Testosterone and the Modern Man by Antonio Peirce

Andropause: scourge of all that is male. Want to stop it, halt it and throw it back into whatever pit it crawled out of? Are you tired of being tired? Hate the gut? Would you like your libido back, would you like it to stay?  Would you like to regain your masculine power and feel the prowess and vitality you used to? We are modern man, and modern man must counter-balance a sometimes debilitating modern culture with modern design. Engineering your lifestyle a little and offsetting naturally declining hormone levels with Testosterone Replacement Therapy can keep you feeling like you were 25 until your 80, after that, maybe 26.

The decline of natural testosterone hinges partly on nature and largely on culture and environment. Here are a few nearly universal basics:

• Over-indulgence of rich, fatty foods and sugars boosts estrogens and slows blood flow.
• Overuse of plastics and the collateral inhalation of solvents tends to boost estrogen levels.
• Toxin build-up may hamper the body’s ability to lose weight and cause depression, preventing testosterone production and increasing estrogen.
• A stationary lifestyle does not place a demand on the body to produce testosterone, so it doesn’t.

In general, a diet rich in protein and vegetables with a moderate, low glycemic intake of carbohydrates and some healthy fats (olive oil, fish-oil, coconut oil, nut butters) is ideal for most men. Carbohydrates are an energy source. If you do not perform physical labor of some kind throughout the day, you are not burning tons of energy and thereby should not eat tons of carbohydrates. Eating your carbs early in the day is best, as that gives you all day to burn them. A meal of vegetables and protein is ideal in the evening.

Avoiding plastics and estrogen encouraging fumes is essential. Microwave dinners and sun heated water bottles are two main culprits you can easily put an end to. No more microwave dinners and purchase a metal or glass water bottle. Be sure to work in a well ventilated area when using paint, automobile products (lubricants, cleaners and sealants), and when working with chemicals of any kind around the house (particularly pesticides, herbicides, bleaches, etc.).

Toxins slow the body’s functions down and significantly hamper testosterone production. Should you feel that you have an inordinate toxin build-up in your system a good detox is in order. Saunas, plenty of greens, castor-oil liver-packs, exercise, and some detoxifying supplementation would be very helpful. Other considerations you and your Bodhi Physician may discuss might include heavy metals chelating and/or a custom detox based on your specific needs.

Exercise is key to maintaining natural testosterone levels, whether supplementing your Testosterone or not. Men must exercise. There is no way around it. Remaining stationary causes weight gain, which increases fat, which encourages estrogen, which lowers total testosterone, which causes weight gain. It is a vicious cycle. End it with exercise, preferably resistance exercise at least 3 days per week to increase lean muscle mass and maintain a healthy heart and steady blood pressure. This encourages natural Testosterone production, increases your body’s ability to detox and keeps you in good shape to enjoy the benefits of greater Testosterone and vitality. Commit to exercising 45 minutes a day at least three times a week. Make it a permanent addition to your lifestyle. Weight lifting, resistance bands (Life-Line, Bowflex, etc.), calisthenics (push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups and jacks, though we aren’t talking 10 of each and your good), or any combination of the three will all work. Remember, change up the routine every three months and keep it difficult. If it isn’t hard, it is not telling your body to produce more muscle and thereby testosterone, enjoy the challenge, enjoy the benefits. This will also continue burn calories throughout your day at work and at home as your body works to acclimate.

These are necessities in any man’s life, so how do you take it step, or a leap or a bound further. How do you take advantage of all that is modern? How do you optimize? You come into Bodhi, and discuss your particular lifestyle, health concerns and goals for the future with your Bodhi Physician. In addition to what you and your physician discuss, you get your Total and Free Testosterone levels measured via blood test. Should your levels come back sub-optimal, your physician will likely recommend Testosterone Replacement in conjunction with supplementation to build and maintain your optimized body and prevent conversion or binding of your Testosterone to estrogens. A step further than this might include the addition of IV Therapy. IV Therapy delivers therapeutic doses of vitamins, minerals and amino acids directly into your blood stream, guaranteeing absorption. Different ratios of these things generate different effects in the body. Elimination of toxins, reversal of various diseases, accelerated healing, rejuvenation of energy and vitality, increased ability to gain and maintain muscle mass are just a few uses IV therapy can be employed towards.

