Thursday, November 4, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Do you have anything that'll give me energy?!
Man, I wish I had a nickle...
Usually this is followed up with a request for some kind of natural, healthy speed. What I want to say is "Yes. I do. Go home, turn off the lights and the phone, lay down, go to sleep." What I actually say is, well, that is what I actually say.
People will immediately come up with a 1000 reasons they can't fill that prescription. They all basically boil down to "the world will come to an end and we'll all die if I don't stay awake doing stuff". Believe me, I was convinced for a very long time that the world would stop if I fell asleep before midnight! Psst... it isn't true.
The cold hard truth is, if you don't have any energy it's because you already used yours up. You spent it all. It is gone! And you'll only get it back in two ways... sleep and food. When I say sleep, I mean uninterrupted, droolin on your pillow, dead-to-the-world sleep. When I say food, I mean, a nutrient dense, calorically sparse, vegetable-based diet with adequate animal protein and essential fatty acids to meet all your needs (we can talk about this part later).
Usually this is followed up with a request for some kind of natural, healthy speed. What I want to say is "Yes. I do. Go home, turn off the lights and the phone, lay down, go to sleep." What I actually say is, well, that is what I actually say.
People will immediately come up with a 1000 reasons they can't fill that prescription. They all basically boil down to "the world will come to an end and we'll all die if I don't stay awake doing stuff". Believe me, I was convinced for a very long time that the world would stop if I fell asleep before midnight! Psst... it isn't true.
The cold hard truth is, if you don't have any energy it's because you already used yours up. You spent it all. It is gone! And you'll only get it back in two ways... sleep and food. When I say sleep, I mean uninterrupted, droolin on your pillow, dead-to-the-world sleep. When I say food, I mean, a nutrient dense, calorically sparse, vegetable-based diet with adequate animal protein and essential fatty acids to meet all your needs (we can talk about this part later).
I really do not like to utilize upper-type/speed supplements in an effort to artificially accelerate your metabolism and keep you awake. This strategy is similar to whipping a tired horse until it runs faster. While it may work in the short term, it usually kills the horse and you find yourself worse off than before you started. From my personal experience and from observing hundreds of patients and clients over the years, this is a recipe for disaster.
If you find yourself looking for a secret weapon that gives you energy and renders sleep obsolete, that is a very clear sign that you really need to... "Turn off the lights and the phone, lay down and go to sleep." Your health, your family, your co-workers, and your fellow humans will thank you when you wake up refreshed and rarin to go!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
modus vivendi... a way of living
The Center for Holistic Medicine is pleased to announce an exciting new health enhancement program. This program takes its name from the Latin for “a way of living”. This is important for two reasons. First, it is named in Latin to remind the public that the West does in fact have a holistic medical system. Naturopathy is our culture’s “ayurveda” or Traditional Chinese Medicine. Second, it is a way of living, not [read with a big booming voice!] The Way of Living.
The goal of this program is to help each participant discover and implement their own individual way to live in an optimally healthy manner and decrease the risk of developing chronic disease, bridging the gap between what they "know" and what they do.
The modus vivendi program will be co-led by Dr. Rick Gloor and myself. Dr. Gloor is a board certified Osteopathic family practice physician with over 20 years of clinical experience. He has always believed that if our country’s health status is going to improve, it has to begin with each individual making a proactive health improvement commitment. His frustration has been that the pace of mainstream practice didn't allow him to teach the lifestyle changes that he knew his patients needed. This program is the one he always wished his patients had access to.
Where most programs focus on telling you what to eat and how to exercise, modus vivendi will focus on helping you develop the ability to create a process of consistent lifestyle improvement and to discover your capacity to persistently follow-through with your intention. Along the way you will learn the basics of diet, exercise, and stress management.
The actual program will begin the second week of January, just in time for those Resolutions! It will run for 12 weeks, with meetings once a week for the first 6 weeks and then going to every other week for the second 6 weeks. You'll have a support network that you'll be in touch with daily for the entire course. Pre- and post-program bloodwork, blood pressure, height and weight, waist circumference and skinfolds for body fat will be collected and gone over in a one-on-one setting.
The goal of this program is to help each participant discover and implement their own individual way to live in an optimally healthy manner and decrease the risk of developing chronic disease, bridging the gap between what they "know" and what they do.
The modus vivendi program will be co-led by Dr. Rick Gloor and myself. Dr. Gloor is a board certified Osteopathic family practice physician with over 20 years of clinical experience. He has always believed that if our country’s health status is going to improve, it has to begin with each individual making a proactive health improvement commitment. His frustration has been that the pace of mainstream practice didn't allow him to teach the lifestyle changes that he knew his patients needed. This program is the one he always wished his patients had access to.
Where most programs focus on telling you what to eat and how to exercise, modus vivendi will focus on helping you develop the ability to create a process of consistent lifestyle improvement and to discover your capacity to persistently follow-through with your intention. Along the way you will learn the basics of diet, exercise, and stress management.
