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CONTENTS
What is
Holistic Medicine?
Conditions
Amenable to Nutritional and Natural Therapies
Our Philosophy of
Care
How to
Choose a Holistic Health-Care Practitioner
Our
Practitioners
Welcome to
Our Office
Conventional
Medical SERVICES
COMPLEMENTARY
MEDICAL SERVICES
NUTRITIONAL TESTING & EVALUATION
WOMEN’S HEALTH
CHILDREN’S SERVICES/PEDIATRIC NUTRITION
Conventional
Medicine
Internal Medicine
Our staff is experienced in many aspects of
medicine, including conventional medicine,
nutritional medicine, and gastroenterology. We
combine the best of standard medicine along with
natural, complementary approaches. Most new
patients are initially seen by a medical
physician, who will recommend the appropriate
care to meet your specific needs along with our
nutritional specialists.
Gastroenterology
Dr. Neil Raff, who has specialized training in
both gastrointestinal and nutritional medicine,
is the ideal practitioner for those seeking
holistically minded care for medical problems
related to diet and nutrition. According to Dr.
Raff, “It is simply common sense to choose the
best healing options for people from all that is
available. The body cannot heal without proper
nutrition. Contrary to popular belief, we are
not what we eat, but what we absorb. Nutrition
for disease prevention and treatment must
integrate concepts of clean food, stress
reduction, nutritional supplements (e.g.,
vitamins, minerals, and herbs) uniquely combined
for each individual.”
Medical
Diagnostic Testing
Our staff is trained to evaluate blood tests from a nutritional and
medical perspective allowing for greater
accuracy in terms of interpretation and
treatment options. Rather than comparing blood
values to the “normal” ranges” (which are not
necessarily healthy), we use “healthy” ranges to
help determine one’s individual needs for
nutrients. Along with a careful patient history,
standard and nutritional blood analyses provide
important information for assessing your present
state of health as well as your medical and
nutritional needs.
Among the medical
diagnostic tests we provide are*:
- Adrenal hormone testing
- Amino-acid profiles
- Anemia screening
- C-reactive protein tests
- Cholesterol screening
- Electrocardiogram testing
- Fatty-acid profiles
- Homocysteine testing
- Hormonal profiles
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- Liver function testing
- Lung function testing
- Lyme disease screening
- Standard blood testing
- Stool analysis
- Thyroid/pituitary testing
- Urinalysis
- Vitamin/mineral testing
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*See our Web site,
www.blooddetective.com, for more
information on these and other tests.
Complementary
Medicine
Arterial
Elasticity Index
The Arterial Elasticity Index (AEI)
is an extremely useful noninvasive test for
determining the flexibility or hardness of
arteries. The AEI is measured with a modified
blood pressure cuff that measures the extent of
arteriosclerosis in the arteries.
Arteriosclerosis — also known as hardening of
the arteries — is a major cause of premature
death in the United States. Several natural
therapies may reduce or reverse arteriosclerosis
to varying degrees. Using AEI, alongside
conventional cardiovascular markers, we can
precisely monitor your response to therapy and
adjust it accordingly.
Autonomic Nervous System Evaluation
Heart disease, hypertension, anxiety,
hyperactivity, autoimmune disease, certain
gastrointestinal disorders, and many other
conditions may be related to imbalances of the
autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous
system is composed of counterbalancing parts:
the sympathetic part, which can be thought of as
the “accelerator,” and the parasympathetic part,
which is the “brake.” A balance between these
two parts is necessary for health. The autonomic
nervous system controls automatic (involuntary)
body functions, including secretion of acid into
the stomach for digestion and speeding up of the
heart rate in response to stress. This
noninvasive test helps measure the overall
“fitness” of one's autonomic nervous system so
that the appropriate natural treatments can be
recommended.
Cancer and
Nutrition
According to the National Academy of
Sciences, 60 percent of women’s cancers and 40
percent of men’s cancers are related to
nutritional factors. Cancer, in turn, leads to
poor nutrition, which worsens one’s ability to
heal. Proper nutrition can help break this
deadly cycle. Unfortunately, conventional cancer
care pays little attention to nutrition, with
potentially detrimental consequences. Our health
providers are not oncologists (cancer
specialists), nor are we substitutes for
oncologists. However, we are trained to help
cancer patients integrate nutritional therapies
into their health regimen as a complement to
their traditional cancer treatments. In
designing our nutritional protocols, we take
into consideration the patient’s stage of
cancer, his or her physical and emotional state,
and whether he or she is receiving chemotherapy
and radiation, among other factors.
