Valor Essential Oil Blend: Empowering The Mind, Body & Soul
Raindrop Massage available at Seasons - The Spa
Written by Bethany Cox, LMT
For the next nine months, I will be sharing the benefits of the nine Young Living essential oils used in the Raindrop massage.
The Raindrop massage is a technique used for detoxifying the body as well as easing back pain and specific tension around the spinal area. This massage combines the art of aromatherapy with the techniques of Vita Flex and massage in the application of essential oils to various parts of the body. Rain Drop Technique combines a revolutionary means of bringing balance and harmony to the body, spirit, and mind.
I describe The Raindrop massage to my clients as “an experience rather than a massage, that will leave your body completely relaxed, refreshed and renewed.” The nine essential oils used in Raindrop are applied on the bottom of the feet as well as massaged into the back and dropped along the spine, hence; the Raindrop effect.
The first oil applied in this particular massage, Valor, is used to help balance the body’s energy and calm the nerves. The other eight oils include: Thyme, Basil, Peppermint, Oregano, Wintergreen, Cypress, Marjoram, and Aroma Seiz.
Valor balances and relaxes the physical body and works to strengthen the spirit by improving spinal problems such as scoliosis. A blend of Frankincense, Tanactin, Spruce, and Rosewood, Valor releases a strong, yet soothing aroma, pleasing to both men and women. Personally, I love Valor Roll-on! Whenever I start to feel anxious, stressed or worried, I roll this oil on the crown of my head and take a few deep breaths. Immediately, my negative emotions fade, I feel more self-confident, and I can think much more clearly. During my couples’ massage class, I like to diffuse Valor to ease any anxiety in the room. Overall, this empowering essential oil will make a positive impact on your life!
Valor Essential Oil Blend by Young Living
Here’s how Young Living describes Valor: Valor is an empowering combination of therapeutic-grade essential oils that works with both the physical and spiritual aspects of the body to increase feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem in the face of adversity. Renowned for its strengthening qualities, Valor enhances an individual’s internal resources. It has also been found to help energy alignment in the body.
Here are a few ways that you can use Valor at home:
- Diffuse for any anxiety, phobia or sleeplessness.
- Massage into neck and shoulder region to help release any built-up tension.
- Rub on bottom of feet to help balance and align the body.
- Drop onto wrists or crown of the head to ease anxiety and yield emotional strength and confidence.
- Apply to bruised areas to reduce trauma to the area.
To experience any of our relaxing and therapeutic massages including the Raindrop massage or to purchase Young Living Essential Oils, please contact the Spa Concierge at Seasons – The Spa: (318) 255-1155.
Bethany Cox, LMT & Certified Facial Reflexologist
This post was provided by Licensed Massage Therapist and Facial Reflexologist, Bethany Cox.
About Bethany:
A graduate of Cedar Creek School, Centenary College of LA (Health and Exercise Science) and Natural Health Institute in Nashville, TN (Massage Therapy), Bethany has many talents! Besides being a smartie (she has always made great grades) and a fabulous massage therapist at Seasons – The Spa, she is an accomplished pianist and golfer. She even played golf in college. Bethany enjoys setting goals for herself and achieving them. Her favorite moment? A hole-in-one! Her favorite way to decompress after a long day? Scrapbooking, exercising, and practicing deep breathing for relaxation.
The Top 5 Answers to the Question “What Do You Do at Seasons?”
Seasons. You might have heard the name.
And we’ve heard the question many times. But answering the question “What is it that you do at Seasons?” in one sentence is nearly impossible. So we’ll give you the top five answers instead.
Answer #1: Seasons offers wellness from head-to-toe.
It all began with the idea that wellness is all-inclusive. Upon moving to the area and opening his clinic in 2006, Dr. Nathan Goodyear, Seasons’ founding physician, desired to offer his patients more than just a visit to the doctor and a prescription. Instead, real solutions to the nagging health problems that seemed unsolvable was his goal. That six-year journey resulted in a center for wellness from head-to-toe.