We are each responsible for our own healing. I heal me and in so doing, I become a more effective guide to take another through their own process. modus vivendi is my process, taken from the very many guides I’ve encountered and sought out in my personal and professional healing journey. Many thanks to my teachers, my clients and patients and a huge thank you to the students at SWIHA... especially those who have taken the Exercise and Wellness class or the Herbal BioSciences/BioArts class, which contained the foundations of the modus vivendi course!
If you are interested in finding out more, call us, email us or come to the Center. Beginning on Tuesday October 19, and repeating each Tues night through November 16, informational question and answer sessions will be held to outline the details of the modus vivendi program. These sessions will run from 7-8pm and will be held upstairs in the Conference Room of the Bledsoe Building at 775 Haywood Road. The cost of each informational session is $5.
The actual program will begin the second week of January, just in time for those Resolutions! It will run for 12 weeks, with meetings once a week for the first 6 weeks and then going to every other week for the second 6 weeks. You'll have a support network that you'll be in touch with daily for the entire course. Pre- and post-program bloodwork, blood pressure, height and weight, waist circumference and skinfolds for body fat will be collected and gone over in a one-on-one setting.
Friday, October 1, 2010
The Sweet Stuff
Sugar is a problem for us for several reasons. First, it doesn’t occur in nature the way we eat it now, so we haven’t evolved with it as a regular part of our diet. In nature, “sugar” is always a combination of sugars rather than the isolates we put in all of our food now days. The other issue is that it has never been readily available for more than a few months of the year since it is seasonal as fruit and tree sap, or you’d have to get it from a hive of bees which is always tricky and usually painful.
The main issue we have with sugar is that it is an irritant and quickly becomes toxic to our system. Simple sugars quickly enter the blood stream and stimulate an over production of insulin. The high levels of insulin cause a rapid drop in blood sugar which leads to foggy thinking, irritability, and the other symptoms associated with “hypoglycemia”. This dramatic up-and-down cycle is very hard on our hormonal system and on our waistline. Daily exposure to this up and down cycle, repeatedly throughout the day, eventually leads to a situation where the cells of the body stop paying attention to all that insulin... “insulin resistance”.
This insulin resistance continues to get worse until eventually, we lose our ability to keep blood sugar under control and it builds up in the blood. At a certain cut off point, we receive the diagnosis of “diabetes”. The important point is that long before we can be labeled “diabetic” we are no longer healthy. A common symptom of insulin resistance is increased body fat around the midsection while the limbs stay relatively lean. People also begin to notice problems with keeping energy levels constant throughout the day, especially feeling irritable before and drowsy after meals. On blood tests, triglycerides will be elevated.
Sugar is also pro-inflammatory and may be contributing to your joint/muscle pain. Blood sugar does the same thing to your cells that it does to your fingers when they are damp and you touch sugar... makes them sticky. When blood sugar levels are too high, the red blood cells and immune cells in the blood can’t work as well because they are sticky. As little as one teaspoon of sugar suppresses your immune system for up to 4 hours. If you have a problem with seasonal allergies, catch frequent colds and flu, suffer from chronic or repeated UTI and upper respiratory infections, etc, check your diet diary!
Sugar sneaks into our diets from many unexpected places. Processed foods are higher in sugar than the whole food version because it improves taste and it makes a great preservative. Foods which advertise they are a “low fat” alternative to some other food are higher in sugar to make up for the loss in flavor when the fat was removed. If you see sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup on the label, it means “sugar”. Agave nectar is as highly processed as high fructose corn syrup and affects us the same way. Just say no.
The main issue we have with sugar is that it is an irritant and quickly becomes toxic to our system. Simple sugars quickly enter the blood stream and stimulate an over production of insulin. The high levels of insulin cause a rapid drop in blood sugar which leads to foggy thinking, irritability, and the other symptoms associated with “hypoglycemia”. This dramatic up-and-down cycle is very hard on our hormonal system and on our waistline. Daily exposure to this up and down cycle, repeatedly throughout the day, eventually leads to a situation where the cells of the body stop paying attention to all that insulin... “insulin resistance”.
This insulin resistance continues to get worse until eventually, we lose our ability to keep blood sugar under control and it builds up in the blood. At a certain cut off point, we receive the diagnosis of “diabetes”. The important point is that long before we can be labeled “diabetic” we are no longer healthy. A common symptom of insulin resistance is increased body fat around the midsection while the limbs stay relatively lean. People also begin to notice problems with keeping energy levels constant throughout the day, especially feeling irritable before and drowsy after meals. On blood tests, triglycerides will be elevated.
Sugar is also pro-inflammatory and may be contributing to your joint/muscle pain. Blood sugar does the same thing to your cells that it does to your fingers when they are damp and you touch sugar... makes them sticky. When blood sugar levels are too high, the red blood cells and immune cells in the blood can’t work as well because they are sticky. As little as one teaspoon of sugar suppresses your immune system for up to 4 hours. If you have a problem with seasonal allergies, catch frequent colds and flu, suffer from chronic or repeated UTI and upper respiratory infections, etc, check your diet diary!
