Integrative Medicine

What is Integrative Medicine?

Integrative Medicine is a new health care standard for the 21st century. We have become a nation focused on disease and the use of medications to fight isolated symptoms of the disease. As an integrative medicine practitioner, I work with my patients to reestablish and maintain health. The goal is to unlock your body’s innate ability to heal itself and perform optimally. When this is achieved, the disease can be prevented, instead of expected, and you will feel healthier and have a better quality of life. Working as an osteopathic physician, I was trained to care for my patients with a holistic lookout. One’s health is affected by lifestyle, environment, psychology, and physiology, and all of these are considered with any treatment plan.

Detoxification

Detoxification is an fundamental aspect of weight loss and health. We live in an incredibly toxic world and are subjected to an ever-growing quantity of toxins in our everyday lives. There are toxins in our food sources, our water supply, the air we inhale, and the chemicals we use in our homes. We expose ourselves to elements with the products we use to keep ourselves healthy like soap and toothpaste. Fortunately, we all were created with the expectation that bad things could enter our bodies, and we have mechanisms to protect against toxins. On the other hand, many of us turn out to be overwhelmed with toxins. We can no longer guard against the load of toxins to which we are exposed, and we have trouble clearing them from our system. Toxins start to accrue and interfere with the way we operate. Think of it as if no one is taking out the garbage at your house! Trash would pile up, and your daily activities would become harder and harder to accomplish. When we accumulate pollutants, our immune system becomes less effective, our metabolism becomes lethargic, and we have trouble making energy. We need somewhere to store these accumulated toxins. Therefore our body maintains fat to keep them warehoused. This makes it very problematic to lose weight and can also cause many additional problems that will drag your overall health down. A big toxic load can manifest with an assortment of symptoms such as fatigue, anxiety, pain, depression, or skin problems, just to name a couple.

When this happens, we have to actively clear toxins from our system and restore our body’s ability to manage and excrete toxins. I have heard many different ways people attempt to do this, and many detox programs make me cringe. Fasting, juicing, lemon water with maple syrup cleanses, and colon flushes are a just a couple of the “programs” patients have told me about. To design an effective detox program, one must first understand how we innately detoxify and then try to improve this process. When toxins enter our system, they are transported to the liver. The liver is a complicated organ with a network of enzymes designed to change toxins into a form the body can eliminate chemically. After the liver completes the conversion of toxins, they can be passed through the gut and eliminated through waste (stool), kidneys (urine), skin, or by means of breathing. This process uses energy, so you need to have good nutrition during the process. You also need to discontinue putting toxins into your body. You cannot put out a fire with water if you still have gas leaking into the flames. When detoxing, you need to limit your contact with environmental toxins and eat a diet that restricts toxic exposures and confines any impact on your immune system and digestion. You also must concurrently enhance kidney, gut, and skin purpose. Additionally, targeted supplements should be used to improve liver function and aid in the mobilization of stored toxins. It takes an all-inclusive approach to address the whole detox technique. It may sound complex but it can be done easily with right supervision. Detoxification is an excellent way to jump start any weight loss or care program.

Gastrointestinal Health

If your gut system is not healthy, you are not healthy, and it will be harder to lose weight. The gut is one of the primary boundaries between the outside world and our internal system. Medical research is just starting to scratch the surface of gut function and the enormous impact it has on our health. If your gut is not well, you will not absorb the nutrients that are needed to produce energy and keep your body in good physical shape. Your immune system, which is closely tied to your gut, will be triggered to fight against your body, instead of shielding you like it should. An unhealthy gut system will cause you to absorb toxins and create inflammation, which will interfere with the bodily processes designed to keep you healthy. It is easy to undervalue how important a healthy digestive system is to your wellbeing. In a nutshell, an unhealthy gut places you at risk for an assortment of health issues.

On the other hand, if you have a poor gut function, there is a likelihood that you can restore your health. The treatment varies on each patient’s particular situation. A comprehensive method can offer solutions for deprived gut health. Testing can reveal causes of inflammation, infections, food sensitivities, or the need for digestive enzymes and healthy bacteria. The goal is to eliminate what is irritating your gut, repair a healthy gut environment and correct the damage that may have previously been done. Over time, the gut will mend and function well again, as will you.

Inflammation

Inflammation is a common term that refers to how your body replies when it is disturbed. The response occurs in the form of internal chemical reactions. However, inflammation can be a good thing. When you are ill or injured, you need an inflammatory response to help you heal tissue or fight illness. Inflammation also has the potential to injure tissue and interfere with detoxification, metabolism, and immune function, so you do not want persistent inflammation. Unfortunately, something as normal as eating can cause unhealthy inflammation. If you eat foods that are loaded with sugar or eat foods that you are sensitive to, you will produce inflammation. Long-term inflammation can lead to an assortment of problems, such as:

As you can see, it is critical to control inflammation. The first step is trying to pinpoint the source of any chronic inflammation and try to remove it. Once inflammation is present, it is a constant battle to keep it under control but can be done with a comprehensive health maintenance program.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome is a mixture of conditions. It is defined by weak blood sugar control, increased abdominal fat, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and high triglycerides (fat units in the blood). Metabolic syndrome meaningfully increases one’s risk for cardiovascular disease, which can lead to heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, and stroke. It is a hazardous condition, but in most cases, treatable and preventable. Commonly, as we acquire problems associated with metabolic syndrome, we are placed on different medications for treatment. This approach disregards the cause of metabolic syndrome. The disorders that structure metabolic syndrome often occur when the body is not operating well because of things we do to it. While genetics plays a role in metabolic syndrome, our genes are profoundly influenced by our internal environment. A poor diet and lifestyle choices cause our genes to be conveyed in a way that leads to many of the ailments associated with metabolic syndrome. Other concerns, such as poor gut health or hormonal imbalances, may not be caused by lifestyle choices but these choices can contribute to metabolic syndrome just the same. I address all of these matters with an integrative medicine approach. By remedying hormone imbalance, inflammation, gut health, toxicity, and poor nutrition, the body will perform better. When it does, metabolic syndrome can be overturned, and the debilitating symptoms associated with it can be avoided.