Question: You work as an emergency medicine physician. What led you to integrative and holistic medicine?

Answer: For almost 20 years, I have continued to enjoy my work as an emergency medicine physician; yet I came to recognize the need for preventative care as a means to reduce the debilitation and health care costs associated with chronic disease so often seen too late in the emergency setting. My emergency medicine work combined with an experience of personal loss in my life kindled the desire to better understand the totality of healing of both patient and physician. I felt a strong connection to my original motives for becoming a doctor and decided to expand my career in a new direction by seeking out the Integrative Medicine fellowship program at the University of Arizona with Dr. Andrew Weil. After successfully completing my two-year fellowship training, I felt committed to providing this form of medicine to my own hometown.

Question: When training with Dr. Weil, what was one of the most important messages on health that you learned from him??

Answer: Integrative medicine honors the physician-patient relationship, nurtures this partnership and so empowers the healer within. Integration is the inclusion of options both conventional and complimentary; it facilitates a partnership that is dynamic and interactive. Nutritional guidance is a central role in healing and is one of the most important aspects of facilitating the body’s innate ability to prevent disease. Good medicine incorporates nutritional information, evaluation of dietary supplements including antioxidants, macro and micronutrients and protective phytochemicals into the advice given in day-to-day clinical practice.

Question: Considering April is National Stress Awareness month, what lifestyle changes for stress do you often recommend to your patients? What herbal remedies and supplements do you suggest?

Answer: Nutritional advice: with the concentration of fresh foods and produce, and away from processed foods. Aerobic exercise: between 30-45 minutes per day minimum, three to four days per week. Music therapy: music is used to influence physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being, and improve quality of life for healthy people as well as those who are disabled or ill. It may involve either listening to or performing music. Meditation, yoga, therapeutic touch, Epsom salt baths with essential oils, acupuncture, hypnotherapy and psychotherapy. I often recommend Rescue Remedy to my patients as a safe, natural, non-narcotic solution to combat their stress levels.

Question: You often refer patients to complementary therapies such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. What do you recommend for the stressed out?

Answer:This is dependant on what situation or health issues are causing the stress. For example, if it is circulating negative thoughts, lack of sleep, chronic pain or illness or chronic fatigue, what time of month does it occur, menstrual flow, what days in the week, etc. Remedies will be tailored to the specific causal relationships, which are assessed during the patient provider interview.

With that information the suggestion list is extensive but I’ll give some of the more common supplements I recommend: 5-hydroxy-tryptophan, St. John’s wort, valerian, chastebury, passionflower, chamomile, lemon balm, sage, Rescue Remedy, Bach Flower Essences, lavender essential oil, magnesium citrate, calcium citrate, vitamins B12, B6, and D3, fish oil, borage oil and evening primrose oil. 

Question: As an emergency medicine physician and owner of an integrative medicine practice, how do you de-stress?

Answer: I recommend massage, craniosacral therapy, guided imagery, acupuncture, meditation with daily practice, yoga, communication with friends and support groups, being in nature and volunteering for a meaningful cause (food kitchen, senior center, boys or girls club). Giving back allows us to get outside ourselves and see others less fortunate that we can serve. This act tends to reduce our stress by adding meaning to our lives. VR