Comprised of both Seasons Wellness Clinic and Seasons – The Spa, Seasons offers a range of services that promote healthy living based on 5 Points of Wellness: nutrition, hormone balance, detoxification, inflammation reduction, and exercise. Seasons is conveniently located off Farmerville Highway at 1809 Northpointe Lane in Suites 103 and 202, in the 2-story building behind Portico Bar & Grill.
Dr. Jackie White
Answer #2: Seasons provides leading-edge medical care based on the latest in science combined with the most natural approach possible.
Healthcare professionals, Dr. Nathan Goodyear, Dr. Jackie White, and Anna Stephens, WHNP, seek to provide the highest level of care for every client. Rather than a disease-focused approach, the healthcare team at Seasons strives to uncover the root cause of symptoms and conditions such as: abdominal fat, diabetes, difficulty losing weight, fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, joint pain, trouble sleeping, hot flashes, and many more.
The healthcare team begins with identifying your symptoms and, utilizing the most advanced diagnostic testing available, developing a wellness plan that will rid your body of toxins, recharge your energy, and reinvigorate your immune system. The result is elimination of the root cause of the myriad of symptoms and a return to a state of wellness. And when your body is functioning optimally, prevention and reversal of disease states is a by-product of that state of wellness.
The lobby of Seasons Wellness Clinic
Answer #3: Seasons offers specific health programs such as the Wellness Weight Loss Program and Athlete Wellness Program.
Each of these programs use advanced metabolic testing and a natural approach for optimal results in two specific client groups: those who want to lose weight and those who wish to increase their athletic performance in a healthy and natural way. Each program features an individualized approach and includes testing and treatment to achieve goals set at the beginning of the program.
Answer #4: Seasons serves as a beacon for healthy living in a state that ranks #2 in Unhealthiest States in America.
With a commitment to educate all of Louisiana about health and wellness, Seasons provides and shares the best, most scientifically accurate information available on a daily basis. Seasons has pioneered website and social media usage in the medical community. By developing a blog-based website before blogging was a household word, Seasons began building and gaining traction in the online world, and utilizes social media to share information that is dependable and has depth.
Join the online conversation about health and wellness. Read our blog, subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and catch the latest Wellness Lifestyle Report or Nibble On This recipe in your inbox. You can sign up for the e-newsletter and link to all Seasons’ social sites on our homepage.
The lounge at Seasons - The Spa
Answer #5: Seasons – The Spa offers renewal and rejuvenation without the traffic of the big city.
Do you ever just want to “get away” without going far away? Maybe you need a pick-me-up, a lift-me-up, or a fix-me-up. Seasons – The Spa provides a big-city spa experience in rural and scenic north central Louisiana with a highly-skilled and highly-trained staff.
- Bethany Cox, LMT, provides services including massage therapy, reflexology, and Smooth Shapes, a cellulite reduction treatment.
- Skin care experts Lisa Best and Joy Smith offer services ranging from European facials to microdermabrasions to hair reduction and removal to hydradermie lift, a non-surgical face-lift.
- Anna Stephens, WHNP, specializes in skin rejuvenation services such as Botox, Artefill, and Juvederm. Anna’s great disposition makes clients feel at ease, insuring a comfortable skin rejuvenation experience. Seasons also offers back-door service for those who want a more private consultation. Please call the Spa to arrange back-door service at 318-255-1155.
Yoga Instructor, Ashley Moody
Seasons also boasts the only infrared sauna in the area and offers individual sessions as well as packages for clients desiring the proven health benefits of infrared sauna. Fitness classes include Yoga, featuring certified Yoga instructor Ashley Moody, and Fit4Baby, with local fitness specialist Maryanne Smith. Classes are available in packages at convenient times for any schedule. Sauna and fitness classes are free for Spa Members. For more information about Spa Membership, visit the Spa Membership page on our website or give us a call at 318-255-1155. Keep up with the latest Spa specials by signing up for our e-mail list on our home page. Quarterly Beauty Bonuses come to your inbox and feature discounts and special offers on services and packages.
So did that answer the big question about what is Seasons?