Sugar sneaks into our diets from many unexpected places. Processed foods are higher in sugar than the whole food version because it improves taste and it makes a great preservative. Foods which advertise they are a “low fat” alternative to some other food are higher in sugar to make up for the loss in flavor when the fat was removed. If you see sucrose, glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, high fructose corn syrup on the label, it means “sugar”. Agave nectar is as highly processed as high fructose corn syrup and affects us the same way. Just say no.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Holistic
Now there’s a buzz word if ever I saw one! With all sorts of holistic medicine practices popping up, it is not very exciting to say that Naturopathic medicine is holistic anymore. Yet, there is a difference in what we mean when we say that we are holistic, compared to what most mainstream thinkers mean when they say it.
To most mainstream healthcare providers, ‘holistic’ means they have assembled a multidisciplinary team to give your case a broad perspective and to provide you a one-stop-shop for all the specialties that you could need. In essence, what they are really providing is fortified healthcare. You might recognize ‘fortified’ from food labels at the grocery. When food is processed, a lot of important nutrients are removed from it. Manufacturers started getting pressure to put them back afterward because of the potential health problems that could (and in some cases did/do) happen. Basically, they took it out realized you need it so then they put in a supplemental dose to try and make up the difference.
In medicine a similar thing is happening, western medical science has dissected the human experience and the human body down to the smallest levels we are able in an effort to understand how we work and how to fix us when we don’t work right (an exercise that I find tremendous value in doing); creating specialties and subspecialties (and their existence has saved countless lives). When they realized that humans need to be treated as the whole being that they are, they began moving all the specialists for each little part under one roof and call it a holistic practice. It takes about 15 specialists to make a holistic practice in this model and if you don't make an appointment with all of them, some aspect of you will be left out of the picture.
Interestingly, mainstream medicine has a ‘specialty’ in holistic medicine but most of the schools have either discontinued their programs or severely cut them back because students are rarely attracted to it anymore. It is called family practice. Naturopathic medicine is built on a family practice model. We are not specialists in any one part of a person’s experience; we are specialists in the big picture. Jacks/Jills-of-all-trades, masters of the combination.
Many of the alternative medical practices for our culture are mainstream practices in other cultures and have maintained the importance of the generalist role so we call them holistic. Chinese medicine, Yogic medicine and Ayurvedic medicine are examples.
For western medicine, Naturopathy continues that holistic, generalist tradition. We look at your entire picture and help you to notice which pieces are pulling you away from your health goals as well as which ones are working well. We look not only at the disease processes going on, but also at your experience of them and how that is further impacting your health. We look at the totality of the effects of your treatment plan and how they are impacting your health as well, whether those effects are the intended ones or the ones ‘on the side’. No part is left out and when a specific area needs additional help, we make the appropriate referral to those amazing specialists out there.
To most mainstream healthcare providers, ‘holistic’ means they have assembled a multidisciplinary team to give your case a broad perspective and to provide you a one-stop-shop for all the specialties that you could need. In essence, what they are really providing is fortified healthcare. You might recognize ‘fortified’ from food labels at the grocery. When food is processed, a lot of important nutrients are removed from it. Manufacturers started getting pressure to put them back afterward because of the potential health problems that could (and in some cases did/do) happen. Basically, they took it out realized you need it so then they put in a supplemental dose to try and make up the difference.
In medicine a similar thing is happening, western medical science has dissected the human experience and the human body down to the smallest levels we are able in an effort to understand how we work and how to fix us when we don’t work right (an exercise that I find tremendous value in doing); creating specialties and subspecialties (and their existence has saved countless lives). When they realized that humans need to be treated as the whole being that they are, they began moving all the specialists for each little part under one roof and call it a holistic practice. It takes about 15 specialists to make a holistic practice in this model and if you don't make an appointment with all of them, some aspect of you will be left out of the picture.
Interestingly, mainstream medicine has a ‘specialty’ in holistic medicine but most of the schools have either discontinued their programs or severely cut them back because students are rarely attracted to it anymore. It is called family practice. Naturopathic medicine is built on a family practice model. We are not specialists in any one part of a person’s experience; we are specialists in the big picture. Jacks/Jills-of-all-trades, masters of the combination.
Many of the alternative medical practices for our culture are mainstream practices in other cultures and have maintained the importance of the generalist role so we call them holistic. Chinese medicine, Yogic medicine and Ayurvedic medicine are examples.
