Total Approach: Body Mind & Soul

By Dr. Lisa A. Merritt, D.C., C.T.N., C.Ac. 

What is the direction for health and longevity as American people? Is the health of our country improving as we live longer? The latest news for January 2007 stated that cancer statistics have gone down. Are Americans really healthier? Do they feel better? Why is diabetes on the rise? Why is more than 7% of our country suffering from depression? The Encyclopedia of Natural Prescription by Michael Murray, N.D., has researched that by the age of 65, 54.4% of these people are suffering from arthritis and 45.6% have high blood pressure. The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology states one in eight women develop thyroid problems. Are we actually healthier and are these statistics even worse than recorded? Do we band-aid the real cause of the problem?

How is great health accomplished? It should be determined by the quality of life not by what medicine is keeping someone alive. Health is not just the absence of disease. Health is a triangle of a structural, chemical and emotional approach. Each of these three areas has many aspects of care and avenues. Leaving one of the areas out and not balancing all three will alter great health. Catching and trouble shooting areas of risk will prevent dysfunction. How can your body be assessed? How can your body be balanced?

Thomas Edison once said, "The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." The doctor of the future should, by now, be today's doctor. Today's doctor should have passion and be compelled to study trustworthy alternative methods and blend it with conventional care. My late father who was a chiropractor stated, "Natural medicine works forward from the cradle; whereas, conventional medicine works backward from the grave." I will not ever say that medicine doesn't have its place but I do say try natural first. I am always looking to have my patient's receive the "East meets West" aspect. So, let's begin how the triangle of health works for you.

Structural

This aspect entails how your physique is. It is how the traumas in your body have been affected by time. It is the everyday wear and tear that is decreasing joint function or the muscular adhesions that prevent movement. By taking the other two sides of the triangle into account, the chemical and emotional will also change the structural and vice versa.

The body is a machine. The central nervous system is the brain and spinal cord. The spine is a huge fuse box sending and receiving messages all day long. Nerves travel 200 miles per hour through a muscle. A pinched nerve will change one function of the body which changes another function, similar to how gears work. The whole body works together and cannot be separated. For the structural aspect, exercise, stretching, cardio work, Yoga and Pilates all need foundational training. Assessing the condition of the structure such as the weight of the patient or the heart health will have a base level. Progressing the patient to other levels need to be monitored to prevent injury. The "Weekend Warriors" for example, are the patients that end up getting hurt and regular consistent exercise is obviously better. Also, the person that has a New Year's resolution to get in shape needs to be guided into a program that is appropriate for their needs. Or, the over exerciser who has an injury and pushed passed their limit. Neuromuscular re-education and rehabilitative therapies all come into play with the structural approach. That is why it is best to receive treatments such as Chiropractic, therapeutic massage, acupuncture and fitness training.

Chemical

The chemical approach is your body's process for absorbing nutrients and eliminating wastes. Your diet, the medicines, the supplements and the environmental chemicals all affect this process. In Dr. James Balch's book, "Prescriptions of Nutritional Healing" stated the U.S. Department of Agriculture claims 40% of people in our country have a diet that is only 60% of the RDA requirements. That's saying that about half of our country is deficient of nutrients. The RDA requirements are at a different limit than my suggested nutrient levels and can also vary with each individual needs. How to determine someone's needs and customize their diet and supplements is an in depth study through blood work, surveys, urine and saliva PH levels, adrenal and thyroid testing and more. As a naturopathic physician, I have found this combination combined with some Chinese diagnosis studies, provides me with a very comprehensive analysis with remarkable lifestyle changes. No one should go "on a diet". It is best to be educated, get on a plan that re-sets your body, bring function back to your best 100% and make a lifetime change.

Emotional

When I consult a patient and ask about the emotional side of the triangle, I observe several things about their mind and soul stability. I never ask if they have stress. Why? Because everyone has stress! Even if they don't admit it! I ask how they cope with stress. What they do when they're under a lot of pressure is the key. One person can have a lot on their plate and cope well with it in constructive manners and the other person could have minimal demands and issues, which are all relevant, yet, be on the verge of a break down. We learn early in life how to cope and how to manage stress. It is a learned experience and an environmental behavior. Others watch what your do at work, at home and in the community. Behind closed doors and while we lay awake at night our inner thoughts need to be recognized and proactively examined.

Stress is not the only emotional aspect to be considered. Our belief system, our social skills and our self esteem play a tremendous part in our health. Studies show that if you are surrounded by a strong support group that the body will heal faster. Having the "fight" in you will help you survive. Denial and ostrich like behaviors will allow progressive stages of destruction occur in any disease.
Learning pain management skills such as bio-feedback, meditation or deep breathing techniques are all effective methods for handling stress. Acupuncture and massage actually release pain relieving endorphins which benefits the healing process. Exercise is another fantastic way to cope with stress. In 1980, Dr. Norman Cousins wrote a book called, "The Healing Heart". He was a physician that suffered himself many debilitating diseases. Dr. Cousins found that he himself and many of his cancer patients healed faster when they were exposed to humorous situations. He also believed in high dosages of Vitamin C (the chemical approach). His patients watched comedy movies and refrained from negative people or environments. These patients showed incredible health improvements just by laughing more!

A doctor's office should be a place of peace and a sense of tranquility. The staff should be pleasant and caring. Anytime you ever walk into an office (not only medical) and sense tension, it will radiate out to all those present. Projecting integrity and a genuine concern about all those involved will make any day go faster and more rewarding.

A total health approach is becoming the "buzz" word for even the conventional side of healing. Hopefully, this will be ongoing because it is what patients are looking for from all of their doctors. Working together as a team and not separating all of the specialties will allow the patient to have medicines, supplements and lifestyle changes to all coincide. This requires us to reform the health care industry! It may be idealistic but other countries do provide alternative care with conventional. This combination of care also requires constant growth in education. I have been in practice for over 26 years and continually study and read new research papers and data. The more I learn the more I realize how much more there is still left to learn.

The answer towards the method to achieve great health is to start young. Preventive care will catch the problem before it happens. Parents need to become knowledgeable and teach their children. Schools offer physical education but health class is not given until they are older and in high school. That's already too late. They don't even get the nutritional information to the extent it should be. Babies eat what their parents give them and day cares offer low quality foods to them too. Advertising and marketing is BIG business and can convince anyone to but their products regardless of the taste. I am happy to see some of the fast food restaurants are trying to add fruits and take out trans-fats but people need to get back home and prepare their own meals. Family meals are not the gathering time like they use to be. It should be time to get nourished physically and emotionally. Everyone needs to slow down and enjoy each other company.

Trouble shoot your health. Don't underestimate the ability of the body to heal. Look at the three sides of the triangle. Let's begin with a questionnaire that calculates your toxicity levels. It will give us a window into some of the areas that you need to start with. At any age, the body can improve. It just depends on how overwhelmed the immune system is or how sluggish your liver has become. Getting assistance from a qualified professional will help you take the step to attain feeling healthy again.

Our lectures are on the third Tuesday of each month. Next month's lecture is on February 20 at 5:45PM and is titled "Live Well, Feel Well". It will entail actual methods to take with the triangle approach in mind. I will discuss foods, supplements, home help methods of acupressure points that will build your immune system. It is an appropriate time of year to ensure you don't get the flu or a bad cold. This lecture will also cover what to do if you do have to take a medicine and how to be sure your digestive tract and other systems are not compromised by it.