By Kris Carr on October 20, 2010
Bliss Chaser,
My path to becoming an empowered patient has led me on a journey across the country visiting every kind of doctor you can think of! In my quest for crazy sexy health, I’ve discovered some MD jewels whom I’d like to introduce to you. You’ve probably heard about these folks since their knowledge is red hot, and I know my readers are serious health detectives, but just in case, here’s some of my favorite white coats.
Dean Ornish, M.D. is the founder and director of the Preventative Medicine Research Institute (PMRI) in Sausalito, California. His clinical research has demonstrated that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease, without drugs or surgery. Further research has shown this to be true for a variety of diseases. Dr. Ornish’s Spectrum Program focuses on managing your diet, stress management, fitness and loving relationships. To learn more about how this program can put you on a path toward healing and wellness, read his book, “The Spectrum.”
Mark Hyman, M.D. is founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts. He is dedicated to a functional medicine approach (mentored by Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D.) to health, which addresses the root causes of disease. Being a board advisor for Mehmet Oz’s HealthCorps initiative and helping to rebuild Haiti’s health care system following the earthquake are two of Dr. Hyman’s countless contributions to public health. His book, “The Ultramind Solution,” explains his strategy for healing your mind (everything from depression to memory loss) by changing your diet and lifestyle.
Neal Barnard, M.D. is the founder and president of the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a powerhouse of advocacy and education for preventative medicine and healthy vegan living. Dr. Barnard’s clinical research on the plant-based diet and its affect on health challenges such as diabetes and cancer is changing the way Americans view their dinner plates in relation to their medical charts. To learn more about his research, check out “Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs.”
Keith Block, M.D. is the co-founder and medical director of the Block Center for integrative cancer treatment in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Block treats the whole patient by combining cutting-edge conventional treatment with individualized and scientifically based complementary and nutraceutical therapies. His approach empowers individuals by putting many integral aspects of treatment, such as optimal nutrition and emotional well-being, back into their hands. Find out more about Dr. Block’s approach in his book, “Life Over Cancer.”
Richard Ash, M.D. is an internal medicine specialist who is a leader in the field of environmental medicine. He is the founder of The Ash Center for Comprehensive Medicine in NYC, which specializes in treating joint pain, allergies and heart issues. Dr. Ash strives to treat the whole person, not just symptoms, thereby getting at the exact cause of each complaint. He can be heard every Sunday on his radio program, “Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired.”
Gabriel Cousens, M.D. is the founder and director of The Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Patagonia, Arizona. Dr. Cousens promotes a raw vegan diet for optimal health and happiness. One of the most powerful illustrations of Dr. Cousen’s approach to healing, which addresses spiritual, emotional, physical and mental health, is through his 21-day program for reversing diabetes. You can read about this cutting-edge approach to diabetes treatment in his book, “There is a Cure for Diabetes.”
Kenneth Bock, M.D. co-founded the Rhinebeck Health Center and the Center for Progressive Medicine in Albany, New York. Dr. Bock has combined alternative and conventional medicine in his practice over the past 25 years. Most recently, he has focused on children with autism spectrum disorders and ADD/ADHD. His treatment approach, which includes diet modification, detoxification and nutritional supplementation combined with educational and behavioral interventions, has shown significant improvement in his patients. His book, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies,” will give you an in-depth look at this innovative approach.
Alejandro Junger, M.D. was drawn to create a detoxification and cleansing program after he experienced the patient side of the modern medical system. This experience led him to seek out alternative relief for his physical and emotional health challenges. Dr. Junger’s philosophy is that the majority of common ailments are the result of toxic buildup in the body. Learn about Dr. Junger’s approach to cleansing and rebuilding the body in his book, “Clean.”
Frank Lipman, M.D. is the founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center. Dr. Lipman has combined the positive aspects of his western training with eastern practices, such as acupuncture, meditation, yoga and herbal medicine. He believes that the body has the innate capacity to heal itself and that we need to treat the underlying cause of disease and create balance, rather than treating symptoms and only providing short-term relief. He follows a functional medicine approach and was also mentored by Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D. Dr. Lipman’s system for healing and replenishing your mind and body is in his latest book, “Revive.”
Joel Furhman, M.D. is a board–certified family physician who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods. He is the founder of a high nutrient eating style and a pioneer in the growing field of nutritional medicine. In Dr. Fuhrman’s 2-book set, “Eat For Health,” he lays out his nutritional approach to the prevention and management of chronic disease.
Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized leader in nutritional medicine. He has served as the chief science officer of Metagenics since 2000, and the president of Metaproteomics, a nutrigenomic research and development company. He also co-founded the Institute for Functional Medicine (simultaneously creating the concept) to combine the progress in basic medical sciences with clinical medicine and address the growing problems associated with chronic disease. This approach views nutrition, lifestyle, exercise, environment, structural, cognitive, emotional and pharmaceutical therapies (tailored to the individual needs of the patient) as the tools for disease prevention and management.
David Servan Schreiber, M.D. is clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and co-founder of the U.S. branch of Doctors Without Borders. After surviving brain cancer twice, Dr. Schreiber decided to take a preventative approach to his health. Through research and interviews with experts around the world, he learned about the body’s natural potential for fighting cancer. His book, “Anti-Cancer,” focuses on a long list of dietary, environmental and emotional changes we can make to increase the body’s defense against cancer.
Editor’s Note: After a 20-year battle with cancer, David Servan-Schreiber passed away on July 24, 2011.
David Rosenthal, M.D. is the medical director at the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies. Under Dr. Rosenthal’s direction, the center offers integrated therapies to help alleviate many of the symptoms associated with cancer and its treatment. These interventions include acupuncture, massage therapy, Reiki, meditation, expressive arts, music therapy, nutrition counseling and Qi Gong (Chinese mind-body exercises). The peer-reviewed, evidence-based research performed at the center is helping to build knowledge of the effectiveness of these integrated treatments.
Donald I. Abrams, M.D. provides integrative oncology consultations for people living with and beyond cancer at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. He is also a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, chief of hematology/oncology at San Francisco General Hospital, and president of the Society for Integrative Oncology. Dr. Abrams has a special interest in botany, which has led him to conduct clinical trials in integrative oncology particularly investigating medicinal mushrooms, traditional Chinese medicine interventions and massage.
Hope you’ll check out these kick-ass integrative MDs. Their wisdom has enriched my life and helped me manage my own inner and outer challenges.
Peace & kind white coats,
Kris Carr
Photo Credit 1, 2, 3, 4
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By Guest Blogger on October 11, 2010
This Oct. 6 marked a landmark day I have been dreaming of. Five years ago I was told that if I had surgery and did chemo and radiation, I had a good chance of living another five years. Well here it is. Although I did do some chemo – a decision I question frequently – I did not do surgery or radiation and live with my breast cancer tumor every day.
I am not cocky or judgmental of other women’s paths. I support a woman’s right to choose her own care of her own body. The most difficult aspect of diagnosis for me was wanting to know in an organized way what women had done other than surgery, chemo and radiation. This has become the mission statement of the Breast Wishes Fund: to improve access to integrative breast cancer treatment and breast wellness to women of all ages. We don’t advocate one path or another, but offer information with anecdotes and film footage of some routes that your surgeon might not propose.
Since my first diagnosis, I have documented my path with the leadership of award-winning directors Michael Mierendorf and Dyanna Taylor, and Liza Bambanek giving generously of her cinematographic expertise. I spent the spring assembling “the ME film” and requesting funding from HBO, POV, and Sundance for this personal, character-driven saga of birth, death and rebirth.
Working on this film was like being in therapy eight hours a day. I hadn’t cried that much since I was diagnosed. How painful to see myself as a brat to my father, reliving the fear of dying and disfigurement, being partnerless through it all. I am grateful now for the completion of a metamorphosis I started five years ago with this film directing “therapy.” My father and I have come to a place of love and acceptance that I believe we have not known between us for decades. I am in a transformative relationship with a loving man I was in love with 20 years ago. Regardless of my financial situation being at an all time low, I know I must persist with this work for myself and others.
Yesterday a woman told me of her sister’s journey and re-inspired me to move forward with the Breast Wishes Fundraiser on Oct. 9 at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She said her sister had been diagnosed four years ago. She was directed to have a double mastectomy or she would have an 85% chance of dying within a few years; she had the surgery. She was told to have a hysterectomy; she had a partial. Just recently she has had a lot of pain in her ribs and discovered another tumor where her breasts were. Her initial diagnosis was four years ago. How much fearful pain and suffering has this woman endured? Would the outcome have been different had she done nothing or used integrative methods? We don’t know, although I am documenting my path as a guinea pig so others may see what I go through and decide for themselves.
It has taken these five years for my hair to grow back to any resemblance of real hair. On Oct. 6 on the Santa Fe River, we hosted a public head shaving ceremony in solidarity for those living with cancer, no matter your treatment path or if you are in remission. My friends and family have urged me to not shave my head again, although I feel I must honor this anniversary in a cleansing way that challenges my vanity. What I learned from losing my long, luscious locks five years ago was that my femininity and beauty had been masked behind this hair. I have forced myself and others to endure my baldness and lack of eyebrows because I am not going to pretend this cancer and chemo didn’t happen to me.