For western medicine, Naturopathy continues that holistic, generalist tradition. We look at your entire picture and help you to notice which pieces are pulling you away from your health goals as well as which ones are working well. We look not only at the disease processes going on, but also at your experience of them and how that is further impacting your health. We look at the totality of the effects of your treatment plan and how they are impacting your health as well, whether those effects are the intended ones or the ones ‘on the side’. No part is left out and when a specific area needs additional help, we make the appropriate referral to those amazing specialists out there.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
The Naturopathic Medical Model
1. Good health is the constant and natural state of being
2. Ill health is an adaptive, natural response to disturbance in the organism
3. Removal of disturbing factors will create the basis for a return of good health
4. Intervention should involve the least force necessary to stimulate the self-healing mechanisms
This model indicates that at every point in your life, you are in the best state of health possible based on your personal circumstances. That is how we operate as human beings. Always being the best we can be. Even ‘disease’ is the current best state of health available to you. Put another way. Despite what you may have come to believe about yourself, YOU ARE NOT BROKEN. You are working exactly as you are supposed to, even in the face of what may be some very unfortunate circumstances.
Knowing this little secret, naturopathic doctors work with you to improve your circumstances so that your state of health improves. This allows our interventions to be less dramatic, less heroic, more subtle and gentle. Not to say that everything will come up roses and sunshine. Frankly, the process of healing usually sucks for a while! It can hurt; it can make you smell and feel funny; it is usually at least a little disorienting; and it requires a lot of energy and intention to overcome years of habit- of thought, belief and behavior.
And then, suddenly it doesn’t. You wake up one morning and discover that it is now more difficult and requires more energy to put the obstacles back in place. You have new habits of thought, belief and behavior that are as easy to maintain as the previous ones had been, but these promote a greater level of health.
2. Ill health is an adaptive, natural response to disturbance in the organism
3. Removal of disturbing factors will create the basis for a return of good health
4. Intervention should involve the least force necessary to stimulate the self-healing mechanisms
This model indicates that at every point in your life, you are in the best state of health possible based on your personal circumstances. That is how we operate as human beings. Always being the best we can be. Even ‘disease’ is the current best state of health available to you. Put another way. Despite what you may have come to believe about yourself, YOU ARE NOT BROKEN. You are working exactly as you are supposed to, even in the face of what may be some very unfortunate circumstances.
Knowing this little secret, naturopathic doctors work with you to improve your circumstances so that your state of health improves. This allows our interventions to be less dramatic, less heroic, more subtle and gentle. Not to say that everything will come up roses and sunshine. Frankly, the process of healing usually sucks for a while! It can hurt; it can make you smell and feel funny; it is usually at least a little disorienting; and it requires a lot of energy and intention to overcome years of habit- of thought, belief and behavior.
And then, suddenly it doesn’t. You wake up one morning and discover that it is now more difficult and requires more energy to put the obstacles back in place. You have new habits of thought, belief and behavior that are as easy to maintain as the previous ones had been, but these promote a greater level of health.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
I'm An Anti-Aging Medicine Specialist
I know many doctors out there claim to specialize in anti-aging medicine. However, I am the only one that really follows through on the promise. After years of research and study, I'm pleased to finally be able to offer this tried and true, fail-safe method. Relatively painless, zero side effects and a benefit you will notice immediately! What is this anti-aging panacea?!
NO GIMMICKS! JUST REAL RESULTS, REAL FAST!
We now offer beheadings! This simple, in-office procedure requires no anaesthesia and is 100% guaranteed to work in one treatment or your second treatment is free. It will not take more than 2. Sure, we could've gone with gunshots, but a disturbingly high percentage of people continued to age after the treatment so we decided to stick with what works.
Now I know that many of you are wondering about what you can do in terms of lifestyle to stop the effects of aging. The recommendations may come as a surprise but we have a program scientifically proven to stimulate a brief increase in aging, which, based on the homeopathic concept of "like cures like", actually results in slowing it down and eventually stops it altogether.
"WHAT IS THIS AMAZING PROGRAM?!" you ask?
Well, it is a combination of many simple lifestyle decisions that many of you may already be doing! This familiarity makes the program very accessible for almost everyone and compliance is simply too good to be true. It's so easy to follow, you'll have more difficulty believing that it is doctor recommended and approved than staying on it! In fact, this is probably the only lifestyle change I can confidently predict will be truly lifelong.
OK! HERE IT IS:
Whether you're in it for the long hall, or want to start experiencing age-free existence today; We have the right plan for you. If you can find a more effective, easier, anti-aging program anywhere, we'll give you your money back!
NO GIMMICKS! JUST REAL RESULTS, REAL FAST!
We now offer beheadings! This simple, in-office procedure requires no anaesthesia and is 100% guaranteed to work in one treatment or your second treatment is free. It will not take more than 2. Sure, we could've gone with gunshots, but a disturbingly high percentage of people continued to age after the treatment so we decided to stick with what works.
Now I know that many of you are wondering about what you can do in terms of lifestyle to stop the effects of aging. The recommendations may come as a surprise but we have a program scientifically proven to stimulate a brief increase in aging, which, based on the homeopathic concept of "like cures like", actually results in slowing it down and eventually stops it altogether.
