When Sam Tejada, CEO and Founder of Liquivida, invites a guest onto “A Healthy Point of View” podcast, it’s never by accident. But this episode marks something special. It features a man Sam calls “the true OG behind IV therapy,” a pioneer whose work has shaped modern integrative medicine for over four decades: Dr. Mitch Ghen.
From authoring foundational textbooks on IV nutrition to training thousands of providers around the world, Dr. Ghen isn’t just an expert; he creates experts. Yet what makes this episode compelling isn’t just his knowledge. It’s the life, curiosity, and deeply human philosophy behind it.
Dr. Mitch Ghen is the OG of IV Therapy — The Truth No One Else Will Tell You! Ep. 108
From a Curious 5-Year-Old to a Global IV Medicine Pioneer
When asked what the five-year-old Mitch was like, Dr. Ghen laughed.
He wasn’t thinking about medicine; he was thinking about his neighbor, Sally. But things changed fast.
At 12, he received a chemistry set that sparked an obsession. He became “the crazy chemist,” experimenting with powders, mixtures, and processes sometimes a little too boldly. He once anesthetized a friend using old sleep powders from a neighbor who was a pharmacist. It was reckless, he admits, but it cemented one truth: he loved understanding how things work.
That curiosity evolved into medical school, an MBA, and eventually a journey into integrative and regenerative medicine long before the field was mainstream.
The Moment Everything Changed: Discovering the Power of IV Vitamin C
Dr. Ghen’s legendary career in IV therapy began during his internship in Florida. While overseeing 11 interns, he noticed something strange: Patients with the same illness recovered at drastically different rates. The pattern was consistent.
The ones healing faster were under a particular internal medicine team, one using 50,000 mg of IV vitamin C in the hospital. Back then, this was unheard of. Medical school taught future physicians to dismiss vitamin C: “You take it, you pee it out. It doesn’t matter.” But Mitch saw otherwise.
He saw recovery. He saw results. He saw something medicine wasn’t teaching.
That realization became the start of a 45+ year journey into nutritional IV therapy, biochemistry, and the science of helping the body heal itself.
Why Biochemistry Matters More Than Anything in Medicine
Over and over, Dr. Ghen emphasizes one truth:
If you don’t understand the Krebs cycle, the metabolic pathways, and how cells actually produce energy, you are not practicing true medicine.
He explains that:
- Every human has 37 trillion cells.
- Each cell suffers trillions of DNA faults daily.
- The body repairs nearly all of them, but only if it has the nutrients it needs.
- Any uncorrected double-strand DNA damage has the potential to become cancer.
“You can eat ‘clean’ all you want,” he jokes. “But unless you understand biochemistry, you have no idea what’s actually happening.”
In the IV space, he requires baseline diagnostics for safety and precision:
- CBC
- Comprehensive metabolic profile
- Inflammatory markers
- Hormones
- Nutrient levels
- Mitochondrial function (via specialty tests)
“You need a benchmark,” he says. “Without it, you can’t know what’s working.”
Nutrition, Energy, Hormones, Mindset: The 5 Pillars of Health
Dr. Mitch teaches that most diseases are rooted in:
- Nutrition imbalance
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Hormonal miscommunication between cells
- Psychosocial factors (mind-body connection)
- Toxic load
These systems are interdependent. You can’t fix one while ignoring the others.
A patient may have perfect nutrition, but poor hormones. Or strong hormones, but a poor mindset. Or a good mindset, but overwhelming toxins. Everything must be evaluated.
The Myth of “Precision IVs” from Genetic or Epigenetic Tests
Sam raises a growing trend: Companies marketing “precision IV drips” based solely on genetic or epigenetic testing. Dr. Mitch shuts it down instantly: “No. Absolutely not.”
Genetics tells you only potential, not real-time cellular needs.
You cannot build an IV without knowing:
- Nutrient absorption
- Mitochondrial stress
- Oxidative balance
- Inflammation
- Hormone state
- Current deficiencies
Anything else is simply a gimmick.
The Fight Against Toxins and Why Quality Matters
Dr. Ghen shares a story about arguing with a farmer on live radio. The farmer insisted the pesticides used in agriculture were “just a little bit.”
Dr. Ghen responded: “My children are eating fourteen toxins a day from one apple. And every grower says their toxin is ‘just a little bit.’ Those little bits add up.”
He stresses why preservative-free IV nutrients matter and praises Sam and Liquivida’s commitment to that standard.
“Give the patient the best quality possible,” he says. “Not something that creates more problems.”
Why IV Therapy Works: Absorption Is Everything
Even on your best day, you absorb only 30–40% of vitamins from food or oral supplements.
If you’re on:
- birth control
- blood thinners
- PPIs
- water pills
- or dealing with hypochlorhydria
Your absorption may drop to 3–5%. IV therapy bypasses all of that: You get nearly 100% absorption directly into the bloodstream. It’s not magic, it’s physiology.
A Global Problem: The Real Issue in Modern Healthcare
When Sam asks Dr. Mitch the big question: “What’s the biggest problem in healthcare, and what’s the solution?” His answer is powerful.
Problem:
The U.S. leads in technology but lags in longevity. Why?
Because medicine became “if-then” medicine. “If you have X, take Y.” No focus on biochemistry, prevention, or cellular repair.
Solution:
Return to fundamentals.
- Understand the Krebs’ cycle.
- Study metabolism
- Investigate mitochondrial function
- Respect nutrients
- Use diagnostics
- Support the body’s natural mechanisms
- Bring back elements of herbal, indigenous, and nutrient-based medicine
“We need to go back to the future,” he says. “Only then can we fix our global health crisis.”
The Human Side of Healing
For all his science, Dr. Mitch emphasizes something deeply human: Connection.
He teaches doctors to sit next to their patients, look them in the eye, touch their hand, write down details from their personal life make them feel understood.
He also practices laughter therapy. It boosts immune function for 12 hours, he explains.
“Community, relationships, and joy, they’re medicine too.”
Dr. Ghen’s Final Message to the World
When Sam asked him what providers should know if they want to be great.
His answer is simple: “Don’t be afraid of IV therapy.
Commit three years to learning it properly. If you want to be a great physician, not a good one, learn this modality.”
Because what you give comes back tenfold. And as Sam says at the end:
“Don’t look for a provider who is good. Look for a provider who is great.”