Seasons is health, wellness, relaxation, rejuvenation, education and a whole lot more. For more information or to schedule an appointment, give us a call at 318-255-3223 and speak with a customer relations specialist.
Nibble on This: Top 4 Ways To Eat Your Sneezes Away!
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by Valerie Costanza, RD
The Top 3 Answers to the Question “Why Should I Take Hormones?”
Dr. Nathan Goodyear, Overseeing Physician at Seasons Wellness Clinic
Recently during a patient’s visit, we were reviewing her most recent OB/GYN appointment. Her physician asked why she was taking hormones. Unable to offer a technical explanation, she simply stated that she felt much better than she did before she began her treatment program.
While the basic question of WHY is a good question by her physician, we actually need to answer three questions.
- What are my individual hormone levels?
- Are my hormones in appropriate balance?
- Is my body metabolizing those hormones in the right way?
The answers to these three questions will answer the one question: “Why should a patient take hormones?”
What are my individual hormone levels?
Contrary to what most think, hormones are not just about individual numbers. Instead, hormones work collectively as a means of communication within the body. I am amazed at the answers I get when I ask postmenopausal women, “Does your body still have or need hormones?”
The answer is a resounding YES, but most people seem to think otherwise. The body must have hormones to survive. For example, those who suffer from Addison’s Disease have a life-threatening deficiency of cortisol (one of the body’s many hormones).
Far too often I hear the comment, “I’ve had a hysterectomy, so I don’t need progesterone.” The truth is having a hysterectomy does not eliminate your body’s use or need for hormones. It just means you are missing your uterus. Hysterectomy or not, millions of cells throughout the body have progesterone receptors and those cells could care less if you’ve had a hysterectomy or what your OB/GYN thinks about progesterone. [Insert laugh here!] These organ systems throughout the body have receptors for progesterone because they need progesterone.
The aforementioned patient’s hormone therapy included progesterone cream and DHEA capsules. Testing results showed her to be deficient in both progesterone and DHEA (read about how we test hormones at Seasons), and thus replacement was needed. In addition to test results, the patient’s clinical symptom history warranted the replacement of these hormones.
So why was DHEA included in her treatment program? Two reasons. The first is that her DHEA levels were low in her testing results. The second reason? This patient had Type II Diabetes and, after some additional testing, was found to have chronic inflammation throughout her body. DHEA has been shown to reduce inflammation, improve insulin function, and reduce obesity, all of which are associated with diabetes. DHEA does this through a complex interaction with the hormones adiponectin and insulin. As insulin levels rise with insulin resistance, adiponectin falls. This hormone imbalance will result in Diabetes for many people.
Additionally, Type II Diabetes has been shown to be the result of chronic inflammation. What does that mean, you ask? Chronic, dysregulated inflammation causes insulin resistance. What is the source of this inflammation, you ask? Fat cells! The obesity epidemic is the root cause of our current healthcare crisis.
Let’s go back to the patient’s hormone therapy. Her test results showed her deficient in progesterone. Because progesterone is a natural anti-inflammatory, it is currently being used in traumatic brain injuries (TBI) to reduce inflammation and improve outcomes. In addition, women with low progesterone tend to have significantly more menstrual cramps, the result of inflammatory signals called prostaglandins. Progesterone therapy has been shown to reduce those prostaglandins and thus reduce menstrual cramps.
Are my hormones in appropriate balance?
Hormones don’t exist in a vacuum, as many seem to think. Hormones exist in a delicate balance. The most well publicized imbalance is that of the estrogens and progesterone. Imbalance of estrogen and progesterone have been linked to many health problems: fatigue, weight gain, headaches, and increased risk of breast cancer to name a few.
I often tell patients that with every cause there is an effect. You can’t give one hormone without affecting many others. The addition of progesterone to the body when it has been chronically low will not only restore progesterone to an appropriate physiologic level, but will also allow estrogen signals to work better. The balance of hormones allows each hormone to work as it was intended. Mind you, we are NOT talking about using synthetic hormones which are simply not what the body is looking for and contain harmful additives. We only treat with bioidentical hormones (bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, also known as BHRT).