"WHAT IS THIS AMAZING PROGRAM?!" you ask?
Well, it is a combination of many simple lifestyle decisions that many of you may already be doing! This familiarity makes the program very accessible for almost everyone and compliance is simply too good to be true. It's so easy to follow, you'll have more difficulty believing that it is doctor recommended and approved than staying on it! In fact, this is probably the only lifestyle change I can confidently predict will be truly lifelong.
OK! HERE IT IS:
- Eat a diet high in sugar and starch, loaded with anonymous chemicals and fillers.
- If it doesn't come in a box, a carton, a can or a package, DO NOT EAT IT!
- Spend your waking hours as still as possible. The less you move, the faster you get there... now how cool is that?!
- Smoke and drink as much as you can, the more you do, the faster the program works. Throw in other recreational drugs for added benefit.
- Take a minimum of 3 prescription medications and mix freely with whatever you can get over the counter. Don't tell your doctor, s/he'll just try to make sure they don't adversely interact and that'll slow you down.
Whether you're in it for the long hall, or want to start experiencing age-free existence today; We have the right plan for you. If you can find a more effective, easier, anti-aging program anywhere, we'll give you your money back!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Quotes from my Notes...
We are driven to intervene because at some level we recognize that our patients are ourselves. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
The illness a client brings is sacred. It is his/her vessel for transformation. Don’t be afraid of where their path takes them…. This is going to depend on you having traveled your own healing journey. ~Debra Brammer, ND
The more they attribute their issues to other people, the farther they are from healing. ~ John Dye, ND
Patients coming to us usually need massive changes in their way of living, in their choices, in their lifestyles—and only through this change can treatment and then prevention occur. ~Mona Morstein, ND
I try not to launch into a full-blown nutritional diatribe highlighting the fact that arrogance and ignorance should not be combined in the same meal! Or is that protein and carbs? I can never remember. ~unknown
Use your common sense first… then get weird if you need to! ~Bill Mitchell, ND
Another modality in medicine, and one that is particularly important in naturopathic medicine, is the human modality itself. I refer to this as the application of “people and organizations” to the patient. Giving the patient people, or groups of people, contains within itself a healing power. This may seem obvious to us, but we seldom prescribe people as a medicine or modality. In the practice of naturopathic medicine, as I view it, I often refer patients to a yoga class, not only for the exercise, a well recognized modality, but for the interaction of the patient with people who are also seeking wellness. People are each others’ medicine in the ideal world. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
There is no cure for the common cold because the cold is the cure! ~Jared Zeff, ND
Adaptogens are great! But what about prescribing an adaptogenic lifestye? ~JoAnn Sanchez
Every great doctor is a good philosopher. Go back to the elders, not to learn how they did things but to discover why; what were their truths? It is our philosophy which sets us apart in the medical model, not our modalities. ~Jim Sensenig, ND
Live in such a way that you are a model of health, not perfection. Your task is to live the most conscious life you can; to be present with your emotions, qualities and faults. To treat yourself with respect and acceptance. You can exemplify health to your patients by being who you are & can facilitate their own acceptance of their current situation. ~ Jared Zeff, ND
I always invite the patient on a journey. The journey is to discover the highest self they can find among the baggage and sometimes the wreckage of their lives. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
There is little difference between healing the body and healing the spirit. One might say that the aware person does both. The concept of spirit is metaphysical while the concept of the body healing itself has been relegated to the physical realm. And yet, both function at the unseen level. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
Intention is the mid-wife to Actualization. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
A major philosophical difference to ponder. Nowadays, drug/natural medicine interaction is being looked at with the idea that if a nutrient interferes with a drug, it should be avoided. I would suggest that if a nutrient can replace a drug or make a drug less needed, then the natural medicine takes precedence. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
How often do you find that your heart is closed and your mouth is still open? ~Jim Sensenig, ND
Your ducks will never be in a row! ~ Unknown
Does what you eat require you to lend your vital force to it? Or does it actually build yours by giving more to you? Supplements and processed foods have very little if any vital force, and may drain you when used in excess. ~Sara Hazel, ND
Look at why the person is getting sick/injured. Are they somewhere they don’t want to be? Doing something they don’t want to do? Distracted by thoughts of being somewhere else, doing something else? ~Paul Mittman, ND
The patient will often retrace their steps through their pathology, “paying off old debts”. But overall, the pt will still report feeling better. For most people, the healing process will not be all roses and birds chirping. ~Paul Mittman, ND
You are going to spend a lot of your time coming up with compassionate, kind, and firm ways of saying "Of course you feel aweful. Look at how you treat yourself!" ~Teri Davis, ND
If I do not know all about them, how can I first treat their illness, and also instruct them why that illness occurred and how they can prevent it from ever coming back? I can’t. Everyone doesn’t need the same diet. Everyone doesn’t need or can’t do, the same exercise programs. Everyone doesn’t need the same amount of sleep. ~Mona Morstein, ND
