At the Center for Advanced Wellness our treatment protocol is comprised of 5 basic components:
Proper Diet
Correction of Sleep Problems
Detoxification
Correction of Hormonal Imbalances
Appropriate Exercise
Let’s talk a little bit about each of these components. We have more detailed information on many of these areas in the article section of this website.
Proper diet is a critical part of achieving optimal health. In our practice the cornerstone of our diet plan is the Whole Foods Diet. In summary, eating a whole foods diet simply means to eat foods as they are in nature. We stress to our patients to avoid refined/processed foods, especially refined sweeteners such as white sugar and high fructose corn syrup. We have other adjunct diets and vitamin and mineral supplements that we recommend depending on the patient’s particular condition. We feel that maintaining a proper diet is big step in achieving optimal health.
Sleep problems have reached almost epidemic proportions in our modern society. The vast majority of patients who come to see us have some sort of sleep issue. It is almost impossible to achieve optimal health without getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis. We have many techniques to solve sleep issues without resorting to prescription sleep medications. We use herbal sleep aid preparations and stress a sleep “hygiene” program to all of our patients. Many times sleep problems will be corrected when we correct other components of our treatment plan. Along with proper eating habits, proper sleep is a critical part to any health plan.
Detoxification is an area that is often overlooked by conventional medicine. It is our philosophy that toxins from our polluted environment accumulate in our bodies and cause havoc on many systems within the body. We have found that some of the biggest culprits are heavy metals. These include lead, arsenic and especially mercury. These are toxic substances which are contained in our water, food, air, household products, and in the case of mercury, in silver dental fillings.
Our bodies absorb these toxins throughout the years until, in some people, the toxic burden becomes large enough to cause problems. We use accurate tests to measure the amounts of these metals in the body. If the amounts are elevated, we then have safe methods to rid the body of these poisons. We also focus on the intestinal system. Most people do not know that the intestines contain large amounts of micro-organisms. Some of these micro-organisms are beneficial and crucial to good health and others are not. Beneficial micro-organisms include acidophilus bacteria (found in yogurt), and bifidobacterium. These “good guys” are needed in the intestines to properly break down certain food among other functions.
The most common harmful micro-organism is a yeast called Candida Albicans. This fungus is normally present in very small amounts and kept in check by the beneficial micro-organisms. Bad diet, stress, and especially the overuse of anti-biotics can wipe out the beneficial micro-organisms and allow Candida Albicans to grow out of control. This over growth can lead to many problems within the body. We have a test which can determine if this is a problem. If an overgrowth is found,we have several techniques to safely resolve this issue.
Hormonal balancing is a special area of interest for us. Hormonal imbalances can diminish a person’s quality of life immensely. This applies to men as well as women. Symptoms of hormonal imbalances include: decreased concentration and memory, depression, mood swings, irritability, weight gain, fatigue, low sex drive and sleep difficulties. The list of symptoms for women includes hot flashes, hair loss, urinary infections and P.M.S. We analyze the whole endocrine system, including the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland and the adrenal glands as well as the sex glands. We often catch hormonal deficiencies that other doctors miss.
Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy is our treatment of choice for hormonal deficiencies. Bio-identical hormones, unlike the harmful synthetic hormones that most doctors use, are derived from plant sources and made to have the identical structure of the hormones the body naturally produces. In addition to alleviating the above mentioned symptoms, these hormones actually offer protection against heart disease, endometrial cancer and osteoporosis.
_________________________________________________
Appropriate exercise is another crucial piece to any plan for optimal health. The key word is appropriate. Many of our patients are unable to exercise properly when they first see us. However, after we advance them on the road to optimal health, they are then able to partake in a regular exercise program. We are careful to recommend an exercise program that fits the needs and condition of each patient.