Is my body metabolizing my hormones in the right way?
The final key point is looking at how the body processes hormones (metabolism). Hormone metabolism is just as important as the individual hormone levels and the hormone balance.
Let’s use estrogen metabolism, for example. Estrogens (there are actually three different types of estrogen) can be metabolized three ways: 2-hydroxy estrone, 4-hyroxy estrone, and 16-alpha-hydroxy estrone. Some of the risks associated with estrogen come from the body metabolizing estrogen utilizing the 4-hydoxy estrone pathway. This pathway results in many dangerous metabolites (break down products). Think of it as turning down the wrong road as you’re driving somewhere, and you end up in a briar patch!
Think about it. Many women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer don’t take bioidentical estrogen nor do they take synthetic estrogen. Their problem, as it relates to hormones, comes from endogenous hormone production (the body’s own hormone overproduction or underproduction), hormone metabolization, and the often undiscussed environmental xenoestrogens (from environmental toxin exposure). In lay terms, the body is metabolizing estrogen using the 4-hydoxy estrone pathway resulting in higher risk of cancer.
It has only been in the last 50 to 60 years that major hormonal imbalances in industrialized countries seem to have come to our attention. Before that, people and their hormones seemed to do just fine for thousands of years. We can attribute much of that to diminishing nutritional value in our foods and continually increasing exposure to toxins. Nutrition and toxins both have profound effects on the body, hormones included.
In conclusion, why should a patient take hormones (BHRT)?
The answer is a summary of the three points we’ve looked at here. By determining current hormone levels, restoring balance, and evaluating the body’s metabolic processes, the body can once again function as God intended it. Should a patient be on hormones? Well, only if you need them. But the truth is few of us have perfectly balanced hormones due to nutrition, toxin exposure, and prescription medication side effects.
At Seasons Wellness Clinic, we use state-of-the-art testing that reveals your body’s biochemistry. With our years of advanced training, we can carefully customize a treatment plan to restore your body, offsetting the damage of poor nutrition, toxins, and prescription drugs. Our goal is to eliminate any need for prescription medication! We want you to be HEALTHY!
WELLNESS IS POSSIBLE! You don’t have to settle for a body that is not working as it should. You can make a conscientious choice towards good health and a longer, happier life.
Other related posts:
Evidence and Crazy Talk, Part 1 of 3
Evidence and Crazy Talk, Part 2 of 3
Evidence and Crazy Talk, Part 3 of 3
Preventing A Broken Heart: The 4 Pillars of Heart Health
Dr. Nathan Goodyear
Between Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month, there’s no denying that hearts and February go hand-in-hand. This month, as we celebrate the things that make our hearts melt, let’s also think about preventing heart disease with the 4 Pillars of Heart Health: Minerals, CoQ10, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and L-Carnitine.
Not only is Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) one of the most widespread and costly problems in the U.S., it is among the most preventable. Like any other part of the body, the heart requires preventive care to ensure it will operate at its best. These days I see more preventive care for cars than for the heart. Prevention is not early detection. It is identifying those at risk and instituting therapy to actually prevent the disease. And while early detection and treatment is needed and saves lives, we need also to focus on preventing CVD altogether.
Current statistics on Cardiovascular Disease (CVD):
- 33.5% (149 million) of US adults have been diagnosed with high blood pressure
- 8% (18.3 million) of the US adult population has been diagnosed with diabetes
- 67% (34% of which are obese [149.3 million]) of US adults are either obese or overweight
These 2012 statistics tell us that we are not gaining much ground in the battle against heart disease.
So, what is the heart? The heart is complex organ, but essentially it is a big hunk of muscle. The heart is responsible for pumping the blood to the lungs to be oxygenated and then deliver that oxygenated blood throughout the body. To pump that oxygenated blood, the heart needs lots, and lots of energy (ATP). The heart uses the “power house” of the cell, called mitochondria, to generate all this needed energy.
