effective remedy”.

Cholesterol is vital: for the cell walls, as a repair molecule, for bile acids, hormones and vitamin D. We therefore pointed out the side effects of statins early on and, where there is vascular risk, start with the fatty acids.

In 2015 a doctor wrote in Schweizer Illustrierte (no. 42) that it is not LDL cholesterol but certain fatty acids that are decisive in the development of arteriosclerosis. In 2016 the same magazine (no. 40) reported on the importance of cholesterol. The film “Cholesterin, der grosse Bluff” (2016) and the magazine Gesundheitstipp (March 2017) took up the subject.

We informed patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease early on about the limits of cortisone and about other options.

In 2016 Schweizer Illustrierte (no. 49) wrote, under the headline “Milestone in COPD therapy”, that a new study showed cortisone “hardly has a place any more” in treatment.

Fever is not the illness but part of the healing response. It does not have to be lowered in every case.

In October 2019 a Swiss journal of family medicine published the article “Fever is our best friend”: lowering fever by reflex was “not always helpful” and in many cases “pointless, possibly even harmful”.

We test for food sensitisation by measuring total IgG (not IgG4) and take it into account in treatment.

Food sensitisation has been confirmed by studies.

Functional medicine has been analysing and treating the gut flora since about 1985. We introduced breath gas analysis to detect bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine in the late 1990s.

The “microbiome” is a major field of research, and breath gas analysis is offered by large hospitals.

Homocysteine is measured and treated. It can be lowered with vitamins.

Homocysteine is regarded as a risk factor for arteriosclerosis in conventional medicine too.

Investigating and treating iron deficiency even when there is no anaemia yet. We have analysed our own experience on the subject.

That an adequate supply of iron is taken seriously is owed in particular to the Basel doctor Dr Beat Schaub, who has campaigned for it for many years and was long smiled at and opposed.

Life needs energy, and it matters how that energy is produced: with oxygen (aerobic) or without (anaerobic). The more energy a cell obtains with oxygen, the better it does its job. That tumour cells prefer to obtain their energy without oxygen was described by the biochemist and Nobel laureate Otto Warburg as early as the 1920s. We take this relationship into account in prevention and treatment.

In 2016 the magazine Schweizer Illustrierte (no. 18) reported on a “new discovery” by the University of Basel: under certain conditions tumour cells switch their metabolism to producing energy without oxygen.

Every person is considered individually. Functional medicine has held this view from its beginnings, Seegarten Klinik since it was founded.

“personalised medicine” is a recognised aim among doctors. Instead of “one size fits all”, it is accepted that needs differ from person to person.

Seegarten Klinik has been working with stem cells since 2005. It began with taking skin in order to store stem cells; later we changed to fatty tissue. In 2010 the clinic was granted a licence by Swissmedic for the wholesale of transplant products, the first to hold such a licence.

In 2015 Schweizer Illustrierte (no. 19) and the Swiss television programme “Puls” (5 October 2015) reported on the regenerative effect of stem cells from fatty tissue.

We offer collection, storage and applications in accordance with the requirements of Swissmedic.