Not sure? Come in for a complimentary 15 minute consult with a Bodhi Physician to see if you feel comfortable at Bodhi and discuss what we can do for you and how we would do it. We look forward to meeting you and optimizing your path to vitality and wellness.

Did you know that Vitamin D deficiency is found is 95% of patients that we test?

Studies show that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to the following health concerns:

• Cancer
• Auto-immune disorders
• Cardiovascular disease
• Blood pressure issues
• High cholesterol levels
• Neurological disorders
• Reproductive system disorders
• Kidney failure
• Muscle weakness
• Obesity
• Skin disorders

The single best way to get all the Vitamin D your body needs is to spend time outside in the sunshine.  Vitamin D is often called “the sunshine vitamin” because 15 minutes in the sun for a light-skinned person will create 10,000 to 20,000 IU of Vitamin D. That’s many times more than the current FDA requirements of between 200 and 400 IU. The problem here is the amount of Vitamin D you get from the sun varies greatly from person to person. Optimal sun exposure is based on where you live, the altitude where you live, whether you are dark-skinned or light-skinned, and many other factors.  The manufacture of Vitamin D from the sun requires UV-B rays to reach the skin. You might think that would be pretty easy.  However, most of us work indoors during the peak hours of sun exposure. That short walk from your office to your car at lunchtime doesn’t count as “optimal sun exposure” and many people use sunscreen daily.

The truth is there is evidence that exposure to the sun’s UV rays, without sunburn, does not cause cancer. There is no real evidence that it does cause cancer. The research does show, however, that exposure to sunlight can potentially protect you from many forms of cancer, not just skin cancer.  Sunscreen comes with its own set of problems and I would recommend not using it at all.  The chemicals in sunblocks are toxic by themselves and can increase your risk of disease and health problems.  One common ingredient, titanium dioxide, is literally identified as “a potential occupational carcinogen” by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health! You’re better off practicing safe sun exposure and trusting in nature.  - Information adapted from an article by Dr. Mercola.

Vitamin D testing is available at Bodhi and replacing Vitamin D is easy.

Don’t wait, get tested this month and enjoy a special promotion:
New Patients – Full integrative medical consultation and lab review with the physician, Vitamin D testing and one bottle of liquid Vitamin D for only $500 (full value is $625). 

Existing Patients - Vitamin D testing, lab review and liquid Vitamin D for only $175 (Full value is $225).

Email us or call us now to reserve your appointment today

It’s hard to imagine taking your blood into the ozone, but gently mixing your blood with ozone may be the single most effective and preventative treatment for nearly all chronic illnesses.

Major Autohemotherapy involves withdrawing 50 to 300 milliliters of whole blood through venous access.  The blood is then exposed to concentrated ozone which is produced from an ozone generator.

The blood is gently mixed with the ozone which is then re-infused back into the body.  This accomplishes a plethora of health promoting benefits:

• An increase in Diphosphoglycerate, which causes red blood cells to immediately dump oxygen to the peripheral cells tissues.  The result is a saturation of oxygen upon the cellular level revitalizing and restoring weak, oxygen starved cells.

• An increase in enzymatic antioxidant activity including Catalase, Superoxide Dismutase and Glutathione peroxidase which eliminates damaging free radicals which are linked to anaerobic, low oxygen conditions, environmental chemical toxicity from ingestion and inhalation.

• An increase in cytokines including interferons, interleukins, tumor necrosis factors, and macrophage colony stimulating factors activating white blood cell reproduction and activity.  These proteins are responsible for keeping your white blood cells healthy and prepared for any infection, inflammation, or abnormal cell growth such as cancer.

• An increase in ATP providing more cellular energy.  Many people walk around fatigued every single day due to poor energy production from weakened cells.  Major autohemotherapy directly increases energy formation combating fatigue.