How much energy does the heart make? The heart makes enough energy, everyday, to drive a truck 20 miles. That mileage, over an average lifespan, will get you to the moon and back. The ability of mitochondria within the heart (which is muscle) to generate energy is critical to life. In fact, the result of compromised mitochondria is aging and death. The lack of ability to produce energy, actually triggers apoptosis (cell death). Enough cell death equals organ death, which results in the body’s death. Obviously, this is not what we want. Mitochondria are crucial to the heart’s ability to make energy and avoid all the, well…unintended consequences.
At Seasons Wellness Clinic, we focus on the 4 Pillars of Heart Health which support mitochondrial function.
1. Minerals
- Magnesium is a nutrient. Magnesium is needed for more enzyme reactions than any other nutrient, which makes it extremely important.
- B Vitamins give us energy. Why? One reason is B vitamins are co-factors in energy production. Many of the B vitamins are co-factors in the Kreb’s cycle, another very important pathway for energy production.
2. CoQ10 is critical in energy production. CoQ10 is a carrier protein between complex I and complex II of the electron transport chain (ETC). The ETC is where your body makes most of the ATP (energy). CoQ10 is an antioxidant as well.
3. Alpha Lipoic Acid is very important in the pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme complex. This enzyme complex is very important in the first steps of energy production from glucose, a process called glycolysis. Alpha Lipoic Acid, like CoQ10, is an antioxidant.
4. L-Carnitine is involved in the “fat shuttle.” Carnitine is involved in how the cell shuttles fat into the mitochondria for energy production. You can see how a compromised “fat shuttle” can effect energy production and fat production. L-carnitine, too, is an antioxidant.
Not only do we want to evaluate these critical components (and yes, we can test for these essential molecules), but we want to prevent any compromise to their function. A major cause of component malfunction in the body’s processes is mineral depletion, and the #1 cause of mineral depletion is prescription drugs.
To demonstrate my point, let’s use Metformin and Statin drugs as examples. First, Metformin, a good prescription drug for Diabetes, is known to deplete the body of Magnesium, B12, folic acid, CoQ10. And second, Statin drugs, for cholesterol, are known as disruptors of CoQ10. Ever wonder why those on statin therapies complain of muscle pains/cramps? If you poisoned your muscle’s ability to make energy, you would do the same. I am not opposed to these medications, it is just very important that we understand that a patient with Diabetes and high cholesterol (closely linked) must avoid therapies that actually worsen the problems.
To help the heart live long and strong, remember the 4 Pillars of Heart Health. There are four major vessels of the heart as well as four major obstacles to heart health. For more information about heart health, specialized testing, and medical-grade supplements, contact a Patient Relations Specialist at Seasons Wellness Clinic at (318) 255-3223.
From The Doctor’s Desk: New Year Solutions
Dr. Nathan Goodyear, MD
We are just days away from putting on silly hats, drinking champagne, and kissing the one we love as we bid goodbye to the year. What an amazing year 2011 has been and how quickly it has come to an end! Soon, we will wake to January 1, 2012 resolving to do something new, to do something better. We will all take the plunge into New Year’s resolutions.
So, why do we make resolutions?
The need for a resolution implies that a problem exists. That a need for a change of directon is required. With a resolution, we have a resolve or determination to do something better. The way I see it, we should be focusing on solutions. And in the battle for our health, we need a solution-focused approach.
To find a solution, we must define the problem. The greatest obstacle to health today is disease. The problem is that our current health care disease model doesn’t work for health or health restoration. It does do a good job of managing disease, but we are not interested in disease management, as it relates to obesity. We are interested in disease resolution.
So, what does the research say in response to the above statement?
The future health of Americans is bleak. According to a recent article from the world’s leading general medical journal, The Lancet, 50% or more of Americans will be obese by the year 2030. The same article showed that 12 states have an obesity rate exceeding 30%. The healthiest state was Colorado, but its obesity rate just clipped the 20% mark. In fact, no state had an obesity rate less than 20%. Another article from The Lancet revealed that 86% of American adults will be obese or overweight by 2030.
