At Metabolix Wellness Center, men and women alike imbibe on cocktails, but not ones composed of alcohol. Instead, this Happy Hour serves IV administered nutrients that pack a powerful punch because they are fully absorbed into the body.
A stroll down the vitamin aisle at your local supermarket, or a journey along the rows of shelves stocked with a myriad of supplements at the health food store, can be an overwhelming experience. The choices seem unlimited, from individual vitamins and multi-vitamins, to pills, capsules and liquid, to an assortment of brands and prices.
There was a time when IV nutrient therapy was considered a treatment reserved solely for the Hollywood elite. Located in Clearwater, Metabolix Wellness Center was created by Dr. Brent Agin, the founder of Trim Nutrition, which provides a full menu of doctor-formulated vitamins, supplements and IV vitamin injections.
To give IV vitamin therapy novices a glimpse of the treatments, Metabolix Wellness Center offers a Healthy Happy Hour Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can experience a wellness IV for $75. Appointments are not necessary, but you may want to call beforehand to ensure availability.
The customized vitamin therapy IV’s and injections include formulas for mental alertness, migraine prevention, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), weight loss, skin rejuvenation, sports performance, anti-aging, immune system enhancement, energy, pain relief and a standard nutritional IV.
“Better absorption is why an intravenous administration of nutrients is more effective than taking vitamins by mouth,” Dr. Agin said. “IV nutrients bypass the digestive system and metabolism by the liver which is called the first pass effect.
“In the first pass effect, substances must first be absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, travel to the liver to be metabolized and then reach circulation to make it to the targeted tissue,” Dr. Agin added. “Some supplements will not even make it to the first pass effect because they are not efficiently broken down and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and end up in the stool. IV therapy creates tissue saturation, which transports the nutrients directly where we want them – in the circulation, where they reach body tissues at high doses.”
Though it can be traced in history back to the 1700s, IV vitamin therapy did not become routine until World War I.
“For almost a century, it has been known that IV therapy offered health benefits, but it wasn’t until recent years that more research has been done to illustrate the clinical importance of this vitamin delivery method,” Dr. Agin said. “IV therapy is increasingly being sought as an alternative approach to disease treatment and prevention.
IV vitamin therapy and injection supplements have been one of the cores of Trim Nutrition for several years. The Trim IV treatments have proprietary vitamin, amino acid, and mineral components are manufactured in a Class 10,000 compounding facility in Clearwater by a licensed pharmacist and staff.
Metabolix offers the Healthy Happy Hour, Dr. Agin explains, because it wants to expose people to the benefits of the treatments and eliminate the myth that it is solely for the wealthy.
For more information about the Metabolix Wellness Center’s menu of IV vitamin treatments, visit www.metabolixwellnesscenter.com.