Ozone was discovered by Christian Friedrich Schonbein in 1840.  Since its discovery ozone has been researched extensively with the first Medical Ozone Society being established in the year 1972.  Over 12 million ozone treatments have been given since the 1950’s in Germany alone (Altman).  In addition, over 15,000 European practitioners use ozone in there practices (Altman).

Ozone, through history, has shown to be extremely safe, extremely effective, and absolutely evidenced based for the greater health of the patient.

The wide and beneficial health effects of major autohemotherapy is indicated for many health conditions including autoimmune disease, cancer, arthritis, heart disease, neurologic diseases, dementia, stroke, diabetes, acute and chronic infections, hepatitis, macular degeneration, chronic fatigue syndrome and respiratory disease.

Due to the increase in antioxidant activity inflammation mediators are quenched and removed.  The result is a decrease in cellular damage and an increase in cellular function.

Additionally, the effects on cytokines results in a “correcting” effect on white blood cell behavior with an increase in white blood cell reproduction and activity.  The massive dump of oxygen to the tissues leads to an increase in ATP (energy) and a surge of oxygenation that saturates the cells leading to a healing effect.

Contact us today at 888.271.8877 to learn more about infusing a little ozone in your blood!

Dr. John Williamson is a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine at Bodhi-Scottsdale. He received his Bachelor of Science cum laude with a dual major in Biological Sciences and Natural Sciences from Worcester State College in Worcester, MA. He then enrolled into Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine where he obtained his Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine.

Dr. John enrolled into Naturopathic Medical school because he questioned the way conventional medicine operated in the treatment of chronic disease. His main interests include environmental and integrative IV therapies. He believes that environmental body pollution is a major culprit in the development of chronic disease.

Have you ever tried to get a copy of your medical records? It’s a bit of a hassle isn’t it?

Once you have a copy, then you have to work your way through the numbers, acronyms, shorthand and scribbles to see if you can figure out what exactly the doctor concluded from your visit.

What if your Physician wrote something incorrectly or even worse, another patient’s visit notes were filed in your file? How would the next Physician make a decision about your medical history?

The End of Paper Records

Historically, patient health records were created and stored on paper with each individual health care provider.  Patient intake forms, chart notes, including diagnosis and treatment plan, along with lab results, would all be gathered in a patient file and housed in large filing cabinets.

Access to these types of files required requesting permission, usually in writing and then copies would be made and provided to the patient. More recently, providers had access to scanning capabilities and were able to scan patient records and store them electronically in a patient database.

In order for a patient to access these records, a request must be made and copies were printed and provided to the patient.  Keeping up to date on all records requires continually collecting your updated records from various providers and organizing them either on paper or electronically.

Very few people actually maintain and track their health records in this way. They leave their health records in the hands of the providers, scattered over time and location, with no tracking of their health progress over time or use of the data in a proactive way.

Taking Responsibility for Your Health

Knowledge is power and access to your personal health records is key to the effective management of your health.

Knowledge is power and the information contained in these records, when compiled in an aggregate, chronological and whole-person view, can give providers and the patient valuable metrics to assist in proactive patient health.

• What if you could access your entire health history from anywhere in the world with an internet connection?
• What if you could see your visit history, doctors appointments, lab testing, therapies and services all on one screen?
• How could you use this information to further your health goals?
• What if you wanted to compare your last three years of cholesterol testing, blood pressure or hormone levels?
• Would it be helpful to know if progress was being made and to see the documentation behind it?
• What if you were able to view the treatment protocols that your physician had created for you?
• Would this help you to stay on that plan?
• What about if you needed to see a specialist for a condition?
• Would it be helpful to have access to all of your historical lab work and chart notes?
• How about being able to see a list of all invoices and charges in one place for all of these things?
• What if you didn’t need to gather all of that information from the various sources, but instead have it all at your fingertips?

Say Hello to Your Health!

At Bodhi we use the Hello Health platform for our electronic health records and patient health management.