We need a resolution to focus on solutions, not band-aids.
But, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, it will happen before 2030. The OECD says that 75% of Americans will be obese or overweight by 2020. And it is worse for men, where 82% are estimated to be obese or overweight.
The impact of obesity? According to the International Diabetes Federation Foundation, 1 in 10 adults will have diabetes by 2030. That equates to 552 million adults worldwide. In the US, money spent or lost on obesity has reached an estimated 1% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
What has our current disease-model paradigm done for the obesity battle? If you look at the statistics, nothing. In fact, we are losing the battle. Yet we continue to pour money into a failing medical model for obesity, that studies have shown doesn’t work.
What we need is a solution-focused approach to the obesity epidemic. We need a resolution to do better as a medical community. We need a resolution to focus on solutions, not band-aids. We need a resolution to focus on health and health restoration, not on disease management.
At Seasons Wellness Clinic, our approach to wellness is solution-focused and addresses the obesity epidemic head on. We work every day to offer our patients and clients the tools they need to pursue wellness. Questions? Spend some time on our website getting to know us and what we do. Then call 318.255.3223 and speak with one of our Patient Relations Specialists. We look forward to a New Year full of health, wellness, and solutions!
Say Goodbye to Acne with the Acne 12-Week Intensive from Seasons
Want clear skin without harmful medication?
At Seasons, it is our goal to help you look and feel your best – as naturally as possible! The latest in our lineup of services, the Acne 12-Week Intensive, is a highly-specific treatment based on the type of lesions and the severity of the acne.
The Acne 12-Week Intensive includes includes:
- A consultation with our Seasons Skin Care Specialist
- An individualized acne treatment plan Complexion Analysis using VISIA
- A series of 12 LED Light Treatments and/or Skin Rejuvenation Treatments using IPL
- Deep-pore cleansing and exfoliating treatments
- 30 days of skin care products specially formulated for acne-prone skin
- The Acne 12-Week Intensive take-home packet including a specialized morning and evening regimen
- Complimentary maintenance and extractions as needed during treatment
- A 10% discount on acne skin care products during treatment
The Acne 12-Week Intensive Package, an $850 value, is offered at just $650. There’s no better way to stop acne dead in its tracks! Beautiful skin CAN be yours.
“Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” video book review by Nathan Goodyear, MD
For more videos from Seasons, visit our YouTube channel.
Medical Care is Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.
“I asked Chris Kresser to guest post on our blog because he has an interesting view on health and wellness and the issues that surround it. I believe that an individual’s greatest obstacle to health and wellness could actually be the drugs that they take. This article clearly reveals that.” – Dr. Nathan Goodyear
Chris Kresser, L. Ac Photo courtesy of www.chriskresser.com
The popular perception that the U.S. has the highest quality of medical care in the world has been proven entirely false by several public heath studies and reports over the past few years.
The prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association published a study by Dr. Barbara Starfield, a medical doctor with a Master’s degree in Public Health, in 2000 which revealed the extremely poor performance of the United States health care system when compared to other industrialized countries (Japan, Sweden, Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium and Germany).
In fact, the U.S. is ranked last or near last in several significant health care indicators:
- 13th (last) for low-birth-weight percentages
- 13th for neonatal mortality and infant mortality overall
- 11th for postneonatal mortality
- 13th for years of potential life lost (excluding external causes)
- 12th for life expectancy at 1 year for males, 11th for females
- 12th for life expectancy at 15 years for males, 10th for females
The most shocking revelation of her report is that iatrogentic damage (defined as a state of ill health or adverse effect resulting from medical treatment) is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer.
Let me pause while you take that in.
This means that doctors and hospitals are responsible for more deaths each year than cerebrovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, accidents, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and pneumonia.
