Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine is a form of complementary and alternative medicine aimed at maintaining health through nutritional supplementation, and the assertion (which conflicts with the scientific consensus) that dietary nutrition is generally inadequate in maintaining homeostasis.

The approach is sometimes referred to as megavitamin therapy as the practice evolved out of, and in some cases still uses, doses of vitamins and minerals many times higher than the recommended Dietary Reference Intake. Orthomolecular practitioners may also incorporate a variety of other treatment modalities into their approaches, including dietary restriction, megadoses of non-vitamin nutrients, and mainstream pharmaceutical drugs. Proponents argue that non-optimal levels of certain substances can cause health issues beyond simple deficiency and see balancing them as an integral part of health.

The term "orthomolecular" was coined by Linus Pauling to mean "the right molecules in the right amounts" (ortho is Greek for "right"); thus orthomolecular medicine focuses on using the right nutritional molecules in the right amounts for the individual. Proponents state that treatments are based on patients' individual biochemistries.

Critics have described some aspects of orthomolecular medicine as food faddism or quackery and there is research suggesting that certain nutritional supplements are harmful with several specific vitamin therapies linked to increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and death. The scientific consensus view is that for normal individuals, a balanced diet contains all necessary vitamins and minerals, and that routine supplementation is not necessary absent specific diagnosed deficiencies.