Hello Health is a breakthrough in web-based healthcare delivery that enables you to engage in your own healthcare with your provider, online. By using modern communication tools and an easy-to-use Patient Portal, you are in control of your healthcare experience to obtain a higher standard of care while giving you more time to focus on what’s important in your life.

Hello Health provides:

• Your Personal Health Record – Access your PHR, an online version of your paper medical records whenever you need it.
• Lab Results – Save time and review test results and other important information online.
• Online Scheduling – The Online Availability Calendar lets you schedule appointments from anywhere.
• Secure Email- A safe and convenient way to communicate with your healthcare provider.
• Prescription Renewal- Request prescription renewals online and for pick up at your pharmacy.
• Secure Instant Messaging – Text-based, a simple way to access your healthcare provider.
• Video Visits – Meet face-to-face with your provider without leaving home.
• Secure Connection – Hello Health is HIPAA certified which means that your personal medical information is just as safe as your online banking information.

Don’t let your Doctor keep your medical records a secret! The Hello Health platform is free for all Bodhi patients.  Our team can help you establish your patient account.

Call us today at 888.271.8877 to schedule a consultation and get started with Hello Health.

A Non-Invasive Diagnostic Option for Your Health

Cancer is the disease most likely to lead to your death. It passed heart disease as the #1 killer many years ago. If you are a woman, breast cancer is the cancer you are most likely to get, as one in eight women will suffer with breast cancer.

Breast self-examination was once promoted as a means of finding cancer at a more curable stage. Health authorities have concluded this method is highly ineffective and no longer routinely recommend breast self-exams.

Mammograms Can INCREASE Your Breast Cancer Risk

Mammography uses low-energy-X-rays to examine the human breast. Mammograms look at anatomical changes in the breast to detect masses or lumps in the breast tissue.

Mammography has a false-negative (missed cancer) rate of at least 10 percent. This is partly due to dense tissues obscuring the cancer and the fact that the appearance of cancer on mammograms has a large overlap with the appearance of normal tissues.

The radiation exposure associated with mammography is a potential risk of screening. Mammograms expose your body to radiation that can be 1,000 times greater than a chest x-ray, making you unnecessarily vulnerable to further risks of radiation-induced cancer.

Additionally, mammography compresses the breasts tightly (and often painfully), which could lead to a lethal spread of any existing malignant cells.

Inflammation: a Major Problem

Inflammation is an early indicator for many chronic diseases such as cancer. Early detection of inflammation may help you prevent many negative health conditions from developing.

Measuring inflammation through thermal imaging is a proactive, preventative method you can use for detecting disease, which significantly improves your chances for longevity and good health.

Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging (DITI)

Thermography is a diagnostic technique that is non-invasive and involves no exposure to radiation. Thermograms look at vascular changes in the breast, detecting blood flow patterns, inflammation and asymmetries.

Thermograms create a digital map of your body that illustrates heat patterns and may detect some condition or abnormality. They provide reliable and accurate information for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, as well as precise and objective data from accurate measurements of thermal information.

Unlike most diagnostic tests, thermal imaging is not painful. The procedure is non-invasive and multi-image exams usually take less than 30 minutes. There is no contact with your body, no breast or other body part compression and absolutely NO radiation is emitted.

Five Simple Steps

• Step 1: You will sit in a temperature-controlled room to allow your body to cool from any external conditions. At that time, you’ll complete some simple paperwork, including a health survey.
• Step 2: You are positioned in front of a Thermal Imaging Camera, and the technician takes digital pictures. You will be able to see yourself on the computer screen, which can help give you a better understanding of your body.
• Step 3: Your pictures are reviewed by a physician for analysis of the amount of heat and the symmetry of the heat patterns. Heat patterns may indicate inflammation, infection, or a variance from your body’s norm.
• Step 4: You’ll receive a report of findings that will help you and your doctor determine any next steps, including recommendations for ways to reduce inflammation. The first session provides the baseline of your “thermal signature”.
• Step 5: Return for thermograms annually to monitor your health, watch for changes and detect problems is to measure changes from your own body’s norm, often before disease develops.

