A Healthy Balance
My general philosophy of wellness and nutrition extends to both what I teach my patients as well as what I do for myself and my family. I do not believe in an ascetic lifestyle, I do enjoy the finer things in life—but I definitely believe in moderation in all things and that a nice healthy balance can be achieved by eating a more plant-based diet where the philosophy of “meat as a condiment” prevails. In conjunction to a diet filled with vitamin-rich foods, I recommend sitting down to eat, enjoying meals with loved ones, taking the time to enjoy the food in front of you, and actually chewing your food to absorb all the nutrients.
Chronic Illnesses
Over the past 30 years in our country, the number of chronic illnesses and people who are overweight/obese has skyrocketed. Although there are many articles and scholars studying why this epidemic has taken hold and what to do about it, I posit this problem is directly correlated to how fast paced and technologically advanced we as a society have become. The more we are sitting in front of computers, the less we are outside, engaging in physical activity and engaging with people; the more the things we have, the more we have to work to obtain these things that become indispensable; the more we work, the less time we have to exercise and do the things we like to do; the less time we have to eat, the less time we have to prepare and enjoy delicious, nutritious meals without all the additives and preservatives.
Lifestyle Change
Ask anyone, we know what we are supposed to do. We have all been on diets, we have all followed the latest fad, everyone is looking for that “magic bullet” that is going to make us lose weight, look great, feel energized, while of course, keeping our hair glossy and looking years younger. The reality is less pretty—most people are walking around with chronic digestive problems, diabetes, heart disease, low energy, low libido, high anxiety and stress, depression and fatigue.
What most people know intuitively is if they actually dedicated themselves to a lifestyle of eating a proper diet, getting the right amount of sleep, exercising regularly, doing something for stress management (mindful awareness, meditation, breathing exercises), minimizing alcohol and caffeine consumption, managing toxic relationships—they would probably feel at their optimum health, where the mind, body and spirit is working in synchronicity.
However, it is incredibly difficult to convince people to change. It usually takes a catastrophic event for people to rethink their lifestyles and begin to make the changes necessary to actually start treating their bodies better. I like to analogize our bodies to high performance vehicles. You would never put low grade gasoline in a high performance vehicle. You wouldn’t dream of skipping oil changes and regular tune-ups. You wouldn’t wait until your car has broken down on the side of the road before seeing a mechanic. The sad reality is that we treat our cars better than our bodies. Cars are replaceable, our bodies are not.
Vitamin Supplementation
On the topic of Vitamin supplementation, vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients—essential in that we need these in order for our cells to perform adequately. Vitamins help convert food into energy, repair cellular damage, build bones, heal wounds, bolster your immune system, convert food into energy. People who regularly seek IV drips have expressed felt benefits such as increased energy, improved immune system function, faster muscle recovery time, improved sleep, clearer skin, decreased stress and anxiety. While I do believe that eating our vitamins is still the optimum way, I also understand we do not all have optimum digestive systems and we do not all have optimum diets. IV nutrition does not by any means replace an optimum diet, however, it can be a safe, alternative method of delivering vitamins, minerals and amino acids directly to cells for maximum absorption, assisting in our journeys toward a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.
