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.

Health care is changing in America.

Insurance companies are increasing fees, employers are cutting benefits and some small businesses are having to cancel coverage all together due to rising costs.  Patients are paying more out of pocket for fewer covered services and most insurance plans don’t cover essential preventative therapies – even though we know that most chronic disease can be prevented.  So, where does that leave us?
Bodhi Body supports a patient’s right and privilege to take charge of their own health by becoming Patient Activists! With a small investment of time and money, the team at Bodhi Body will help you lay the groundwork for optimal health now and in the future.  We focusing on balancing the body and optimizing function so that you feel your best and prevent disease. We do this through body detoxification, hormone optimization for men and women, nutritional support and stress management.  Its all part of our TRUE Health Plan.  $195 per month provides you with unlimited physician care and attention plus three, feel-good, disease-preventing therapies.  Its almost too good to be true!

TONIGHT: Join us for the B12 and M.I.C Shot Clinic. B12, a fantastic general support shot increases energy, stamina, memory and weight loss. Methionine, Inositol, Choline (M.I.C.) facilitates the body’s ability to loose unwanted weight and realign itself in its new formation. Shots will be administered for $10 and $15, respectively. Full event schedule here!

Please RSVP at 888-271-8877 or email rsvp@bodhi-body.com.

The Bodhi Body Restorative Therapy Detox Program

A complete, physician-designed and supervised intensive cleansing program to help restore your energy and improve your overall health. This intensive program is very beneficial for those without any health problems who want to optimize their health and for those suffering from chronic disease. It is also ideal for women who plan to conceive to ensure that the expectant mother starts out with a “clean slate” prior to conceiving, since the baby is like a magnet for toxins.

What does the Program Include?
7 to 30 Day Detoxification Diet: A whole foods, clean diet, which eliminates all the processed and junk foods. This allows your digestive tract to rest and promotes the removal of toxins and wastes from your body by not consuming additional toxins such as artificial colorings, artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides, etc.

Detox Support Supplements: Includes specific supplementation to facilitate and support your body’s detoxification pathways, optimizing your removal of harmful toxins.

Additional Detox Support Therapies
Bodhi Detox IV Therapy
Provides nutrients and antioxidants to enhance the detox pathways of the liver

Far Infrared Sauna Therapy
Promotes lipolysis or fat breakdown, allowing toxins to be released from the fat stores into the blood where they can be removed via sweating. Unlike your traditional sauna, far infrared sauna penetrates to the cellular level, facilitating the diffusion of toxins out of the cell and the diffusion of nutrients into the cells.

Colon Hydrotherapy
Removes toxins from the colon so they are not reabsorbed into the circulation

Constitutional Hydrotherapy
Speeds detox via the liver and skin while also boosting immune system functioning

Massage Therapy
Promotes removal of toxins from the muscles and increases circulation through the body

Acupuncture
Stimulation of digestion and balancing of the Qi in the body allows for more effective detoxification

These therapies can be added onto your Detox Program to maximize your results, allowing you to build your detox program around your specific needs.

To learn more about this program, please visit our website or call us to schedule an appointment today. 888-271-8877

Where has the time gone?

It seems like just yesterday I was 35 and full of energy and enthusiasm.  Sleeping was not a problem and I was able to handle the stress that life dolled out.  Where did these extra 20 lbs come from and who is that person staring at me in the mirror?
Do these questions sound familiar?

Time continues to march on and our bodies eventually start to show the signs of premature aging.  But it is possible to stop the signs of aging (inside and out) in their tracks and even regain some ground.  The answer is in restoring the body through detoxification, nutritional supplementation, stress management and hormone restoration for men and women. We also offer aesthetics including anti-aging facials and natural dermal fillers so that we look as good on the outside as we feel on the inside. 
This is what we do at Bodhi Body.

We focus on balancing the body and optimizing function so that you feel your best and prevent disease. Its all part of our TRUE Health Plan.  $195 per month provides you with unlimited physician care and attention plus three, feel-good, disease-preventing therapies.  Its almost too good to be true!

TONIGHT:

Bodhi Body welcomes you to an educational seminar explaining the process and practice of Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy or (BHRT) for men and women.  Producing near unbelievable results in a matter of weeks, BHRT is science’s brightest beacon in the cutting edge industry of Anti-Aging Medicine. Join us TONIGHT to learn all about BHRT and how you can optimize your health!

Free to all.  Lecture begins at 6pm.