If you’re female, please don’t go the mammogram route. Consider thermography as part of your annual health prevention regimen and prevent breast cancer before it starts!

Joanna O’Neal is Founder and CEO of Bodhi, where Lives Are Changed daily in the treatment of chronic diseases and conditions such as breast cancer. Bodhi focuses on discovering the causes of chronic disease rather than the symptom and treats the why of the disease. Learn more at bodhi-body.com.

Integrative medicine.   You may have been presented with this idea before, but what is integrative medicine?  Ponder for one moment what this type of medicine involves?  Who can it help?  Am I someone who should consider being treated by an integrative physician?  What kind of doctor practices integratively?  Finally, the question on every person’s mind: can it help me?

Before this questions can be answered one must understand how the non-integrative or “conventional doctor” practices.  “Conventional” physicians are trained in two modalities, drugs and surgery.  Therefore, when you visit a “conventional” physician one can expect to be treated for their particular condition with one or both of these approaches.  Once an individual receives a diagnosis, the treatment is already decided. If a suitable diagnosis cannot be established, the “watch and wait” technique is employed while the person’s illness grows.  The truth is that the vast majority of “conventional” physicians never deviate from the accepted, mundane treatment no matter how ineffective, toxic, or inefficient the therapy may be.  The result is that all illnesses are treated as if they were acute diseases.  However, most diseases that plague man are chronic and long term.  The result is an inevitable downward spiral of disease that continually worsens and worsens.  We are no strangers to this phenomenon.  We have all bore witness to the continual deterioration of those who have solely relied on conventional medicine for their health care.  “Conventional” medicine simply means treating the symptoms and not the cause.

Integrative medicine is a way of delivering medicine that combines conventional medicine and alternative medicine.  Alternative meaning that the physician thinks outside of the box and utilizes the biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, nutrition, he/she was originally educated as the foundation for treating chronic disease.  Since these basic sciences are the origin of illness itself, an educated and diverse physician with knowledge in these realms can deliver treatments that target the cause of the disease.  An integrative physician will use all the tools necessary to restore and optimize a person’s health including nutrition, biochemistry, plant pharmacology, acupuncture, homeopathy, detox, diet, colonics, infrared sauna, chiropractic medicine, massage, IV therapies, hydrotherapy, injections, drugs, and surgery.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of conventional medical schools completely ignores the fact that nutrition plays a role in disease and therefore do not require these courses for their medical students.  Without this critical information, their medical students graduate unable to practice integrative medicine unless they seek and complete additional medical training in these integrative areas – which many do.

It is in your best interest to seek an integrative physician no matter what the diagnosis or prognosis. Integrative physicians and practitioners include NMD’s, (Naturopathic Medical Doctors) MD’s, DO’s, DC’s, (Chiropractors), L.Ac (Acupuncturists) and Homeopaths.   It is never too late to feel better and reverse illness.  It is your life.  You must in essence become your own advocate for health.  The first step is finding a skilled integrative practitioner and making an appointment to begin the process.  Understand one thing.  There are no absolutes in life.  For example: If you leave two hours early for work there is no guarantee that you won’t be late.  Maybe the road got shut down, you got lost, there was an accident, etc.  Medicine is the same way.  Conventional physicians deal in absolutes, which rarely ever are the only options.  You always have another option.

Dr John D Williamson NMD

Dr. John Williamson provides integrative medical care to his patients at Bodhi Body Integrative Medical Centers in Chandler and Scottsdale, Arizona.

*** Free Lecture Wednesday April 20th 6pm at Bodhi Body RSVP HERE

We have all been touched by the C word, cancer.  A mere whisper of the word brings fear to the eyes, uncovering memories and experiences of pure horror which few should ever be forced to relive.  We have all experienced the pain of cancer whether it is a loved one or ourselves.

Generally, the American public believes that chemotherapy is the single most effective treatment for most cancers.  And most cancer patients choose to undergo chemotherapy based on their doctor’s recommendation.  But does chemotherapy really contribute to increasing survival?  And are the risks and side effects of chemotherapy worth the potential benefits?