The illness a client brings is sacred. It is his/her vessel for transformation. Don’t be afraid of where their path takes them…. This is going to depend on you having traveled your own healing journey. ~Debra Brammer, ND
The more they attribute their issues to other people, the farther they are from healing. ~ John Dye, ND
Patients coming to us usually need massive changes in their way of living, in their choices, in their lifestyles—and only through this change can treatment and then prevention occur. ~Mona Morstein, ND
I try not to launch into a full-blown nutritional diatribe highlighting the fact that arrogance and ignorance should not be combined in the same meal! Or is that protein and carbs? I can never remember. ~unknown
Use your common sense first… then get weird if you need to! ~Bill Mitchell, ND
Another modality in medicine, and one that is particularly important in naturopathic medicine, is the human modality itself. I refer to this as the application of “people and organizations” to the patient. Giving the patient people, or groups of people, contains within itself a healing power. This may seem obvious to us, but we seldom prescribe people as a medicine or modality. In the practice of naturopathic medicine, as I view it, I often refer patients to a yoga class, not only for the exercise, a well recognized modality, but for the interaction of the patient with people who are also seeking wellness. People are each others’ medicine in the ideal world. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
There is no cure for the common cold because the cold is the cure! ~Jared Zeff, ND
Adaptogens are great! But what about prescribing an adaptogenic lifestye? ~JoAnn Sanchez
Every great doctor is a good philosopher. Go back to the elders, not to learn how they did things but to discover why; what were their truths? It is our philosophy which sets us apart in the medical model, not our modalities. ~Jim Sensenig, ND
Live in such a way that you are a model of health, not perfection. Your task is to live the most conscious life you can; to be present with your emotions, qualities and faults. To treat yourself with respect and acceptance. You can exemplify health to your patients by being who you are & can facilitate their own acceptance of their current situation. ~ Jared Zeff, ND
I always invite the patient on a journey. The journey is to discover the highest self they can find among the baggage and sometimes the wreckage of their lives. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
There is little difference between healing the body and healing the spirit. One might say that the aware person does both. The concept of spirit is metaphysical while the concept of the body healing itself has been relegated to the physical realm. And yet, both function at the unseen level. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
Intention is the mid-wife to Actualization. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
A major philosophical difference to ponder. Nowadays, drug/natural medicine interaction is being looked at with the idea that if a nutrient interferes with a drug, it should be avoided. I would suggest that if a nutrient can replace a drug or make a drug less needed, then the natural medicine takes precedence. ~Bill Mitchell, ND
How often do you find that your heart is closed and your mouth is still open? ~Jim Sensenig, ND
Your ducks will never be in a row! ~ Unknown
Does what you eat require you to lend your vital force to it? Or does it actually build yours by giving more to you? Supplements and processed foods have very little if any vital force, and may drain you when used in excess. ~Sara Hazel, ND
Look at why the person is getting sick/injured. Are they somewhere they don’t want to be? Doing something they don’t want to do? Distracted by thoughts of being somewhere else, doing something else? ~Paul Mittman, ND
The patient will often retrace their steps through their pathology, “paying off old debts”. But overall, the pt will still report feeling better. For most people, the healing process will not be all roses and birds chirping. ~Paul Mittman, ND
You are going to spend a lot of your time coming up with compassionate, kind, and firm ways of saying "Of course you feel aweful. Look at how you treat yourself!" ~Teri Davis, ND
If I do not know all about them, how can I first treat their illness, and also instruct them why that illness occurred and how they can prevent it from ever coming back? I can’t. Everyone doesn’t need the same diet. Everyone doesn’t need or can’t do, the same exercise programs. Everyone doesn’t need the same amount of sleep. ~Mona Morstein, ND
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Metaphors
In Naturopathic medical school, I learned to make appropriate diagnoses for my patients. However, I don’t stop at the standard ICD-9 code and name of the disease. I look beyond the label and identify what process the body is going through. And, look at the metaphor that may be in play. Asking questions that allow a patient to begin an investigation into what might be going on besides the physical manifestation of the disease that was coded allows the patient to be more engaged in the process of healing. It also allows healing to take place on all levels of the patient’s experience.
In a great many of our chronic illnesses we find some error in perception within the body’s tissues and cells. For example, cancer is a process of isolation and reversion to base survival instincts. One’s cells begin living only to survive and reproduce, completely isolating themselves from the tissue they were formerly a part of. They cease to perform the function they were designed to perform for the body as a whole and simply hoard resources for themselves at the expense of the greater community. In a society where people feel isolated and afraid, it is not surprising to find increased cancer rates.
In many other chronic diseases, there is an autoimmune component where the body’s defense system has lost the capacity to differentiate ‘self’ from ‘other’. The immune system then engages in genocide of a particular cell or tissue type. In other words, in autoimmunity the sense of ‘self’ is distorted on a cellular level. One can be said to be at war with one’s self. In a society where people are struggling with defining who they really are, it is not surprising that autoimmune diseases are on the rise.