Full event schedule here!

Please RSVP at 888-271-8877 or email rsvp@bodhi-body.com.

Gastric Bypass Surgery:

Post-Operative Care with IV Nutrient Therapy and Injection Nutrient Therapy

To Flu Shot or Not to Flu Shot?

What is Stress?

Stress, whether it is emotional, physical or situational stress, exacts a response from our body. The normal response to stress is often referred to the “fight or flight” response. Our bodies are beautifully prepared to respond to stressors in an effectual way. Chronic stress, the brain’s response to negatively perceived events or situations for a prolonged period over which an individual feels he has no control.

Effects of Chronic Stress

Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body. It can suppress the immune system that may lead to increased frequency of colds.  Chronic stress can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and autoimmune disease. It can cause hormone imbalances that can lead to low libido, infertility, and speed up the aging process. Long-term stress can even increase your experience of anxiety and depression.

Balancing Chronic Stress in Your Life

There are many ways we can support our bodies and minds during times of chronic stress.  Some of the more obvious ways we can do this is by 1) eating fresh, organic food that is at least 50% raw (think salads and raw fruits and veggies) 2) getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night 3) reducing the amount of alcohol intake and 4) enjoying some moderate exercise daily e.g. walking, yoga.  Unfortunately, when we are dealing with long-term stress, these suggestions are the hardest to adhere to.  There are many other additional ways that we can help to alleviate and manage stress in our lives.  Massage therapy is a wonderful way to relax the mind and body while helping to rid the body of toxins that disrupt our immune system.  Nutritional supplements and nutritional IVs restore optimal levels of vitamins and minerals to your body that you may not be obtaining from your diet.  Yoga is a superior method for strengthening the body, relaxing the mind, supporting the immune system and detoxing the body- all at the same time!  Guided meditation and hypnosis can help break down internal barriers to healing.

The Team at Bodhi Body can help design a stress-reduction plan for you.  It involves looking at the stress you are exposed to and how you are supporting your body in its attempt to deal with the stressors. Our facility has been designed with you in mind.  Our comfortable rooms and comprehensive therapies will help melt your stress away.  Some of the most common therapies prescribed for stress reduction are: neuromuscular massage, yoga, nutritional therapy (IV and oral), guided meditation and hypnosis, acupuncture, along with a whole host of complete detox therapies.  Our bodies are amazing, resilient machines and can handle moderate amounts of stress beautifully.  But long-term, chronic stress can do a lot of damage.  Assess your stress levels and help support your body as it supports you. For more information about stress management please visit our website.

Why should I take nutritional supplements when I eat a balanced diet?
Don’t I get all the nutrients I need from food?

Simply, No, and allow me to explain.

Questions like these often come up when people see the small bag of pills I take with every meal because it shocks
them to see a person of my age and health taking so many pills.  Pills are reserved for sick or “old” people.  Often they ask,“What are those?” and “Are you OK?”  After these questions I spend the next few minutes telling them that our food is filled with nutritional holes, covered in poisons, our bodies are under more stress than ever before, and I’m getting old.

Let me elaborate in this blog a single point.  Future blogs will cover the others.

“Our food is filled with nutritional holes.”

After reading through the Merck Manual and having, “Foods alone may provide suboptimal amounts of some
vitamins” burned into my brain I decided to look back in time at the nutritional value of food as recorded by the
United States Department of Agriculture.  So far the oldest data I could find was from 1975, the newest from 2007,
and then I compared them.  This US Government data recorded values of macronutrients (fats, protein, carbs),
vitamins (A, the B’s, etc), and minerals (Ca, etc) and now we can see a massive decline of our food in
precise data points.

Let us take broccoli for example. We all know broccoli is good for you, you should eat more of it, yet how
did it stand up over that 22 year period.  If we compare a pound of raw broccoli in 1975 to a pound of raw
broccoli in 2007, the below table is a summary what we get.

It looks like everything that we didn’t want to have happen did.  More carbs, more salt, less protein, less calcium,
and less of all the vitamins too.  A 75% loss of vitamin A is outrageous.

You may be asking yourself right now, “Really?”  Yes, our food has been destroyed over the last 25 years by farming
practices and processes, genetic engineering, picking and ripening times, etc. Now take a second and think about the
possible difference over the last 50 years or even the last 100 years. What was our food like back then? I’ll keep digging
and let you know what I find.

Dr. Garrett Wdowin, ND