An article published in 2004 in The Royal College of Radiologists, surveyed 22 major adult cancers from the United States and Australia and found that chemotherapy is ineffective, costly, and does not contribute to overall survival.  This is the most efficacious, largest, and most significant evidence based finding on chemotherapy and its outcomes.

The contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adult malignancies.  Mileshkin L, Rischin D, Prince HM, Zalcberg J.

The 5-year relative survival rate for cancer patients diagnosed in Australia between 1992 and 1997 was 63.4%.  This evidenced-based survey estimates that only 2.3% of these patients saw a survival rate benefit, related to the use of chemotherapy as a curative and adjuvant therapy.

The five most common adult malignancies (colorectal, breast, prostate, melanoma and lung cancer) accounted for 56.6% of the total cancer cases in Australia in 1998.  In this group, the 5-year survival rate due solely to cytotoxic chemotherapy was only 1.6%.

Have I gotten your attention?  Conventional physicians pride themselves on only practicing evidence-based medicine.  Billions upon billions upon billions of dollars have been invested into “finding” a cure for all different types of cancers through researching chemotherapy drugs.  In fact, 200 billion+ dollars have been invested into cancer research since 1971 (http://www.news-medical.net/health/Cancer-Research.aspx).  This means that since 1971 the medical institutions have continued to latch onto this naive idea that cancer is an acute illness that can be cured through extremely cellular toxic substances.  It is blindingly clear that at this point (40 years of experimentation with no real success) resources should be used to fund appropriate treatments that identify cancer as a complete body breakdown of the person.  Breaking down the body even more with cellular toxic actions is illogical, always has been, and always will be.  Put 200 billion dollars into physicians and scientists who identify that cancer is in fact a “complete body breakdown” and a cure will be instituted within a minimal amount of time for all cancers.  The truth is that the complete body breakdown stems from individuals who have an overabundance of environmental chemicals in their bodies.  The physicians and scientists who recognize this as the causative factor are the ones curing cancer and keeping it from ever coming back.

Discover Longevity Thorough Balance; Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy – Informative Lecture- TONIGHT
Wednesday January 19th, 6pm Cost: Free

The thyroid produces hormones that affect your body’s metabolism and energy level.
Thyroid problems are among the most common medical conditions but, because their symptoms often appear gradually, they are commonly misdiagnosed. Tonight
Bodhi Body welcomes you to an educational seminar explaining the process and practice
of Biologically Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy or (BHRT); with a focus on thyroid.

By DR. Susan Williamson, NMD

With the rise of obesity in the U.S., more patients are turning to gastric bypass surgery to produce fast and dramatic weight loss.  According to the Mayo Clinic, gastric bypass surgery is the most popular weight loss surgery in the United States.  With gastric bypass surgery, the stomach is made smaller by reducing it to a thumb-sized pouch (15-30 mL or 1-2 tablespoons in volume), which considerably restricts the amount of food that can be eaten, as well as provide less surface area for the absorption of vitamins and minerals from food. In addition to this, the amount of hydrochloric acid (needed to absorb calcium and iron) and intrinsic factor (needed to absorb vitamin B12) produced by the stomach is greatly reduced due to its size, which also contributes to nutrient deficiencies. In addition to this, the duodenum, a major area of nutrient absorption within the intestinal tract may be bypassed depending on the type of procedure performed, further contributing to nutrient deficiencies.

Common symptoms of nutritional deficiencies are:

• fatigue and weakness

• hair loss and/or dry brittle hair

• thin and brittle fingernails

• difficulty thinking/concentrating

• thinning of the skin/dry skin

• softening/weakening of the bones (osteopenia/osteoporosis)

• bone pain and bone deformities

• muscle spasms

• tooth discoloration and increased susceptibility to tooth decay

• bleeding gums

• increased tendency to bruise and bleed

• anemia

• sleep disturbances

• neurological problems

• pins and needles sensations in the body

• permanent nerve damage

• diarrhea

• skin disorders

• sore or swollen tongue

• cracks at the edges of the mouth

• swelling, usually in the legs

• dehydration

• decreased immune system strength, making an individual more prone to infections

