Spending just pennies a day on healthcare can reduce our expenditures by $24 billion over five years.

Sound crazy? It’s true.

New research from the Lewin Group has shown that spending pennies a day on a few key nutritional supplements can dramatically reduce sickness and chronic disease -- and greatly decrease healthcare expenditures as a result.

How did they come to this conclusion? And why haven’t we heard about it?

The Lewin Group looked only at rigorous scientific studies that documented the benefits of nutritional supplements. They used the Congressional Budget Office’s accounting methods to determine the economic impact of supplements. And they kept their analysis specifically to Medicare patients and women of childbearing age.

Although nutritional therapies can help a broad range of illnesses, the group only looked at four supplements and disease combinations because of the rigor and validity of the scientific evidence available for these nutrients and diseases.

While there are many other beneficial nutritional therapies that have been proven helpful in studies, the ones in this particular study are only those that are unquestionable, beyond scientific doubt, well-accepted, and proven to help.

Yet they are also under-used and not generally recommended by healthcare providers.

The study looked at:

1. Calcium and vitamin D and their effect on osteoporosis
2. Folic acid and its ability to prevent birth defects
3. Omega-3 fatty acids and their benefits for heart disease
4. Lutein and zeaxanthin and their benefit in preventing major age-related blindness, or macular degeneration

Let me review these in more detail.

Ninety-nine percent of Americans are deficient in this nutrient – but if they eat it, it could poison them!

What am I talking about?

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are often found in fish oil.

Research suggests that the omega-3s in certain fish may cure or treat most chronic illnesses, including depression, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, dementia, autism, ADHD, inflammation, and autoimmune diseases. In fact, about 60 percent of your brain is – or should be – made of fish oil.

But getting those omega-3s can be dangerous.

For example, a recent laboratory study of tuna sushi from a selection of New York City restaurants found levels of mercury so high that they exceeded the safe limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and would allow the Food and Drug Administration to take legal action to remove the fish from the market.

Now, we’ve got more media coverage and more headlines, but not much more understanding. Should we eat fish or shouldn’t we?

Today, I’m going clear up the confusion.

There's no doubt about it -- the brain is truly connected to the rest of the body.

And for many of you or your kids who have been diagnosed with behavioral disorders, the conventional treatments of drugs or psychotherapy completely misses this body-mind connection.

This robs you of one of the MOST powerful techniques of fixing so-called "mental illnesses" -- by the end of this article you'll find out that your "mental illness" might not be so mental after all.

I'll talk more about the science behind this idea in a future article.

But this week, I'd like to tell you about a little boy named Jayson and how I used a different approach to help him make a stunning recovery from ADHD, and surprisingly, at the same time, dramatically improve his handwriting.

You could be eating sawdust -- and not even know it!

Sound crazy?

Let me explain.

On a recent plane ride to a medical conference, I started a conversation with the man sitting next to me to pass the time.  I told him that I was a physician working in the area of nutrition.

He exclaimed that the new low-carb craze was a boon for business.  I assumed he was in the food business -- but I was wrong. 

When I asked him what he did for a living, he replied that he worked in the wood pulp industry.

So what’s the connection between wood pulp and low carbs?

As it turns out, cellulose -- an indigestible fiber starch -- is one of the main ingredients in processed low-carb foods.

And what’s another name for cellulose?

Sawdust!

What do criminals have to do with fish?

Well, according to one study, maybe they should be eating more of it.

Researchers gave one group of prisoners recommended daily amounts of vitamins, minerals, and healthy omega-3 fatty acids (as fish oil supplements). Another group of prisoners simply continued to follow their regular prison diet.

The result: There was a 35 percent reduction in violent offenses in the group taking these supplements (British Journal of Psychiatry, July 2002)!

That's impressive evidence -- but what's the link?

In my book Ultrametabolism, I explain that food is information, and that we can influence the function of our genes through the types of foods we eat.

A prime example of this process? Omega-3 fatty acids.

Found in wild fish and certain nuts and seeds like flaxseeds, these healthy fats help determine how well your brain, eyes, heart, and immune system work.