The combined effect of errors and adverse effects that occur because of iatrogenic damage includes:
- 12,000 deaths/year from unnecessary surgery
- 7,000 deaths/year from medication errors in hospitals
- 20,000 deaths/year from other errors in hospitals
- 80,000 deaths/year from nosocomial infections in hospitals
- 106,000 deaths a year from nonerror, adverse effects of medications
This amounts to a total of 225,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes. However, Starfield notes three important caveats in her study:
- Most of the data are derived from studies in hospitalized patients
- The estimates are for deaths only and do not include adverse effects associated with disability or discomfort
- The estimates of death due to error are lower than those in the Institute of Medicine Report (a previous report by the Institute of Medicine on the number of iatrogenic deaths in the U.S.)
If these caveats are considered, the deaths due to iatrogenic causes would range from 230,000 to 284,000.
Starfield and her colleagues performed an analysis which took the caveats above into consideration and included adverse effects other than death. Their analysis concluded that between 4% and 18% of consecutive patients experience adverse effects in outpatient settings, with:
- 116 million extra physician visits
- 77 million extra prescriptions
- 17 million emergency department visits
- 8 million hospitalizations
- 3 million long-term admissions
- 199,000 additional deaths
- $77 billion in extra costs (equivalent to the aggregate cost of care of patients with diabetes
I want to make it clear that I am not condemning physicians in general. In fact, most of the doctors I’ve come into contact with in the course of my life have been competent and genuinely concerned about my welfare. In many ways physicians are just as victimized by the deficiencies of our health-care system as patients and consumers are. With increased patient loads and mandated time limits for patient visits set by HMOs, most doctors are doing the best they can to survive our broken and corrupt health-care system.
The Institute of Medicine’s report (“To Err is Human”) which Starfied and her colleagues analyzed isn’t the only study to expose the failures of the U.S. health-care system. The World Health Organization issued a report in 2000, using different indicators than the IOM report, that ranked the U.S. as 15th among 25 industrialized countries.
As Starfied points out, the “real explanation for relatively poor health in the United States is undoubtedly complex and multifactorial.” Two significant causes of our poor standing is over-reliance on technology and a poorly developed primary care infrastructure. The United States is second only to Japan in the availability of technological procedures such as MRIs and CAT scans. However, this has not translated into a higher standard of care, and in fact may be linked to the “cascade effect” where diagnostic procedures lead to more treatment (which as we have seen can lead to more deaths).
Of the seven countries in the top of the average health ranking, five have strong primary care infrastructures. Evidence indicates that the major benefit of health-care access accrues only when it facilitates receipt of primary care. (Starfield, 1998)
One might think that these sobering analyses of the U.S. health-care system would have lead to a public discussion and debate over how to address the shortcomings. Alas, both medical authorities and the general public alike are mostly unaware of this data, and we are no closer to a safe, accessible and effective health-care system today than we were eight years ago when these reports were published.
This guest post was provided by Chris Kresser. Chris lives in Berkeley, CA and is a licensed acupuncturist and practitioner of integrative medicine. Chris writes a health and wellness blog that includes information on hypothyroidism, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, natural childbirth and more. He began writing because it is his “sincere hope that the information on this blog will lead to greater health and well-being for you and those you love” [chriskresser.com]. Visit his blog or follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisKresser for more information on health, wellness and nutrition.
5 Keys to Long-Term Weightloss: Gimmicks vs. Wellness
Dr. Nathan Goodyear, fellowship-trained Metabolic Specialist
Obesity is described as the #1 health problem today. But what exactly is a health problem? I’d like to define it this way: a health problem is an obstacle to good health.
As I have said many times, obesity is the doorway to disease. Sixty-seven percent of Americans are either overweight or obese today. And for the first time, obesity exceeds those that are overweight. Approximately 34% of Americans are obese. Just think about that for a minute. What a hopeless statistic.
And the numbers, unfortunately, are not improving. Look at our children. More children battle obesity than ever before. The statistics in children is alarming, with up to 17% of children and adolescents being obese. Worse yet, this is a three-fold increase in just one generation.
Metabolic syndrome is in many ways the result of obesity. Metabolic syndrome, once only an adult disease, is now frequently diagnosed in children. As obesity goes, so goes metabolic syndrome. As metabolic syndrome goes, so goes disease. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is 39.7% in moderately obese children and 49.7% in severely obese children.