Some nutrient deficiencies, if allowed to progress, can result in serious life threatening complications, so it is very important for gastric bypass patients to continue supplementing with nutrients and the best way to do this is via intravenous administration where the digestive tract is not a factor in the absorption of nutrients. With IV nutrient therapy, high doses of vitamins and minerals (much higher than what can be taken orally) can be delivered straight to the bloodstream where they are readily available to the cells for absorption and use by the body. People who have had gastric bypass surgery may also benefit from having specialty testing done at Bodhi Body Integrative Medical Centers to detect their specific nutrient deficiencies so that their particular nutrient deficiencies can be detected and therefore appropriately treated.

Common deficiencies of the fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, and K) are common and these can be supplemented via intramuscular injection.  Patients are at risk for developing anemia secondary to deficiencies of iron, Vitamin B12, and folate, all of which can be replenished easily via injection or IV. Calcium is a common nutrient deficiency as well due to the decreased stomach acid production in the reduced sized stomach.  It is unknown whether gastric bypass patients can absorb the micronutrients selenium, zinc, and chromium, however these are included in the nutritional IVs as well as vitamin C, B12, B complex, B6, folate, calcium, magnesium, and electrolytes. Another benefit of the nutrient IVs is treatment of dehydration, which is another common symptom many suffer after gastric bypass surgery.

Patients who have nutrient deficiencies usually notice an immediate effect of feeling better after receiving a nutrient IV. If you or someone you know has had gastric bypass surgery then please contact Bodhi Body Integrative Medical Centers today so that we may assist you in replenishing your body’s nutrients and help prevent serious complications from developing and progressing. Taking oral vitamins and minerals will help some with nutrient deficiencies, however the severe deficiency that normally results after gastric bypass surgery is best treated with intravenous nutrients where gut absorption is not a factor and 100% of the nutrients is absorbed and available to the body.

Frequently in my practice I have parents who bring their children in presenting with a complaint of chronic ear infections.  Most likely their pediatrician has put them on several courses of antibiotics to treat their symptoms only to have them return as often as monthly.  The parents want to know, after multiple rounds of pharmaceuticals and no end in sight, is there an alternative for their little one?  The answer is YES!

First, we must look at the cause of the AOM:

If a child has been on multiple antibiotics in the first years of life their immune and gastrointestinal systems can be in a state of great dysfunction.  This can then lead to a predisposition of food sensitivities by allowing larger molecules to pass through the gastrointestinal tract into blood circulation.  Not to mention, the over-all proper absorption of vital nutrients will be drastically diminished.  This process over a short period of time will lead to inflammation throughout the tiny bodies.

Anatomy of the inner ear:

Eustachian tubes in children are much more narrow & horizontal than in adults (see graphic).  This means that even a small amount of inflammation can cause the closure and improper drainage of the inner ear leading to increased pressure, redness, and pain.

Does your child need antibiotics?

According to the American Academy Pediatrics…Not necessarily.

“This study suggests that in cases of ear pain caused by AOM in children in which active treatment, besides a simple 2- to 3-day waiting period, is needed, an herbal extract solution may be beneficial. Concomitant antibiotic treatment is apparently not contributory.”

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/111/5/e574

Treatment is as easy as 1,2,3…

First, administering natural pain management using soothing and antimicrobial botanicals in a solution that is easily absorbed through the tympanic membrane (ear drum). Secondly, increasing immune function by using supplements and hydrotherapy to heal the gut, replace good bacteria (probiotics), increase circulation, and reduce stagnation.  Thirdly, Eliminating food sensitivities and decreasing systemic inflammation by identifing, avoiding, and desensitizing through Natural Elimination of Allergy Therapy.

Dr. Jesika DiCampli practices at Bodhi Body Integrative Medical Centers.  Visit Dr. DiCampli to see if your child could benefit from a Naturopathic medical approach to ear pain and AOM. Call 480-237-2410 or email for more information at info@bodhi-body.com