Chelation Therapy/Heavy Metals Testing
A variety of blood and urine tests
are available to measure the amounts of toxic
heavy metals that accumulate in the body, such
as lead from polluted air, mercury from
contaminated fish, and cadmium from cigarette
smoke. Excess concentrations of these substances
can have many health consequences. Chelation
therapies, administered orally or intravenously,
can effectively remove heavy metals from the
body.
Consultations: Medical and Nutritional
Our physicians and nutritionists work
hand in hand to determine a patient’s
nutritional needs. Each patient undergoes
complete medical and nutritional examinations,
the results of which are used to design a
comprehensive, individualized nutritional
protocol. This may include dietary
recommendations, nutritional supplementation,
lifestyle modification, exercise, and ongoing
nutrition education.
Detoxification
The body wages a constant battle to
rid itself of toxins — chemicals that even in
tiny amounts can damage tissues, interfere with
the function of enzymes, and cause acute or
chronic disease. This complex cleansing process,
called detoxification (detox for short), occurs
in cells throughout the body, but particularly
in the liver and intestinal tract. Cells detox
our tissues by collecting, transforming, and
eliminating toxins, which are ultimately
deposited in the urine for removal from the
body. Toxins are also eliminated through the
skin, sweat and feces.
Simply drinking lots of “green” juices or
receiving colonics, herbal and fiber supplements
is not detoxification — although these
activities may be part of a thorough detox plan.
For a true detox, several nutritional factors
must be present, including specific antioxidants
and amino acids. Moreover, a balanced detox plan
must consider the individual’s health status,
health goals, and biochemistry (lab tests), as
well as his or her lifestyle and dietary habits.
Environmental
Medicine
The quality of our food, water and
air directly affects the way our mind and body
functions. Every day, we are exposed to toxic
chemicals that can predispose us to headaches,
fatigue, skin rashes, autoimmune disease,
gastrointestinal disorders, and other ailments.
A physician trained into environmental medicine
focuses on using natural therapies to enhance an
individual’s resistance to deleterious
substances, taking the patient’s total
environment (internal and external) into
account. Blood, urine, detailed consultations,
questionnaires and other tools are available to
help find and measure the success of
environmental health-promoting methods.
Healthy-Aging
Medicine
Healthy-aging medicine recognizes
that natural hormones, diet, nutrition, herbs,
and exercise can be used to make you feel
younger and lower your risk for disease. How
well you age and how long you live are largely
determined by your genes and by your daily
health choices. While there is little you can do
about the former, there is much you can do about
the latter. Our practitioners are well-versed in
the latest tests for determining how well your
organs are aging. From these results, they can
design healthy-aging programs and therapies
(including natural and synthetic hormones) that
affect many biomarkers. Biomarkers are specific
measures used to indicate the progress of
disease or the effect of therapy. Natural
approaches can be employed to improve many
biomarkers, including cholesterol levels,
body-fat percentage, aerobic capacity,
flexibility, mental response, arterial
elasticity, antioxidant levels and other
accepted quality of life assessments. See also
Detoxification
Programs
Herbal Therapy
Herbal therapy has been used safely
and effectively for centuries throughout the
world to promote health and healing. In fact,
most prescription drugs are derived from plants
and herbs – with many vital constituents of the
plant removed. However, when used properly,
whole plants and herbs retain the subtle
ingredients necessary to alleviate a variety of
health conditions without side effects. Herbs,
which are used internally and externally, can
strengthen the body’s natural ability to heal.
Examples of healing herbs include teas,
tinctures, extracts, oils, ointments,
compresses, and poultices.
Hydrogen
Peroxide Therapy
Most cells produce hydrogen peroxide.
For example, granulocytes (a type of white blood
cell) produce hydrogen peroxide as a first-line
defense against bacteria, viruses, and
parasites. Other cells make hydrogen peroxide to
help metabolize proteins, carbohydrate, fats,
vitamins, and minerals. Complementary
health-care providers have been using
intravenous hydrogen peroxide for decades as an
experimental therapy for a variety of conditions
that are unresponsive to conventional medical
treatments.
