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.

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