All this to say, we, as a nation, need to lose weight. But we need to lose weight the right way. The reality is this: helping people lose weight is not difficult, but helping people to lose weight and maintain the weightloss proves to be very difficult. If it was so easy, everybody would do it.
Just look around us. There are weight loss “gimmicks” all over the place. According to the free dictionary, a gimmick is defined as “a device employed to cheat, deceive, or trick.” Gimmicks come in all forms: prepackaged meals, shakes, prescription drugs (Adipex, Xenical), HCG and even weight loss surgeries. All these gimmicks have in one thing in common – failure. Yes, they will help you lose some weight, but they fail miserably in the maintenance department. The short-term success of weightloss through gimmicks results in long-term failure due to a train-wrecked metabolism, making your long-term weight loss that much more difficult.
Let’s look at a few examples. Adipex is commonly prescribed drug that helps people lose weight. It is an amphetamine-like compound that speeds up the metabolism and suppresses the appetite. It works short-term, but without lifestyle change, rebound will occur. The rebound is worse as Adipex alters the body’s ability to lose weight through muscle loss and thyroid dysfunction. Oh, and did I forget to mention the addiction?
Let’s look at HCG. So if you take HCG, does that mean the cause of your obesity is a deficiency in HCG? Throw in the fact that the HCG diet consists of 500 calories daily. A diet of 500 calories daily will cause starvation and actually changes your thyroid metabolism, triggering a slowing of metabolism. So when you come off the HCG and the 500 calorie diet, rebound weight gain occurs. Who can maintain a 500 calorie diet anyway?
And the worst gimmick? Weight-loss surgeries. Let’s objectively think about this. What do the numbers say about weight loss surgery? A recent 10 year study of Lap Band, considered the safer weightloss surgery, revealed only a 42% weightloss maintained over 12 years with a quality-of-life scale unchanged. Let’s contrast that with the risks. Up to 50% of the patients required removal of their lap band with a repeat surgery risk at 60%, up to a third of the bands eroded, and over 40% encountered serious complications. Couple this with the bone loss seen in adults and children with weight loss surgery, and the question asked should be this: What are we doing to ourselves and our children?
Now that we’ve discussed the gimmicks, let me offer a solution: the Wellness Weight Loss program powered by Seasons.
Why “Wellness Weight Loss?” Our primary objective at Seasons is to provide solutions for you to be healthy and well! We don’t just want to help people lose weight. We want to help people lose weight and keep it off. That is the only path to long-term health and wellness.
The definition of a successful weightloss program is not whether weightloss occurs: it is whether the weight-loss is maintained. One of the greatest obstacles to wellness is inflammation. Fat itself produces systemic inflammation. Fat cells trigger inflammatory signals, called cytokines. Fat cells have been shown to release the cytokines: TNF-alpha, IL-1, and IL-6. To reduce inflammation, one must lose weight. Only through weight loss and long-term maintenance, can wellness be achieved.
Why powered by Seasons? At Seasons, we want to glorify our creator in all that we do. To do that, we must look to His creation to find the answers. His creation is our bodies. His signature is our biochemistry. That should be where we are looking, because that is where the causes are. And yes, there are always multiple causes. And no, a one size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. God created us to be unique and different. Our causes of weight gain will also be unique and different. And our solutions for weightloss need to be unique and different – customized for your particular metabolism and circumstances.
Wellness Weight Loss powered by Seasons follows the 5 Points of Wellness that we’ve established as our guidelines to achieving optimal health.
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Hormone balance
- Inflammation
- Detoxification
These 5 Points of Wellness are the keys to proper metabolic functioning. They are God-created and they are the only means to long-term weightloss. Through the 5 Points of Wellness, a customized program is created to meet your exact metabolic dysfunctions.
Contrary to what you see today, healing can and does occur. But, healing only comes through our creator. To do that, we must look to His creation first, our bodies, for the means to achieve healing.
Why not glorify God in all that we do, including weightloss. Lose weight. Live well!