Immune-focused consultation
Nutrition can have a major impact on
the health of the immune system. Using detailed
laboratory analyses, we can determine how well
various parts of your immune system are
functioning and how they can be bolstered with
nutritional remedies, along with stress
reduction and exercise.
Intravenous Nutrition/Vitamin and Mineral
Injections
Because of age, illness, or
medications, some people require
higher-than-normal doses of nutrients or cannot
absorb the nutrients they need from food alone.
However, the necessary vitamins and minerals can
be administered intravenously or with
intramuscular injections, allowing the nutrients
to be absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream for
delivery to the organs and tissues in need.
These methods, in combination with a balanced,
individually tailored diet and nutritional
supplements (if needed), can meet one’s
nutritional needs more quickly and thoroughly
than dietary interventions alone.
Ozone Therapy
Ozone appears to activate the immune
system and antioxidant defense systems against
dozens of disease organisms, including hepatitis
viruses and HIV. Ozonation has and continues to
be studied for its potential role in reducing
the risk of transmitting infectious agents in
blood products. Our office uses intravenous or
rectal methods of ozone administration as an
experimental therapy.
Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation
Food refinement and processing has
created a food supply that, according to some
governmental studies, does not supply the
recommended daily allowances, intakes or values
of many vitamins and minerals. Nutritional
supplements, whose value in fighting disease has
been demonstrated in thousands of scientific
studies, can help ensure one’s optimal
nutritional intake. For fuller and more rapid
absorption of vitamins and minerals in the body,
intravenous administration or injection is
sometimes recommended. For your convenience, we
stock highly absorbable nutritional supplements
for a variety of conditions, but patients are
not obligated to purchase them from us.
NUTRITIONAL TESTING & EVALUATION
A partial list of our laboratory services:
Allergy Testing
We use two blood tests — the IgG4
test for delayed allergies and the IgE for
immediate allergies — for a quicky analysis of
food sensitivities and allergies. However, the
best way to evaluate these problems is to
eliminate the suspected foods from the diet for
a time, then reintroduce them into the diet.
Since each of the dozens of possible food
allergens must be eliminated and reintroduced
one by one, it may take a long time to pinpoint
the source of problem. Environmental allergy
testing is also available. Also, many allergies
do not produce immediate symptoms that can be
visually recognized and must be determined
through careful testing.
Amino-Acid
Profiles
Amino acids, the building blocks of
proteins, are essential for healing, chemical
detoxification, neurological (brain) function,
and countless other physiologic functions. A
simple blood or urine test can be used to
measure one’s profile of essential amino acids.
If any are found to be deficient, we can design
individually tailored amino-acid drink mixes
that precisely target your needs.
Body-Composition Analysis
Measures of muscle mass, water
weight, and body-fat percentage can be used to
assess one’s current health and disease risk and
to monitor one’s response to therapy. We begin
most treatments by taking baselines measurements
of one’s body composition. It is particularly
helpful to monitor these measures in people who
are following a weight-loss program or in those
with degenerative, chronic conditions. This
helps ensure that weight loss is from fat and
not muscle and that lean organ tissue is
preserved. Lean tissue loss is a
well-established marker of morbidity
(disability) and mortality (risk of death).
Essential
Fatty-Acid Profile
An essential fatty-acid profile is a
blood test that measures the levels of a large
number of critical dietary fats, including
omega-3, omega-6, mono-unsaturated, saturated,
and trans fatty acids. Some conditions that are
commonly associated with essential and
fatty-acid deficiencies or imbalances are
eczema, menstrual disorders, immune conditions,
irritable bowel disease, cancer, and
inflammatory disease. Deficiencies and
imbalances can be corrected with oral
supplementation.
Bone Density
Testing
Osteoporosis is a major cause of suffering and
disability among the elderly in America,
particularly among elderly women. Conventional
medical opinion is that if people faithfully
take calcium supplements, do some aerobic and
weight bearing exercise, and hormone replacement
therapy, they are safe from osteoporosis.
Complementary medicine recognizes that degrading
bone health tells may be secondary to absorption
problems, chronic infections and disease,
hormonal disorders and nutritional inadequacies.
Osteoporosis screening is quick, painless and is
part of a well-balanced nutritional and natural
medicine approach. Please consult the
information below and consider whether or not
you should be tested.