This has forced me to walk my truth at times when I would rather lie or take an easier path. Not wanting to be a martyr, this road is my reason for living. To right some wrong that my aunt, grandmother and great-grandmother endured with their breast cancers and multiple surgeries. They moved to a place of empowerment instead of fear. The Breast Wishes Fund’s main goal is to support this credo – to move from the center of the individual, not only the statistic.
We are working towards affecting policy to include integrative screening and treatment as well as wellness in the insurance model. Another goal is a wellness calendar with the history of integrative breast cancer treatment including inexpensive tips and recipes. This will be made available for free to young and economically challenged women. For treatment diary blogs, film trailers and details on this year’s fundraiser, please visit www.gringaproductions.com or look for us on Facebook.
Lexie Shabel is currently directing and producing, “the ME film,” which documents her breast cancer diagnosis five years ago. She founded the Breast Wishes Fund to improve access to integrative breast cancer treatment and wellness to women of all ages.
Photo Credit: Julie Manzerova
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By Guest Blogger on March 9, 2010
By Maria Mooney
In a society that values youth, independence, materialism, and duality, the term “disability” has been marred with negativity, much to my dismay, which stigmatizes the victim. Today, I am honored to present to you an alternative, empowering way of viewing illness and disability. My personal experiences with a progressive neurological disease, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD/CRPS), have provided me with first hand experience and perspective on disability. At 25 years old, I am pursuing a Master’s degree, trying to build a life and future for myself, and desperately searching for a cure, all while navigating a society that is not structured for the disabled individual. In the first few years of my illness, I received the message from society loud and clear that I was officially “less than” because of my newfound limitations. Would I ever hold a job? Could I pursue a Master’s Degree? Would I ever be “whole” again? Overtime, I learned the answer to these questions was a “yes.” I chose to value my unique experiences and talents despite the negativity I received from others. Allow me to explain what brought us to this point in the first place.
If you are currently or ever have been a patient of traditional medicine, you have likely been subject (or victim) to the Biomedical Model of medicine, the predominant model used by physicians in diagnosing and treating diseases. According to this model, health narrowly equals the absence of disease, pain, or defect, and its focus on the physical processes of the body neglects social/environmental factors and individual subjectivity. The patient is not considered a partner in diagnosis and treatment, and the doctor-patient relationship is left uncultivated or even non-existent. Prevention of disease is omitted, and long-term treatment of chronic conditions, especially chronic pain, “scares the pants off” of the treating professionals, for lack of a better term. In other words, the Biomedical Model is severely lacking, and it sets the stage for the stigmatization of the disabled individual, viewing disability as an individual defect. The disabled individual is then viewed as “less than” by society, setting the stage for negative view of self, shame, embarrassment, isolation, and a plethora of harmful emotions—not once considering that it may be the environment that is lacking, not the individual (Orto, 2007).
A second, more comprehensive model, the Biopsychosocial Model of illness and disability, considers biology, mental/emotional health, and social environment when treating the individual. The patient is considered an informed partner in his/her treatment, coupled with professional help from a multi-disciplinary team, and all parts of the patient’s life are discussed and manipulated for optimal health and wellness. Rather than viewing the disabled individual as “less than,” he/she is considered a whole person facing an environment that lacks proper resources. Blame is shifted away from the victim and onto the environment, replacing the term “disabled” with “differently-abled” (Orto, 2007).
Empowerment is a running theme in models like the Biopsychosocial and Chronic Care Models of illness and disability, which include patient-centered, individualized, comprehensive, and compassionate care from a competent, multi-disciplinary team (Orto, 2007). Just because a person is “differently-abled” does not mean he/she is worth less than an individual who does not have a disability. In fact, while disability often comes with pain and hardship, it simultaneously offers valuable life lessons, empathy, compassion, and a unique world view that cannot be bottled and sold. If it could, I would be a millionaire, and the world would be a better place!
Instead of viewing illness and disability as negatives, no matter how difficult, let us take the focus off of the internal and turn it to the external. If our environments are lacking, then move forward and proactively create the change you wish to see. Call or write your Senator, contact your local television station, take some courses in social welfare, start a petition, etc… Do not believe the story society has written for us about disability being an individual deficit, and re-write your own story about individual empowerment, contentment, and fulfillment despite your challenges.