A reasonable question to ask is, “If you were a cell, would you want to live in your body? Is it a friendly, safe, happy, healthy place?”
Naturopathic medicine helps patients address these core issues while also working at the physical level with whatever the diagnosis and symptoms are. Luckily, it turns out that the things we do to make our cells healthy and happy, tend to make us feel that way as a whole. Oh, and they also tend to make the world around us more that way as well. Healing works all the way up and all the way down; or it isn’t really healing.
In a great many of our chronic illnesses we find some error in perception within the body’s tissues and cells. For example, cancer is a process of isolation and reversion to base survival instincts. One’s cells begin living only to survive and reproduce, completely isolating themselves from the tissue they were formerly a part of. They cease to perform the function they were designed to perform for the body as a whole and simply hoard resources for themselves at the expense of the greater community. In a society where people feel isolated and afraid, it is not surprising to find increased cancer rates.
In many other chronic diseases, there is an autoimmune component where the body’s defense system has lost the capacity to differentiate ‘self’ from ‘other’. The immune system then engages in genocide of a particular cell or tissue type. In other words, in autoimmunity the sense of ‘self’ is distorted on a cellular level. One can be said to be at war with one’s self. In a society where people are struggling with defining who they really are, it is not surprising that autoimmune diseases are on the rise.
A reasonable question to ask is, “If you were a cell, would you want to live in your body? Is it a friendly, safe, happy, healthy place?”
Naturopathic medicine helps patients address these core issues while also working at the physical level with whatever the diagnosis and symptoms are. Luckily, it turns out that the things we do to make our cells healthy and happy, tend to make us feel that way as a whole. Oh, and they also tend to make the world around us more that way as well. Healing works all the way up and all the way down; or it isn’t really healing.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Naturopathic Physician's Oath
I dedicate myself to the service of humanity as a practitioner of the art and science of Naturopathic Medicine.
I will honor my teachers and all who have preserved and developed this knowledge, and dedicate myself to supporting the growth and evolution of Naturopathic Medicine. I will endeavor to continually improve my abilities as a healer through study, reflection, and genuine concern for humanity. I will impart knowledge of the advanced healing arts to dedicated colleagues and students.
Through precept, lecture, and example, I will assist and encourage others to strengthen their health, reduce risks for disease, and preserve the health of our planet for ourselves, our families, and future generations.
According to my best ability and judgement, I will use methods of treatment which follow the principles of Naturopathic Medicine:
- Primum Non Nocere~ First of all, to do no harm
- Vis Medicatrix Naturae~ To act in cooperation with the healing power of Nature
- Tolle Causam~ To address the fundamental causes of disease
- Tolle Totum~ To heal the whole person through individualized treatment
- Docere~ To teach the principles of healthy living and preventive medicine
- Praevenire~ To practice prevention with patients and the public
I will conduct my life and the practice of Naturopathic health care with vigilance, integrity, and freedom from prejudice. I will abstain from voluntary acts of injustice and corruption. I will keep confidential whatever I am privileged to witness, whether professionally or privately, that should not be divulged.
With my whole heart, before this gathering of witnesses, as a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine, I pledge to remain true to this oath.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Nouns vs Verbs
Naturopathic medicine is very action oriented. We think in terms of verbs where most of the world thinks nouns. The body is a process, not a thing! Good health and poor health are simply descriptions of the process. Where mainstream thought says that you have cancer, diabetes or a cold, I would say you are diabetes-ing, cancer-ing, or cold-ing. Where mainstream medicine gives you a medicine to defeat the disease-entity, I give you a new process to engage in. The process of healing is actually a change in behavior, thought and belief combined with access to new resources.
Most of our chronic illnesses do not fit well with the medical war approach, since there is rarely an invading entity to focus your weapons on. Even in the case of microbial infections and parasitic infestations, there is something about an individual’s life process that leaves them susceptible since in any given population it is rare for everyone to get sick despite exposure to the agent of the disease. If you desire to be in good health, you must begin acting in good health. It really is that simple.
When we give a body the resources it needs to make the internal environment more hospitable, more livable, it heals. When we give the person what s/he needs to engage in a process promoting good health, that person is healthy. When we remove the obstacles to good health, it returns. Until this step is taken, any relief from symptoms or improvement in lab results is temporary at best. Good health is the goal here and where it is absent, learning is required.
Most of our chronic illnesses do not fit well with the medical war approach, since there is rarely an invading entity to focus your weapons on. Even in the case of microbial infections and parasitic infestations, there is something about an individual’s life process that leaves them susceptible since in any given population it is rare for everyone to get sick despite exposure to the agent of the disease. If you desire to be in good health, you must begin acting in good health. It really is that simple.