WOMEN’S HEALTH
Our office provides a variety of health
services to support the needs of women. When
necessary, we work in collaboration with a
holistically-minded gynecologist.
Hormone
Balancing (Natural)
During the normal course of aging,
hormones such as DHEA, estrogen, testosterone,
pregnenolone, progesterone, and growth hormone
are produced in lesser and lesser amounts or
become less effective. Specialized blood,
saliva, and urine tests are available to assess
hormonal imbalances. If imbalances are found,
they can be treated with an individualized
regimen of dietary changes, herbs, vitamins, and
minerals. These may be used alone or in
conjunction with synthetic and natural hormones.
Infertility/Fertility Nutrition
Infertility can result from various
factors, including genetic defects, accumulation
of environmental toxins, high stress, excess
exercise, hormonal problems, and, not
surprisingly, poor nutrition. We believe that a
natural, nutritional-based approached is the
best way to encourage a healthy pregnancy. Some
of our patients choose a traditional medical
(drug) approach for their fertility concerns
along with a natural approach.
Premenstrual
Syndrome
Bloating, headaches, cramps,
swelling, fluid retention, breast soreness,
acne, sugar cravings, anxiety, mood swings,
irritability, and lower back, muscle, and joint
pain are just some of the symptoms that women
experience during their monthly cycles. Much of
this suffering can be avoided by paying
attention to the diet or adding nutritional
supplements (if imbalances or deficiencies
exist). Specialized tests, not routinely
available by conventional doctors, but available
in our office, can help uncover the important
details.
Pre-
and Postmenopausal Therapy
Menopause, the natural conclusion of
the female reproductive phase of life, is
characterized by a decline in estrogen
production and levels and in the function of the
ovaries — not to mention a host of annoying and
debilitating health effects, such as hot
flashes, vaginal dryness, and tissue atrophy,
urinary tract infections, and irregular
bleeding. Many of these problems can be relieved
with a carefully tailored regimen of herbs,
vitamins, minerals, diet, exercise,
stress-management, and natural and synthetic
hormones. Blood, saliva, urine, and nutritional
testing can help pinpoint your hormonal
imbalances and nutritional needs.
CHILDREN’S SERVICES/PEDIATRIC NUTRITION
Many children in the United States have one
or more nutritional deficiencies, possibly
contributing to, or resulting from, ear
infections, throat infections, eczema,
allergies, some medications (i.e. antibiotics)
and other health conditions. For some of these
children, the problem is poor diet and poor food
absorption. (Like adults, children are not what
they eat — they are what they absorb from what
they eat.) To make matters worse, many medical
doctors (including most pediatricians) have
little or no formal training in the special
nutritional needs of children. Several tests,
along with a dietary review, can be used to
determine your child’s nutritional needs. It is
better to prevent nutritional deficiencies than
to wait for them to show up as kids grow up.
We specialize in natural support for the
following pediatric conditions:
Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity
Although many children with attention
deficit disorder or hyperactivity can be helped
with drug therapies, many cannot. Some
health-care providers believe that these
disorders are caused or aggravated by food and
environmental allergies as well as by toxins in
foods, water, and air. Natural substances, such
as organic foods, amino-acid supplements,
essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and
enzymes can be very effective when carefully
tailored to the child’s ability to comply.
Laboratory tests and dietary evaluations are
available for assessing children and
individualizing treatment.
Autism
Families with autistic children know
that life can sometimes be hard — not just for
the child with autism, but for the entire
family. Sadly, mainstream medicine offers few
options for autistic children and families.
However, exciting advances in natural medicine,
largely ignored by regular medical doctors, have
been shown to improve the overall health of
autistic children. We invite the families of
autistic children to participate in a natural
approach to the treatment of autism or to
combine medical and natural methods.
Food allergies, Eczema, and Gastrointestinal
Distress
It is not uncommon for children to
suffer from food allergies as well as eczema and
gastrointestinal distress. In some cases, the
problems are all related, traceable to specific
foods. Whether these problems occur individually
or in combination, there are a number of highly
effective therapies that can help relieve
symptoms and repair the underlying causes —
without the use of steroids or antibiotics. For
a child’s continued good health, it is important
not only to identify food allergies, but also to
incorporate supportive nutritional programs.
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