Maria is a 25 year old, vegan graduate student living with a progressive neurological disease, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). Follow along as Maria reflects on lessons learned through her health challenges, shares her experiences with alternative and traditional treatments, and enjoys life to its fullest at her blog!
Orto, A.E.D., Ph.D., C.R.C., & Power, P.W., Sc.D., C.R.C. ( 2007). The Psychological and Social Impacts of Illness and Disability. New York, NY: Springer Publishing
Company.
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By Stefanie Sacks on July 15, 2009
I am now the proud mother of two young boys. Jack is almost four years old and Hunter is 9 months. After Jack was born I went through a major adjustment period, as do all new moms. However, after Hunter’s birth (that being NOW), I am finding this need to redefine myself both personally and professionally.
Many many years ago (like 25), I wondered why the doctors I visited (all too frequently) for my asthma and allergies never questioned if my food intake was affecting my health. Around that same time I started cooking in a local health food joint and happened upon a book, Food and Healing by Annemarie Colbin, PhD. I must say my world was rocked. I became convinced that what I ate had EVERYTHING to do with my health (Duh!). Thus, I said no more to these doctors and sought out someone who could not only medicate me if needed, but also look at my diet and other lifestyle factors to determine what was really making me sick.
So, at the ripe age of 17 I had my first appointment with Dr. Sherry Rogers, a pioneer in environmental medicine (what we now call integrative medicine). To make a long story short, she put me on a special diet (to address my asthma and allergies), gave me vitamin and mineral supplements (after checking for deficiencies), allergy shots (after testing for allergies) and one or two medications (rather than the 5 I was on).
Let’s talk about the diet. Thank goodness I worked at a health food store, was passionate about food and food products and loved to cook. Compliance was easy. And what was a necessity (food lifestyle change to support my health) soon became a bleeding passion (bordering on obsession at times) and the center stone of my personal journey.
But, what if I didn’t have that knowledge and interest? How could I have changed the course of my health? This question sat with me for many years. Fast forward to 1997 when I entered culinary school. Soon after I graduated a dear friend’s father became ill with lung cancer and asked me to cook for him. This led to others. But because I wasn’t a huge fan of private cooking (too isolating for me), I figured that there had to be another way to help those in need of food lifestyle change.
New business idea! Bridge the gap between a practitioners’ dietary recommendations and what the client can and will do to implement the suggested changes—bring the nutrition prescription to the living kitchen. I traveledv this road personally, so why not turn it into my profession? By 2003 I felt comfortable calling myself a culinary nutritionist. I was a professionally trained chef and had a Masters degree from Columbia University. So, this brings me to my question: What is a nutritionist and who is qualified to call themselves this?
In the process of redefining myself professionally, I have been asking myself this question daily. I am a chef with a Masters in nutrition. Does that qualify me? Would I have been qualified if I did a 6-month program in NYC? As far as many registered dietitians (those who study nutrition—Bachelors, Masters or both—then go through an internship with clinical, food service and community rotations) are concerned, neither is enough to wear the “nutritionist badge”. I beg to differ. I believe the answer truly lies with the consumer (yes, that is YOU!). But, you must be an educated consumer!!!
I always like to use this example: When buying a car, a person takes the time to research the make, model, take it for a test drive, look into financing options, etc. So, why don’t we take the same measures when seeking a nutritionist (or other healthcare provider for that matter)? Research a potential healthcare provider as you would a car. They work for you thus it is your job to seek out your best match and “hire” them to support you in the best way possible.
As a patient, I always follow these guidelines:
-Identify my healthcare need
-Go to the people I know and trust (especially my current healthcare posse) and ask for suggestions
-Research suggested provider on web (formal education—and you need to decide what is formal enough for you to make him/her credible; philosophy; scope of services)
-Make sure that the provider is doing what he/she is qualified to do (I once worked with a woman with cancer whose yoga instructor prescribed herbs for her that were contraindicated to the medication she was on for cancer—bad news!!!). You can find this out by speaking to potential provider, other patients on the web (if he/she has a website).
-Make sure provider is not claiming to be everything under the sun (which can be the case and is just not possible). Again, you can find this out by speaking to potential provider, other patients on the web (if he/she has a website).
-If possible, speak directly to provider prior to arranging appointment
In the end, it is up to you to decide whom you want to partner with on your road to wellness. An educated consumer is the best consumer. And, asking the right questions will ensure that you are working with the right person for you.
As for me, although I am always and will always be redefining myself both personally and professionally, I am comfortable calling myself a culinary nutritionist given my formal training. In the end, I know what I know and I know what I don’t know! (And when I don’t know, I refer out to tried and true colleagues).
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Bliss Chaser,