When we give a body the resources it needs to make the internal environment more hospitable, more livable, it heals. When we give the person what s/he needs to engage in a process promoting good health, that person is healthy. When we remove the obstacles to good health, it returns. Until this step is taken, any relief from symptoms or improvement in lab results is temporary at best. Good health is the goal here and where it is absent, learning is required.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
AN OVERVIEW
A Licensed naturopathic doctor (ND or NMD) attends an accredited four-year graduate level naturopathic medical school. The naturopathic physician is required to simultaneously complete a standard medical curriculum along with training in clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine, botanical medicine, physical medicine, and counseling. A naturopathic physician takes rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction as a primary care, general practice physician. In AZ, naturopathic physicians are fully licensed primary care physicians. In NC licensing legislation has been blocked so that we practice as consultants.
A Naturopathic physician skillfully intertwines what has become two distinct systems- western mainstream and alternative healthcare- into one complete system of treatment. We practice as ‘doctors’, which simply means ‘teacher’, educating you about your healthcare options, demystifying medicine and empowering you to achieve your health goals.
We utilize mainstream Western medicine (a thorough history, physical exam, lab work, imaging studies, and writing prescriptions when necessary) as well as alternative Western medicine (traditional nature-cure, clinical nutrition, spinal manipulation, botanical medicine, mind-body techniques, counseling, homeopathy) to provide the best individualized medical care.
What distinguishes Naturopathic physicians from our mainstream medical colleagues is our philosophy, not the therapies we use.
First, we treat individuals, not their diagnosis. You are the focus of the treatment plan; your diagnosis is merely a description of a process you are engaging in. Frankly, your diagnosis has probably been receiving far too much attention already and we want to put the focus back on you!
Second, we treat holistically. The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parts of us are absolutely integrated. You cannot separate them. We are also a part of our environment, family, friends, job, etc., all of which have an impact on the balance of our health. Naturopathic physicians look at all the things that are compromising your health and look to restore balance in all those areas. You'll find we ask a wide variety of questions, not only about what is happening in your body but in all aspects of your life.
Third, we treat the underlying imbalances. We don't want to just stop symptoms but rather address the underlying causes of those symptoms. Your diagnosis is not the cause of your symptoms; it is a description of them. The search begins at the diagnosis; it doesn’t end there.
Fourth, we look to support the natural healing process. If there is something obstructing or blocking the process, we help you remove the obstacle and if there is a deficiency that is preventing the healing process, we help you nourish that deficiency. Through your body’s own innate wisdom the healing will happen, if it is given the opportunity.
Fifth, our objective is not to restore you to the level of health you had before your illness/injury. If you return to the state prior to the illness, you are still susceptible to the illness/injury! We will help you learn what needs to happen to prevent a reoccurrence.
Sixth, our role is not necessarily to heal. Rather, we are teachers of health and guides in the path back to wellness. Your own body is the healer. Our modalities provide your body with important information and resources it needs to heal, but even they are not the healers, you are.
A Naturopathic physician skillfully intertwines what has become two distinct systems- western mainstream and alternative healthcare- into one complete system of treatment. We practice as ‘doctors’, which simply means ‘teacher’, educating you about your healthcare options, demystifying medicine and empowering you to achieve your health goals.
We utilize mainstream Western medicine (a thorough history, physical exam, lab work, imaging studies, and writing prescriptions when necessary) as well as alternative Western medicine (traditional nature-cure, clinical nutrition, spinal manipulation, botanical medicine, mind-body techniques, counseling, homeopathy) to provide the best individualized medical care.
What distinguishes Naturopathic physicians from our mainstream medical colleagues is our philosophy, not the therapies we use.
First, we treat individuals, not their diagnosis. You are the focus of the treatment plan; your diagnosis is merely a description of a process you are engaging in. Frankly, your diagnosis has probably been receiving far too much attention already and we want to put the focus back on you!
Second, we treat holistically. The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parts of us are absolutely integrated. You cannot separate them. We are also a part of our environment, family, friends, job, etc., all of which have an impact on the balance of our health. Naturopathic physicians look at all the things that are compromising your health and look to restore balance in all those areas. You'll find we ask a wide variety of questions, not only about what is happening in your body but in all aspects of your life.
Third, we treat the underlying imbalances. We don't want to just stop symptoms but rather address the underlying causes of those symptoms. Your diagnosis is not the cause of your symptoms; it is a description of them. The search begins at the diagnosis; it doesn’t end there.
Fourth, we look to support the natural healing process. If there is something obstructing or blocking the process, we help you remove the obstacle and if there is a deficiency that is preventing the healing process, we help you nourish that deficiency. Through your body’s own innate wisdom the healing will happen, if it is given the opportunity.
Fifth, our objective is not to restore you to the level of health you had before your illness/injury. If you return to the state prior to the illness, you are still susceptible to the illness/injury! We will help you learn what needs to happen to prevent a reoccurrence.
Sixth, our role is not necessarily to heal. Rather, we are teachers of health and guides in the path back to wellness. Your own body is the healer. Our modalities provide your body with important information and resources it needs to heal, but even they are not the healers, you are.
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